The Sky Grew Dark (The End of the Golden Age) Read Online Free PDF Page A

suspected the flyovers were drones. He thought they were probably just decoys to keep people in fear, so we decided to test it out. I wanted to go with him, but I was worried to leave my mom and Lisa alone. I talked with Ian loudly about wanting to go, but needing to do laundry. My mom came out of her reverie a bit and offered to do the laundry. That made me feel a bit better.
    We concocted a plan to put one of our vehicles out in the open and see if it got any notice. Early the next morning, before the sun was up, we drove the car about twenty miles away from our base camp. We left the lights off and drove slowly. He pulled off the road onto a shoulder that was covered with tall redwood trees. I turned to face him. We were still a few miles away from our goal area. We sat in silence for a moment before he turned to me. He cupped my face in his hands. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the comfort and security I felt in his touch. 
    He pulled my face towards his, kissing me softly, and I realized he had planned this little rendezvous. He pushed his chair back and pulled me on top of him. His kisses quickly intensified as he pulled my body against his, his hands under my shirt, racing up my naked back.
    “It’s been a while.” He said, with a little smile and lifted my shirt over my head.
     
    We continued up the coast a few more miles. After leaving the car on the side of the road, we walked about half a mile toward the coast, into the forest, and followed the road back. We were about halfway home when the flyover passed. Nothing. It was a drone. We excitedly began walking back to camp. About four hours later we heard a huge explosion. We turned back and scanned the sky, dark smoke swirling upward where we had left the car. My stomach clenched in fear and I instantly felt nauseous.
                  Ian’s face grew dark. He explained it was still sending images to some sort of a base camp that obviously wasn’t very far away. We hurried back to camp and told the others. Just as we were explaining it, we saw another plane on the horizon. It wasn’t the right time of the day for that, so we realized we had alerted them to a nearby presence. We quickly hid, and spent the next four days very cautiously. They knew we were here, and now they were looking for us.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER three
     
     
    Grandpa and Ian went out to forage only at night, and were having difficulty getting fish. Luckily, the rabbits were now big enough for us to start slaughtering. The first night of slaughtering, Ian vomited, but after that he got the hang of it.
                  The flyovers settle down a little, but it was obvious they were still looking for us. We started going out again during the day, but we made sure we were covered at all times. The rabbit had kindled again, and things were looking up a bit. Lisa had started doing ‘school’ with the boys, and it was great because it kept all of them busy.
                  Our little cave looked like it was right out of Swiss Family Robinson. Woven baskets hung in different places, with belongings, roots, and fruits. We had constructed a decent stove top out of pieces of metal and rocks, laid over a fire. It looked like an old kiln, and even with all that was going on, spirits were high.
                  Another couple of weeks passed, and we marked the time in mid-January. Four months. Things were going great. The garden looked good, and Grandpa still planted seeds every few days. He started some carrots, broccoli, spinach and lettuce. The spinach and lettuce had sprouted right away and he said as long as the weather was good, we should enjoy them soon.
                  A few days later, Ian came running back into the camp, breathless. He broke into a coughing spell as he told us there was a group of refugees several miles away, traveling down the freeway. They were trying to hide, but there was so many of them he was sure