Read Online Mass Extinction Event: The Complete Fourth Series (Days 54 to 61) by Amy Cross - Free Book Online

can't give up on her! There's no body, there's no -”
    “There's a body,” he replies, with a hint of tears in his eyes. “She's buried by the side of the road, just outside Manhattan. I haven't been to the grave myself, but maybe some day...”
    “What do you mean?” I ask, trying not to believe what he's saying. “If you haven't been there, you don't know , you're just guessing...”
    He walks over to the window and looks out for a moment, before turning back to me.
    “I was one of three specialists who made it to Boston that day,” he continues. “They called in fifteen, but only three made it. Once I got there, I wanted to leave right away, to come back for you guys, but by then the scale of the disaster was becoming apparent and I had no choice. Things were falling apart all around us, and now matter how fast we tried to work, the devastation just got worse and worse. Eventually, once things had stabilized a little, the military realized that in order to keep us working, they had to offer to try to find our families. And then, after a few more days, most of the military were dead, so we kind of took charge and made our own decisions. So we sent a team to New York, among other places, and they tried to find you guys.”
    “When?” I ask, wiping tears from my face.
    “They reached New York on the ninth day.”
    “That was when...” I pause for a moment, thinking back to the moment when I walked away from the city. “I left on the ninth day.”
    “Well that's some bad timing, isn't it?” He tries to smile, but I can see that he's still horrified by everything that has happened. “I don't blame you, the level of disease in New York was horrific. The team went to the apartment and didn't find you, although that gave me some hope. They found the cab your mother was in, though. I'd noted down the license plate. Both she and the driver...”
    I wait for him to finish.
    “She and the driver what ?” I ask.
    “Don't make me say it.”
    “They were dead?”
    “They...”
    “No,” I reply, shaking my head. “Mom didn't become one of those things.”
    “I was told that... Well, I don't think there's any point going into the details.”
    “What happened to her?”
    “Lizzie...”
    “What happened?” I shout, trying not to lose control.
    “She was very quickly put out of her misery,” he continues. “There's nothing to suggest that she suffered. The sickness comes on very quickly, and that was especially true in the early stages when it was still so viable. Most likely, it just felt as if she was falling asleep.”
    “And then what happened? Did soldiers shoot her?”
    “The details aren't important.” He pauses. “And then a few weeks later, you tried turning your mobile phone on, and although you didn't find any network coverage, a device we use called a tracer noted your number and we realized you were close to Mitchfield base. I mean... Of all the places, how the hell did you get here ?”
    “It's a long story.”
    “I was able to pull some strings,” he continues, “and get a team out to look for you. And then, by some miracle, they picked up a radio communication two nights ago. They sent me a copy, you were talking to some guy hundreds of miles away at Lake Erie.”
    “That was just a complete fluke,” I tell him. “Toad and I...” I pause for a moment, and suddenly it feels as if two completely different sides of my life are colliding. “Oh my God, you have to help me find Toad!”
    “Who?”
    “He's this guy who helped me. He saved my life.”
    “Is he the one who amputated your foot?”
    “He did it to save my life!”
    “Well, we don't have the resources to go looking for everyone. Now that you're here, I want to take you with me to Boston.”
    “Boston?”
    “It's where we're trying to pull things together. You'll be safe there, you'll be with me.”
    “We have to find Toad first.”
    “Lizzie, be reasonable...”
    “He's out there somewhere!” I continue, trying not