Glory (Book 5) by Michael McManamon Page B

t wa s a school."
    "I guess you're right. But…I mean…it's fu…well, it's weird."
    "Yeah." There wasn't much more that Adam could say. "You ready?"
    Scooter nodded his head and they walked down the hill.
     
    *
     
    As they entered the woods, Adam wished that Scooter had taken a gun. At the time, he had thought that the axe looked good enough. But now, walking in between the trees, he wasn't all that sure.
    "You sure you don't want to go back and get one of the guns?" Adam asked.
    "No," Scooter said, holding the axe up in front of him. "I'm good with this. And this way I won't accidentally chop you to death with it. I've never used a gun before. So who knows what might happen?"
    It had meant to be a joke, but came out a bit flat under the circumstances . Maybe if they hadn't just seen a bunch of dead children who had ripped themselves apart. Maybe if they weren't searching through the forest for a woman who had lost her mind.
    Maybe.
    "All right," Adam said. "If you say so."
     
    *
     
    It wasn't long before they were deep into the forest.
    "It's hot in here," Scooter said. He opened his bottle and took a sip of water. He offered some to Adam.
    "That's all right. I'm good for now." Adam had his own bottle.
    "Is there anything I should look for? Anything this woman might have left behind?"
    " Jane . Her name was Jane."
    "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
    "I know you didn't," Adam replied. He was sorry too. Now that he had been walking in the forest for a while, several thoughts had started to come back to him . Jane, Claire, Shelly, his family . But that didn't mean he could take it out on Scooter. "It's just…you know."
    Scooter looked as though he didn't actually know what Adam was talking about . And why would he ? Adam hadn't been very clear. In the end, he decided not to explain himself any further. He wasn't in the mood to get into it more than he already had.
     
    *
     
    Adam and Scooter stopped after a little while longer.
    Adam turned to look at the young man."Tell me a bit about yourself," he said.
    "Abou t m e ?" Scooter replied.
    "Yeah, you. Tell me where you're from, what you used to do."
    "Well…"
    Scooter told him a little bit about his childhood. He explained that his family life hadn't been all that great. Then he said, "I'm a student at a high school. Not a very good one. I mean, I'm not a very good student. The high school is fine."
    Adam smirked. He liked the way that Scooter had explained that.
    "And I worked at the airport," Scooter continued. "Baggage handler. Nothing glamorous. But it got me out of the house. Gave me some money."
    "And that's where you were when everything changed?"
    "I wasn't actuall y ther e at the time. I had been on my way. I just decided to keep going the next morning."
    "Why didn't you go home?"
    Scooter shrugged his shoulders. It was something he had wondered about a lot. "I told you that I didn't have the best family," he said. "I guess that's why."
    Adam nodded as though it was a perfectly acceptable answer . Who was he to judge if it wasn’t ? "And that's where you met Emily and Julie?"
    "Yeah, the little girl was in an elevator with her father. There were three other people in there with her. They had killed each other."
    "And Emily survived that?"
    "Yeah."
    "But she had had to see it?"
    Scooter shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know how much she saw. She said the lights had gone out. I think that's why she survived. But," he scratched his chin, "I guess she heard it all."
    Adam sighed . Everyone's story was always so difficult . "Have you seen a lot of the creatures?" he asked next.
    Scooter told Adam about the ones he had come into contact with. The few in the airport. The lady from the shuttle bus. Those he had seen when they flew over the city. The ones that had chased them into John's house.
    "And then there was the one that killed John," he added. Upset. Every time he thought about the old man, his voice broke.
    Again, Adam sighed . So difficult.
    "And what