Free New Title 3 by Michael Poeltl Page A

Jake tiptoed into the room. “Earl won’t let me have a gun: he thinks I’m too screwed up. He doesn’t trust me, so I’m gonna stay with you.”
    “ Shit, Jake, what are you sneaking up on me for?” I motioned for him to sit by the wall. “Where is he placing the girls? Where’s Sara?”
    “ I think she’s in the addition- he’s got half the crew in there.” Jake pulled out a smoke and lit it up. “Earl says that it’s the best defensive spot in the house. He says we’d be able to hold off an army from up there.”
    He was obviously quite taken with Earl’s ability to command a situation like this. I was impressed too. But right now I needed something to cool me down- I was still shaky. Gesturing toward Jake’s cigarette, I said, “Set me up with a drag off that, will ya?”
    Jake handed it over. “You can have a whole one if you want. Me and Kevin filled up on them before we came back. There must be a hundred cartons in his car.”
    “ Don’t get me hooked on one of your bad habits.” I took a deep drag and handed the cigarette back. “Thanks.”
    “ Fuck it, Joel, live it up, ‘cause it don’t look like we got much livin’ left to do.” A twisted giggle escaped him.
    “ Don’t say that, Jake. We’re going to be saved: the military will come for us. Until then we’ll defend ourselves and wait.”
    Jake just shook his head, as if he didn’t understand where this optimism of mine was coming from. Frankly, neither did I.
    “ Joel!” John shouted from the main floor. “Joel, get to the addition!”
    I ran across the hall, Jake close behind me. “What, what is it?”
    “ They’re here!”

Chapter Ten
     
     
    E arl flew around the corner and headed up the stairs toward me.
    “ It’s go time, buddy!” he declared. Grabbing me by the arm, he guided me into the addition.
    “ Can you see them?” He pointed to the end of the driveway while the others frantically blew out the candles. We peered into the dimness and saw some shadowy figures approaching the house. “They can’t see us, not with our lights out.”
    Sonny’s lips moved as he counted. “I think I saw six guys in their group when I passed them, but it looks like they’ve got eight or nine now.”
    They drew closer. I kept praying they’d turn back, but they continued. Just as I was on the verge of shouting a warning, a familiar voice called out.
    “ Joel! Anyone there? It’s me, Sid.”
    Behind me, everyone sighed with relief. Thrilled to know that another friend had returned safely, I opened the window further. “Is Tom with you?” I shouted back.
    “ Tom was with me, but we got attacked and I lost him. Listen, I’m coming in. I’ll tell you everything in a minute.”
    Connor and I opened the front door with guns in hand. Sid staggered in while a dirty bunch of strangers remained on the porch, eyeing us warily.
    “ God, am I glad to see you guys!” he exclaimed. “Look, do you mind if we set these people up with some water? They’ve heard there’s a migration of sorts headed north and only want to stop for a drink. They saved my life, man.”
    “ Sure. Bring them in.”
    We set them up with a large cooler of water, which they gratefully accepted. Before leaving, they told us that a northbound pilgrimage was in progress, and they wanted to join it. I recalled that the military planes had flown north. They could be setting up a huge compound, collecting survivors. But how would these people know about it? What was driving them north? These questions hit me after the party departed, forcing me to go without answers.
    “ So what happened? Where’s Tommy?” Sonny asked.
    Sidney sat down at the dining room table. He looked exhausted. “After we left you, Sonny, we went to the grocery store to pick up what we could. Tom was having a real hard time. You know Tom, he’s a wreck. Well, nothing was easy to look at or accept especially after we saw his house, right?”
    Sonny nodded. “It was a total loss. We