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

he thought Matthew and David might be dangerous, and said in a shaky voice, “Welcome to the Zip-N-Quick, how can I help you?”

Matthew offered him a comforting smile. “Don’t worry. We aren’t here to cause you any trouble. We’re here to get some water and food.”

“Sure,” the young man said, his eyes darting from David to Matthew.

“Listen,” Matthew leaned closer, reading the name on the young man’s nametag, “Troy. Can you tell me where the bottled water is?”

Troy pointed toward the back of the store with a shaking finger. Matthew nodded and followed David. They pulled out a couple of plastic bottles, still somewhat cool, from the refrigerator cases. Signs with scribbled red marker on it indicated the water was priced higher than usual, but Matthew hoped Troy would give them a discount of some kind because no one would pay ten dollars for a water. He selected additional power bars, jerky, and chips from the shelves, noting they were also overpriced.

Easing to the front, he put the bottles on the counter alongside the food. The remaining cash in his pockets was limp from his sweat, and he folded a ten and placed it on the counter. The small card-swipe machine at his elbow blinked a black “error” at him.

“You’re the only gas station open around here, huh?” Matthew asked as Troy looked over his purchases. He handed Troy the ten. Troy didn’t blink, taking the money and barely looking at it. The cash register pinged open.

“Yeah.” Troy sounded moody, as if he hated that fact. “My manager insisted I finish my shift, even though the machines are down. Can’t do much, can I? Just usher out irate customers and take what they’ll give me. People have been real jerks about the whole thing. My manager thinks we’ll break into the black because everyone will want to buy stuff, but honestly? No one carries cash anymore. I don’t even care what you’ve got, as long as you have some kind of green to pay with.” Troy seemed almost relieved to be able to talk about it.

“Anyone have an idea of what’s going on?” David asked. “Our car died all the way back in Madison, and we’ve been on the road since.” He took the power bars off the counter and stuffed them in his pack. “Everyone seems in the dark.”

“No idea.” Troy slid the water bottles closer to David, and David shuffled them into his pack as well. “Most people are simply pissed…sorry, angry about their cars not starting. I mean, how am I supposed to get home? I can’t even call my mom to pick me up. I don’t even know if I have to work tomorrow. No one has any idea.”

“It certainly is frustrating.” Matthew nodded in agreement with Troy. “Can I use your bathroom by any chance?”

“Thank god that doesn’t run on electricity, right?” Troy gave Matthew a lopsided grin. “Outside, around the back. You are paying customers after all. My manager can suck it. Have at it.”

The door pinged goodbye as Matthew pushed it open, holding it for David. They rounded the building where receipts caught on rough scrub brush waved at them. A low, heated voice crept through the quiet of the outside, and Matthew paused, holding a hand out to stop David from going further. As they walked closer, he could distinguish the voice as female, spouting a series of enraged curses. Peeking around the corner, Matthew watched a young woman yanking on the back door of the store right next to the bathroom, one labeled Employees Only. A fringed jean jacket covered her petite form, something vintage and second-hand. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she pried at the backdoor with a vehemence.

“Come on, you stupid, stupid door—”

“Uh,” David said, looking around Matthew, “what are you doing?”

The woman whipped around and stared at them with narrowed eyes, her cheeks reddening in shame at being caught. She looked older than Allison, but by the rips in her jeans and the scuffed boots, it seemed as if she’d been on her own for a while now. The woman swallowed hard, her eyes darting between David and Matthew nervously.

“Staying away from you two, that’s what I’m doing,” she said. “What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?”

“We had to use the bathroom.” Matthew pointed at the other set of doors next to hers with a sign saying Paying Customers Only taped to the front of the unisex symbol.

“Oh.” The woman pushed stray bangs off her forehead. Matthew put his hands up—the woman was skittish like a deer or a stray cat left out too long on its own—and she gave him a suspicious once over.

“What do you want?” she demanded, hostility hot in her tone. “You can’t take anything from me, I don’t have anything to give. So don’t think about pulling a knife on me or something.”

Matthew couldn’t help his horrified look. “We wouldn’t do anything of the kind.”

She pulled on the cuffs of her coat and shifted awkwardly. Matthew’s heart twinged at the gaunt look of her, the too-sharp jaw as if she’d been living on less for a long time. He held out one of the power bars that David hadn’t shoved in his pack. “You look hungry. Do you want something to eat?”

Her green eyes shifted between his face and the brightly colored wrapping, her brow furrowing into a concentrated look. She took a hesitant step toward him and snatched the bar out of his hand, as if he might grab for her if she got too close.

“What’s your name?” Matthew asked quietly. The girl looked like she was alone without two pennies to rub together.

“Jade,” she said, unwrapping the bar and taking a huge bite. Matthew watched her devour the thing in three mouthfuls.

“Are you by yourself?” David chimed in, sidling up next to Matthew.

“Yeah,” Jade continued. She wiped her mouth and sucked the melted chocolate off her thumb. “My mom kicked me out after