At the End - a post-apocalyptic novel (The Road to Extinction, Book 1) by John Hennessy Read Free Book Online

“I tried to cut off one of its limbs last night, only made it
halfway before it decided we weren’t worth the trouble.”
    We all stared at the blade. None of us had
any idea what had happened to the saw after the door closed, not in
the pitch black.
    “So what’s your plan?” Jacob
asked.
    “We should go into the city to gather some
weapons and other supplies, then start down I-5. It’s a straight
shot to LA, nice and simple, assuming no one else knows a safer or
quicker route?” I received only silence. “You think your dad could
help us?” I eyed Jacob, desperate for a reassuring yes. He gave it
to me with a nod. “Head down I-5 until we get to Pasadena; it is
near LA, right?”
    “Yeah, it is. I’ll also tell you that my dad
was working on unmanned fighter spacecrafts for the IPDA, so he
might know something about what’s going on. That is if he is still
alive.” Jacob bent down and grabbed another bag of turkey jerky,
opened it, and bit into a delicate piece.
    I stood up, my brow scrunched.
    “The International Planetary Defense
Administration,” he said when he saw my confusion.
    “Oh, right.” I sighed. I can’t believe I had
forgotten that . . . so many associations and administrations.
    “So you want to go into town, eh?” Jelly
spoke up. I could tell he didn’t like that idea.
    “It’s not that far to walk,” I said.
    “I ain’t walkin’ that far,” Jacob spat.
    “How else are we going to get there, a
car?”
    “You’re damn right a car.” Jacob smiled as
he fiddled with the door handle. “I know how to unwire the fake
engine noise. We’ll be as silent as a computer.”
    Jelly sighed in relief. “Sounds great to me,
dude, show us the way.” He grabbed his gear. We did the same.
    Jacob spun around and headed outside. Jelly
followed. Tortilla put a hand on my back as we left a few strides
behind them. “It’ll be okay, we’ll be okay.”
    I turned back and stared at him. “I know.” I
felt a rush of comfort and warmth, and I stood on my tiptoes and
kissed his cheek. He blushed. I turned around and fell in line.
     
    When we came through the garage door, cinder
and ash scattered as we tramped around. The two cars were melted,
bent, and pliable. “Awesome. Just incredible,” Jacob said. “You
ruined my cars.”
    “And saved your life,” I chimed in
again.
    “And melted my cars . . .”
    “What about your neighbors?” Tortilla spoke
up, running a hand over the softened neo-plastic that used to be a
hood.
    “Yeah, they didn’t make it . . . they’re
gone.”
    We left the piles of goop and ash behind. We
were all furtive except for Jacob. He didn’t care anymore, if he
ever did. He just strolled on over to his neighbors, as if he
wanted to be captured, but I didn’t think he did. He broke a window
into the house with a rock, climbed in, then went around to unlock
the door for us. In the garage, two neo-plastic Fiat Tracksters sat
in idle disappointment. One of the coupes was fiery red and the
other was aquamarine.
    “Which one do we want?” Jacob asked.
    “The red one,” Jelly said. He ran to the
door, opened it, plopped down in the seat, and started feeling the
wheel like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. I
think I saw him pet it for the briefest of moments.
    “Yeah, sure. Whatever.” Jacob went to the
hood. “Pop it, bro.” Jelly popped it, and Jacob started to tinker
with the wires.
    “This is so slick,” Jelly said when we
walked over. We piled our backpacks and the bows into the trunk.
“This must be brand new, a few weeks old at most.” It was good to
see Jelly so ecstatic.
    Jacob slammed the hood down. “Too bad you
don’t get to drive it.” He disappeared inside the house and came
back jangling a set of keys. “Haha, suckers!” He laughed in a
squeal that hurt my ears.
    “Where did you find those?” Jelly asked,
excited, but saddened that he didn’t find them first.
    “They were hanging on some hooks in the
kitchen. Now