Isolation , Jones, Nathan [top 20 books to read TXT] 📗

Then he and Gen were on their way down the driveway.

It felt strange to leave the yard for the first time in weeks. Nick hadn't taken the opportunity yet to formally set foot outside the imposed boundary now that his 21 days were finally over, so he paused a moment at the edge of the driveway, glancing back the way he'd come.

Gen, gray eyes warm and understanding, took his hand and gently pulled him onto the street. “There,” she said with a grin. “Quarantine officially over.”

He grinned back. Her hand felt soft and warm in his, and when she didn't seem to be in any hurry to let go he kept holding it as they started off on their date.

Even though they knew the Norsons' yard was safe from Zolos, there was no guarantee any of the other nearby houses were. And in spite of the fact that Jay's thugs hadn't so much as poked their noses anywhere near Stanberry since he'd died, there was the slightest possibility of danger from them as well.

So the obvious choice for their date was in town. It would be the first time Nick had set foot in the place since arriving months ago, and after everything he'd done to defend his new home and scavenge necessities for it, he was looking forward to finally getting a better look.

Considering how far away Stanberry had seemed from the outside when he was barred from entering, the walk to the barricade was surprisingly short, just a couple minutes. There were still people up in the sentry posts atop the wall as he and Gen approached, although in spite of their vigilance they seemed relaxed.

Ready for trouble, but at this point not expecting it.

Irrationally, Nick almost expected Darby to come running, shouting for him to stop, as he stepped through the small pedestrian opening beside the roadblock. But the Mayor was still recovering from his wound, barely up to brief walks outside, let alone chasing off potential Zolos carriers.

The sentry above the roadblock didn't seem concerned, either recognizing them and being informed ahead of time that their entire group had now gone through their 21 days, or trusting that Denny's patrols farther out would turn back any potential Zolos carriers. Either way, the man simply nodded at them as they stepped into town.

After all the waiting, Nick was almost disappointed to confirm his memory of the place as a typical small town in northern Missouri, with tidy houses, many of them a century old or more, on modest yards, with a few standing out for their size or unique architecture.

Honestly, it didn't look much different from the houses on the Norsons' street, aside from being closer together with smaller yards.

What did surprise him, however, was how many people were out and about: sitting on porches, walking down the sidewalks, and socializing in front yards.

“The town's busy right now,” he observed as they made their way farther down the street, towards what looked like a lively market.

Gen nodded. “It's usually busy around this time of day. Hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago we were all hunkered down waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

At the mention of their war with Wensbrook, an unwanted image passed through Nick's memory of that awful moment in the clearing, as it sometimes did even after more than three weeks, and he did his best to keep his expression smooth.

She saw his sudden change of mood even so, pausing and putting a hand on his arm. “How are you holding up, after how things ended with Jay? That was a terrible thing to have to see.”

“It was,” he said quietly, regretting the sudden change of mood of what was otherwise a pleasant evening. “I try not to think about it.”

Gen looked up at him, eyes understanding. “All the awful things he did, passing his own suffering down to innocent people, and even at the end he had to burden you and the others with his last act.”

Nick shook his head. “Well, at least he wasn't completely successful. I heard from Larry a few days ago . . . he's got a long recovery ahead of him still, but he's healing well.”

“Good,” she said. “Even after all he did helping Jay, he's not a terrible person.”

They walked on for a few steps in uncomfortable silence, then Gen spoke up in a brighter tone, going back to their previous topic. “Anyway, this time of day is when you see the most people. With the heat everyone makes the most of the cooler mornings and evenings while there's still daylight.” She grimaced. “We've had to learn to adapt to not having electricity for lights or air conditioning.”

He was only too happy to steer the conversation to lighter subjects. “Yeah, we noticed the dugouts are cooler than the Norsons' house, since they're mostly underground.” He looked around. “Frame houses might be cheaper and easier to build than structures more suited to a particular climate, but even with insulation they really lean heavily on modern heating and air conditioning to stay comfortable.”

“I hadn't thought about that,” she mused. “I guess technology has changed how we live in ways we don't even realize, at least until it's gone.” She grimaced again. “With the humidity it takes forever for the air to cool down at night, and I've been sleeping terribly in the heat. I feel like a hot mess half the time.”

“Well you look great,” Nick said.

Gen looked surprised for a moment, and he hoped she wouldn't take his compliment the wrong way. But she just smiled ruefully. “Thanks. I'll admit I haven't been this skinny for over a decade. Living through the end of the world is the ultimate diet.”

He chuckled, patting his own gut. “I hear you.” Months of hard work and restricted calories had melted away all his excess pounds and replaced them with lean muscle; he didn't think he'd ever had this sort