EMP Catastrophe | Book 2 | Erupting Danger Hamilton, Grace (ebook reader color screen txt) 📖

ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t think so. I hope not. I trust her…but I just can’t find any reason why she would insist that someone is out there. This obsession has been going on for days.”

“Allison has changed too,” David said. “She’s sleeping more and barely talks. Eating cereal is the least of our concerns, but it’s still a concern. She’s not acting like she used to.”

“I thought it was just her being a teenager,” Matthew said softly.

“Something must have happened to them,” David said. “Don’t you think so?”

“Neither of them will talk to me,” Matthew said. He began to pace the porch. “I can’t force them to speak about it.”

“Ruth tried to encourage Allison to open up,” David said, “but she clammed up. Kathleen is the same way, then?”

Matthew nodded. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve lost my wife. I just wish they’d confide in me. It’s affecting them both so much.”

David looked relieved, as if he had been anticipating fighting to make Matthew see what was going on. “I know,” he said and patted Matthew’s arm in sympathy. “But you know we can’t continue like this. I want Kathleen and Allison to feel safe here too, but we can’t force that. If we keep rushing at a breakneck speed, we’ll begin making mistakes and wasting what little resources we do have. I didn’t tell you this, but yesterday Patton nearly broke the gimlet we found in the cellar. He was desperate to figure out how to work it. He got frustrated and nearly used it the wrong way. He could’ve injured himself and broken the tool.”

Matthew pursed his lips together. “You should’ve told me, Dad.”

“I know,” David said. “We all need to be more open with each other. Ruth and I had noticed Allison’s unhealthy eating habits, but we decided it was better to keep quiet. They’re your children, after all, and we didn’t want to step on your toes. That was a mistake. We are all part of one family, not separate entities, and we need to watch out for each other. We should’ve said something. Maybe then, we could have avoided this whole thing.”

Matthew sensed something lingering behind David’s words. “Has she overeaten her share of food?” he asked, knowing their food supply was something that needed to be regulated.

David shrugged, but Matthew knew what that really meant.

“How low on food are we, now?” Matthew demanded.

“It’s not just the dwindling food supply,” David finally said. “We have to ensure everyone is getting the required nutrients. If we start suffering the consequences of that, we’ll be in big trouble. Yes, Allison ate more than her fair share, but we’ll just take this as an opportunity to address it.”

“We need to figure out a long-term system,” Matthew said with a sigh. “Something has to be done about the food.”

“It’s not like it used to be,” David said, his blue eyes staring off into the distance. “We can’t just eat on a whim and hope to run to the grocery for more. There is no more.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Matthew said, but even he heard the disillusionment in his tone.

“And what about Kathleen?”

Matthew paused. He wished he could take whatever burden his wife and daughter carried and make it his own. If he pressed either of them to open up, he feared it would lead to them distrusting him more. There were a hundred little fires that seemed to pop up around him and every time he thought he’d put them out, he turned around to see that they’d multiplied. Kathleen was one such fire. Allison another. The issues kept growing until he found himself standing in a raging inferno even he couldn’t understand.

“I’ll figure it out,” Matthew repeated, even as he refused to look at David. “I promise.”

12

Only when the last traces of the sun disappeared behind the mountain vista did Matthew call for another Riley family meeting.

As everyone gathered in the lounge area, he had a distinct sense of déjà vu. This time, though, Allison sat propped on the sofa next to Kathleen and leaned her head against her mother’s shoulder. Kathleen seemed to cradle Allison as though she were a delicate flower at risk of wilting. She must have heard about the fainting incident from Ruth.

Patton swayed back and forth with exhaustion from his seat on the floor. Jade sat in a chair, her face and hair coated with a layer of dirt that made her hair looked gray. Even David looked somewhat haggard, even though Matthew knew he’d been taking pains to protect his health and heart for once. Everyone looked completely worn out. Matthew had to admit that his father was right. He was pushing his family to their breaking point.

And the exhaustion extended to him as well. He could feel it in his bones, and not just because of the physical labor. Ruth had rationed their food, keeping their protein and calorie count carefully regulated as much as she could, but soon, they’d be running low on everything they had. Additionally, now that Allison had devoured a good portion of their cereal stocks, they needed to take into consideration nutrients, and not just whether their bellies were full. Eating crap food staved off the hunger, but it didn’t do much to keep them healthy.

He crossed his arms loosely and began to speak. “There was an incident today that you’re all probably aware of, but I’d like to address it all the same.” He gave Allison a comforting smile. “Allison fainted today. She hasn’t been eating right, and that, paired with all the strenuous physical work and the hot weather, finally got to her.”

He paused, waiting to see if anyone had anything to say. He steadied himself. He didn’t want to admit to this next part, but he knew that he wasn’t a saint. He had made mistakes and would recognize and rectify them. “It’s also no secret that I’ve been pushing everyone extra hard to help make the hotel a