The Life Beyond Read Online Free PDF Page A

in my mind. If we crossed the fence,
we
could tell people what the government had done to us. What they had done to Tyler.
    Neither of us had talked to Tyler about our plan yet. He always got that haunted look when someone mentioned labs or the fence.
    “Where are we going anyway?” I asked.
    “Santa Barbara. Karen and Larry visited a mission there a few years ago – before the rabies broke out. There’s a courtyard where we can grow our own vegetables. Larry’s hoping we might find more survivors there,” said Joshua.
    “But is it safe?” I asked.
    “As safe as anywhere,” Joshua said. “It’s been a while since I was there but back then there weren’t any Weepers that we knew of in Santa Barbara. For a while we’d even debated on moving there. Larry always said it would be safer not to stay at a place for too long but the vineyard felt too much like home. No one wanted to leave.”
    Sadness rang in his words. The vinery had been his home for much longer than it had been for me. I was heartbroken we had left. I couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling.
    I wondered what Dad was doing now? How long would it be before he turned?
    “Do you think Karen is right that it takes six to eight days for an infected person to turn into a Weeper?”
    “I don’t know. But I guess that’s how long it took with most of the people I brought to Safe-haven,” Joshua said.
    The cure. That was Dad’s only chance. It was
the
only chance. Just then we passed a sign welcoming us to Santa Barbara. We’d be at the mission soon. I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
    “Joshua and I had a talk.” I glanced at Joshua, tension worming its way into my muscles. He gave a small nod. Tyler sat up and Rachel raised her head from his shoulders. She looked paler than usual.
    “We don’t want to carry on like this. We’ve had enough. We want to search for the cure.”
    “You heard what Karen said. It’s too late for your dad,” Tyler said.
    “You don’t know that for sure,” I interrupted. “And what about everybody else. Think of how many other people we could save.”
    Then I hesitated. The next thing seemed like such an impossible goal that voicing it filled me with embarrassment. “And if we get beyond the fence, maybe we could tell people on the other side what’s really going on.”
    Tyler’s expression was hard to read. “And how do you think you can do that?”
    Joshua grabbed my hand. Just knowing he supported me made me feel stronger. “We haven’t worked out the details yet,” he said. “But we need to travel under the fence via the tunnel and find the lab.” He looked at Tyler through the rear view mirror. “We thought you could help us. You’ve been there. You could show us.”
    Tyler blanched.
    Rachel took his hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to.”
    Silence settled over us; heavy and claustrophobic.
    I felt rage building up inside me. How could Tyler not help us? Would he not even consider it? Didn’t he want revenge against the government? With or without his help, I knew I didn’t have a choice. I had to find the cure to save Dad. And I had to speak out about our life behind the fence if we were ever going to have a life beyond it.
    Nobody spoke. Eventually we drove up toward the old mission. Its façade was white stone with red shingles covering the roof. The main building looked intact, but a part of the attached chapel was destroyed. One of the two red domes had caved in and a stone statue of a saint had toppled off the pediment above the entrance, its broken remains littering the steps. The mountains rose in the distance and the sun was setting, casting its golden glow over the surrounding hills.
    A huge stone fountain stood next to an old tree. The dark grey stone was tinged green with moss. A few birds perched on the edge but our arrival roused them and they rose as a brown cloud of fluttering wings into the sky.
    Joshua drew up in front of the chapel. We were just about to get out of the