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

safe haven. Yet, in wanting to build that safety, I may have jeopardized your health. I’m sorry for that. For pushing all of you the way I did.”

“It’s all right,” Jade said with a weary smile.

Matthew felt his own smile freeze on his face, and he refused to look at her. Sometimes it seemed as if he just pretended Jade wasn’t there, he wouldn’t have to deal with all the emotions she brought up in him. All the doubt and, yes, even fear. “What do our rations look like, Mom?” he asked, directing his attention to his mother.

Ruth sat primly on the loveseat with David. Matthew inwardly started to relax, remembering when he was a child the way he would head to Ruth’s office after school, where she would make phone calls and schedules and lists for her employers. She had that same look.

“It’s not great,” Ruth admitted. “We’ve all done a fine job of stretching everything for as long as we have, but to be honest with you all, we only have a week left at most. Most of what’s left isn’t healthy at all. It would be more for sustenance than anything else.”

“But we planted those seeds,” Kathleen protested, looking scared. “Won’t those do anything for us?”

Allison raised her head at Kathleen’s tone. Her face darkened. Once again, Matthew wished he understood why Allison would give Kathleen such a look.

“They will,” Ruth said, “but it will take months for anything to grow. And that’s assuming the seeds take root and sprout. Some might grow faster than others, but it would be a miracle if we saw a little green growth in two weeks. These things take time. They don’t germinate overnight.” Ruth spread her hands as if helpless.

David nodded as though to back her up. “Plus, we’ve most likely started late in the season. Usually, it would take a year to start things up, anticipate failures, and keep shifting our strategy using trial and error. We don’t know if those seeds should’ve been planted in early spring or late summer for an autumnal harvest. Cultivating crops is a long-term plan. It’s a good plan, please don’t misunderstand me, but it doesn’t solve our immediate problem.”

Kathleen looked frustrated. Allison sat up further, seeming to pull away from her mother, and gave her another odd look. Even Matthew could see Kathleen’s distress. Was Allison reacting to that?

“We did read through the books in the library,” Ruth said. “Perhaps we can use them as a guide to help us identify native edible plants that are growing on the property now.”

“That will definitely help with nutrients,” David said, “but it still won’t provide the calories or protein we need.”

“Cannibalism it is,” Patton joked.

“Patton.” Ruth tsked at him. “Is that kind of talk necessary?”

Patton shrugged and looked away, properly chastised.

Matthew began to feel like finding food was a much more urgent need than he’d anticipated. “What about hunting?” he asked.

“That’s true,” David mused. “I’ve seen deer in the woods. Once I even spotted a wild turkey. We could even try to catch some squirrels.”

“Like real mountain men,” Patton said with a yawn. “Squirrel stew.”

“Any chance your classmate taught you how to make a squirrel trap at school?” Ruth asked Patton with a wink. Patton rolled his eyes and hissed out, “Grandma.”

“That might be what we have to do,” David said and looked to Matthew as though sharing a secret. “I’m not a great hunter, Matt. I barely managed at it when I was young. I never taught you how to hunt or shoot.”

Matthew ran his hands through his hair. He was sure his blond locks were standing straight up. “So it sounds like our only option is going back down the mountain and into Galena. Scavenging and raiding.”

Everyone suddenly looked uneasy. Matthew’s suggestion hung in the air like an unpleasant smell. Matthew cleared his throat and felt a knot in his belly. “I don’t like it either,” he said, “but it sounds like the best thing we could do. We could raid the grocery store. Maybe check out a couple of gas stations. Anything is better than starving.”

Jade cleared her throat. It sounded loud to Matthew. “Would you like me to give you a shooting lesson, instead?” she asked.

Matthew couldn’t help but turn and stare at her as if she’d just suggested something more heinous. “I beg your pardon?” he asked.

Jade shifted uneasily in her chair and looked at each of the Riley members in turn. “It’s just…if you know how to shoot then you can go hunting. There’s a better chance you’ll hit something if you’ve had practice and can master the basics.”

“We can’t waste the bullets,” Matthew said. He knew Jade had a point, but at the same time he couldn’t bring himself to trust her. Each time she suggested something, he logically understood it, but his gut roiled with doubt.

“I’m not sure you have much of a choice at this point,” Jade said. “How sustainable is raiding stores, anyway? At some point, if this EMP continues, there won’t be anything left to raid. If you know how to shoot, you’ll be able to go out hunting in the winter, when plants are definitely not growing. I guarantee you, if you go out hunting without knowing how to shoot, you’ll be wasting the same number of bullets you would in practice, if not more.”

“We wouldn’t shoot everything we saw,” Matthew said hotly, hating that Jade painted him in such an ignorant light.

“How would you know?” Jade said, her voice teasing and yet mocking at the same time. “If you’ve never been?”

Matthew opened his mouth to protest but Jade cut him off again. “Shooting a deer means you have to complete the kill. If you miss it and wound it, you’ll have to track it down. You can’t just leave it to die. That’s what will happen your first time, I promise you. It would be better if you just let me teach you how to aim.”

“Out of the question!” Kathleen shouted