August Burning (Book 1): Outbreak by Tyler Lahey Page A

most likely going to evacuate us
south. I don’t care what the risk is- I want to meet up with my family if I
can. Home is where I’ll do that. It’s far enough west and south from New York
that we can reach it if we leave as soon as possible.
    “To Pennsylvania?” Elvis asked.
    Jaxton nodded. “It’s 130 miles, maybe
more if we stay off the roads. I have no idea how many days that would take us.
We could get a car, somehow, maybe. Drive north as far as we can and then make
the rest of the trip on foot.”
    “My parents are leaving today. They
have a car, and we’re going to try and make it home as soon as I leave here,”
Elvis ventured.
    “Is there room?” Harley asked.
    Elvis grimaced. “I’m sorry, they have
so much shit from my room…”
    The girl put some distance between
them, her mouth hanging open. “They could easily fit three or four of us if
they trashed the stuff.”
    Elvis could scarcely look at the eyes
of his friends. “They don’t see this thing as a huge deal yet. I’m sorry.”
    Jaxton spat on the floor. “We’ll make
our own way. If we’re all lucky, we’ll see you at home in a few days. Alright
everyone. Liam, Bennett, Elvis and I grew up in Cold Spring together. It’s in
the country, pretty far from major towns and roads. Cold Spring probably has
5,000 people in it, and it sits in a small valley, enclosed on all four sides
by steep ridges that cut across the earth. It’s the perfect place to be in a
situation like this. We’re going to do everything we can to get back there
before this really explodes. Anyone who wants to come with us is welcome,”
Jaxton said, his eyes steely grey.
    Bennett stood, nodding. “I don’t trust
the government. I want to make our way.”
    “Anyone else who wants to come, we’ll
go together,” Jaxton added.
    Tessa immediately stood, her long,
dirty-blond hair falling in curls to her mid-back. She looked nervous, but
spoke cleanly. “I’m coming.”
    “What about those things? From the
video?”
    “Don’t think about them now. We need
to get somewhere isolated.”
    Bennett drew Adira to the side as the
others began to organize. “Are you coming with us?”
    Adira hesitated. “I…I don’t know…my
family is so far. How would I get to Boston?”
    Bennett smiled slightly, and his warm
eyes sparked Adira’s flagging heart. “Come with us,” he said softly.
    “What’s this?” Jaxton asked, having
overheard them.
    Adira looked to him, and she thought
there was a strange glitter there. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Bennett answered for her. “She’s thinking about coming with us to
Pennsylvania.”
    Jaxton nodded emphatically. “Of course
she should. Your family is in Boston right? Our part of Pennsylvania is so far
from the city. It’s the boondocks. We’ll weather whatever storm this is, and
you can go from there.”
    She noticed Jaxton lean in as he
waited for her response, and she felt herself agreeing.
     

Chapter Eight
      12 hours after Outbreak. Washington, D.C
    The group of six crossed the street at
the quick step. Jaxton looked back at them, and analyzed the friends that
remained. No one had seen Troy again; he was gone. Elvis was in a car looping
around far to the west, back to Pennsylvania with his own parents.
    Jaxton felt vaguely responsible for
the others that followed him. This was his plan. He would bear the consequences
if it failed. He knew they saw him as the leader, and he would do everything in
his power to make sure they survived. Liam returned his glance with a sharp nod.
His broad shoulders carried two obscenely bulky duffel bags, one at each hip.
The metal cans of food inside rang as they bumped together. Campus was
significantly more deserted than the days previous, Jaxton noticed with wary
eyes. The only souls still outside were fiendishly hoarding supplies and making
for various modes of transport. The families had almost all cleared out over
the previous night. Streams of vehicles clogged