Desolation Boulevard Read Online Free PDF Page B

then crept quietly
to the front door of the café and peered around the edge of the
doorway. She could see the lonely figure of the man walking away
from her about two blocks away. That was enough for her. She headed
home.

Chapter 8
     
    Matt regained consciousness to find his face
being chewed on and screamed. It took seconds for him to realise
that Elvis was licking the side of his face where it had been
grazed by the fall.
    “ Bloody hell, boy! That’s
twice today you’ve given me a heart attack.”
    He looked up at the sky and saw that the sun
had moved towards the west, but the streets were just as quiet as
they had been before he passed out. “Not a nightmare then,” he
thought to himself, cynically. Now he had decision to make. Either
get back in the car and drive to the nearest town, or go home and
wait for the authorities to resolve this crazy situation. If he
drove to Carswell, he would arrive at around sunset, and that was
not an appealing idea, especially if he found the place in the same
state as Millfield. And there were his parents to consider. If he
stayed home, and this catastrophe finally resolved itself, he would
be closer to them when they recovered. He decided to head home.
    The sun was pushing towards the western
hills when Matt pulled the ute into his driveway. Constant checking
of his mobile phone had not yielded a signal, and when he went
inside, he found that he was still without mains power. He went out
to the shed and checked the generator, and made sure the chickens
were locked up for the night, before he headed back into the house.
Elvis stayed by his side the whole time. He couldn’t tell whether
the dog was providing protection or in need of it. Maybe both. By
now the sun was below the hills and it was getting dark inside the
house. Usually at this time of the evening Matt’s mum would be
getting something ready for dinner while dad sat at the kitchen
table with a beer and the newspaper. Tonight though, Matt knew his
parents were lying somewhere unconscious and at the mercy of the
night, like everyone else in town. He hoped that they would be safe
until he could search for them at first light.
    Matt wasn’t hungry and he felt like his head
was disconnected from his body, but he forced himself to make a
sandwich and have something to drink. He took them out onto the
front porch and ate while Elvis finished off last night’s
leftovers. He looked cross the fields towards town as the sun set
behind the house. Somewhere in the distance a dog howled. Matt was
about to get up and go inside when he heard another noise. His joy
was indescribable! A low whining hum coming from above. It was the
unmistakeable drone of a jet airliner! Matt scanned the darkening
sky until he found the source - a blinking light traversing from
west to east, heading towards the city! Matt screamed in delight
and hugged Elvis. He knew that people must be on that plane, and
someone must be flying it. The whole world wasn’t affected by the
disaster, just his part of it! In that short moment Matt had found
hope that his parents would be okay. Surely by tomorrow authorities
would have things under control and some information would be
forthcoming. He went inside with a semblance of hope, and feeling
happier than he had been since he had found the Thompsons’ hiding
under their bed earlier that morning.

Chapter 9
     
    Back in her flat, Sally tried to take stock
of her situation. Her first task was to address the lack of
electricity. She found as many candles as she could and stacked
them all together, with a box of matches on the kitchen bench - she
really didn’t want to be without lights when the sun went down. The
next thing she considered was food. She took all of the perishables
from the refrigerator and stacked them tightly into the freezer.
She didn’t know how long the electricity would be out, but figured
that she could keep the food fresh for a couple of days, even with
the power off. Next she went to the