Read Online Fear of the Dead by Mortimer Jackson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mortimer Jackson
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it out, nothing came.
“ We have to stay together,” became her last and only line of argument. “Linus, we’re in a safe place now. There’s enough food and water to last us a year. All we have to do is wait here until they find us.”
“ Who?”
It was a ridiculous question. He must have known that as much as her. And yet the more she thought about it, the less certain she was that she knew.
“ The government. Of course.”
“ Nobody is going to come to us if we just sit here and wait. Our supplies may be good enough for now. But there is no telling if there’s an evacuation out there somewhere. If we’re going to survive, we have to find out what’s going on out there, and fast.”
“ Does this mean that you plan on leaving us?”
Her tone had grown loud and hostile.
“ Try to understand what I’m saying,” Linus replied, his apparent attempt at calming her down only serving to fuel her irritation. Grace dropped the conversation, and tried to calm herself down. But only in looking past her own fears and worries did Grace finally come to understand what was driving Linus into what would have inevitably been a mistake.
“ I do,” she assured him. “Wherever Kerry is right now, she’s safe.”
His eyes turned bright.
It’d been almost five months since Linus and his wife had seen one another. Kerry had been away on business in Paris before the demons hit Oregon. He’d tried reaching her ever since, but once the possession hit Sacramento and all power went out, it’d gotten next to impossible to reach her or anyone else she knew. He hadn’t heard from her, and he had no way of knowing if she was still alive.
Linus sighed, and he began to whimper before forcing it all back.
“ Why is this happening?”
Grace dropped her hand on his shoulder.
“ I’m sorry,” he said, and sniffled.
“ Don’t be. It’s perfectly alright.”
Linus went back to his room, but not before settling himself, and thanking Grace for everything she’d done for him.
“ No need for that. I’m always here if you need anything.”
With Linus gone, she reset her mind back to delivering Vanessa’s tea. It had gotten cold now, so she decided to heat it up again before serving. The grill was still warm, so it got done sooner than she’d expected.
With the cup of Earl Grey in hand, Grace approached the bed where Vanessa was once more fast asleep. She set the tea beside her diary, which had apparently been written in since it was closer to Vanessa now than when she’d last seen it.
Out of curiosity, Grace picked up the diary and scanned the pages for the latest entry. She was right. Vanessa had written before she slept. The ink on the last written page was fresh. It had the day’s date written up top, but unlike the other entries, this was missing the time.
Vanessa must have been missing a watch, or something along those lines. Maybe it was something she’d lost when the demons attacked the other day.
As a favor, Grace took the ballpoint pen on the floor and jotted the time that was on her watch. Then, she started to read.
1:24 PM
Yesterday I thought I was going to die. Today is probably the happiest day I've ever had in my entire life.
I don't know exactly where I am, but it's at a Costco somewhere. I've never been to a warehouse store. Can you believe that?
I guess you could say I've never had any need shop in bulk. Not for a family anyhow. Have you seen the tubs of butter they carry in here?
Anyway, the best part about it all this is that I'm not the only one who's still alive. There are four others. Two of them, I think their names are Atton and Steve. I can’t honestly remember. They went out for something. I'm not entirely certain what either. But the other two I did get to meet were Grace and Linus. As far as I can tell they seem like good people. Apparently Grace prays out loud, which I guess I’ll just have to get used to.
She's nice. And I think it was her I heard the other day
“ We have to stay together,” became her last and only line of argument. “Linus, we’re in a safe place now. There’s enough food and water to last us a year. All we have to do is wait here until they find us.”
“ Who?”
It was a ridiculous question. He must have known that as much as her. And yet the more she thought about it, the less certain she was that she knew.
“ The government. Of course.”
“ Nobody is going to come to us if we just sit here and wait. Our supplies may be good enough for now. But there is no telling if there’s an evacuation out there somewhere. If we’re going to survive, we have to find out what’s going on out there, and fast.”
“ Does this mean that you plan on leaving us?”
Her tone had grown loud and hostile.
“ Try to understand what I’m saying,” Linus replied, his apparent attempt at calming her down only serving to fuel her irritation. Grace dropped the conversation, and tried to calm herself down. But only in looking past her own fears and worries did Grace finally come to understand what was driving Linus into what would have inevitably been a mistake.
“ I do,” she assured him. “Wherever Kerry is right now, she’s safe.”
His eyes turned bright.
It’d been almost five months since Linus and his wife had seen one another. Kerry had been away on business in Paris before the demons hit Oregon. He’d tried reaching her ever since, but once the possession hit Sacramento and all power went out, it’d gotten next to impossible to reach her or anyone else she knew. He hadn’t heard from her, and he had no way of knowing if she was still alive.
Linus sighed, and he began to whimper before forcing it all back.
“ Why is this happening?”
Grace dropped her hand on his shoulder.
“ I’m sorry,” he said, and sniffled.
“ Don’t be. It’s perfectly alright.”
Linus went back to his room, but not before settling himself, and thanking Grace for everything she’d done for him.
“ No need for that. I’m always here if you need anything.”
With Linus gone, she reset her mind back to delivering Vanessa’s tea. It had gotten cold now, so she decided to heat it up again before serving. The grill was still warm, so it got done sooner than she’d expected.
With the cup of Earl Grey in hand, Grace approached the bed where Vanessa was once more fast asleep. She set the tea beside her diary, which had apparently been written in since it was closer to Vanessa now than when she’d last seen it.
Out of curiosity, Grace picked up the diary and scanned the pages for the latest entry. She was right. Vanessa had written before she slept. The ink on the last written page was fresh. It had the day’s date written up top, but unlike the other entries, this was missing the time.
Vanessa must have been missing a watch, or something along those lines. Maybe it was something she’d lost when the demons attacked the other day.
As a favor, Grace took the ballpoint pen on the floor and jotted the time that was on her watch. Then, she started to read.
1:24 PM
Yesterday I thought I was going to die. Today is probably the happiest day I've ever had in my entire life.
I don't know exactly where I am, but it's at a Costco somewhere. I've never been to a warehouse store. Can you believe that?
I guess you could say I've never had any need shop in bulk. Not for a family anyhow. Have you seen the tubs of butter they carry in here?
Anyway, the best part about it all this is that I'm not the only one who's still alive. There are four others. Two of them, I think their names are Atton and Steve. I can’t honestly remember. They went out for something. I'm not entirely certain what either. But the other two I did get to meet were Grace and Linus. As far as I can tell they seem like good people. Apparently Grace prays out loud, which I guess I’ll just have to get used to.
She's nice. And I think it was her I heard the other day
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