Free 6:00 Hours: A Dystopian Novel by Chad Evercroft Page B

sleeping bags, four water bottles, and promised a hot meal within the hour. Walking through the gym to find an empty spot felt a little like walking through someone’s funeral. Clusters of families huddled together, either sitting with blank expressions of shock, or openly weeping. Hunter took Danny’s hand as they walked, looking around with the eyes of a much older boy. He was seeing things no child that young could be prepared for. Already, he was growing up right there in that moment. Danny looked around for Marty, but couldn’t see him in the crowd. He didn’t feel like calling out for him. He just wanted to be settled.
    “Here okay?” Danny asked Miranda, hovering in an open spot by a corner.
    Miranda nodded, pressing her chapped lips together. Whenever she was especially nervous, Miranda applied lip moisturizer to distract herself. Without it, she kept rubbing her lips together out of habit.
    “What do you think, boys?” Danny asked, looking down at his sons.
    “Where’s Marty?” Jesse asked.
    “We’ll go find him,” Danny assured him. “Let’s sit here for now.”
    “I’m thirsty.”
    Miranda unscrewed the top of one of the bottles and gave it to Jesse, who held it with both hands and took a long drink. Danny spread out the sleeping bags - old, flat ones that had seen a lot of use - and set his duffel bag beside his. A single man who sat near to Danny saw it and pointed.
    “Were you able to find anything worth saving?” he asked in a friendly tone.
                  Danny didn’t know his name, but recognized him from around town. Danny opened the bag and lifted one of the cans.
                  “Just a few cans. Peas and stuff.”
                  “I found some canned salmon,” the man said. “I’m Frank, by the way. You’re Danny, right?”
                  Danny took Frank’s offer of a handshake and nodded.
                  “I gotta say, you’re the reason I even had cans of food,” Frank admitted, smiling. “I didn’t go to your classes, but a friend told me about it.”
                  On the other side of Danny, another man made a snorting noise. He was tall, with black jeans and a torn-up backpack. His companion wore a baseball bat and looked younger, possibly a brother or nephew.
    “Guess those classes were a waste of time, huh?” the tall man said to the man with him.
    His voice was low enough so it was clear he wasn’t adding to Frank and Danny’s conversation, but Frank still glanced over and frowned.
    “Pff, yeah. We’re fooling ourselves thinking we can do anything about the weather. Just a waste of money,” the man’s companion said.
    Danny kept his mouth shut. Miranda stroked her husband’s arm and gave him a sympathetic half-smile. Frank rolled his eyes. The first man glanced over at him, as if to check to see if Danny had been provoked. He continued talking.
    “I’d have been better off just moving. Like the wife wanted. But nope, that guy convinced me it was all right to stay. Just had to be prepared.”
    The last sentence crackled with bitterness. Danny bit his lip. Tired of waiting for a response, the two men turned to Danny and confronted him directly.
    “Hey!” the tall guy exclaimed. “You’ve got some balls, you know that? Giving people all this information that’s supposed to help them, but it’s all just crap.”
    “That’s not true,” Danny said, firmly.
    “Whatever, man. If I hadn’t listened to you, I’d be in the city right now, in a house, not here in this muggy gym.”
    Danny turned his back to his accusers. They didn’t like that. The man in the hat gave Danny a shove, almost knocking him off balance.
    “Hey!” Miranda blurted out.
    Others who had been listening and hanging back stepped forward to intervene. Frank inserted himself between Danny and the two men, his hands up to defend himself if necessary. There was a brief scuffle as the two were pulled back.