The Journal: Raging Tide: (The Journal Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

months had been a challenge, but not really a
struggle for my family since I was prepared. I hadn’t been
challenged lately; maybe that was why this road trip meant so much
to me.
    “What happened to the tankers?” Jim
asked.
    Mickey frowned. “During the free-for-all
fighting, someone got stupid and set the gas tanker on fire. It
started a chain reaction since they were all parked together and
the explosion is what killed a lot of those people. Dumb
asses.”
    Jim extended his hand to Mickey. “I
appreciate the information and wish you well, young man. We need to
get back on the road.”
     
    Down the road a bit, I asked Jim, “Do you
believe him?”
    “Yes, I do, about what happened anyway. Do I
trust him? No. I kept getting the creepy feeling of being watched,”
Jim answered. “I think as long as we were out in the open, and not
making any move to take things ourselves, we were okay. At some
point though, we would have been in danger.”
    I shivered. “I’m glad to be out of there
too.”
     
    *
     
    The pavement rolled a bit and there were
some major cracks we assumed were the result of the earthquake last
December. Jim easily maneuvered around the worst of it, and those
twenty miles still took us over an hour to travel.
    “That wasn’t so bad,” I said as the silent
traffic light in front of Walstroms came into sight. It hung like a
silent reminder of a past era. Jim spotted the entrance to the
Shopmore center and turned, following the broken pavement.
    “Damn!” he exclaimed, screeching to a
halt.
    In front of us lay Shopmore. The north and
west walls had completely collapsed, leaving the rest of the
structure listing precariously. Jim parked the vehicle as close as
he could without running over blocks of busted concrete and
scattered red bricks. We both got out of the Hummer.
    “I’m going to see if there is still a way
inside,” he said.
    “Are you kidding? That building could
collapse any minute,” I said, taking a step backward.
    Jim smiled wickedly. “Where’s your sense of
adventure, Allex?”
    “It’s parked right next to my sense of
claustrophobia!” I shot back.
    “Really? I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” he
apologized. “Walk with me, Allex, that’s all.”
    We spent the next hour checking the crumpled
building from all angles.
     
    “I can’t seem to find a reasonable way
inside,” Jim said crossing his arms and leaning against the
Hummer.
    “Well, that’s a relief,” I said, glaring at
him. “Look, if you were to crawl inside and get crushed, I’d have
to turn around and go home. I don’t want to do that. Don’t get
yourself killed, Colonel Andrews!” I stomped around to the other
side of the vehicle and yanked the door open. I could hear him
snickering behind me.
    “It’s almost six o’clock. We should find
someplace safe to spend the night,” Jim said with a touch of sudden
sullenness.
    “Mickey’s comment has been hanging in the
back of my mind. There’s a very nice subdivision up behind
Walstroms. Five acre lots, big houses. My guess is those people
were the first to head out of here, so we should have our pick. We
might even find some supplies.”
     
    *
     
    The higher the road went, the worse it got.
There was broken pavement and broken trees. Everywhere I looked, it
was a mess. We drove around the majority of it and stopped only
when we would have needed to cut our way through with the chainsaw.
A large spruce tree lay partly across a paved driveway that wound
up and out of sight.
    “This looks as good as any to try,” Jim
said, swerving up the steep incline.
    The house was a massive three-story Tudor,
complete with dark stained contrasting board and bat accents on the
cream stucco and brown bricked arches.
    “Wow,” I said. “I’ve always wanted to see
inside one of these houses.” I let my thoughts trail out silently
as I took in the majestic home.
    Jim walked up to the front door and rang the
bell. I laughed at his gesture. Then he twisted the