No Ordinary Day , Tate, Harley [ebook offline .TXT] 📗

two plates piled with steaming eggs on the table followed by a small stack of bread. “Got margarine, you want it for the bread?”

John shook his head, too hungry to speak. He dug in, shoveling eggs into his mouth as Tank did the same, snarfing up every last bit before licking the plate clean.

He leaned back and shoved his remains across the table for Tank to lick when he finished. At least he’d have some energy to keep moving now.

And he didn’t need to worry about Tank until the morning.

An old-timer hobbled in, leaning on a cane as he eased onto a stool at the counter. The waitress poured him a cup of coffee. “Thanks, Gina.”

She nodded. “So what’s the news today, Merrill? Anything new?”

The man sipped the coffee with a nod. “Heard from a fella out in Topeka. Already declared martial law out there. Locals organized into some sort of community kitchen to feed everyone.”

Gina snorted. “Sounds like a bunch of freeloaders getting something for nothing if you ask me.”

Merrill nodded. “There’s riots in the big cities. New York, Chicago, LA. A truck carrying food destined for Miami was overrun by locals and looted before it arrived. My guess is that’s gonna start happening all over.”

John listened without saying a word. If what the old man said was true, the country was devolving into chaos. Would the company even need John to fulfill the mission?

Did Dane even care anymore?

Merrill asked about the local police.

Gina shrugged. “Heard they’re about to open up the elementary as a shelter. Some folks don’t have wood stoves in town. No word on national guard. If they mobilized, they’re all going to the cities.”

Merrill nodded. “We’re lucky it’s not wintertime. Lots of people would have frozen to death already if it were.”

Gina nodded before excusing herself to tend to another table.

John checked his watch. Sun would be setting in a few hours. If he wanted to find Emma before the morning, he needed to start now. He snapped his fingers and Tank hopped down. He dropped a wad of money on the counter and headed out, tipping his head in Gina’s direction before slipping through the door.

He pulled the locator from his pocket and checked. Emma hadn’t moved. He patted Tank on the shoulder and set off, hoping he could zero in on her location before dark.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Emma

Emma slept like the dead, waking up only when Pringles began to bark. Gloria shushed him, but Emma called out from the loft. “It’s okay, we’re awake.”

Holly sat on the edge of the bed, phone in her hand.

“How did you sleep?”

She shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” She set the phone on her lap. “It hit me this morning, I’m never going to see my friends again, am I?”

Emma wanted to tell her otherwise, but how could she? “I don’t have any idea, Holly. I wish I could tell you what was about to happen, but I can’t.”

“Everything Raymond said yesterday…If that’s true…If we really are going to be out of food and water and the power won’t ever come back on, then how can I? Their families will be just as desperate as we are.”

“They won’t be running for their lives.”

“No, but if you’re starving what’s the difference? Hannah’s mom can’t boil water, let alone cook. They ate out every meal. If it weren’t for school lunch, she’d have been hungry every day.”

Emma pressed her lips together. Holly could be describing her own life. Before all this happened, Emma rarely had more than a carton of expired milk and a rotten orange in her fridge. She’d been focused on the research, on her job instead of preparing for what might happen. Whenever anyone recommended she learn how to cook, she blew them off. There was time for that later, when she wasn’t knee-deep in research studies and living on her own.

“I think a lot of people are going to be in that position.”

Holly stood up. “I worry about what’s going to happen to them all.”

“So do I.”

“You two going to lay about all day up there, or can I get some help in the kitchen?”

Emma smiled. “On the way.” She climbed down the ladder leading to the first floor and found Gloria hard at work stirring a pot of oatmeal on the stove.

“It’s the best thing to fill you up on a day like today when we’ve got a ton of work to do.”

Holly reached the floor. “What do you need us to do?”

Gloria warmed at the question. “We need to chop a bunch of firewood, clean the wood stove so we can transition to using it instead of the propane. Check our inventory of food supplies, see what we need to pick up in town before everything runs out.”

“And have another shooting lesson.” Raymond strolled into the kitchen and slid his arm around Gloria before kissing her cheek.

“You really think that’s necessary?”

Raymond nodded. “I sure do. Can’t ever be too careful.”

Emma concentrated on breakfast, ladling the oatmeal into bowls, while Holly filled glasses with water.

“Sorry, no coffee this morning. I figured we should keep it until we really need it.”

Emma shook her head in wonder. Gloria and Raymond were the most prepared people she’d ever met. All this time, she’d thought this cabin was a getaway in the woods, a little romantic spot for the two of them, not a secret bunker with everything they needed to ride out the end of the world.

“When did you all stock up? Have you always been this prepared?”

Gloria shrugged. “Sort of. Where I grew up, we were always having power outages and problems with the heat. My mom made sure we had enough wood to heat our living room and enough food on hand to weather any uncertainties. We didn’t have much, but she always kept a reserve.”

Raymond nodded. “Same here. We always stocked up. Never knew when you might need it or need to help someone else.”

Emma thought back to her family’s farm in Idaho. Her parents were