The Last Stand (Book 3) (The Repentant Demon Trilogy) by Samantha Johns Read Free Book Online Page B

her a spoon, and Abigail took a sip.  “And the most common dumplings are big puffy things, almost like biscuits.  I make mine like thick, flat noodles.”
     
    “It's amazing,” said Abigail, closing her eyes and remembering, “The taste, the smell, the whole feeling.  I remember eating this… and feeling loved.”
     
    “You were loved, Sunshine… I mean Abby,” Uma said enthusiastically, “We loved you so much, but we were stupid.  Our whole lives were about feeling good.  That was our religion.  Your father and I smoked a lot of pot, and we started selling it just to pay for our own supply.  Then we dabbled in selling harder stuff, though we never used it.  I had seen what it did to people, and we were both afraid to touch anything but marijuana.  That's how we were busted and went to jail.  I was out of it for quite a while; devastated at losing both you and your father.  Wolf-song was killed in a prison fight after about six months into his sentence.  Then a few years later, when they came to me with papers to give up my parental rights, I thought it was best for you.  I felt like I'd been a terrible parent and that anyone would be better than me.  Besides, I had eight years yet to serve.  What choice did I have with no relatives to keep you for me?”
     
    “You did do the right thing,” said Abigail, who had completely confiscated Cal's bowl.  Brady got him another.  “The two years in four different foster homes was horrible.  But then I was adopted by a wonderful family.  The Fitzgerald’s gave me love, security, and a faith that has made all the difference in my life.  I had six brothers and sisters.  We all had wonderful times together until everyone except my mother and I were killed in a tragic highway accident.  She was left paralyzed in a wheelchair and died in 2008.  I truly loved that amazing woman.”
     
    “It eases my pain a lot to know that,” said Uma, sitting beside her.  “Thank you for telling me.”
     
    Abigail reached out for her, and Uma fell into an embrace with her long lost daughter.  Then Abigail began to cry in huge sobs, more like an eight-year-old child being taken from her mother's arms than a grown woman.  They hugged hard, and Uma rocked her until she had cried herself out.  When she stopped her face seemed peaceful, and she smiled at the fact that she had eaten an entire bowl of Uma's chicken n' dumplin's.
     
    Abigail helped with the dishes, and the men went to the living room talking about hunting and fishing.  Uma, who did not have a written recipe, promised to show Abigail how to make a meal just like the one they had eaten.  By the time Abigail and Uma joined them, Cal was telling what he knew of the terrorist plot.
     
    “Well we're sitting ducks!” exclaimed Brady.  “This is a military target sure to be attacked in an all-out war.  What are they doing setting up a residential area inside an armed base?”
     
    “They seem to be very confident about their ability to protect us,” said Cal, “I saw a lot of military equipment inside the mountain.  Tanks, guns, fighter jets, even a Patriot missile launcher.  There are several floors of living quarters in there, too.  I saw huge generators that supply air, water, and power.  Agent Foley said they could take us all inside if there was any danger of radioactive fallout.  He said we could live inside there for years.”
     
    “This is certainly not like any other war we've ever fought before,” mused Brady.  “But the people around here are not going to come begging the government for help.  They're going to hunker down in their own homes.  Most of them routinely stock up and prepare for unexpected emergencies, especially heading into winter.  Out here you get snowed in or some volcano threatens to erupt often enough to provide plenty of opportunities to learn survival skills.  The kids around here are raised like that.  Most of the residents are descended from sturdy