Read Online Sanctuary by Pauline Creeden - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Pauline Creeden
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and tried to smile in a reassuring way. “Okay, Jennie, where’s your car?”
One by one, the new s channels faded from the air. No one went to work. No one left their home. The Shisa could be found anywhere, and you’d risk your life trying to run from one building to the next. But if you did it right and waited until the droning was far enough away, you might survive.
Hugh scratched the three-day growth on his chin and flipped through the radio stations on his Sansa player. His iPod didn’t pick up stations; his TV had nothing on but sitcoms and other re-runs; he couldn’t leave. Or maybe he could.
What was really stopping him? Fred? Fred was nothing more than a tough-talking coward. If Hugh confronted him, even threatened him, he could get him to unlock the front door. Probably. Wasn't it worth a try?
A crash out in the hallway followed by a high-pitched laugh like a hyena broke into his thoughts. Hugh stepped to his door and looked out the peephole. Nothing happened in the four-feet section made visible through the distorted circle. But a female giggle made him unbolt the door.
He opened the door wide and stepped into the hallway. In the narrow corridor, four teenage boys pushed each other and laughed, hauling a flat-screen TV between two of them. A twelve-year-old girl followed them with two bags full of cans and other groceries. The door to the apartment diagonally across the hall stood open with the door jamb splintered. Hugh called out, “Hey, what are you guys doing?”
The teen group stopped and stared at him. One of the boys with a hat cocked sideways on his head freed his hand by wrapping the Xbox controller around his other arm. He pulled up his oversized jean shorts. “Look man, we don’t want no trouble. We figure no one is using this stuff, and since the building’s on lockdown, no one’s coming or going…”
Hugh blinked hard at the kid who looked about fifteen or sixteen. His face was familiar; he’d probably seen him in the hallways of Warwick High. “So you’re only breaking into the empty apartments?”
The kids nodded. The girl held one of the bags toward Hugh. “See? What else are we supposed to do? We can’t even go to the grocery store. We’ll starve, if we don’t do something.”
Hugh crossed his arms in front of his chest. The kids were right. What else were they supposed to do? He always respected other people’s property and hated to see these kids taking what didn’t belong to them. But if the owners never came back, was there really any harm? At least these kids weren’t behaving like punks or hoodlums. They were more respectful than Hugh could have imagined. A sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait. How many rooms have you guys broken into?”
The kids looked at each other, and then the girl looked at the boy in the sideways hat and asked, “What do you think, Jose? About three or four apartments per floor, and we’ve done the top four floors so far?”
Jose shrugged.
“There are ten apartments on each floor. Are you saying that more than a third of the apartments are empty?”
“I guess,” Jose shrugged, pulling up his pants once again.
“What floor do you guys live on?”
The girl piped up. “Jose, Rory, and I live on nine. Aaron and Tion live on eleven.”
So that explained why they were starting from the top floor down. “What are you guys doing with the stuff you’re taking? The cable is out, and the TV is hardly getting a signal.”
“The TV is for the X-box,” one of the boys holding the corner of the flat screen answered. He shifted the box in his hands to gain a better grip.
Hugh nodded and decided to let them go. There was nothing else he could do. He certainly couldn’t police the place, and the kids were generally behaving well. “You kids be safe, and keep out of trouble.”
A smile revealed dimples on the little girl’s face. She shoved one of the bags toward him in an offering. “Thanks, Mr. Harris.
One by one, the new s channels faded from the air. No one went to work. No one left their home. The Shisa could be found anywhere, and you’d risk your life trying to run from one building to the next. But if you did it right and waited until the droning was far enough away, you might survive.
Hugh scratched the three-day growth on his chin and flipped through the radio stations on his Sansa player. His iPod didn’t pick up stations; his TV had nothing on but sitcoms and other re-runs; he couldn’t leave. Or maybe he could.
What was really stopping him? Fred? Fred was nothing more than a tough-talking coward. If Hugh confronted him, even threatened him, he could get him to unlock the front door. Probably. Wasn't it worth a try?
A crash out in the hallway followed by a high-pitched laugh like a hyena broke into his thoughts. Hugh stepped to his door and looked out the peephole. Nothing happened in the four-feet section made visible through the distorted circle. But a female giggle made him unbolt the door.
He opened the door wide and stepped into the hallway. In the narrow corridor, four teenage boys pushed each other and laughed, hauling a flat-screen TV between two of them. A twelve-year-old girl followed them with two bags full of cans and other groceries. The door to the apartment diagonally across the hall stood open with the door jamb splintered. Hugh called out, “Hey, what are you guys doing?”
The teen group stopped and stared at him. One of the boys with a hat cocked sideways on his head freed his hand by wrapping the Xbox controller around his other arm. He pulled up his oversized jean shorts. “Look man, we don’t want no trouble. We figure no one is using this stuff, and since the building’s on lockdown, no one’s coming or going…”
Hugh blinked hard at the kid who looked about fifteen or sixteen. His face was familiar; he’d probably seen him in the hallways of Warwick High. “So you’re only breaking into the empty apartments?”
The kids nodded. The girl held one of the bags toward Hugh. “See? What else are we supposed to do? We can’t even go to the grocery store. We’ll starve, if we don’t do something.”
Hugh crossed his arms in front of his chest. The kids were right. What else were they supposed to do? He always respected other people’s property and hated to see these kids taking what didn’t belong to them. But if the owners never came back, was there really any harm? At least these kids weren’t behaving like punks or hoodlums. They were more respectful than Hugh could have imagined. A sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait. How many rooms have you guys broken into?”
The kids looked at each other, and then the girl looked at the boy in the sideways hat and asked, “What do you think, Jose? About three or four apartments per floor, and we’ve done the top four floors so far?”
Jose shrugged.
“There are ten apartments on each floor. Are you saying that more than a third of the apartments are empty?”
“I guess,” Jose shrugged, pulling up his pants once again.
“What floor do you guys live on?”
The girl piped up. “Jose, Rory, and I live on nine. Aaron and Tion live on eleven.”
So that explained why they were starting from the top floor down. “What are you guys doing with the stuff you’re taking? The cable is out, and the TV is hardly getting a signal.”
“The TV is for the X-box,” one of the boys holding the corner of the flat screen answered. He shifted the box in his hands to gain a better grip.
Hugh nodded and decided to let them go. There was nothing else he could do. He certainly couldn’t police the place, and the kids were generally behaving well. “You kids be safe, and keep out of trouble.”
A smile revealed dimples on the little girl’s face. She shoved one of the bags toward him in an offering. “Thanks, Mr. Harris.
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