Free Extinct by Ike Hamill Page A

picked up. A sudden squall of snowflakes decreased visibility and the wind made Robby correct the wheel to get back on course. Robby squinted through the wall of snow.
    Sarah stowed the last of their supplies in the space below the bow deck and then closed the cabin door.
    “Is there heat in this thing?” she asked.
    “Huh?” Robby asked. He turned to look at his mom and instantly regretted it. The quick swing of his head disturbed the delicate truce he’d negotiated with the turkey sandwich. He doubled over with a big retch and coughed up the contents of his stomach into the barf-bag. Sarah reached over and held the wheel while he puked.  
    “Here,” she said, handing Robby a towel.
    “Thanks,” he said. He put his hands back on the wheel and fixed his eyes back on the horizon.
    “I’m going to figure out how to get the heat on,” she said.
    “Can you wait?” Robby asked. “The cold is actually helping a little.”
    “You’re the Cap’n,” she said. Sarah propped her feet up on the console and sat on a storage locker. She massaged her temples and sighed, looking out the back window towards the island. “We’re going to be okay,” she said.
    “I know, mom,” Robby said.  
    “At some point you’re going to have to figure out this GPS,” she said. “It’s like the space shuttle in here.”
    “Okay,” Robby said. “Maybe you can describe what you see and then I can keep my eyes forward?”
    “Aye aye, Cap’n,” Sarah said.
    Sarah talked through the buttons and displays while Robby guided the boat. He pieced together a mental picture of the controls until she got lazy with the narrative and he stole glances down at the panel. His churning stomach reminded him not to look away from the horizon for too long. With her son’s guidance, Sarah got the instruments powered up and gave Robby a heading to follow.
    The crossing by ferry usually took between seventy-five and ninety minutes. Sarah expected their trip in Carl’s boat to last a bit longer.  
    “Your dad insisted on bringing enough supplies for days,” Sarah told Robby.
    “Makes sense,” Robby said.
    “He wouldn’t say why," Sarah said.
    “I think he wanted to take us south, but didn’t want to say anything in front of the Nortons,” Robby said.  
    “How far south?” asked Sarah.
    “Until we found people,” Robby said. “From the TV and the radio, Dad would have guessed that the same thing that happened on the island was also happening on the mainland. The best bet would be to head south.”
    “Until we find people," Sarah said. She shook her head and bit her lip. “I wish we’d just stayed put.”
    “We weren’t safe there,” Robby said.  
    “What the hell is happening?” asked Sarah.
    Robby didn’t have an answer. “Do you want to head south?” Robby asked.
    “On a boat? No. It would be easy for your dad, but not with just us," Sarah said.
    “Good,” Robby said. “I hate boats.”
    “I know you do, honey," Sarah said.

Chapter 4: Brad (Summer)

    F IVE MONTHS EARLIER …

    ✪   ✪   ✪   ✪   ✪

    “Fax? You mean like fax machine?” Brad asked the phone.
    He sat in his special high-backed desk chair—the kind that cost more than a good used car.
    “Yes,” Phil said. His voice came from the speakers on either side of Brad’s computer monitor. “You do have that capability, don’t you?”
    “Sure,” Brad said. He pondered the idea. He could crawl through the attic, find his fax machine, print out his estimate, and then send it over, but why? He’d already emailed the document; why would anyone need a faxed copy? Brad suddenly realized he could probably find an online service to turn his email into a fax. He calmed down a bit, now that he could dismiss the chore of going up to the stifling-hot attic.
    “We’ll review your quote and get back to you by the end of the week," Phil said. “Then you’ll start right away?”
    “Absolutely,” Brad said.  
    “Great," Phil said. “Talk to you