Free Angered Seasons: Volume Four (I Will Survive) by Mireille Chester Page A

know.”
    Jenny put a hand on his arm. “You were what? Three?
Four? You didn’t know.”
    “Million. Two hundred million.”
    Grant coughed and sputtered, the water he had been in
the process of swallowing promptly making its way up his nose.
“Dude! In people years?”
    “Yeah. In people years. Time made me a toddler when
he brought me here. That’s why he blocked all of my memories. I
mean, I don’t think a four year old needs to talk about how he
remembers the day Leif Ericson landed in Newfoundland.” He caught
us all gawking at him and he shrugged. “I don’t know why that date
popped into my head. Leif was wicked awesome. The Vikings were
sweet. I… never mind.” He gazed from one of us to the other. “Um,
the dinosaurs… Yeah.” He looked so guilty I smiled despite the
shock I was feeling. “That was me.” He gazed down at his boots. “Am
I freaking you out?”
    Jason grinned. “I think we’re past the point of freak
outs, Maxy. Shit man, I can’t believe you’re the one who wiped out
the dinosaurs!”
    “Not my finest moment, I’ll admit.” Max visibly
relaxed. “I don’t know what else to tell you. I’m not sure what
Time was talking about when he said he’d given me the tools needed
to defeat them.”
    Jenny squeezed his hand. “You’ll figure it out.”
    “God, I hope so.”
    Everyone looked to Lane who was looking out the
picture window. He seemed to sense the attention and turned toward
us.
    “We’d better get outside.” He ran a hand over his
face. “The big poplar out in the middle of the yard fell on Pete’s
truck. Sorry, Pete.”
    Pete looked as though he’d just been told his best
friend had died. I knew the truck wasn’t worth much, but he’d
worked his ass off to get it. It was the first vehicle he’d ever
owned.
    “Let’s go check the damage.” I gave his arm a
squeeze. “Maybe it’s not that bad. You know, they don’t build
trucks like that anymore. Back when that thing was build, they were
made to last.”
    Lane made his way to get the axe and the chain saw
while the rest of us went to check on the truck.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    “Play us a song, Jason.” I handed him his guitar with
a smile. He hadn’t played it since the night before Mother Nature
had started to decimate human kind.
    He took it from me, his eyes looking at its curves
lovingly. He cocked his head slightly while his fingers picked at
the strings. Having almost zero musical ability whatsoever, I
watched, amazed, as he tuned the instrument by ear.
    “What do you want to hear?”
    “Garth Brooks!”
    “Elvis!”
    “Green Day!”
    “Creedence!”
    Jason nodded as names were tossed in his direction.
“How about this one?” He strummed a few chords and his voice joined
in, deep and soft.
    I grinned and leaned against Lane as CCR’s Bad Moon
Rising flowed through the house.

    I hear hurricanes ablowing.
    I know the end is coming soon.
    I fear rivers over flowing.
    I hear the voice of rage and ruin.
    Don't go around tonight,
    Well, it's bound to take your life,
    There's a bad moon on the rise.
    All right!

    “Isn’t that the truth,” scoffed Max.
    Jenny grinned. “How about this one?” She took the
guitar from Jason and started to pick at it.

    See the devil on the doorstep now (my oh my)
    Telling everybody oh just how to live their lives
    Sliding down the information highway
    Buying in just like a bunch of fools
    Time is ticking and we can't go back (my oh my)

    What about the world today
    What about the place that we call home
    We’ve never been so many
    And we've never been so alone

    You keep watching from your picket fence
    You keep talking but it makes no sense
    You say we're not responsible
    But we are, we are
    You wash your hands and come out clean
    Fail to recognise the enemies within
    You say we're not responsible
    But we are, we are, we are, we are

    “Ana Johnsson?” Grant smiled. “Yeah, she nailed that
one on the head.”
    “Enough with the depressing end of the world