Read Online The Dying & The Dead 1: Post Apocalyptic Survival by Jack Lewis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jack Lewis
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April’s room was
the one which had suffered the damage, and the red carpet was already turning
darker from where rain poured in. Her bed was covered in broken slates and
plaster from where the ceiling had exploded inwards. Even before the outbreak
this would have been a hell of a repair job, but it was probably going to be
impossible now.
Rex,
lucky bear that he was, sat on the bedside table that hadn’t suffered any
damage. Ed picked him up and walked out onto the hallway and toward the stairs.
As he put his foot on the top step there was creaking sound that seemed to
spread through the ceiling above him. He saw that a crack was cutting into the
plaster like someone was drawing it on in marker, and the ceiling grew the
bulge of a pregnant belly. It was going to fall apart.
He
started down the stairs just as the plaster gave way. There was a loud crash
and Ed felt the ceiling spill out onto the landing behind him. A spray of dust
and debris covered his shoulders. He sucked some of it in and felt it scratch
his throat. An involuntary cough rose from his chest as his lungs tried to
expel the dust, and without being able to stop himself he let go of the
bannister and tumbled down the staircase, feeling stabs of pain as he banged
against the floor.
“Jesus
Christ, Ed”.
He lay
on at the bottom of the hallway and stared at Bethelyn’s chalky face. She
reached out for his hand.
“Can
you move?”
His
shoulders ached and he already felt a lump start to swell out from the back of
his head. He slowly shifted his leg, and satisfied that it wasn’t broken, he
moved more deliberately.
“You
better be careful.”
Bethelyn
helped him to his feet. He could stand, but his whole upper body felt as if it
had been crushed by rocks.
“Let’s
get back to your house,” said Bethelyn, and supported him out into the cold.
***
“Don’t
you have any candles?” she said.
He
looked around his living room. Maybe his dad had put some somewhere for
emergencies, but he and his father had never talked about that kind of stuff.
Their conversations were always about what Ed was doing at school and how he
needed to make sure he was better than all the other kids so he could get a job
on the mainland someday.
“Golgoth’s
not a place you come to live,” said his dad in one of his depressed moods.
“It’s a place you come to die.”
“What
about you?” said Ed. “You came here with mum.”
“We
came here because she loves the sea. I thought it was a fad.”
Ed’s
dad had been stubborn, but the one thing he always gave way to without question
was the will of Ed’s mum. She was the kind of woman who could sweet talk even
the gruffest of people, and it was rare the person who wouldn’t go out of their
way to please her.
In his
living room, in the dark, Ed suddenly wished he’d had those sorts of
conversations with his dad. That they hadn’t just had the same old talks in
which his dad asked him questions and Ed put the bare minimum of thought into
his answer. He wished he’d appreciated the guy while he was still here, that
he’d thought for a damn second how the old man probably wanted more out of his
son than someone who just took without thinking to give.
“Don’t
think we have any candles,” said Ed. “Sorry.”
“Okay,
Dracula,” said Bethelyn. She held a roll of tape in her hand. “I’m going to
have to do this in the dark.”
“I’ll
help.”
Ed
tried to get to his feet. His legs were willing but as he shifted his upper
body, his muscles groaned with pain. The feeling must have shown on his face
because Bethelyn stepped over to him and gently pushed him back.
“No
way pal. You sit back.”
As
Bethelyn walked from window to window and covered the glass with duct tape,
April perched on the arm of Ed’s chair. She put her hand on his arm and
squeezed. Ed felt his muscles burn.
“Not
so hard,” he
the one which had suffered the damage, and the red carpet was already turning
darker from where rain poured in. Her bed was covered in broken slates and
plaster from where the ceiling had exploded inwards. Even before the outbreak
this would have been a hell of a repair job, but it was probably going to be
impossible now.
Rex,
lucky bear that he was, sat on the bedside table that hadn’t suffered any
damage. Ed picked him up and walked out onto the hallway and toward the stairs.
As he put his foot on the top step there was creaking sound that seemed to
spread through the ceiling above him. He saw that a crack was cutting into the
plaster like someone was drawing it on in marker, and the ceiling grew the
bulge of a pregnant belly. It was going to fall apart.
He
started down the stairs just as the plaster gave way. There was a loud crash
and Ed felt the ceiling spill out onto the landing behind him. A spray of dust
and debris covered his shoulders. He sucked some of it in and felt it scratch
his throat. An involuntary cough rose from his chest as his lungs tried to
expel the dust, and without being able to stop himself he let go of the
bannister and tumbled down the staircase, feeling stabs of pain as he banged
against the floor.
“Jesus
Christ, Ed”.
He lay
on at the bottom of the hallway and stared at Bethelyn’s chalky face. She
reached out for his hand.
“Can
you move?”
His
shoulders ached and he already felt a lump start to swell out from the back of
his head. He slowly shifted his leg, and satisfied that it wasn’t broken, he
moved more deliberately.
“You
better be careful.”
Bethelyn
helped him to his feet. He could stand, but his whole upper body felt as if it
had been crushed by rocks.
“Let’s
get back to your house,” said Bethelyn, and supported him out into the cold.
***
“Don’t
you have any candles?” she said.
He
looked around his living room. Maybe his dad had put some somewhere for
emergencies, but he and his father had never talked about that kind of stuff.
Their conversations were always about what Ed was doing at school and how he
needed to make sure he was better than all the other kids so he could get a job
on the mainland someday.
“Golgoth’s
not a place you come to live,” said his dad in one of his depressed moods.
“It’s a place you come to die.”
“What
about you?” said Ed. “You came here with mum.”
“We
came here because she loves the sea. I thought it was a fad.”
Ed’s
dad had been stubborn, but the one thing he always gave way to without question
was the will of Ed’s mum. She was the kind of woman who could sweet talk even
the gruffest of people, and it was rare the person who wouldn’t go out of their
way to please her.
In his
living room, in the dark, Ed suddenly wished he’d had those sorts of
conversations with his dad. That they hadn’t just had the same old talks in
which his dad asked him questions and Ed put the bare minimum of thought into
his answer. He wished he’d appreciated the guy while he was still here, that
he’d thought for a damn second how the old man probably wanted more out of his
son than someone who just took without thinking to give.
“Don’t
think we have any candles,” said Ed. “Sorry.”
“Okay,
Dracula,” said Bethelyn. She held a roll of tape in her hand. “I’m going to
have to do this in the dark.”
“I’ll
help.”
Ed
tried to get to his feet. His legs were willing but as he shifted his upper
body, his muscles groaned with pain. The feeling must have shown on his face
because Bethelyn stepped over to him and gently pushed him back.
“No
way pal. You sit back.”
As
Bethelyn walked from window to window and covered the glass with duct tape,
April perched on the arm of Ed’s chair. She put her hand on his arm and
squeezed. Ed felt his muscles burn.
“Not
so hard,” he
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