August Burning (Book 1): Outbreak by Tyler Lahey Read Free Book Online

Their confidence was manufactured, given to them by their new
stations. If there was any violence in their reserved gaits, it was buffoonish
rather than deadly.
    Adira shot a glance backwards, at
Elvis and Liam. The shorter one strutted, eyes narrowed to affect a fierce
swagger. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh, to catcall him. The bigger one
walked easily, his burly form moving as the chaperone of the group. As they
walked, Liam made off-beat jokes and grinned effortlessly. Only Harley laughed.
Adira had just met her the night before. The girl’s dynamic smile and charisma
were probably alluring. She seemed to touch the stoic Elvis more than a few
times, but her eyes always flicked eagerly towards Liam when he spoke.
    Adira had caught Jaxton staring at herself
more than once, but his intensity was off-putting. His grey eyes didn’t match
his brown hair, but she had found herself looking at his muscled physique
several times.
    “Of course! These good people have
parents that love them,” Liam said with a dramatic scowl. Adira saw several
giddy, graduating students among the crowd, standing with proud parents. She
felt a twinge of discomfort flush her face.
    “Has anyone’s parents even made it
down yet?”
    Jaxton frowned. “My mom said there is
traffic backed up for miles around the cities in the north. She said they’ve
moved like ten miles the past two hours.”
    Liam tapped him lightly with the back
of his large hand, “Mine said the exact same thing. Are they on I-70?”
    “No, mine tried to get a head start on
Route 15. It’s totally jam-packed.”
    “Our old friend Admiral Nelson calls,
he’s getting lonely,” Troy said ruefully, his fierce gaze attracting the stares
of more than a few women.
    “We’re not drinking your shitty
whiskey again, not a chance,” Liam exclaimed.
    “My parents have been here since last
night. Took them the regular 2 and a half hours yesterday. I don’t know what
you guys are talking about,” Elvis said.
    Jaxton gave him a little shove. “Quite
puffin’ out your chest, youngblood. No one’s payin’ attention.”
    “Give me a piece of that!” Adira cried
from the back.
    Elvis squinted and mocked her. “Oh,
really funny. No, that’s great. I mean it.”
    Harley fawned dramatically over his
coiffed hair as he struggled to untangle himself from her embrace. “Don’t be
such a grumpster.”
    “Isn’t Cold Spring your town too
Elvis? I didn’t take you for a hick as well.” Adira said.
    “I’m actually quite a hit with the
hick chicks. No, I am. They love the hair.” Elvis nodded to press home the
guarantee.
    The group had strayed away from the
drum circle still thumping away under the weeping willow trees. Their steps
took them closer to campus, past families reuniting at local restaurants and
wandering around the city. Its lack of skyscrapers should have guaranteed a local
charm, and the feel of distinct neighborhoods. Somehow, those developments had
never materialized amid the endless collection of squat offices and government
buildings.
    As they wormed their way back through
the crowds, the mood in the air began to shift. Though no one said anything,
there seemed to be a tension hanging between certain families, who spoke in
hushed whispers rather than joyous yelling. Almost all of them ignored the hair
standing up on their spines, assured it was they alone who felt it. All save
one.
    Jaxton felt his pulse quicken, though
he couldn’t say why. His mind had been so sluggish with the realization that he
had no idea what to do with his life. And nothing called to him. So when he
sensed the tension in the air, he clung to it desperately. It took his mind
away from the mundane life he feared lay ahead. The others had already
forgotten about it by the time they burst back into the air-conditioned dorm
rooms. Jaxton mostly forgot as well, but he began to nurse a nebulous suspicion
that something wasn’t right.
    …

 
    “How did we end up with this