The Dead And The Gone Read Online Free PDF

no way of reassuring her family that she was all right.
    Alex prayed to Christ for the wisdom to see what would be required of him and for the strength to do it. He prayed for the souls of those who were dead, and for the safe return of those who were gone. He thanked God for the Church, without which he would be lost.
    He got home to find his sisters up and prowling around the apartment.
    “You’re back!” Bri cried as though he’d been gone for weeks, not hours. “Where were you?”
    “At St. Margaret’s,” he said. “I left a note. Didn’t you see it?”
    “Yeah,” Bri admitted. “We were worried you might not come right back.”
    “Well, I did,” Alex said. “And I’m hungry. Have you had breakfast yet?”
    “No,” Bri said. “We didn’t feel like eating until we knew you were okay.”
    “I’m fine,” Alex said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. “Why don’t you make us breakfast, Bri. We’ll all be happier after we’ve eaten.”
    “What do we have to be happy about?” Julie asked. “We don’t know where Mami or Papi are, or what’s happening, or when things are going to be normal again.”
    “Well, you could be happy you’re not in school flunking your English test,” Alex said. “You could be happy because we have food in the house and we have each other. You could be happy because the sun is shining and because you got to sleep late. There are a lot of things you could be happy about if you wanted.”
    “Do you want to smell the milk?” Bri asked from the kitchen. “I think it’s okay.”
    Alex went into the kitchen and took a sniff. “It’s okay,” he said. “Let’s have cereal and milk while we can.”
    “What does that mean?” Julie asked. “When won’t we be able to have cereal and milk?”
    “Father Franco said they weren’t sure when we’d be getting electricity back,” Alex said. “That’s all. Maybe by Monday. No point buying milk before then.”
    Bri put wheat flakes into three bowls and then poured some milk over hers. She took a bite and smiled. “It’s okay.” she said. She sliced a banana and distributed the pieces.
    “What else did Father Franco say?” Julie asked.
    “He said the airports are closed and phones are going to be out for a while,” Alex said. “Which is why we haven’t heard from Mami. I tried calling the hospital this morning, but the phone was dead. We were lucky Papi and Carlos got through to us yesterday. And they don’t know when schools will reopen.”
    “That should make you happy,” Bri said to Julie.
    “I miss school,” Julie said. “I’m bored. At least at school I do stuff and I hang out with my friends.”
    “There’s stuff for you to do here,” Alex said. “For both of you. After breakfast, why don’t you put away all the food we got from Uncle Jimmy?”
    “There may not be room for it in the cupboards,” Bri said.
    “See if you can find room,” Alex said. “You know how Papi and Mami feel about the apartment being a mess. That reminds me. Julie, did you think to take batteries?”
    Julie shook her head. “Did you?” she asked.
    “I wouldn’t be asking if I had,” Alex said.
    “We’re okay without batteries,” Bri said. “The flashlights are working.”
    “I wanted them for the radio,” Alex said. “I guess it’ll have to wait.”
    “What are
you
going to do?” Julie asked.
    “I have things to check,” Alex said. “You do your job and I’ll do mine.”
    “Yes, master,” Julie said.
    Alex left his sisters and went into his parents’ bedroom. If Mami walked in while he was going through their things, she’d kill him. But Alex figured he’d better see if there was any cash in the house. He had his tip money from Wednesday night, more than usual, thanks to 12B, but that wasn’t very-much.
    He started with the drawers of his parents’ bureau, in case there was an envelope with money under their clothes. Then he opened the drawers of their night table. No money