Read Online Glory (Book 5) by Michael McManamon - Free Book Online

step toward the door.
    Claire put her hand on his arm. "You can't go alone," she said. "I'll come with you."
    "There's not much daylight left. It'll be faster if I do this by myself. "
    Claire wanted to argue, but didn't.
    "I won't be long," he added.
    Adam rushed to the door and left the group standing in the gym.

Chapter 4
    Adam entered the library a while later. Everyone was there, waiting for him. They looked up as soon as he arrived.
    "Any luck?" Charles asked.
    "No, it got too dark to see much."
    "I hope she's okay."
    "I do too." Adam walked over to the group and sat down beside them. He could see how upset everyone was. "I'll look again in the morning. First thing."
    "But she needs help," Robert said, his words filled with worry, not accusation.
    Adam turned to look at the young boy. "I know she does. But there's no way that I can find her in the dark. I won’t be able to see her. And I don't want to shout out her name in case one of thos e thing s hears me."
    Robert looked horrified at that thought. "I don't want you to get hurt. It's just…"
    "I know. We're all worried about her. And w e al l feel responsible. But, really, there's nothing that I can do until the morning, when it's light outside." There wasn't much more he could say about it.
    Actually, none of them had much to say after that. Jane was gone. And, at the moment, there was nothing that any of them could do to change that.

Day 23
    Chapter 1
    Adam woke early the next morning. He hadn't had a very good sleep. None of them had. He had heard everyone tossing and turning all night. He sat up and looked around.
    Part of him hoped that Jane would be there. That she would have come back and would be lying down on the far side of the library. A larger part knew that this wasn't going to be the case.
    Jane was still gone.
    He saw Robert standing over by the window, alone. Adam got up and walked to him.
    "What are you doing?" he asked the little boy.
    "Waiting for Jane."
    Jane had become an important figure in the little boy's life. And, to make matters worse, Robert felt responsible for her leaving - no matter how many times everyone told him that it wasn't his fault . He kept saying that he shouldn't have asked to go higher on the swing, that he shouldn't have coughed.
    Adam felt responsible for Jane leaving as well. He had talked to her about her problems. He had known that she was seeing images of her dead family. But he hadn't pushed it after she had asked him not to.
    He shouldn't have left it at that.
    He reached over and patted the little boy on the head.
    Robert turned away from the window. "Are you going to find her?" he asked, concern showing on his face.
    Adam nodded. "I'm going to try."
    He wished that he could have promised more, but the truth was that he didn't know if he was going to find Jane. He didn't want to get Robert's hopes up. He didn't want to get his own hopes up, either.
    "You have to find her," Robert continued. "Please."
    "I'll try."
    Adam turned and went back to where he had been sleeping. He didn't know what more he could say. And he wanted to get searching. He reached for his gun.
    As he did, he saw that Claire was awake. She had a similar expression to Robert's. "You going out now?" she asked.
    "I am."
    "I'll come with you."
    Adam didn't take any time to think about it. He didn't want Claire out there with him. "I'd rather go on my own."
    "But…"
    He raised his hand to cut her off. "I know that you want to help. And I really appreciate that. But I'd feel better if I was on my own."
    "On your own? Why?"
    "It's just something I feel I have to do."
    Claire cocked her head and glared at him from the corner of her eye. She obviously didn't understand - or accept - his reasoning. He thought about how he could tell her again.
    "I should have helped her when I had the chance," he said finally. "I need to make up for that."
    "We all need to make up for that! We're just as guilty."
    Claire was right, they all had a part to play in it.