The Divide: Origins Read Online Free PDF Page A

but it’s clear you don’t belong
with people like that,” she said and got out of the truck.
    Max
knew he should just drive away. He had taken Zoe home, so his job was done.
Something stopped him, though. He had a bad feeling, and he wanted to see this
through. Max got out and walked to the door. Just as he reached it, he heard
Zoe scream. He ran inside to discover a sight that changed everything about his
plans with Zoe. Two people lay dead in the living room floor. Based on their
ages, he could guess who they were. These were Zoe’s parents. They had been
shot multiple times, and as he looked around, Max noticed that a lot of things
seemed to be missing. The kitchen had been raided, and every drawer throughout
the house had been flung open in an effort to loot anything of value.
    “We
have to go. You don’t need to see this,” Max said as he pulled her up from her
dad’s side.
    “Get
the hell away from me! Men like you did this! They were good people. My mom and dad would’ve given anyone who
needed help shelter. Some piece of shit just walked in here and took everything
away from us, though, without even thinking to ask for it or what the
consequences would be for somebody. Don’t you understand, Max? If this is the
world we’re living in, it might have been better for your friend to shoot me
back at the house. You just need to leave. Staying here won’t help you or me.
We’re all going to die anyway,” she said while trying to hold back tears.
    “I’m
not leaving until you come with me. You’re right. We’re probably going to die,
but the only chance we have of survival is through banding together. One person
can’t make it in this world anymore. You know that.”
    “So
what? You have Jerome, and if I go back with you, he’ll just end up killing me
like he did my friend.”
    “I
won’t let him. Please, just come with me.”
    “I’m
not leaving. Don’t you understand? I didn’t ask for you and your friends to
walk in last night and kill the people I loved, and I certainly didn’t ask you to
practice being a hero on me. If you want redemption, good for
you, but I’m not going to be your ticket to it. There might not even be
redemption for an asshole like you who stabs his wife nearly a hundred times.
You might just burn in hell, no matter what you do, so stop trying to make me
your redemption. It’s not worth it, and I don’t want your charity.”
    “I’m
still not going anywhere.”
    “Damn
it! Just go!” Zoe yelled before sitting back against the wall and sobbing.
    Max
simply sat beside her and wrapped one arm around her. Some of the things Zoe
said were hurtful, but he could see straight through her words. She was just a
kid who was hurting. Were his actions with her going to redeem him? No, but
this was about more than that now. Before Max was known as a murderer, he was a
normal and compassionate person. Something about Zoe reminded him of who he was before his family died. That was worth holding
onto.
    “Let’s
just get out of here,” Zoe said and dried her eyes.
    “All
right,” Max said and pulled her up.
    As
they were walking to the door, something occurred to Zoe that might change
their fortunes.
    “We
have a storage building in the backyard. There’s a small generator and an old
air conditioner out there. Maybe the people who did this didn’t take them,” she
said.
    “They
probably took everything, but it’s worth a look. Thank you.”
    Zoe
showed him to the storage building, and when they opened it, one thing became
clear. Odds were that the thieves hadn’t taken much of anything from there
because the room was packed full of junk. It seemed impossible to find
anything. After searching for several minutes, Max finally found the items he
was looking for, though. A small generator and an air conditioner were tucked
away in the corner under several other things. He was even able to find a gas
can that had a little left in it.
    “I’ll
trade you those for a favor,”