After the End: Survival Read Online Free PDF Page B

what we’d seen, so her and some of her friends and their kids went out and looked and then most of us came back and Kay got hold of Mr. Rodriguez."
    "You two have done all the right things. No one could have done any better." Pete paused. "Did you find any other clothes?"
    Shane answered. "Yessir. Somebody had made a little campfire in the clearing. We found a pair of jeans next to where the fire was."
    "Deputy Rodriguez showed me some clothes, the one's you found, and I was wondering about something. I didn't find anything in the pockets. Were you able to find anything?"
    The boys were silent for a few seconds, and it was Jimmy who spoke. "Yeah. Just a little old chain." He dug into his pants pocket. "This here."
    He handed a small gold crucifix to Pete. Diamonds had been embedded at the end of each arm of the cross, and one larger stone in the middle where the two arms intersected. The overall effect was a rugged yet delicate beauty.
    "Jimmy, this may be a tremendous help for us to figure out who this girl is. And if we can figure that out we'll be one step closer to figuring out who killed her. Can I keep this?"
    "Sure," Jimmy said, shrugging his shoulders, trying hard to sound nonchalant. "It's just an old chain. Kind of pretty though, ain't it?"
    "It is. Can you boys come out with us to the creek and show me where you found everything? You'll have your choice of vehicles to ride in." Pete knew this would be more than enough inducement for the two. With the scarcity of gasoline, a ride in any vehicle was a real treat. He hoped, too, it would take some of the sting out of having to give up the necklace.
    "All right!" With grins, and both boys jumped up, ready to go. There was a quick OK from the household adults and they were off. Shane rode with Pete, while Jimmy was in the deputy's pickup. The boys spent most of the three mile drive hanging out of windows, yelling back and forth to each other. Despite the trip's somber purpose, the boys' exhilaration was infectious. Pete saw David look in his rear view mirror, eyes crinkled, his head shaking.
    They drove past the university stadium and turned east. A rock slide from a bluff on the road's north side forced the group to park and begin hiking. Insects buzzed around them and the humid air felt close in the August heat. The youngsters didn't seem to notice. A trail ran parallel to the slow flowing stream. The two boys hiked along it with obvious familiarity. Huge cottonwood trees shaded their way, their gnarled roots exposed by the erosive action of the creek that would flood several times a year.
    After about a quarter mile, the boys stopped.
    "Right here's where we found her." Shane was pointing to a clearing about fifty feet from the small lake. As they walked to the clearing, the older boy suddenly jumped back. "Dang! I hate rattlesnakes." As he spoke, a thick, brown serpent leisurely moved across the path. Jimmy poked at it with a limb he'd been carrying. The serpent paused, tail rattling, and then continued across the trail into the underbrush.
    "It ain't nothin’ but a baby."
    "Then why didn’t you use a shorter stick," Shane said. "She was lying right over here. And right there,” he pointed, “is the bush where Jimmy found her shirt. Her pants were right here." Pete and David peered at the various points of interest. All Pete was able to see initially was the clearing, a few bushes, coals from a dead campfire and about a thousand potential hiding places for snakes. After several minutes, he spoke to the deputy.
    "Guess we should look around some."
    "You find any rattlers you think maybe witnessed something, I'll let you do the interrogating."
    The two men slowly walked in ever widening circles around the campfire. The boys watched for a few minutes and then went down the trail to the pool to look for crawfish.
    "David, what exactly are we looking for?"
    "Anything that doesn’t look normal. I looked around once before, after we carried the body out, but I didn't