The Divide: Origins by Mitchel Grace Read Free Book Online Page B

who lived here. We can’t be those
people.”
    “First
of all, stop calling them my friends. I hated Stanley and Vincent, and Jerome
was simply someone I got stuck with. It’s true that I thought he was a friend
at one time, but that was before I knew how sick he was.”
    “All
right, so they weren’t your friends, but you still haven’t told me how we’re
going to take the houses without killing anyone.”
    “We’ll
ask nicely if we can stay,” Max said sarcastically.
    “I’m
being serious.”
    “We
really will ask first. If they turn us away and we’re freezing to death,
though, you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to survive. I don’t like
saying this to a kid, but you’ve got to grow up fast. Nothing about the rest of
our lives is going to be pretty if we want to grow old. We’ll have to do things
we regret, but I promise nothing we do will ever be out of anything other than
necessity.”
    “I
can accept that. Don’t worry about saying anything to a kid , though. I think I grew up two days ago. Maybe everyone did.”
    “I’m
sorry. I suppose you have had to grow
up fast. Once we get to Texas, hopefully life will start to get back to normal.
For now, you need to get some rest. I’ll wake you as soon as it starts to warm
up.”
    Zoe
rested as best she could, and in the morning, they showered. Max found some new
clothes in one of the bedrooms. They would be a lot better than continuing to
walk around in a prison jump suit. Finally, they were able to pack all their
supplies and the generator into the vehicle. As they were leaving, a problem
occurred, however. Just as Max was about to get in on the driver’s side, he
heard someone step behind him.
    “Don’t
move, or I’ll kill you,” a woman said.
    “Do
you even have a gun?” Max asked.
    “You
bet I do. I’ve been watching you load this truck with plenty of food and water.
I even saw a generator. All that’s mine now. Do we understand each other?”
    Max
simply turned around.
    “Hey,
I told you not to move,” she said.
    He
paid her no mind, however. What he saw was in no way threatening. A dark haired
woman with curly hair stood there with a kitchen knife. Max pulled his pistol and
put it against her head.
    “Do
you want to threaten me one more time?” Max asked.
    “I’m
sorry. I haven’t eaten since all this started. I don’t even know how I’m still
alive. Some others and I found shelter at the office where I worked. We burned
what we could to stay warm, but eventually, some looters came and killed
everyone but me. I think they thought we would have supplies, but we didn’t
have anything other than a few drinks. I escaped out the back while they were
slaughtered. Now I’m here, and I’ll do anything for a bite to eat and something
to drink. Can you please help me?” she asked and dropped her knife.
    Max
didn’t want to help her. It was going to be hard enough just to keep him and
Zoe alive. This woman would only complicate things. Still, could he shoot her
when all she needed was someone to show pity on her?
    “What’s
your name?” Zoe asked as she walked around the vehicle.
    “I’m
Rebecca Stiles.”
    “We’re
going on a road trip across the country to try to find a man who might be able
to help us survive this. What do you bring to the table?”
    “I
don’t know . . . I . . .”
    “Relax.
Max doesn’t want to kill you, and I don’t want to see you die either. You can’t
be too careful now, though. You were just threatening him. I couldn’t blame him if he shot you, but still, there’s
got to be a reason to take you with us. Maybe you could do something that helps
us survive.”
    “I’ll
do anything. I just need people to be with. I’ve lost a lot, and it would . .
.”
    “You’ll
drive,” Max said and lowered his gun.
    “What?”
    “Zoe
gave me the generator, so that’s what makes her valuable. I can kill anyone who
threatens us, and you’ll get us to our location. We’re heading toward