American Apocalypse Wastelands Read Online Free PDF Page A

now using. Night followed me. Behind me I heard Ninja ask Jake, “Want to play Halo ?”
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    We were lying in bed a couple days later. Since I was able to handle the stairs, Night and I had moved into one of Jake’s spare bedrooms. He wasn’t thrilled about it but it was obvious to everyone that we needed some privacy, especially since Night was also healing up rather nicely.
    She was resting her head on my chest. She had cut her hair very short, using a pair of scissors and the bathroom mirror, and had begun wearing a bandanna to cover the back while it grew in. At first I was startled by the new look, but I was adjusting all right.
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    As her fingertip idly traced patterns only she could see on my chest and across my abs, she whispered, “Jake made a pass at me this morning.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œTell me more.”
    She sighed. “I was in the kitchen washing dishes”—she paused and poked me in the ribs with a finger—“your dishes as a matter of fact.”
    â€œOuch!”
    â€œAnyway, he came in and started talking to me. I didn’t think anything of it. Then he walked up next to me. I thought he needed a glass or was going to offer to help.”

    She sighed at the absurdity of what she had just said. I might be a little slack on doing the dishes but I still did chores. Jake didn’t do shit. His attitude was, It’s my place, my food. You do the grunt work .
    â€œSo I’m standing there and all of a sudden he has a handful of my ass and is squeezing it.” She stopped.
    I gave her about a minute. Damn, I hated having to drag stuff out of people. “Then what?”
    â€œI slapped him and told him, ‘Touch me again and I will kill you.’ He just laughed. Then he drew on me. I told him, ‘You think you’re good. Wait until I tell Gardener.’”
    I interrupted her, “Let me guess. He probably said something like ‘Go ahead, baby, but I’m faster.’”
    She pulled her head back enough so she could see my face. “That was pretty much it.”
    I laughed. “Did he do his Hollywood spin when he holstered them?”
    â€œYes.” I could tell by her expression and the flatness in her reply that she wasn’t getting the reaction she expected.
    â€œDon’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
    She gave me a hug. I thought that was it. In fact, I was drifting off to sleep when she said, “Gardener?”
    â€œHmm?”
    â€œCan you take him?”
    â€œI already have. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    I let a couple of days go by. When we crossed paths, I acted as if nothing had happened. Now I knew why Jake had seemed a little tense around me for the past few days.
    On the third day we were sitting around the table talking about Max’s plan to head for the farm. Max asked Jake if he wanted to go with him early the next morning and recon the route he had chosen. Jake agreed, of course. I knew he resented the fact that Max never asked him along when he went out. I thought it was sort of funny actually.
    The next morning I was sitting at the kitchen table with Max, drinking coffee, when Jake came out of his bedroom.
    â€œHello, sleepyhead,” I said.
    He shot me the evil eye and pointedly looked at the clock to let me know he was on time. I grinned at him. He didn’t bother to address me. Instead he asked Max, “He’s going?” Meaning me, of course.
    â€œYep. We might as well practice how we are going to move cross-country.”

    Jake liked that. I knew about jock sniffers. That there were camo crotch sniffers was a revelation to me. Jake, I thought, definitely fell in that category.
    â€œGreat idea. I can walk point.”
    â€œYeah. We’ll all be doing some of that.” Max said.
    We headed south down the path behind the house. It was already warm for so early in the morning. It was