Ascension (The Ascension Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

shower?” John asked himself.
    He decided to go before jumping in the shower and when he was done, he still had to wait another two minutes before the shower was as hot as he liked it. So he stepped on the scale and it read, “112 lbs.” He sighed.
    Finally, when the moment was right, he hopped in the shower and covered every bit of his shoulder-length hair with shampoo. He washed thoroughly, got out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed. He sent Charles a text message informing him that his morning was going well and he wouldn’t need a ride to school because he’d be able to make the bus. Charles’s reply was a single, “cool.”
    John hesitated for a moment and then sent another text message asking Charles if he could stay over at his place for a few days. “Just gotta get away from here,” John typed.
    “Anytime bro,” Charles replied.
    John went into his closet and grabbed his favorite jacket, the black hooded trench coat. He placed it on over his faded Che shirt and grabbed his backpack. While still in his room, he took his phone from his pocket and called Clark.
    “Hey, Clark. What’s up, man?”
    “Not much, John. Just getting ready for class. I’m waiting on my girlfriend to come over.”
    “How does she get to your place?” John asked him.
    “ Sarah has a friend that picks her up from her parents’ place. Her friend drives her to my place so we can hook up and then we take the bus together to get to school. That’s how it usually works.”
    “ As long as it works, man,” John said.
    “Yeah. I’m having dinner with her and her parents tonight.”
    “Wish you luck,” John said. “Anyway, I was calling about your party. Heard you got a location.”
    “Yeah, actually, I do,” Clark said over the phone. “It’s gonna be in the large open area over the tracks. No adults, no interruptions, just a huge hangout near the old barn. You’re gonna love it.”
    “We’ll party like the Amish,” John joked.
    Clark laughed, “Exactly.”
    “Well cool, that’s all I was wondering. See you in class.”
    John ended the call, opened his bedroom door, and made his exit. He entered the living room of his house. It was an extremely messy room with beer bottles lying all over the dirty carpet. A small clunky television was turned onto Channel 5 News.
    “Negotiations are underway for reconstruction of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge,” said the newscaster. “The mayor of Cincinnati is seeking measures to gather the proper funding.”
    In front of the television was a ratty old recliner and sitting in the recliner was John’s father, Alexander Ahern. His father was a salt and pepper bearded man whose head was balding. He was also missing his left leg which had been amputated at the knee. In a musty housecoat and pajamas, his father awoke from a stupor with beer bottles surrounding his recliner. He coughed and looked up at John.
    “Where’re you goin’ ?” his father croaked.
    “I’m going to s chool. Don’t see you the bookbag,” John said as he pointed to the backpack draped over his shoulder.
    “Yeah, yeah,” his father said in a raspy tone. “Today I… I… I gotta…”
    “You gotta what?” John asked. “Get high?”
    “Don’t you talk to me like that, you jackass,” his father said as he took his walking stick and pointed to the mantelpiece above the fireplace. On the mantelpiece were four items lined up in a row: a military beret, a shoulder strap embroidered with two silver stars, a Purple Heart medal, and a Purple Heart Certificate. It read:
    The United States of America
    To All Who Shall See These Presents, Greeting:
    This Is To Certify That
    The President of The United States of America
    Has Awarded The
    PURPLE HEART
    Established By General George Washington
    At Newburgh, New York, August 7, 1782
    To
    0-8 MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDER J. AHERN
    For Wounds Received In Action
    In The Republic of Iraq
     
    “You see that?” John’s father asked him.
    “I see it,”