Free Reset (Book 2): Salvation by Jacqueline Druga Page B

eyes widened. “Holy Cow. Unreal. These are really good.”
    “Seriously?” Nora asked.
    “I don’t know how. Are there more boxes in the machine?” He took two more.
    “For real?”
    Jason nodded.
    Nora excitedly took one and put it in her mouth. The second she did, her eyes watered and she immediately shot it from her mouth into the cup, grunting.
    Jason laughed and spit out his candy.
    “Asshole!” She yelled. “What the hell?” She reached across the table and grabbed his bottle of vodka. “How did you do that without puking?”
    “I just thought of that horrible joke. It was worth it.”
    She grunted again and slid the bottle then the cards to him.
    “Have to admit, I got you.” Jason shuffled the deck.
    “You got me. And I got another one.”
    Jason moaned.
    “What do you call a happy apocalypse survivor wandering the earth?”
    “I give up. What?”
    “A nomad.”
    Silence.
    “Get it?” she asked. “Nomad. No … mad.”
    “I get it. I get it.” After a couple seconds, he laughed and dealt the cards.
     
    <><><><>
     
    It used to be a strip mall. One of those long, sometimes ‘L’ shaped places filled with shops. That was the nearest John could figure. The Subway was part of it. Another part of the mall was gone, destroyed and Ana brought John and Meredith to the Swirls Frozen Yogurt for the night.
    After being with the Wreckers for hours, John finally stopped feeling so badly about how he behaved. Actually, it took a sick stranger to quiet him down and believe those who were their hosts were not those who attacked them.
    The stranger was part of a Genesis Project but not the one at Marshal. John wanted more than anything to find out about the man, but the man didn’t say anything but two words.
    He woke up, saw John, and said, “Thank God.” And then closed his eyes and died.
    Was he alone, a sole survivor? Or did he fraction off like John’s group, looking for answers, for family?
    John was alone at the yogurt place while Meredith attended to Bada. Another Wrecker woman brought them blankets, showed him how to use the small indoor fire pit for light and heat, and gave him two plates of food.
    He didn’t know what the substance was. It smelled good, but was it safe to eat?
    Finally, Meredith returned, she looked exhausted.
    “How is he?” John asked.
    “He seems to be doing better. The fever broke.”
    “That’s good.”
    “His father is not doing well,” Meredith said.
    “And Ana?”
    “Sick, but holding up a front for her family.”
    “Like most mothers.”
    Meredith sat down on the floor next to John and faced the small fire. “Food?”
    “Yes, someone brought us food and a beverage. But I’m not sure if it is safe to eat.” John showed her the substance. It looked like a stew. The eating utensil was a spoon carved out of wood, as was the plate.
    Another voice entered the room. A male. “Of course it is.”
    Shocked at the intrusion, and especially by someone that spoke a version of English he knew, John started to get up.
    “I’m sorry. I though you heard me knocking,” he said.
    “There’s no door. Knocking on what?” John asked.
    “The arch.” The man stepped closer. “I’m Matthew.” He held his hand down to John.
    The light from the fire illuminated his hand and John saw that it was severely burned. As Matthew stepped more into the light, his face became clear. Half of it was severely burned. He was in his fifties, maybe slightly older. It was hard to tell.
    “May I?” Matthew asked, shaking hands with Meredith and gesturing to the floor.
    Meredith nodded. “Please.”
    Matthew sat down. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived. I was out looking for certain plants that can help Bada. But he seems better. Thank you so much.”
    John asked. “So you live in this community?”
    “I do. I’m one of the very few elders remaining from the war years.”
    “I’m glad you’re here now,” Meredith said. “Do they understand you? Do you understand