Mel Odom - Apocalypse unleashed

That drew forth another groan.

The negative response actually made Megan feel better. If the teens were feeling good enough to complain about school and chores, they were getting closer to normal. At least, as normal as the world would ever be again.

For seven short years, Megan reminded herself. She looked around the group, suddenly realizing that Joey wasn’t among them. A wave of guilt washed over her. She was constantly overlooking him these days, it seemed, and she didn’t know why that was.

“Is Joey still asleep?” Megan asked.

The five boys who currently sacked out in Joey’s room shook their heads. “He wasn’t there when I got up, Mrs. G.,” one of them said.

“He was watching television this morning,” Snake said. He was the skater boy who’d turned up a few days ago. He still hadn’t told Megan what his real name was, and he didn’t have any ID on him. She was going to have to do some kind of paperwork on him eventually.

“Watching television?” Megan repeated.

“Yeah.” Snake shoved a triangle of syrup-covered French toast into his mouth, chewed briefly, and swallowed. Syrup ran down his chin, and he wiped it away on a sleeve.

“Ewww,” one of the girls said. “Maybe you want to chew your food next time.”

“What?” Snake asked in honest puzzlement.

“Joey,” Megan reminded.

Snake focused on her and nodded. “Yeah. Joey. Television.”

“What was he watching?”

“Surfing. Caught a little of the news. Saw a piece on there about your husband.”

Megan’s heart raced. She forced herself to be calm. “What about my husband?”

“He was in some kind of battle over there.” Snake shrugged.

One of the girls smacked Snake on the back of the head.

“Hey,” he protested.

“Maybe you could tell her what it said about her husband,” the girl said icily.

“He’s fine. He was running a supply route. Took some fire. They killed the bad guys. End of story.”

Megan breathed a sigh of relief, but she added another nugget of information to her cache about Snake. He was relaxed with the military-speak. Either he was a gamer or he had a parent involved in the armed forces.

“Probably catch it later, too,” Snake said. “That hot chick on OneWorld was covering the story.”

“We don’t refer to women as ‘hot chicks’ in my house,” Megan said.

“Yeah, well, if you saw this one, you might change your mind.” Snake colored. “I mean, if you were a guy.”

And he embarrasses easily, Megan noted. Maybe you’re not as tough as you act like you are, Snake.

“You are such a jerk,” Kendal said. She smacked the skater in the back of the head again.

“Hey,” Snake protested again and stepped to the side so he’d be out of reach. “Don’t be such a-” He brought himself up short. He’d already been warned about language.

“Neanderthal,” Kendal said, folding her arms and frowning with as much displeasure as a fifteen-year-old could muster. “Maybe you should find a cave to live in.”

“Enough,” Megan said, putting the teacher edge into her voice that she’d learned helped to keep order in her house.

The kids quieted. They kept passing food around.

“Joey was watching television,” Megan said. “Then what?”

Snake shrugged. “He blazed. Got up. Walked out. Sayonara, baby.”

“Did he say where he was going?” Megan didn’t feel good about Joey’s sudden departure. The last time he’d disappeared like that, he’d come back days later with his face a mass of bruises and afraid of his own shadow.

“I offered to go with him,” Snake said. “He told me no.”

“Did he say where he was going?” she repeated.

“No. He just left.”

“Was he upset?”

“I don’t know.”

“He knew Goose was all right?”

“Yeah. We talked about it.”

“What did he act like?”

“Like he wanted to go somewhere else. That’s why he left.”

Frustrated, Megan turned her attention back to the latest batch of French toast and barely managed to rescue it from burning. “Who has class with Joey?” she asked.

A few of the kids raised their hands. Most of the classes were a lot smaller these days. With none of the lower grades to teach, the teachers had divided up the rest of the students.

“If I haven’t heard from him before I leave, please let him know he’s supposed to call me. And make sure he does.”

They said they would.

This isn’t a problem, Megan told herself. God didn’t bring Joey back into your life just so you could worry about him all over again. God, please. My plate really isn’t big enough to handle this again.

But she kept thinking about the bruises on her son’s face and the fear in his eyes the night he’d returned to her.

United States of America

Fort Benning, Georgia

Local Time 0635 Hours

“Pull the bicycle over to the side and stand down,” one of the men in the jeep ordered.

Joey’s mouth went dry, and his first instinct was to flee. He just knew the soldiers were there because of what had happened at the mall. They were going to arrest him for murder. He didn’t know how his mom was going to deal with that.

Dawn was starting to light the eastern sky, but the soldiers still needed light to see well. The one in the passenger seat got out. He shined his flashlight in Joey’s eyes.

“You got ID, kid?” the soldier asked.

Joey calmed a little at that. If they didn’t know who he was, that was a good thing.

“Yeah,” he answered. He made sure to keep his hands where the soldiers could clearly see them. Goose had taught him that, saying that night patrols were often performed by young and inexperienced soldiers who could overreact. “My dog tags are under my shirt. I’ve got a driver’s license in my wallet.”

“Lemme see them.”

Joey caught the chain around his neck with a thumb and lifted the dog tags free. He remembered how cool he thought they were when he’d gotten them. Then they’d become something he had to have with him.

The guard checked the dog tags and the driver’s license.

“You know Sergeant Gander?” the guard asked.

“He’s my stepdad,” Joey said.

“He’s a good soldier.”

Joey didn’t know what to say to that, so he kept quiet.

“What are you doing out here, Joey?”

“Thought I’d clear my head.”

“We haven’t had any problems in the camp, but it might not be safe on the streets.”

“Don’t see why it wouldn’t be. You guys are out here.” Joey gave the guy a smile.

For a moment, the soldier held his expression; then he grinned too. “Yeah, we are. What do you have on your mind?” He handed Joey back his license.

“My mom is one of the camp counselors. She’s taken in a lot of kids.” Joey shrugged, borrowing one of the teen habits he knew adults attributed to kids. It was camouflage for the moment. “Kind of crowded at my house right now.”

“I bet. I heard your mom is doing really good things.”

Joey nodded, but he wanted to scream. “Just wanted to catch a breath of fresh air. Maybe ride down to the main gates and look out at the city.”

“There’s not much to see,” the soldier said. “Things there are still pretty confusing.”

“I know. I’ve seen it on television.”

“Just stay back from the gate. The guys there have jobs to do. The general has given orders that everyone’s to stay on post. If you leave, it’s going to be hard to get in again.”

“No plans on leaving,” Joey replied.

“Take care of yourself, Joey.” The soldier climbed into the jeep.

Joey waved, then got back on his bike.

Columbus, Georgia