Free An Apocalypse Family (Book 1): Family Reunion by P. Mark DeBryan Page A

its mouth and eyes in response to the intense pressure created by the crash. Grandpa Don swore under his breath as the car fishtailed. He tried to regain control as he bounced off the police cruiser. When he managed to stop the car, he turned in his seat to look back. There was the arm of the thing—half-in, half-out of the window.
    For whatever reason, the traffic seemed to have disappeared from the interstate. Grandpa Don turned the car around and drove north in the southbound lanes, the car making unusual sounds and the steering wheel pulling hard to the right. He manhandled the car back toward where they had parked earlier and activated the high beams, looking for Lila.
    He didn’t care that she’d attacked him. That was his great-granddaughter out there, and he was going to help her if he could. But his head swam, and before he could find her, his vision started to tunnel into darkness. He passed out and his head came to rest on the horn.
    Josh heard the car horn and stopped his search. “Mom, is that Dad?”
    Barb also stopped and listened. “It sounds like our horn.”
    Josh walked back to her. “Come on, he must need us!”
    They made their way back around the pileup to see the car facing the wrong direction, the entire right side smashed up.
    “What the hell?” Josh uttered. He ran toward the car and saw his dad slumped over, head resting on the steering wheel. He ran around to the driver’s side and opened the door, reached in, and gently laid him back in the seat. It was then that he saw the blood.
    “Mom, come here, quick!”
    Barb hustled as quickly as possible, which was a halting jog with a walking step thrown in here and there. She made it to the car and saw the arm hanging in the window. She was no wimp, but the sight of it combined with the crazy state of affairs surrounding her was just too much; she fainted and fell to the ground like a sack of spuds.
    Josh, caught off guard, didn’t know what to do. Do I leave Dad to help Mom?
    He opened the back door, pulled Gramps out of the driver’s seat, and laid him in the backseat. He took off his belt, put it around his dad’s leg, and tightened it as much as he could. That accomplished, he went over to his mom, who had started to come around. He helped her back to the car and got her over to the passenger seat with a little pushing and shoving.
    Once he had everyone situated in the car, he started forward only to realize the damage was so bad that it was close to undrivable. He looked back and saw the flashing lights of what looked like an ambulance a quarter-mile south. He fought with the wheel, got turned around, and slowly made his way in that direction. It took several minutes, but he made it. He pulled up behind the ambulance and jumped out of the car.
    He noticed something was different than it was just a few minutes ago.
    The quiet! The sounds of people screaming had stopped, and there was no shouting between emergency workers. What the hell?
    He stood there for a minute trying to figure out what was going on.
    “Where is everyone?” Barb asked, leaning over toward the driver’s side.
    “I don’t know, Mom, but we have got to get Dad to a hospital. Are you well enough to help me move him to the ambulance?” He half expected her to argue with him about stealing the ambulance, but she just nodded and got out of the car.
    They moved Grandpa Don into the ambulance and laid him on the floor; there weren’t any stretchers. Barb got in with him. Josh closed the back doors and went around to the front of the truck, got in, and started it. The radio squelched and he grabbed the mic off the dash.
    “Hello, is there anyone out there? Hello?” Nothing. He threw the truck in gear, did a three-point turn, and headed north.

Chapter 4
     

Heading Out
 
Ryan, Max, & Lisa
7:00 a.m.
Hines Wharf Park
     
     
    The trip from Woodinville to the ferry went without incident: no resistance, no survivors. The ferry was still where I’d left it, securely