Apokalypsis | Book 6 | Apokalypsis 6 Morris, Kate (cheapest way to read ebooks TXT) 📖

“I feel bad,” she answered. “Why would I feel jealous? They’re probably going into danger. They could be attacked, robbed, their car hijacked.”

“Hm,” he said in a way that came off more like the intended smartass tone his mother used to hate.

“They probably won’t make it to Columbus. You know that. The freeway there isn’t going to be open. Noah may not know an alternate route. This is really bad, Roman. Those girls are in danger, and we’re pretty much helpless to rescue them. Again!”

She sounded frustrated and stressed out, which made him feel a little regretful for being insensitive. Then he remembered her in Noah’s embrace, and the anger blocked out the sympathy.

“They trusted him,” he accused immaturely, not even caring enough to tone it down.

“Lots of people trust the wrong person at some point in their lives or another. They’re young like us. Noah was older.”

“Not smarter, just more cunning like a snake,” he bit out.

“Yeah, cunning.” She crossed her legs and then crossed her arms over her chest as if she were also angry at Noah. Probably because he left her behind.

Roman managed to get them to the next town, which was very small, one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it types. However, other than passing one car that ended up turning just past them to go down a side street in the little town, there was no sign of Noah.

“Think we should keep going?” she asked and sat a bit forward in her seat when he came to a stop in the middle of the road.

“So anxious to see him again?”

Jane shot him an angry look. “No! He betrayed us.”

Roman returned her pissy expression with one of irritation and impatience. Then he sighed and kept going. They drove nearly to Canton and finally pulled over in an empty fire station’s parking lot. There was an ambulance sitting outside with the back door open, but nobody was around. Another little ghost town.

They both tried their cell phones to get ahold of Tristan but got the fast busy signal letting them know the lines were down again, which was now more normal than them actually working. Back when that first started happening, that signal would cause his heart to speed up and his stomach to twist. He hadn’t realized how dependent on modern technology the world had become, or how much he’d become. It was almost a relief to have let it go for the most part. He was a more productive person and felt like he had an actual purpose other than texts, messaging with friends, social media, gaming, watching videos, and the rest of the time wastes the internet had become. He woke each day knowing what his purpose was. This morning, he’d awakened not feeling quite the same. His purpose yesterday and every day before it since the fall of their country had been to keep Jane and Connor safe. It was still the same purpose, but he felt a clench of scorn in his gut, too.

“We should raid this fire station,” he suggested and got a surprised look from her. Roman shrugged. “We’re armed. We’re clearly not going to run into the asshole who stole our stuff. I think he’s long gone. After the fire at the Miller’s place, might not be a bad idea to find some fire extinguishers.”

“Would they have those?” she asked, offering a big blink.

“I would assume. Maybe some medical, too.”

Jane looked longingly out her window beside her as if she wished they could go further to search for Noah and the girls. Then she looked back at him and offered a resigned nod. Roman pulled the truck around to the side and cut the engine. They got out, and he pocketed the keys after setting the lock.

In the back of the ambulance, they found some supplies, not much, but they took them anyway. Inside the firehouse, Roman could tell it had been abandoned months ago. One firetruck was still sitting in a bay, but the other three were empty. Connor would’ve liked seeing one this close up.

Jane split off from him and returned a few minutes later with three emergency medical bags, or at least that’s what they seemed to be by the red color and white cross on them.

“Good find,” he nodded and showed her the four fire extinguishers he’d sourced. They carried out their loot, and Roman loaded it into the back of the truck. Then they went back inside and up to the second floor.

They ended up finding some prepackaged foods like sacks of rice and uncooked beans and an empty cardboard box that they filled fairly quickly. Roman hurried it out to the truck and returned to her. Jane was in a supply room when he found her. She was holding a ream of printing paper still in its package.

“What’s that for? We need sensible supplies,” he chastised.

“I was thinking for Connor,” she explained, making him feel like a turd. “He should still work on some sort of schooling. We don’t know how long this is going to go, but even if he just doodles. There’s no form of entertainment anymore. Television is just the emergency broadcasts, which he probably shouldn’t even watch. The radio doesn’t play anything but the same. I thought maybe I’d color with him tonight.”

He felt even worse after that statement. Then Roman saw her in Noah’s arms again and rebuked the offer, “It’s fine. I’ll handle Connor. I don’t need your help.”

He took the paper from her and put it in a box along with some pens, pencils, notebooks, and other office supplies. When he turned back, Jane was gone. Roman jogged downstairs and out to the truck, where he stashed the box.

He found Jane upstairs still but in some sort of small room with what appeared to be medical supplies. She loaded the two small boxes he found with what was left, which wasn’t much, and he rushed them out to the truck. By the time he met up again with her