DEAD: Confrontation by TW Brown Read Free Book Online Page B

be within miles.
    “I saw one of them, Kevin,” his mother whispered. “Missus James…she is in her backyard. At first I thought she was gardening or something, but she was following after that yipping little rodent of a dog that she owns. I was upstairs in my room and looked out the window. She…trapped it…”
    His mother went silent for a second, but he could still hear her breathing. He would let her get this out. Maybe then she would accept the harsh reality.
    “She caught it on the porch and tore it open with her teeth, Kevin. And that little dog yelped and howled…but nobody came. Now…now they are both out there in the yard! Walking around. That little dog is dragging itself by its front legs.”
    Kevin filed that thought away. He was a little surprised to hear that whatever this was, it was jumping species. Of course this was no ordinary virus or disease, so what he knew from the movies was really just a lot of supposition.
    “Mom, let her bring the Barbie, but you two get out of there within the hour. You hear me?”
    “And when are you going to join us?”
    Kevin had hoped that she wouldn’t actually ask him that question. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he wasn’t co ming. She wouldn’t understand.
    “Mom…this is something that I have spent my life prepa ring for. I can help. I need to be able to do something and make a difference,” he lied.
    “Wait…what? Are you saying that you aren’t coming?” his mother asked, her voice growing just a bit shrill.
    “I said I can’t come right away. Besides, the government might get a handle on this in a few weeks…months at the most—”
    “Months!” his mother exploded. “Kevin, you can’t expect me to just take Sara out into the middle of nowhere without knowing what has happened to you.”
    “Mom…if anybody has a shot at making it through this…I do.” He wasn’t used to bragging, especially to his mother. Tal king trash to his friends during one of their marathon Halo sessions was one thing. Real life was an entirely different matter.
    “And what am I supposed to do?” his mother said.
    It took a moment, but he finally realized that his mother was actually asking him. She had no idea what to do. For a moment, he considered scrapping his plan. Actually he had a series of plans. Each one was based on his evaluation of just how serious he believed the situation to be. If he felt there was any chance that things would recover, he planned on fortifying his location and riding it out. The extreme scenario involved a run for a sparsely populated part of the country—he had chosen South Dakota, but that didn’t seem likely at the moment.
    “Get all the food you can load into the car and leave now. Once you get on the road, Sara won’t care. She will be too busy pointing out cows and trees and pretty water,” Kevin said.
    He remembered the first time that he took his sister for a drive. At first, she drove him crazy. Then, it slowly dawned on him that she really hadn’t been anywhere. His mother, while she loved her daughter, seemed reluctant to take the girl anyplace public. The world was a wondrous place to his little sister.
    “I don’t know if I can do this, Kevin.”
    “Mom…I know you’re scared, but if you are considering staying at home, just look outside at Missus James…and her dog.”
    “ I am going to load the car. Will you talk to your sister while I do?”
    He glanced around his apartment. As far as he could see, it was ready if he decided to stay. There were a few things he still needed to take to his car in case he changed his mind, but that was simply the last resort. The only reason he’d taken anything down this early when he was still very much doubting that the “Final Option” scenario would be coming in to play was because it was simply his nature to prepare for the worst case.
    “Fine…put her on,” Kevin agreed.
    “Kevvy?” She must have been standing there beside their mother the