Free (Book 2)What Remains by Nathan Barnes Page A

over my
shoulder I saw everyone else frozen, looking on nervously while I
fumbled with our fragile barrier.
    When I turned to place the box down Maddox
sprung to his feet from his place at Sarah’s side; if Calise hadn't
occupied her lap I'm sure the boy would have been snatched back
down as quickly as he rose. Light footsteps brought him next to me
within seconds. I couldn't say anything and Maddox knew it; any
noise might negate our hours of forced silence. He met my glare by
grabbing hold of the box I was holding to move it aside, hell-bent
on assisting me whether I liked it or not.
    I inched myself closer to the vent. The loudest
sound inside was the popping of cartilage in my neck as I strained
to hear out of the awkward opening. My head creaked to the side,
listening for any hints of the imminent threat. Normal sounds of
apocalyptic chaos became apparent as they typically did, but the
clatter from the fence line was gone. It was difficult to see much
of anything out of the peephole but the area closest to the fence
looked clear. I backed off at a normal speed compared to the
snail’s pace I used to reach the vent. When I was clear from the
opening Maddox resealed the hole again with the box. For once
things seemed to be going in our favor.
    Sarah cleared her throat to get my attention.
She shot me a quizzical glance, looking anxious about breaking our
silence. I returned the unspoken question with a raised finger to
tell her to hang on. Maddox stood patiently at my side waiting for
our next move. A snapping motion locked his eyes on mine. I pointed
at the opposite vent; he nodded in response. Like an eager soldier
Maddox immediately shifted to fulfill his mission. Before he could
fully turn I placed my left hand on his shoulder, pantomiming a
listening motion then pointed at my eyes with my right pointer and
middle fingers. His shaggy head bobbed up and down. I placed my
right pointer over my mouth to mimic a 'shush'. He nodded once, his
face wearing the composure of a war-hardened veteran.
    My boy is eight years old , I thought with
disheartened angst.
    He glided across the floor with a deadly
precision that would make a trained assassin proud. Several
agonizing minutes passed while Maddox studied the situation on the
opposite side of the house. After a step back his little man-hands
returned the box to the wall and hustled back to my position. Now I
was the one with a serious expression waiting for his report. He
stood on his tiptoes in order to place a palm lightly on my right
collarbone to which I bent down in compliance.
    “I didn't see anything, Daddy,” he said, his
warm breath on my ear. “It didn't sound like anything was in the
yard but I could hear some banging somewhere else in the
street.”
    The smile on my face broke the tension in the
room. Sarah stood with Calise's arms wrapped around her neck.
Maddox saw my smile and looked confused.
    “Thank you, Monkey,” I said. My volume was far
from normal but I didn't feel the need to whisper any longer. “You
did good... in fact, you did great.” His seriousness faded and he
smiled back.
    “We need to talk about what to do next,” Sarah
said without preamble. She set Calise down and the little pink ball
of fluff immediately went to her brother and hugged him
tightly.
    “I know.” I reached into one of our food boxes
and handed both kids bags of Welch’s fruit snacks. “Enjoy these
guys and eat them slowly. Mommy and I need to go downstairs to
talk. I want you both to stay up here. You don’t have to stay as
quiet as we just were but follow the same rules we’ve been using
for noise.”
    “Daddy...” Calise’s little voice came as a
welcomed change to the whimpering she had been relegated to for the
last few hours. “Can we go to Grandma and Grandpa’s soon? I don’t
want to stay home anymore.”
    My heart sunk even lower. I was already close to
the edge, but ire truly seethed from my pores after the
confirmation that our home was no longer