The Mayan Apocalypse by Mark Hitchcock Read Free Book Online Page A

many as would fit, jumped in the driver’s seat, and started down the street.
    The afternoon sky darkened as the ash cloud obliterated the sun. Gray ash began to fall. Soon the ground, the buildings, and the bodies of those who died would be covered in a gray funeral shroud that had been created in the depths of the earth.

    â€œI haven’t been a very good guest,” Lisa said. She had been watching Morgan out of the corner of her eye. For a while she assumed he was sleeping, but every once in a while, he would open his eyes and stare at the jet’s ceiling. He hadn’t spoken for the last hour, and every minute of that hour cut her soul like tiny knives of guilt. She had come on too strong. She was always doing that—pressing the subject of a story for a more quotable line, nagging her editor for better assignments, and even engaging in arguments with herself.
    Why was she so polemical? What did she have to prove? She didn’t know, but she felt she had to prove something. Maybe it was her upbringing. As a child, she had learned to hold her own at the supper table, which was more of a debate forum than a place to eat the evening meal. Her father taught philosophy at a Christian college, and her mother taught English literature. As a family, they never had much money, but they did abound in passion.
    Her one brother was too smart for his own good. Smarter than the other kids in school, the best he could do was circle the outer orbit of social interaction. Until he got to college. Through college and med school, he had all the friends he could want, including pretty coeds. How he resisted their tempting smiles, sweet laughter, and youthful bodies was beyond her, but she knew he had. He married two years out of med school. Three years later, he took his wife to East Africa to work as a medical missionary.
    It was the way of her family: Everything centered on Christ. What Lisa lacked—and she told herself this repeatedly—was restraint. Perhaps she was trying to live up to her brother’s level of commitment. Perhaps she was just argumentative.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Morgan said. “Did you say something?”
    â€œI was apologizing for being rude.”
    He sat up. “Rude? Did I miss something?”
    â€œYou’ve gone out of your way to help me, and I repay that kindness by offending you.”
    â€œReally? Am I offended? I hadn’t noticed.”
    She smiled at him. “I think you’re just being gentlemanly.”
    â€œAh. It’s a fault among men of the South.”
    Lisa chuckled. “I know lots of Southern men, and they know nothing of being gentlemen. I’m afraid that art died a long time ago.” She shifted in her seat so she could see him better. “Anyway, I tend to be a little—”
    â€œAggressive?”
    â€œI was going to say assertive .”
    He tipped his head to the side. “That’s a much more positive term. Assertive . I like it.”
    â€œI’m trying to apologize here. I can be a little pushy.”
    Morgan grinned. “A pushy reporter. Who could imagine such a thing?”
    Lisa began to speak, but Morgan cut her off with a raised finger. “You did your research. You know I’ve suffered the worst loss a man can experience, but that doesn’t mean I’m fragile. I’m not. You don’t need to apologize.”
    â€œBut you haven’t said a word in over an hour.”
    â€œSo? I’ve been thinking. I do that a lot. Trust me, my board of directors puts me through more than you can ever dream up.”
    She leaned back and wondered why his refusal to let her apologize bothered her so much. “Do you really believe all this Mayan calendar…”
    â€œMumbo jumbo? Nonsense? Garbage? Superstition? Which term do you prefer?” He leaned his head back against the seat rest. “Yes, I believe it.”
    â€œBut you seem…I mean…I’m doing it