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

songs.
How about something a bit more cheery.” John rolled his eyes.
    “Like what?” Jason took the guitar back from
Jenny.

    At first I was afraid I was petrified.

    We all laughed as Pete’s voice broke through our
thoughts. Jason strummed a chord and joined in.

    Kept thinkin' I could never live without you by my
side;

    By the third line, everyone had joined in.

    But then I spent so many nights
    Thinkin' how you did me wrong
    And I grew strong and I learned how to get along
    And now you're back from outer space
    I just walked in to find you here with that sad look
upon your face
    I should have changed that stupid lock
    I should have made you leave your key
    If I'd've known for just one second you'd back to
bother me
    Go on now, go walk out the door
    Just turn around now
    ('cause) you're not welcome anymore
    Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with
goodbye
    Do you think I'd crumble
    Did you think I'd lay down and die?
    Oh no, not I. I will survive
    Oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay
alive;
    I've got all my life to live,
    I've got all my love to give and I'll survive,
    I will survive. Hey hey.

    By the end of the song, all of us were laughing at
John and Shawn as they reenacted the prison cell scene from The
Replacements. There was nothing quite as funny as two men line
dancing in the living room. For a moment, it was easy to forget the
end of the world was trying to happen.
    I smiled. Trying to happen. And if we had anything to
do with it, it wouldn’t happen. Mother Nature had picked the wrong
race to try and annihilate. I glanced at Max. Though he was
smiling, I could tell he was still stressed about his role in
things to come. He caught my eye and nodded as I gestured with a
small jerk of my head toward the front door.
    The night was clear and the view of the stars was
phenomenal from the porch.
    “It’s starting to cool down again.” Max reached over
to the porch swing and handed me the blanket.
    “I wonder how cold she’s going to let it go this
time.”
    He shrugged.
    “How are you doing, Maxy?”
    I was awarded another shrug.
    “You know we’re here for you, right? You don’t have
to do this alone.” I reached over and gave him a hug. “We don’t
have much in supernatural powers, but we’ll go down fighting.”
    He smiled sadly. “That’s what I’m scared of. Maybe it
would be best if I just did this by myself. I could go back to the
shop. At least that way, I’d know you guys were safe.”
    I shook my head. “We’d still have to deal with the
Yellow Eyes.”
    “Yeah, but at least they wouldn’t be coming at you in
hordes. You’d just have to worry about the odd one here and there.”
He let out a slow breath. “I’ve been thinking about it the last
couple of days. I’m trying to find a way to tell everyone.”
    “You know they won’t let you go.”
    “They may not have a choice, Gabby.”
    His sad smile broke my heart and I swallowed
hard.
    “Everything okay?” Lane sat between us and handed me
a bunny hug. “I thought you might need that.”
    I pulled it on and waited to see if Max would voice
his concerns. Instead, he shook his head. “It’s all good. Just
checking out the view.” He stood and headed back into the
house.
    “So?” Lane pulled me close.
    I shook my head. It wasn’t up to me to tell. Max
would figure it out on his own. “Just checking out the view.”

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    The morning was crisp and though we should have been
heading into spring, it definitely felt like fall. It was hard to
believe that months had gone by. Lane had been keeping track of
time on the old calendar in the barn and it was mind blowing to
know that we’d been living without power, energy, phones, or cash
machines for over four months.
    We’d risked driving to town a couple of times just to
see if things there were any better, but each time, the outcome had
been the same. If there were any unaffected people, it seemed
they’d left for parts unknown. The Yellow Eyes