The Omega Protocol Chronicles (Book 1): Exodus Read Online Free PDF Page B

silent as they slowed from a run to a walk. Even if Malcolm had not told them to be quiet, Janet didn’t think anyone wanted to speak.
    They had been forsaken by those that were supposed to protect them. They had been lambs led to the slaughter and if Malcolm had not found them when he did, they would have been gunned down like animals.
    No . She wouldn’t think about it. She couldn’t  think about it. No what ifs. Never what ifs. They were okay. They had made it out. Malcolm would get them some place safe and that was that.    
    “We can stop here for a minute.” Malcolm broke the silence as he came to a stop beside an older model minivan. “We’re far enough out.”
    The group came to a halt but a few still glanced over their shoulders in fear, not quite trusting that the soldiers would not suddenly appear. Malcolm dropped his duffel to the ground and began to root through it, pulling out a couple flashlights and a first aid kit.
    He walked over to where Alan was leaning heavily against the side of a truck as Jenny pressed a wadded up shirt against his head wound. Travis stood on the other side, hand on his brother’s shoulder for support.
    “Better get his head wrapped up,” Malcolm said as he passed the flashlight and first aid kit to Travis. Malcolm turned back to the others, surveying them one by one.
    “There’s a preserve only a few miles from here. We’ll camp there tonight. I’m going to get a couple of these vehicles running. I want the rest of you to look at the other vehicles, see if there’s anything we can use. Food and water are top priority.”
    “I’m not so sure how I feel about stealing someone’s car,” Jose said, rubbing a hand over the back his neck. “What if they come back for it? I’d hate to leave them stranded.”
    “They’re not coming back,” Malcolm said. “The people who left these cars were down on the highway. There won’t be many survivors.”
    “We made it out,” Jose said but Malcolm just shook his head.
    “We got lucky, that’s all.” Malcolm pulled a slim jim out of his duffel and turned to the twins. “You boys want to watch your uncle hotwire this van?”  
    “Malcolm, I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Janet said. Then the events of tonight flashed through her mind and she realized this would probably be the most appropriate thing they would witness tonight. “Nevermind, go ahead.”
    She shifted Ruthie to her other hip, the girl whimpering sleepily as she nestled back into her arms and drifted off again. Though her arms were aching with the weight of her daughter, she did not want to let her go, not while the thought of how easily she could have lost her was still fresh in her mind.
    She noticed the others were of the same mind. Kim kept her arm around her son’s shoulders and he had his arm around her waist as they went to look inside a beat up Corolla. Jose and Ana clung to each other whispering in Spanish while exchanging soft kisses. Jenny sat next to Alan on the road, gently cleaning the blood from his face while Travis bandaged his head.
    Everyone jumped when the van sputtered to life and the twins cheered. Janet managed a smile at the sound. At least there was something they could enjoy about this night, even if it was their uncle committing grand theft auto. They followed him to the pickup truck that was stopped behind the van and Malcolm set to work wiring that one up under their eager and admiring gaze.
    It didn’t take long for Malcolm to get the truck running and the others quickly gathered around the vehicles, arms carrying what little they could find from the cars that weren’t locked. Malcolm gave out the orders to pack everything up, giving Trey an appreciative pat on the shoulder for the jerry can he had found in the back of another truck.
    “Good find, son. That’ll come in handy,” Malcolm said and Trey seemed to grow a few inches taller with the praise.
    Janet looked down when she felt a hand take hold of her own