The Last Tribe Read Online Free PDF

his
father’s warnings, Greg planned on using major highways to Hanover.  Today he
decided to leave campus and walk to his English teacher’s house in the town
near the highway.  He packed his bag during the morning hours, thought about
his route, and went to sleep at 10am.
    Greg awoke in the dark.  He got
dressed, brushed his teeth, and grabbed his gear.  He was used to working in
the pitch black after four weeks with no power.  The moon was half full, and
provided enough light when he left the dorm.
    The smell hit Greg as soon as he
opened the door.  He put the crook of his arm over his mouth and nose, and
hoped the odor would subside as he moved away from campus and the morgue dorms.
 It was cold, crisp and dry outside.  Leaves covered the ground.  No one was
around to rake them and keep the campus its typical immaculate condition.  The
dry refuse crunched under Greg’s feet as he walked out of the school’s gates.
    Hightower Academy was a mile from
Greg’s destination house.  He wanted a test run on this first night, staying
close to campus.  If he ran into people, Greg could return to the safety and
security of his dorm room.  Campus was deserted, and he believed he could tough
it out for another 8 months, if he could find food and stop the horrific smell.
    Greg picked his English teacher’s
house because he saw her in the morgue dorm when he lifted the master key off
his dorm counselor.  Ms. Berry was a single woman just three years out of
college.  She lived alone.  Her house should be empty.  It might be ransacked,
but there would not be any bodies in the house.  Greg was brave, and growing
braver everyday of his independence, but he was still 14, and decided he would
rather not sleep in a house with a dead body.
    Greg remembered being dropped off
three months ago by his mother.  They turned off the highway and drove three
blocks when Greg pointed to the small yellow house. 
    “That’s where Ms. Berry lives.  She
had our English class over for a cookout last year. “ 
    The car ride was the last time Greg
saw his mother.  She insisted on driving him to school, spending the time with
him.  He wanted to fly, despite his secret fear of flying, land at Logan
Airport in Boston, and take the shuttle to Hightower.  His mom would not let
him.  It was like she knew their time was fleeting.  She forced him to take the
long car ride with her. 
    He missed his mother.  He missed
his family, but he could not let his grief stop him from moving forward.
    Greg made the two turns onto the
town’s main street, and began the long walk towards Ms. Berry’s.  Every house
was dark.  It was 8:30 pm.  The smell of fire and smoke should have flowed out
of chimneys all over town.  Other than an occasional bird or squirrel, and the
crunch of Greg’s feet in the leaves, there was no sound or indication of life. 
    Clouds drifted in front of the
moon, blocking Greg’s source of light, and he stopped to listen for noises.  He
did not hear any.  He walked for 10 minutes, and as far as he could tell, he
was the only animal on two feet out this evening. 
    Greg moved painfully slow, and he
was soon frustrated with having to watch his step in the dark.  He came to the
crest of a small hill.  Normally, while he could not see the city of Boston,
there was an orange glow over the horizon.  Tonight, on this late October
evening, there was no light.  A town of several million was dark.  Greg
expected fire, carnage, something to show such a large concentration of people
once existed, hopefully still existed.  Nothing.  No sound from the highway. 
No light from the city.  He might as well have been walking through a secluded rain
forest or national park. 
    Greg decided not to talk to himself
while on his trek, but he could not stifle the “wow,” as he let the realization
sink in that he was probably alone in New England.  How many people had the
disease killed?  Were the survivors friendly?  Were