Read Online FORSAKEN: THE SYSTEMIC SERIES by K.W. CALLAHAN - Free Book Online
Authors: K.W. CALLAHAN
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then?” I asked, curious and slightly concerned that she’d leave the general store unaccompanied and without letting anyone else know.
“What? You my dad or something?”
I noticed a certain tone in her voice.
“I have to clear everything with you first?” she went on.
“No,” I said, feeling slightly attacked. “But I tend to worry when people disappear these days. It’s not exactly a safe world anymore.” I paused, “And there’s Shane to consider.”
“First off,” Joanna started, and I could tell by her tone that I was in for it, “the world never was safe. It’s probably safer now than it was before.”
I decided quickly that her statement certainly held some merit.
“Second,” she continued, “why are you worrying about me? You should be worrying about Claire and your own family. And third, Shane’s mine to worry about, and I’ll take care of him no matter what.”
She stood staring at me, almost angrily.
“Fair enough,” I nodded. “You’re right. I should be worried about Claire and my own family. What you fail to recognize though, is that you and Shane are a part of my family now.”
“ Humph ,” she sniffed. “Yeah right,” she said, blowing past me and heading for the store’s front porch.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I turned and called after her.
“Whatever you want it to mean,” she said as she kept walking, not even turning back around to look at me as she answered.
I watched her as she walked up the porch’s steps and disappeared inside through the front door.
I shook my head, not understanding. I’d gotten used to dealing with Claire who was so simple to read, so amicable, so easy to get along with. I didn’t understand what was going on with Joanna. I had a feeling that were I to do a little soul searching, I could probably figure it out, but right now there were other, more important things to focus on.
Chapter 6
Manufacturing in the post-flu world was nonexistent. And what people were able to create was typically consumed shortly thereafter. What remained of society lived largely hand-to-mouth now. This meant that when many of the supplies that had been left after the flu – things like fuel, guns, ammunition, food, bottled water, boots, clothing, electronics, medicine, and the likes – were gone, they were gone. There would be no factories to replace durable goods. There would be no farmers to grow more food, and if there were, there would be no trucks or trains to transport the surplus to urban areas. And while the numbers within population centers had been drastically reduced, Ava was amazed at how even just a small percentage of the previous population could rapidly consume the remnants left behind by a once civilized and productive society.
Without the ants there to replace the crops, the grasshoppers would soon fall on hard times.
Ava gave the nation’s metropolises a year – maybe two or three if they were like Atlanta and slightly better organized – before they began to crumble under the weight of their own degenerative populations. Then the fighting would begin anew. It would be like the months immediately following the flu. Right now, things were comparatively calm because there was still enough to go around or be stolen by the substantially reduced population. But once the excess began to dry up, people would begin to fight among themselves again, diminishing the already decimated ranks until there were just enough people to sop up the excess for a while longer, and then the sequence would start all over again. Ava guessed that this cycle would continue to run itself again and again until the remaining populace became so tired of squabbling over the scraps that they gave up, got organized, and became productive again, or until no one was left to fight over those scraps. Either way, she wasn’t going to sit on her hands and wait to see
“What? You my dad or something?”
I noticed a certain tone in her voice.
“I have to clear everything with you first?” she went on.
“No,” I said, feeling slightly attacked. “But I tend to worry when people disappear these days. It’s not exactly a safe world anymore.” I paused, “And there’s Shane to consider.”
“First off,” Joanna started, and I could tell by her tone that I was in for it, “the world never was safe. It’s probably safer now than it was before.”
I decided quickly that her statement certainly held some merit.
“Second,” she continued, “why are you worrying about me? You should be worrying about Claire and your own family. And third, Shane’s mine to worry about, and I’ll take care of him no matter what.”
She stood staring at me, almost angrily.
“Fair enough,” I nodded. “You’re right. I should be worried about Claire and my own family. What you fail to recognize though, is that you and Shane are a part of my family now.”
“ Humph ,” she sniffed. “Yeah right,” she said, blowing past me and heading for the store’s front porch.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I turned and called after her.
“Whatever you want it to mean,” she said as she kept walking, not even turning back around to look at me as she answered.
I watched her as she walked up the porch’s steps and disappeared inside through the front door.
I shook my head, not understanding. I’d gotten used to dealing with Claire who was so simple to read, so amicable, so easy to get along with. I didn’t understand what was going on with Joanna. I had a feeling that were I to do a little soul searching, I could probably figure it out, but right now there were other, more important things to focus on.
Chapter 6
Manufacturing in the post-flu world was nonexistent. And what people were able to create was typically consumed shortly thereafter. What remained of society lived largely hand-to-mouth now. This meant that when many of the supplies that had been left after the flu – things like fuel, guns, ammunition, food, bottled water, boots, clothing, electronics, medicine, and the likes – were gone, they were gone. There would be no factories to replace durable goods. There would be no farmers to grow more food, and if there were, there would be no trucks or trains to transport the surplus to urban areas. And while the numbers within population centers had been drastically reduced, Ava was amazed at how even just a small percentage of the previous population could rapidly consume the remnants left behind by a once civilized and productive society.
Without the ants there to replace the crops, the grasshoppers would soon fall on hard times.
Ava gave the nation’s metropolises a year – maybe two or three if they were like Atlanta and slightly better organized – before they began to crumble under the weight of their own degenerative populations. Then the fighting would begin anew. It would be like the months immediately following the flu. Right now, things were comparatively calm because there was still enough to go around or be stolen by the substantially reduced population. But once the excess began to dry up, people would begin to fight among themselves again, diminishing the already decimated ranks until there were just enough people to sop up the excess for a while longer, and then the sequence would start all over again. Ava guessed that this cycle would continue to run itself again and again until the remaining populace became so tired of squabbling over the scraps that they gave up, got organized, and became productive again, or until no one was left to fight over those scraps. Either way, she wasn’t going to sit on her hands and wait to see
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