Children of the After: Awakening (book 1) by Jeremy Laszlo Page B

pushed himself, feeling his lungs
tightening from the strain as his body threatened him with cramps, but there
was no time to slow, he just knew he had to keep going. Leaning forward he
pumped his legs harder and harder, driving them down into the soft grassy
ground and he plunged onward, topping the rise that was his goal. Digging his
heels into the soil, he slid to an abrupt stop and turned to witness exactly
what he had bet their lives against.
    * * * * *
    She couldn’t believe he was doing this. Not now. Not like Dad
had done. Could he be serious? But then she realized that this wasn’t like Dad.
He wasn’t stuffing them in a box saying stay inside as long as you can. No. He said hide and I’ll be back . I’ll be back . That was
different. Blinking the tears from her eyes, Sam gritted her teeth and pushed
away her pain and hurt and grabbed Will’s hand, as Jack turned and did what he
was born to do. Away from them, as fast as his legs would carry him, Jack
sprinted as if trying to outrun death himself. And perhaps he was.
    Turning, Sam looked into the eyes of her little brother
knowing it was not fair to him to say what she had to, but knew that it might
be their only chance.
    “Hurry, Will. We have to do what Jack said and let the rider
chase Jack, or else he might get us.”
    “But, Jack…”
    “No buts, little man. Let’s go!”
    Jerking her little brother nearly off his feet she tried to
mimic her older brother and run, but Will’s little legs couldn’t keep pace. Like
Jack had warned, they followed the grass, moving as fast as they could, back in
the direction they had come. Already she could hear the rhythmic falls of the
horse’s shod feet upon the asphalt of the city streets and with every sound it
grew louder. They weren’t going to make it.
    Turning, she spared a look back over her shoulder to see
Jack already an incredible distance away. He was so fast. On and on the
sounds of the horse came as Sam began to think that they would reach the
overpass in time. But her hope was suddenly torn away from her as her hand
yanked back driving her to the ground.
    Rolling upon the grass, she spun to look upon Will who had
gotten his leg entangled in the tall grass and tripped, pulling her with him. It
wasn’t Will’s fault, but his fall had ruined their chances of making it to the
underpass and Sam knew it. On and on the horse came, its hoof falls now echoing
out from the very underpass they were supposed to hide in.
    Dragging Will back to his feet, Sam pulled him through the
grass, her heart pounding in her ears as a scream threatened to spring from her
lips. They couldn’t go to the underpass. She knew that without a doubt, and
then it struck her.
    All about her, on both sides of the median, charred vehicles
sat abandoned and destroyed as if the event had happened sometime around rush
hour. Though far from whole and even further from ideal, they provided for her
and Will a place to hide, allowing Jack to carry out his plan of leading the
rider away. Ahead the hoof beats began to slow.
    Turning abruptly, Sam pulled her younger brother with her as
she neared the pavement. Again her arm tugged. As she looked back to her little
brother, he swung his head wildly from side to side, reminding her of Jack’s
warning. Stay off the road. Good call. Turning again she pulled him
another dozen feet nearer to the underpass, dropping to the ground and pointing
under a large SUV.
    Watching as Will vanished under the hulking piece of charred
metal, Sam dropped her pack and kicked it under before dropping to her belly
and pulling her body beneath it too. It was slow going, and with all the rubber
melted from the tires the clearance was barely enough to permit her.
    Cursing her bubble butt, as Mom had called it on more than
one shopping trip, she nudged Will farther beneath the metallic mammoth and
together they hid in silence. She hoped for all of them that Jack’s plan
worked. She could not and would not tell Will that