The Journal: Fault Line (The Journal Book 5) Read Online Free PDF

programming it to take her
home.
     
    ***
     
    Christine turned left as her GPS instructed
her to do and thought she would have a clear route to the
expressway. After making the required turn, she ran into a side
street filled with rubble and had to back up and try a different
turn, much to the chagrin of the programmed GPS voice. Another bad
turn and one good turn brought her straight in line with a burning
gas station.
    “Holy shit!” she gasped aloud and backed away
quickly to turn around, just as the gas station’s tank blew and
impaled a brick in her back window. Panicking, she hit the gas and
bounced over a few bricks that hadn’t been there a minute earlier
trying to put as much distance between her and that gas
station.
    A block later, with her GPS nagging her to
turn left again, Christine stopped the car, turned the useless GPS
off and got out. She held on to the door and leaned over, vomiting
up the remnants of her lunch.
    “Are you okay, miss?” a low voice asked.
    Christine snapped her head up in terror. The
elderly man, carrying what looked like a purse, had a kindly face
and kept his distance. It wasn’t until she stood fully up, that
Christine noticed he wasn’t alone.
    “My name is Henry Palazzola. This is my wife
Sadie and our grandson Michael,” he informed her with a hesitant
smile.
    “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Palazzola.
I’m Christine Tiggs. The explosion just now really scared me. In
fact, all of this has really scared me.” Her lip quivered a bit and
her lashes dampened. She studied the man in front of her. He was in
his late seventies, with a head of silver hair in tight curls and
waves. His kindly face was etched with deep lines and a complexion
that bespoke of a Mediterranean heritage.
    She straightened her shoulders and took a
deep breath. “I don’t know where I am and I can’t find my way to
the expressway to go home!”
    “There, there, Christine. I think you’ve just
had an adrenaline burst from being justifiably frightened and it
upset your stomach,” Sadie said, coming closer and putting her arm
around Christine’s shoulders. “We can’t go home either.”
    “Why not?”
    “You’re standing in what was our parlor,”
Sadie chuckled, and then frowned. Christine looked around her for
the first time, really looked, and noticed bits and pieces of
furniture, shattered glass sprouting from broken picture frames and
a china teacup, still intact. She picked it up, a tear slipping
down her cheek and handed it to Sadie.
    Sadie looked at the china cup in her hand and
looked the young girl in the eyes, smiled, and let the teacup slip
from her fingers to the ground where it shattered. The action
startled Christine.
    “It’s only stuff, Christine. It’s all only stuff,” Sadie said, her strong voice adding to the conviction.
“Where are you headed?”
    “I guess I’m going back to the hotel,”
Christine answered, still staring at the cup in shock. “It’s
getting late and I’ll only get lost in the dark.”
    “May we come with you?” Henry asked. “I think
we would be safer in a group.”
    As the three piled in the car with Christine,
Michael tugged on his grandmother’s hand.
    “Noona, I’m thirsty.”
    Christine looked in the rearview mirror and
met Sadie’s eyes. “There’s bottled water in that suitcase,” she
told her. The old lady smiled and nodded.
    “So, Christine, why are you in this dark hole
of humanity? No offense, dear, but a young white girl shouldn’t be
in this neighborhood on her own,” Sadie said while Christine
maneuvered around some debris in the road while Henry guided her
back to the hotel. A blast from another exploding gas tank rocked
the small car and everyone instinctively ducked.
    “I was at a training seminar at the Carlyle
when the quake hit,” she explained nervously. Neither adult caught
her faraway look as her thoughts automatically turned to Lois. “I
actually live in Greenwood, about five hours from here, and this
GPS