EMP Catastrophe | Book 1 | Erupting Trouble Hamilton, Grace (read book .txt) 📖

“God, Dad. You don’t have to see the worst in everything.”

“I don’t. I’m being realistic.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

“At least I wouldn’t have gotten our food crunched to bits.”

“But the woman wouldn’t have been able to get away.” Matthew glared at David and David glared right back. Matthew couldn't understand it. His father was a good man—how could he sit back and watch as others treated each other with such disdain? A fundamental difference existed between them, a rift that had always clashed, but had never needed to be scrutinized like it did right now.

Another crash of glass sounded behind them. Raucous laughter rang through the air. The sound of another high-pitched shriek of fear made Matthew close his eyes in defeat. He couldn’t look behind him and see Chris and Cheese hurting another person without doing something.

“You can’t save everyone,” David said, his voice quiet and somewhat apologetic.

Matthew took a deep breath and closed his eyes against the blinding sun. David was right on that account. His father was his top priority, and he hoped that the women Chris hunted had fathers or husbands or partners out there that would defend them. He hoped there was someone out there stronger than him who could take on the world and make it better.

Even so, David had a point. What would Matthew have done if Chris wanted to get into a fight? Would he be justified if David was punched in the gut, his heart forced to suffer more trauma, all because Matthew wanted to stop a group of bad guys from hurting others?

Yes, his heart whispered. Of course. If you put good in the world, it will come back to you.

Would it have been good to see his father bleeding? What good was that? What good was risking David’s life for an unknown woman?

Matthew shook off his thoughts and slung his pack over his shoulders, tightening the straps unnecessarily. He might not be able to save the world, but he could save his world—and that included getting his father back to the hotel in one piece.

11

Hours floated by, marked by the slow procession of the sun across the sky and the mounting anxiety growing inside of Ruth. The phone remained suspiciously silent. She’d expected at least a courtesy call from Matthew or David, updating her on their purchases in town, letting her know when to expect them back home. An eerie silence settled over the hotel, broken by the brush of dust rags wiping away layers of grime as she and Patton finished cleaning the rest of the rooms.

The state of the freezer occupied the back of Ruth’s mind, and she fought her worry, refusing to let it overshadow the relative happiness of the day. She took a deep breath, knowing that if she recognized her negative thoughts and stayed level-headed, she could figure out anything.

Now, with the rooms mostly cleaned and waiting on the electricity to turn back on, she might as well fess up to Patton about what was going on. He had a right to know and was old enough to understand there might be a problem the two of them had to handle. Maybe he'd know of something Matthew and Kathleen had planned for, maybe there was just a silly switch she was supposed to turn over every other day that would fix the freezer right up. A woman could hope.

“What’s wrong, Grandma?” Patton frowned at her in concern, his arms full of dirtied linens.

“We haven’t heard from Grandpa,” she said. “You know how I worry.”

Patton nodded solemnly. “Usually they call.”

Ruth’s throat felt tight. “Take those downstairs to the laundry room, would you? Then meet me outside. I should’ve said something earlier, Patton, but the freezer didn’t seem to be holding in the cold like it should while we were having lunch. I’m concerned it might be going out, and we don’t have much food as it is. How does a trip to the store sound? Get out, get some fresh air.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Patton said. “Not sure how long I can survive on cereal.” He wobbled out of the room, the layers of linens like fluffy cake frosting overflowing from his arms. Ruth held back a sudden laugh, grateful for the cheerful image. She remembered she needed to take time slow, enjoy the moments, delight in the gifts life gave. She couldn’t let her anxiety get the better of her with future predictions of what if.

She left the room and headed down the stairs, grabbing her purse and the keys to the blue Volvo out front. Once they had food from the store in Galena, she would feel more at ease. Even if the freezer died, they could stock up the small fridge and she could make sure she wasn’t feeding her grandson sugar-packed grain with milk for every meal. What would Kathleen say? Ugh. She knew what Kathleen would say and none of it good. This couldn't be one more point of argument between her and her daughter-in-law.

She unlocked the Volvo and slid into the hot interior, the leather near-scalding against her back. She stuck the keys in the ignition as Patton ran from the hotel’s wide back doors to the passenger side. He jumped in, shaking his hand as if the door handle had burned him, “Oh dang, it is hot!,” and Ruth stifled a laugh at him, her heart suddenly full of light. Her grandson entertained her in so many ways.

“That’s what happens when you leave a car in the sun all day,” she teased, turning the key in the ignition.

Patton rolled his eyes at her. The car stayed silent. Frowning, Ruth tried again, but the car remained stubbornly still and quiet.

“Are you out of gas?” Patton asked, a slow smile curving his face. “Is that what really happens when you leave a car in the sun all day?”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Ruth pulled the key out and put it back in, as