Ping - From the Apocalypse by Susan Lowry Read Free Book Online Page B

She stayed by his side hoping for the best and on the third morning, woke to the sound of cracking seeds. When she removed his cover he whistled. “Good for you Snowy! You know I need your company when I head south, don’t you?”
    She realized she was losing track of time. Opening her calendar to February, she scratched out the year with a red marker and wrote: YEAR ONE, POST APOCALYPSE! Then she marked the day that Snowy recovered as February the ninth.
    Even though he was eating, she didn’t leave the house until thoroughly convinced he would be okay. Only then, did she begin her regular walks, wondering what she might find closer to the center of town, and then daring to contemplate what the cities were like elsewhere.
    One day , she continued on past her regular route. She walked by the convenience store which appeared to be empty. But glancing inside the medical clinic directly beside it there were at least a dozen bodies and the parking lot was scattered with cars.
    S ome of the vehicles had frozen corpses inside — one unfortunately, in which she recognized an entire family. After checking every single vehicle, wondering why she was torturing herself, she tripped over the nice pharmacist she’d known, who was hidden under the snow. It was enough to shake her up quite a bit, but having gone so far she decided to continue on to the supermarket.
    The previous thaw had been enough to start things rotting exuberantly, with several kinds of funky molds spreading across the vegetable section and liquefied foods that were dripping onto the floor. She stuck to the center aisles, putting a few cans and several bags of chips in a cart, which she then pushed over to the pet section. She was holding a stuffed parrot but suddenly let it drop to the floor.
    The boy who had called her on her cellphone weeks ago seemed to be with her so strongly all of a sudden. She had slowly, over the last few weeks, begun to wonder if her dreams about him were actually his attempts to contact her in her sleep; and if her constant thinking about him was, in reality, him trying to speak to her. But now, those thoughts were being confirmed — as if the boy was telling her to believe her instincts.
    Kate was suddenly convinced he was communicating with her from far away, insisting that he needed her to rescue him and that he wanted her to try to respond. After such solitude she was ready to try anything, craving information from another human being desperately. She needed it to be true and wanted to reply.
    T he boy seemed to be teaching her with rewards. Each time her thoughts went in the right direction a positive feeling flowed through her — like a warm hug while a piece of chocolate melted in her mouth. He carefully guided, showing her how to focus on him in just the right way. Suddenly, it dawned on her that she was actually communicating. She had responded telepathically and formulated a kind of question.
    His answer was to show her his unique characteristics and current state — which was understandably terrible. He seemed so very young and — though sick, in pain, and frightened — was empowered by his trust that once skilled enough, Kate would find him. They both acknowledged her motivation to do so was strong.
    It was miraculous that she was able to send back her love, comfort, and reassurance but — while she hadn’t a clue how to convey factual information — feelings were not difficult, not after receiving them from him. She immediately sensed his uplifting spirit, feeling it in the depths of her soul. He was real; and the boy on the phone had survived.
    Shaking her head to clear it, she fumbled for her phone and pressed redial.
    “ Answer this time!”
    T he world had become so quiet. Interference from radio, television, internet, and all the electro-magnetic signals that had been bouncing everywhere — they had all virtually stopped. Kate wondered if this unprecedented silence was the reason she was suddenly capable of