The Extraction List by Renee N. Meland

Author:Renee N. Meland [Meland, Renee N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quandary Hill Publishing
Published: 2014-05-09T05:00:00+00:00

• • •

We awoke with the sun, something that I was growing used to. Back in our normal lives, I would never dream of getting up before ten, unless, of course, I had school. I looked over at Cain, and he was still in the same position he had been in when I fell asleep. His eyes were wide open. Maybe he hadn’t slept at all.

I shook Mom awake, and soon we were all up and moving. Cain climbed into the driver’s seat, Bo alongside him. Bo slammed the passenger door behind him as he sat down; he definitely wasn’t used to being second in command. Cain told us the plan: “We’re going to meet Jordyn at George’s Place. It’s a general store a few miles out that helps us. Guy’s really good at cooking the books so the government doesn’t catch on.”

“Does that mean we’ll get to eat?” I asked.

“Yes, absolutely.”

I couldn’t help but squeal. We hadn’t eaten since Jordyn’s house, and my stomach was growling in protest. Sure, it hadn’t been that long, but I was used to getting my three meals a day. We had to be careful to ration our supplies, though, because we could only carry a certain amount, only eat enough to not let ourselves starve to death, but not enough to, as Cain put it, “interfere with our speed.”

I hugged Mom and we settled back in the corner of the van. I could have sat up with Bo and Cain, but I didn’t want to leave her by herself. So we sat in the back, bouncing against the hard metal floor, and played thumb wars like we used to when I was little. I won, of course. I suspected she let me, but I still gloated at my victories.

Images of Dad floated through my mind too. He was missing this. He chose to miss everything. Not just this fugitive madness, everything: my first art project for the school art fair, my first straight-A report card, just plain old ordinary board game night.

After the divorce, I got a card a week from him. A card. Bit too late if you ask me. It was basically saying, “I left you and your mom alone, but here’s a Hallmark moment just for you.” Seriously? If I ever saw him again, I’d tell him right where to stick those cards.

“Mom?” I pulled my thumb away. “I have a question.”

I paused, wondering if I should continue.

“Is it wrong that I don’t miss Dad?”

Mom’s face went blank. I saw Bo look back at her and they exchanged wide-eyed glances at each other.

“It’s not wrong. It’s a feeling. Never be mad at yourself for feeling something. That’s why they’re called ‘feelings.’ You can’t really help them coming and going. Kind of like how Grandma used to come by and stay for days whether we wanted her to or not, remember?”

I smiled. “Yeah.”

“The important thing is however you feel about Dad, you don’t let it control you. Don’t let how you feel about him make you angry inside.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.