Iron Mike Read Online Free PDF Page A

closed-captioning for times when he missed a word or two.
    “Where’s your mother, Ryan?” Gran asked. Gran was the only person who ever called him Ryan.
    Mike shook his head and looked away. Gran nodded, her bright blue eyes clouded with pain. “And your father?”
    “He was at work,” Mike said, his voice shaky. “The phone lines were down, so … I don’t know, Gran.”
    Gran nodded again, her lips set in a thin line. “At least you two are here,” she said, the no-nonsense tone back in her voice. “It’s the end of days, boy. There’s work to be done.”
    Mike nodded, uncertainly. Gran had talk about the end of days before, and Mike had always dismissed her words as the religious fire of an old woman, something he needed to tolerate respectfully, but which had no bearing on his life. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Still, the main thing was, he had gotten Jenn and himself here safely, so Gran was in charge now.
    “What do you need me to do?” he asked quietly.
    Gran looked down at the dead man in her lap, her husband of forty-six years, and gently stroked his thin face. She smiled sadly at her grandson. “Poppa fell right here about an hour or so ago,” she said, her voice becoming businesslike again as she finished her sentence, “so I’ve had my grievin’ time with him. Ryan, you need to put him to rest for me, son.”
    “Gran … shouldn’t we call someone?” Mike asked softly. He could tell Gran wasn’t thinking quite right – there were authorities who needed to be notified, forms to be filled out. The police and coroner would have questions, he knew, even though the cause of death was self-evident. And they would have to call a funeral home, right?
    She shook her head grimly and spoke with quiet intensity. “You ain’t thinking, boy. You saw all those people dyin’ on the television. If there is anyone left to call, they won’t have time for one old man out in Bullitt County.” Gran waited a long moment and watched the boy’s blue eyes – a mirror of her own – as the sharp brain behind them struggled to process the information. In front of her, he put childhood behind him and stepped up to the adult role she held out to him.
    She exhaled the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. God knows, she couldn’t have blamed the boy for wanting to remain a child, but it made things much easier knowing he was mature enough to face the hardships that would come. He would be able to protect his sister, as much as any man could, while the apocalypse was born. She gave him a smile of pride when he looked up at her again.
    “Where do you want me to put him, Gran? The ground is frozen.”
    “You can’t put him in the ground!” Jenn’s angry, tearful accusation was so unexpected, Mike actually jumped. She came in from the doorway, her fists clenched at her sides. Her eyes flicked quickly to Poppa’s corpse, and then back to Mike, fury in her gaze. “You have to get him to a hospital, Mike! You can’t put him in the ground, like he’s a dog! Why are you even thinking something so stupid? I hate you, Mike Sanderlin, I hate you!!”
    Mike continued to kneel beside Gran, but he looked up at his little sister. To Gran’s surprise – and relief – there was no return anger in his eyes, just an expression of understanding and shared misery. “I’m sorry, Jenn,” he said gently. “Right now, I hate me, too.”
    Jenn had no reply. She wanted to fight, and Mike’s admission left her with nothing to yell about. She simply turned, tears streaming down her face, and stomped off into her old bedroom where her toys and extra clothes were kept, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her.
    Gran’s eyes met Mike’s. “You have to make her mind you now, Ryan, whether she wants or not. It’s the end of days, boy, and you will be responsible for her safety. For her life, Ryan.”
    Mike nodded absently. “Extinction event,” he corrected softly, not even realizing he’d spoken the words