Alaskan Undead Apocalypse (Book 4): Resolution Read Online Free PDF Page A

for the past few hours.
    When all of the troubles had started, Syd
had been with Bob on a late season fishing run. Jess had been only
able to speak with Bob once since that terrible day so long ago but
the conversation had helped maintain Jess’ hope for her daughter’s
life. Bob knew what was happening and promised to keep Syd safe.
Jess knew she could count on Bob. He was a good man and had always
looked out for the two of them, despite not being Syd’s father. He
had never hesitated to willingly fill whatever role either Jess or
Syd needed of him. It was for that reason that Jess had been able
to nurse along her hope for Syd’s life and safety.
    Not a day had passed that Jess hadn’t
thought about her daughter, but the time and distance combined with
the desperate nature of her current existence had blunted the depth
of awareness she’d had for her daughter. When Jess saw the socks,
she was transported back to the day the socks had ended up in the
trunk in the first place. After an impromptu midnight venture to
Clam Gulch, Jess and Syd, feet wet and squishy, crawled back into
Jess’ waiting car. Jess had thought ahead enough to be wearing Tiva
sandals but Syd had waded into the cold, surging surf in her tennis
shoes. Back at the car, Syd took off both shoes and socks, throwing
the socks into the open trunk and her shoes into the backseat. The
socks fell victim to the curse of out of sight, out of mind, and
had remained in the trunk until that moment.
    In her mind, Jess was seeing Syd’s smile and
smelling the scented shampoo she used daily. Jess could hear her
voice and full chested laugh. The memories, specific and full of
acute details, reawakened in Jess the pain of the protracted and
uncertain separation. As with Neil’s Ibuprofen, Jess had also been
lucky. She found a long forgotten pack of Marlboro cigarettes with
a handful of smokes still in it in her glove box. Borrowing a
lighter from Emma and giving her one of the precious cigarettes in
return, Jess stepped away to smoke and gather herself.
    Meanwhile, little Nikki, only slightly more
alert and responsive than a catatonic, was outfitted with extra
odds and ends from Jules and Danny. She was the least prepared of
all of them and in the worst position to do anything about it. She
was so small and so frail, both of body and spirit. Vulnerability
was her most outward and apparent characteristic. Nothing they had
was capable of protecting her from the cold, and that was
distressing to all of them, but more so to Danny.
    It was apparent to everyone that Danny had
taken on a bit of a guardian role with Nikki. When the militia had
abducted them, Danny was the oldest child of the four. They looked
to him for protection and strength. Although scared himself, Danny
accepted his new designation and did what he could to keep them
safe. Danny merely tried to do what he thought Neil would have done
for all of them. And when he felt like his fear was going to
staunch his efforts, Danny chided himself and searched his memory
for Neil’s voice to embolden his resolve. Nikki, like Jules, clung
to Danny both physically and metaphorically and Danny did what he
could to justify her faith in him. He felt a sense akin to his
idolization of Neil and what he had done for all of them and was
eager to emulate the hero in his life. He zipped up the sweatshirt,
which was a couple of sizes too large for Nikki and pulled socks
over her hands to act as gloves. He also wrapped a blanket they
found in Jess’ trunk around her shoulders to further fend off the
cold, though it came off looking like a princess’ ceremonial robe
more than ad hoc winter gear. Through all of it, Nikki hadn’t said
a word until she finally stated what all of them were feeling.
    “I’m hungry.”
    It had been a couple of days since they had
eaten anything and their stomachs were growling testament to that
fact.
    Neil shared with more than a little hope in
his voice, “There will be food on the other side of