The Last Peak (Book 2): The Darwin Collapse Read Online Free PDF Page A

right?”
    Beth forced herself into a semblance of composure and replied, “Yes, please help Iridia’s butt first, and then, if you happen to have any time left over, maybe take a crack at the lesser needs of the rest of the world.”
    “Exactly,” Iridia said, “I figured he knew all about the big problems we face. It’s the little problems that sometimes escape notice.”
    The laughter resumed and it took a full two minutes before it died down again. Mason took a big breath. The suffocating weight on his chest felt one ounce lighter.  
    Laughter.  
    They needed it.
    A light to resist the clawing darkness.
    “Thank you, Iridia,” Mason said.  
    “For what?”
    “Never mind, let’s eat,” Mason said. “And go slow. This isn’t the Sizzler all-you-can-eat buffet.” He took a spoonful of rice and beans and chewed it slowly. His body buzzed at the incoming caloric delivery. Food became sacred, a sacrament, when the end of its abundance was in sight.
    A wet rasping cough came from the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
      “Where’s Clyde?” Mason asked.
    Beth had saved the week-old Bili chimpanzee from dying inside his mother’s womb. If Iridia was an odd addition to his household (and she was), Clyde was stranger yet. But Beth wouldn’t have it any other way. She was as committed to his future as she was her own. Mason didn’t think the extra burden was a wise choice considering the state of things, but Beth had made it clear the topic wasn’t open for discussion.
    Mason understood.
    Clyde’s mother had been like another daughter to Beth. Her death still very much a tragedy Beth was working through. Besides, Clyde was good for Theresa, too. The gruesome deaths of their dog Max and her best friend Holly had punched a hole in Theresa’s heart. Caring for Clyde distracted and focused her attention at the same time.
    Caring for another was a powerful means of caring for yourself.
    “He’s snuggling Lambchops in my bed,” Theresa replied.
    That was a surprise considering how attached she was to the old stuffie that had been her nightly companion over the last fourteen years.
    “Didn’t he chew off the remaining eye button yesterday?” Mason asked.
    Theresa’s jaw twitched. “Yes, he did. But he needs Lambchops more than I do right now. So, I’m sharing for the time being.”
    Elio giggled under his breath.
    Theresa smacked his shoulder, but not too hard as he was still recovering from the gun shot wound to his left side. He’d gotten lucky. It had torn out a chunk of flesh on his left side below the ribs, but no bones or vital organs had been involved. “Don’t laugh at me!”
    “I’m not! I mean, a little maybe. You’re fifteen years old and you still have a woobie.”
    “Elio Lopez! He is not a woobie. He is Lambchops. And he’ll be around longer than you will at this rate.”
    Mason laughed. So like her mother.
    “Sorry,” Elio replied. “Baby stuffies are A-okay with me.”
    Theresa pinched her face tighter and frowned.
    Beth grinned. “That hole keeps getting deeper.”
    Elio stared hard at his plate. “I’m going to eat now.”
    “Smart choice, for once,” Theresa said in an icy tone.
    Everyone ate in silence for a few minutes, each in the shadow of their own thoughts, as if the blazing sun outside couldn’t reach them. Elio broke the spell.
    “Mason?”
    Mason blinked his eyes back into their shared reality. “Yep?”
    “I’m not trying to be a problem, but I can’t wait any longer. I have to go check on my mom.”
    Mason had stalled the kid for days on the decision of when to go check on Maria. She lived at their apartment in Inglewood. The first few days had been easy as neither of them were in shape to do anything more than rest and recuperate. But now that they were both growing stronger, it was likewise growing more difficult to keep him contained.
    The danger involved in traversing eight miles of dense urban jungle in its current condition was incalculable. It was