The Undertakers: End of the World by Ty Drago Read Free Book Online Page B

Command,” said a voice. “Capital ‘C’.”
    I turned to my right, honestly expecting to find some older version of Helene standing there. I could almost picture her light brown hair and those amazing hazel eyes, perhaps now wrapped up in a face that had witnessed too much suffering.
    It would have been bizarre. But, after everything else, I thought I could have handled it.
    But this .
    It was a man, not a woman. He stood maybe five foot ten and was totally bald. A scar ran from the top of his head all the way down one side of his face, vanishing into a bushy red beard that covered everything below his nose. As his piercing eyes studied me, I could almost feel their energy.
    For my part, however, all I could do was stare—open-mouthed.
    “Will,” Emily said, trying to be dramatic about it but coming off as simply weary. “Let me introduce the Chief of the Undertakers, William Karl Ritter.”

Chapter 7
     
    Talking to Myself
     
     
    Forget the “Holy Crap Factor.”
    What hit me now knocked “holy crap” right out of my vocabulary.
    Seriously, I’ll never mention it again.
    For a second, I thought I might faint. Yeah, I know that sounds lame. I mean, you guys know me. I don’t faint. I’ve seen some stuff that would stop most dudes’ hearts cold, and I’ve always stayed on my feet.
    But … this !
    The world seemed to tilt sharply as my knees buckled. Emily immediately stepped up to steady me. I felt her touch, but didn’t register it. My eyes, my attention, the whole of my being, was focused on the man standing six feet away from me, wearing jeans and an old black T-shirt, his hands clasped behind his back.
    “I’m okay,” I muttered.
    “You might want to sit down,” she said.
    “I’m okay,” I insisted, taking a deep breath.
    “It’s fine, Em,” the man said in a firm but gentle voice. Very commanding, I thought. And why not? After all, he’s the Chief of the Undertakers. “Let him be.”
    But Emily stayed beside me anyhow, one hand on my elbow and one on my upper back, as if that would stop me from hitting the floor if all my circuits misfired. “You should have let me warn him,” she said to—I had no idea what to call him!—the chief.
    “What could you have possibly said?” he asked patiently. “Whatever you told him would have had this effect, and then he’d only have had to suffer through the same thing again now, face to face. Best to wait and get past it all in one go.”
    Emily looked unconvinced, though I kind of saw his point. I’ve always found dread to be worse than shock. And if she, or Amy, or Steve had told me in advance that I was about to meet myself as a forty-something adult, I think my brain would have obsessed about it until it shut down like an overworked engine.
    This guy was dead right about my reaction.
    Well, of course he is.
    He’s … me.
    “I’m okay,” I told my sister and was a little surprised to find that this third time I meant it. Taking another slow, deliberate breath, I straightened up, stepped away from her, and looked unflinchingly at the man with the red beard.
    For several long seconds, no one said a word.
    Finally, the chief smiled and asked, “Em, would you give us a little privacy?”
    “Do you really think I should?” she replied. “I mean—”
    “I’m okay,” I said for like the fourth time, giving her as confident and reassuring a grin as I could manage.
    She looked at our matching smiles and nodded unhappily. “Two of a kind,” I heard her mutter.
    Then she stepped back into the elevator and pressed a button. With a loud clatter, the ancient machine carried her down and out of sight.
    Around us, I noticed that the men and women manning the computers were all staring. None of them spoke, but they were obviously fascinated.
    Must be quite a spectacle.
    Like a twisted take on a Disney movie.
    Mustering what few brain cells were still firing, I faced Chief William Karl Ritter. But, before I could even begin to find my tongue,