Deep Freeze: Protocol One, Book 2 (Protocol One Saga) Read Online Free PDF

asked.
    “I’m fine. Thank you. Is it just you three?”
    Larry answered, “There’s others. They’re here and there. About twelve of us. Four are kids.”
    “That’s amazing,” I said with eyes that danced around the room. “You have a radio.”
    “Yeah, well, there was an entire room filled with them. We can’t call out, only listen.”
    “You said you spotted me on the scope. Have you spotted anyone else around here?”
    “No.” He shook his head. “We caught you on the hourly. You were on top of that garage.” He reached to the small pot on top of the heater and poured whatever was in the pot into a mug. “Sure you don’t want something to drink.”
    “No, really I’m …” I caught the aroma of the beverage, it smelled warm and fruity. “You know, maybe a little. That smells really good.”
    He handed me the mug. “Gail, here, made this fruit tea. We dehydrate the skins. Try it.”
    The first sip crossed my lips and stung from the heat, but I was able to enjoy the flavor. It was truly an ingenious thing. “You mentioned ‘camps’. Do you mean around here in the city.”
    “All about the city. Small ones,” he said.
    Gail added, “A lot of people left though. Once the weather warmed up, they packed what they could and headed south. People remain though. Some waiting longer, some hoping this will pass and we can start a normal life.”
    “Is that what you’re doing?” I asked.
    “No,” she replied. “We want to move out. Hopefully find Protocol One. It’s around here somewhere.”
    Mid sip, my eyes lifted over the rim of the mug. “Protocol One?”
    Larry pointed to the radio. “We pick them up, a couple other big bunkers, oddly named after apocalypse movies. But they are farther way. Protocol One is closer from what we gathered. Wish we had a way to communicate with them.”
    “How are you gonna get there?” I asked.
    “Wait until the weather breaks, if it does and walk,” Larry said. “Would help if we knew where they were. We’re thinking Elwood City. Just by some of the locations that have been mentioned. If we could reach out, maybe get them to grab the kids at least. We’re a good bunch of people,” Larry said. “Have a lot to offer. I was maintenance for the museum here and did the upkeep on this sub. Gail is a nurse. We wouldn’t be trouble. Not like what they had. We heard about that over the radio.
    “Why do you want to join them?”
    “Aside from them not sounding like a totalitarian so—”
    I laughed, cutting him off.
    “What?” he asked.
    “Nothing, please, go on. Just thinking of my friend.”
    “The radio guy is funny. It’s the only entertainment we get. When they play those games, we try to play along.”
    I nodded and sipped my beverage.
    “So are you or aren’t you gonna tell us you’re from Protocol One.”
    Slowly, I lowered the mug. “How did you know?”
    “The fancy outfit. Mainly your voice. We listened to you every day for months. We know your voice. I recognized it as soon as you said a few words.”
    “I’m sorry,” I said in a humble manner. “I’m just being careful. Please don’t take offense.”
    “None taken. Who’s lost?”
    “Tony.”
    “Tony?” Larry said with shock. “How long?”
    “He’s been gone two hours.”
    Larry whistled. “What happened?”
    “We were on a search, to gauge for survivors, actually Gil, who has taken over the control, needs more hands. Try to get an idea of how many, who we’ll transport and so forth. Then when we were turning, someone cried for help. We stopped. Thank God we took our stuff from the Humvee, because it was a ruse. She yelled from one door of the casino that someone was hurt, we ran in and someone took the vehicle. I’m guessing she ran through and met them. Tony decided to chase after and I haven’t seen him since.”
    “Why would he chase them?”
    “Because, I think, he believed he’d run to the front and catch up with her. I think he did because there were