The Life Beyond Read Online Free PDF Page B

kept moving.
    Click. Click.
    “She’s lost it,” Bobby said. I hadn’t noticed him leaning against the wall. I ran a hand across my eyes, forcing back tears.
    I lifted Mia and put her into the sleeping bag. “Can you keep an eye on her? I need to grab some fresh air.”
    With a shrug Bobby sat down beside Mia. “Be careful,” he called after me.
    My legs shook as I walked out. How could I leave Bobby and Mia when Mom was like this?
    We all met in the chapel after nightfall when the others were fast asleep. Rachel and Tyler were on guard duty so we didn’t have much time. Joshua brought some matchsticks and lit a couple of candles on the altar. The warm light of the flames caught on the floor and the pews, showing us where to walk without stepping on chunks of ceiling.
    Rachel curtsied and crossed herself in front of the altar, whispering a short prayer. She rose and dusted off her knees and the worry-lines around her eyes disappeared. I didn’t understand how she could still believe in anything after what had happened.
    We slid into one of the pews. The smell of old paper and rotten wood was heavy but I also caught a hint of incense, as if it had impregnated itself into the benches and walls over decades of use. Maybe it was the Jesus staring at us from the cross high above the altar, blood dripping on his forehead from the crown of thorns, but something made me shiver.
    “We should hurry,” Joshua said, turning to Tyler and Rachel. “I don’t want you to neglect your watch for too long. This area seems safe but we shouldn’t risk anything. And besides, we don’t want the others to catch us.”
    “So,” I began, my voice scratchy. I cleared my throat. “Have you made up your mind? Will you come with us?”
    Tyler looked at Rachel before he nodded. “Yes.”
    Joshua wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him, his face grim in the flickering light. “We shouldn’t waste any time. If there’s a cure, we need to find it as soon as possible. Sherry’s dad’s only got about a week before he’ll transform into a Weeper. And we don’t know what happens if someone has been a Weeper for too long.” He paused, his eyes clouding over.
    I knew he was thinking about his sister, Zoe.
    “I think this is also our chance to collect evidence against the government,” I announced. “I’ve been thinking, if we got video cameras, we could tape what we see on our way to the fence and maybe we can find a way to show people what’s really going on this side.”
    Joshua nodded. “It’s worth a try. And at the very least we could use the video to show Geoffrey and the others what we’ve seen.”
    I was glad that he hadn’t called my plan crazy. “So, tomorrow morning?” I said.
    “Tomorrow,” Rachel and Tyler agreed. Their hands were entwined.
    Joshua nodded, his lips pressed together.
    “Do you think we should talk to the others about it?” I asked.
    Tyler turned away from the cross he’d been glaring at. “They would try to talk us out of it. We don’t even know for sure if there is a cure beyond the fence.”
    Joshua played with a strand of my hair as he nodded. “Tyler’s right. They wouldn’t understand. They’d say it’s a suicide mission.”
    Was it?
The faces on the paintings seemed to scrutinize me, judge me. Would
they
have known what was the right thing to do? I dropped my eyes to the gray stone floor.
    “We can leave them a letter. At least that way they’d know why we’ve left.” I’d definitely have to leave Bobby a note to explain why we left without him and ask him to take care of Mia and Mom.
    Rachel shifted on the pew as if she could feel the gazes of the paintings too. “But what about the car? Won’t they need it?”
    “They won’t need three cars. And the Lincoln is my car. Nobody will miss it,” Joshua said.
    “So we’ll set out before sunrise when the others are still asleep. We’ll take highway 101 to L.A. and then the interstate 15 to Nevada. It