The Survivors (Book 1): Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

patient when it comes to her kids, but even she was getting frustrated.  The stench of fear in the car was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. The three of us were jammed into Mum's tiny hatchback, while Dad followed behind in his bigger sedan.  Her logic didn't make any sense to me, but for some reason Mum insisted that we travel with her, while Dad carried the supplies and the cat in his car.  I realised that she was feeling extra protective, and that her maternal instinct had gone into overdrive the moment that her babies were threatened.
    I was upset, and Mum knew it.  My parents had insisted that I not contact anyone, not even my best friend Katie, or Harry, my boyfriend.  I wasn’t even allowed to check if they were okay, and it was driving me crazy.  Normally I was willing to accept that Mum and Dad knew best, but in this case I thought it was completely unreasonable.  They’d even had the nerve to take away my cell phone.  
    " But Mum, I need to pee!"  Skye whined from the back seat, dramatically clutching at herself as though that would make her plea look more genuine and urgent.
    " Just hold on a couple of minutes longer, there's a petrol station right up the road."  Mum’s voice carried an element of frustration, but she struggled to stay calm and reasonable.  "You don't want to pee in the bushes like Mushkin, do you?"
    Mushkin was our elderly tabby, who had a bit of a bladder problem.
    "Mum, Mushkin doesn't pee in the bushes; he pees on the little rug by the door," Skye said matter-of-factly, with admirable wit for one so young.
    " He does what now?"  Mum exclaimed and glanced back over her shoulder at Skylar.  "Damn, I was wondering where that smell was coming from, but I could never find the source."
    " Language, Mother," I said dryly.  
    My mother shot me a dark look, but it didn’t last for long.  
    " Honey, I need you to help me.  Please?"  This time, her tone was one of earnest appeal.  
    She sounded exhausted, but concern for my friends made me tense and angry.  Although I knew it was petty, I decided that the silent treatment was in order and said nothing.  
    " Sandy, please?  I can't do this by myself.  I know you're angry at me, but we’ll talk about everything later, I promise.  We’ll work everything out, but we shouldn’t discuss it in front of Skye."  
    Mum was pleading pathetically, and trying to appeal to my good-natured side.  It worked.  I was not made of stone, even when I was annoyed at her.  I sighed and looked at her.
    " Fine, but I'm holding you to that promise.  What do you need?"  I asked gruffly, doing my best to maintain my show of being the injured party.
    " Send a text to your father. Tell him we need to stop at the next town for a rest," she answered.  With one hand on the steering wheel, she fumbled in her purse for my phone and then offered it back to me.  
    I hesitated, staring at it as if it might explode in my hand.  "But I thought you didn't trust me?"  
    The wounded look that she gave me made me immediately regret saying it.
    "I do trust you, honey.  There are just some things that we need to keep to ourselves.  Promise me you won’t text, call, email or Facebook anyone without my permission, okay?"
    " What about Twitter?"
    " No, no twitting either."
    " Tweeting, Mum.  The verb is tweeting."
    " Well, whatever it is, none of that.  Promise me."  She suddenly reached over to grab my hand; her palm was sweaty and tense.  That broke the last of my resistance.  I couldn’t stay mad when she was trying so hard to be brave for our sake.  I had been trying to gloss over the seriousness of the situation to make it seem less scary, but I was not oblivious to it.  There was only so long that I could deny reality before I would have to accept it and deal with it, even if I didn’t want to.
    " Okay.  Okay, okay, I promise.  I won’t contact anyone." I summoned a weak smile to reassure her, then switched on my phone and thumbed