Read Online Before the Dawn by Max Allan Collins - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Max Allan Collins
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they were on the road again.
Lucy wanted to whisper, but Max shook her head, not wanting to risk it. Her belly full, this strange world seeming to the X5-unit surprisingly easily dealt with, Max disappeared under the blanket and slept, contentedly.
Eight hours later, when the vehicle finally stopped for good, and Lucy and her mom had disappeared again, Max climbed out of her hiding place to find herself in a land of sunshine, warmth, and palm trees.
Training videos had shown her country like this before, but it had been an abstraction—she'd never seen anything like it in person. As she stood outside the SUV, she let the sunshine bathe her face, hands, and legs. She couldn't recall ever being so warm in her life, and she loved it.
Max was standing before a small frame house, smaller than the one where she'd met Lucy; parked in the yard was the SUV, which stood between her and the street, a long, blacktop road with one-story houses lining either side for as far as she could see.
Though they were out of her view, Max heard kids laughing, somewhere. Thinking Lucy might be with them, she took one step before the sound of a woman's voice stopped her.
“You must be hungry.”
Max whirled to see Lucy's mom standing behind a screen door. “Uh . . .”
A kind adult face, with echoes of Lucy's, bestowed a smile nearly as warm as the sunshine. “It's all right, honey—Lucy told me about your trouble.”
Max's first instinct was to run, just run; but the only other adult female she'd ever spoken to outside the gates of Manticore—Hannah—had helped her. And, like Hannah, this woman didn't seem upset with her—had called her “honey,” an apparently affectionate designation that the woman had also granted her daughter.
Right now, in fact, the woman held open the screen door for Max—held it open wide.
“Wouldn't you like to come in?” Lucy's mom asked, displaying a wide toothy smile. “Maybe get something to eat?”
Tentatively, Max approached the woman; getting her first close look at the “mom,” Max couldn't help wondering if all moms looked like this. Perhaps five foot five inches, and 125 pounds, with dark brown brown hair piled high, Lucy's mom had her daughter's wide blue eyes, full lips, and those same long eyelashes. She wore a pale blue dress with small pink flowers on it.
“I shouldn't,” Max finally managed.
“Look, Max. . . . It is
Max,
isn't it?”
Max nodded.
“Is that short for Maxine?”
“I don't think so.”
The woman's smile lessened but did not disappear, and she still held that door open. “Look . . . Max. Lucy's told me you have nowhere else to go, and that the people you were staying with before will hurt you if they find you. Is that right?”
Another nod.
“Then you need a new place to live, don't you?”
Max looked down the street as if the answer might be there somewhere; but why would these almost identical houses hold any better answer than this one?
Finally, Max nodded a third time.
“Then . . . would you like to stay with us?”
She shrugged. She didn't know how to respond to that.
“Well, come in, dear . . . have some food, and we'll talk. Work it out.”
Max looked the other way, up the street, and found no potentially better answers in that direction, either. Haltingly, she took a step toward the house. With the screen door open, she could smell the aroma of roast beef as it wafted through the home, curling its finger invitingly. . . .
The desire for a real meal overcame her misgivings and Max strode into the house.
The living room was small. Though bigger than Hannah's, this one was less immediately inviting. The smell of old cigarettes hung in the air; the source seemed to be a worn-looking overstuffed chair to her left, which had a couple of empty beer cans sitting on a table next to it, no doubt adding to the stale odor of the room.
Still, the aroma of the beef beckoned, overcoming the tobacco odor, and Max followed Lucy's mom
Lucy wanted to whisper, but Max shook her head, not wanting to risk it. Her belly full, this strange world seeming to the X5-unit surprisingly easily dealt with, Max disappeared under the blanket and slept, contentedly.
Eight hours later, when the vehicle finally stopped for good, and Lucy and her mom had disappeared again, Max climbed out of her hiding place to find herself in a land of sunshine, warmth, and palm trees.
Training videos had shown her country like this before, but it had been an abstraction—she'd never seen anything like it in person. As she stood outside the SUV, she let the sunshine bathe her face, hands, and legs. She couldn't recall ever being so warm in her life, and she loved it.
Max was standing before a small frame house, smaller than the one where she'd met Lucy; parked in the yard was the SUV, which stood between her and the street, a long, blacktop road with one-story houses lining either side for as far as she could see.
Though they were out of her view, Max heard kids laughing, somewhere. Thinking Lucy might be with them, she took one step before the sound of a woman's voice stopped her.
“You must be hungry.”
Max whirled to see Lucy's mom standing behind a screen door. “Uh . . .”
A kind adult face, with echoes of Lucy's, bestowed a smile nearly as warm as the sunshine. “It's all right, honey—Lucy told me about your trouble.”
Max's first instinct was to run, just run; but the only other adult female she'd ever spoken to outside the gates of Manticore—Hannah—had helped her. And, like Hannah, this woman didn't seem upset with her—had called her “honey,” an apparently affectionate designation that the woman had also granted her daughter.
Right now, in fact, the woman held open the screen door for Max—held it open wide.
“Wouldn't you like to come in?” Lucy's mom asked, displaying a wide toothy smile. “Maybe get something to eat?”
Tentatively, Max approached the woman; getting her first close look at the “mom,” Max couldn't help wondering if all moms looked like this. Perhaps five foot five inches, and 125 pounds, with dark brown brown hair piled high, Lucy's mom had her daughter's wide blue eyes, full lips, and those same long eyelashes. She wore a pale blue dress with small pink flowers on it.
“I shouldn't,” Max finally managed.
“Look, Max. . . . It is
Max,
isn't it?”
Max nodded.
“Is that short for Maxine?”
“I don't think so.”
The woman's smile lessened but did not disappear, and she still held that door open. “Look . . . Max. Lucy's told me you have nowhere else to go, and that the people you were staying with before will hurt you if they find you. Is that right?”
Another nod.
“Then you need a new place to live, don't you?”
Max looked down the street as if the answer might be there somewhere; but why would these almost identical houses hold any better answer than this one?
Finally, Max nodded a third time.
“Then . . . would you like to stay with us?”
She shrugged. She didn't know how to respond to that.
“Well, come in, dear . . . have some food, and we'll talk. Work it out.”
Max looked the other way, up the street, and found no potentially better answers in that direction, either. Haltingly, she took a step toward the house. With the screen door open, she could smell the aroma of roast beef as it wafted through the home, curling its finger invitingly. . . .
The desire for a real meal overcame her misgivings and Max strode into the house.
The living room was small. Though bigger than Hannah's, this one was less immediately inviting. The smell of old cigarettes hung in the air; the source seemed to be a worn-looking overstuffed chair to her left, which had a couple of empty beer cans sitting on a table next to it, no doubt adding to the stale odor of the room.
Still, the aroma of the beef beckoned, overcoming the tobacco odor, and Max followed Lucy's mom
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