Ever Onward by Wayne Mee Read Free Book Online

eyes. His blond hair was tousled and he
had slept in his clothes. Soon after dark he had gone to his room.
Josh had found him fast asleep a few moments later, a tattered and
much loved Phoo Bear clutched to his breast. He had covered both
boy and bear and turned off the light. Not able to face the bed he
had found his wife in, he slept in the spare room.
    “Breakfast?” Jessie asked, attempting
a smile.
    Josh’s was more successful. “Coming
right up. But first take a shower. You’ll feel better.”
    The attempted smile again.
“Sure.”
    After breakfast, Josh looked at his
son. “We have to look, you know. We can’t just give up.”
    The boy shrugged. “I know. It’s just
that, well, where do we start?”
    “Hawthorn to begin with, then Crown
Point. After that, we’ll play it by ear. But first, we try Doc.
Gruber’s.”
    Jessie frowned. “The vet’s? Why
there?”
    “We passed farms on the way home and
the animals seemed fine. I just saw Mrs. Brinski’s cat out back.
Doc. Gruber always keeps lost strays. We can’t let them
starve.”
    Jessie brightened. “Ya! We can let
them all go. Maybe even keep one! I’ve always wanted a dog! Can I,
Dad?!”
    “Don’t see why not.”
    Jessie was already moving towards the
door.
    So far so good, Josh thought. He’d
come up with the idea late last night. Jessie needed something to
fill the void. He knew a dog could not take the place of a mother,
friends, a boy’s entire world, but he also knew that Jess needed to
have something to take his mind off what had happened. Loving and
caring for a dog couldn’t hurt.
    “Dad! Dad!”, Jessie called from
outside. “Come quick! A car!”
    Josh ran outside. Jessie was standing
at the end of the driveway, pointing down the road. “A car! I saw a
car! It was driving by when I came out!”
    Josh looked towards the corner of the
main street. He saw nothing but empty houses and lawns that needed
mowing.
    “Let’s go, Dad! We can catch up with
it!”
    “We can try, son!”
    Jumping into the van, they backed out,
and roared off down the road.
    “Right or left, Jess?”
    “Right, towards the center of
town!”
    Josh gunned the old van, but by the
time they got to the main intersection, nothing was moving. Jessie
hit the dashboard. “I saw it! I know I did! A green
one!”
    Jessie turned left and headed
downtown. If there was a car, the person driving was most probably
looking for other survivors just as they were. Sooner or later
they’d meet. Besides, Doc. Gruber’s small clinic was downtown. Five
minutes later they were there. Jessie, all thoughts of the car now
forgotten, leaped out and ran to the door.
    “It’s locked!”
    Josh came a moment later. In his hand
was a tire iron.
    His son’s eyes widened. “You going to
smash the glass?” There was wonder in his voice. All his life he
had known his father as a quiet, law-biding man; a history teacher
at the local high school who loved to read and to enjoy the
outdoors. The thought of this mild spoken man smashing his way into
a building was beyond him.
    “Let’s try a window first.”
    Jessie nodded agreement and the two of
them walked around back. There they came face to face with an old
man sitting in the sun.
    “Morning, gents. Care for a cup of
coffee?”
    Father and son looked at each other.
Josh blinked, then walked forward, holding out his hand.
    “You gave us quite a start, Dr.
Gruber. I’m Josh Williams and this is my son, Jessie.”
    The old man smiled and shook Josh’s
hand. The dry, firm grip made tears spring to Josh’s eyes. Karl
Gruber winked at Jessie. “I’m real son. I’m seventy-one years old
and my arthritis hurts like hell, but I’m still a long ways from
being a ghost.”
    Jessie beamed. “Are there any others
around?!”
    The old man’s gray eyes clouded for a
moment, then brightened. “A few. Saw some young fool yesterday.
Drunk as a skunk and yelling at the top of his lungs. I went over
to him but he ran off. Someone else was