[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.“What does that even mean?”“Implants, dad,” Dustin said.“The PAL starts feeding your brain directly.”“Why would you want to do that?”“Because there’s no need for devices anymore.You don’t need to worry about forgetting your smartcard – it’s always with you.”“Michael wants to be a cyborg.”“Shut up!”Michael shook his head.They went over something on the road that made the van jump and jostled them all back onto the road before them.Jess heard things bounce around in the back and now banging could be heard on the wall directly behind their backs.“What is that noise?” Michael said.“I’ll tell you later.”“Can’t you answer anything?”Jess stomped on the brakes and put the car in park.“Fine, you want to know? I’ll tell you, but we’re all going to regret this.Those noises coming from the back of the van? That’s your mother.Remember that old woman in the laundry room? How she turned into some kind of a monster? Your mother’s the exact same way.I found her when I was walking over to the grocery store.She tried to attack me but I was able to get her in the back of the van.I’m hoping we can help her.Find a doctor or a government base where they can give her an antidote or something - but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”More bangs came from the rear of the vehicle.“Do not even think about going back there to see her.She’s not herself and we can’t see her or talk to her until we get her help.Just be thankful that we found her.”Jess reached down by their feet and pulled out the basket of cans.He handed three cans of Chef-Boyardee pasta and a can opener he swiped to Michael.Slowly Michael turned the handle on each can and they ate in the silence of the upward glow of the pointed flashlight.The boys were circling their fingers around the inside of the can to scoop up as much of the sauce as they could.Dustin began tapping on the bottom of the empty metal cylinder, creating a repetitive drum beat that echoed in the cabin.“Where’s Orson?” Jess said.Michael pulled it out of the bag and showed him.The screen came on and his fingers did a few motions on the glass.He raised his gaze for only a moment; a frustrated look flashed on his face as if he didn’t get the answer he wanted and then he continued on for five more minutes, pushing buttons and looking increasingly agitated.“Fuck!”“What did you say?” Jess grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at him.“I don’t want to hear you say that word again.It’s completely inappropriate and your mother would not be happy to hear it.”The look on his face did not change.Smug and young - it made him seethe with anger until one of his hands lashed out and slapped the boy across the face.Before he realized that he was winding up for another blow, Dustin cried out.“Stop dad!”Michael just stared at him, more shocked than hurt.Probably what he looked like many years ago, he thought.“I’m sorry.I don’t want to hear you use that word again.”He shrugged his shoulders and turned the smartcard off, slipping it into his jacket pocket.“Well, what did it say?”“I can’t get a signal to make a phone call.I can’t get anything to work.Data usually works everywhere nowadays – not in the subway, but everywhere else.Where are we going?”His eyes were pleading in the light of the flashlight.“We’re going to grandma and grandpa’s place.I’ve got us clothes and food.They were prepared for these kinds of emergencies there.”“What about my stuff?” Dustin said.Jess knew that he was thinking about his video games and his collection of mint anime comic books that were worth a small fortune.“We’ll come back for it if we can,” Jess said, urging them toward to the minivan.“It’s not going anywhere.”The response didn’t really put Dustin at ease.He didn’t care that the gadgets were useless without power.Obtaining them took years of lobbying prior to holidays and birthdays.They were valuable because of the difficulty in obtaining them.Chapter 20He looked at his older son now through the rear-view mirror.He looked so much like he used to, the wide-set jaw and the way his nose wrinkled at the bridge when he was tense or laughing – any reaction apart from being still.Michael though, had one thing that his father hadn’t for many years: a sense of ownership; of entitlement.Michael felt that his appreciated physical abilities, his adult-like physique, granted him entry into adult decisions and events.His father had given up competing for all that was available to him.He had that drive at Michael’s age – that desire to be the best; a leader and go-getter.But that was before everything changed.Now Jesse worked because he had to.He was tired and broken.“Where are we going?” Michael repeated.“I told you: to your grandparent’s,” he said.“Why does Mommy keep hitting the walls?” Dustin said.It was a title he hadn’t used in many years.Mommies were protective.Dustin wanted his mommy.“I don’t know,” Jess said.“All of these infected people seem angry for some reason.”“Maybe she’s hungry,” Dustin said.Jess thought about the various infected people he’d seen over the last few days and shuddered as he pondered what they seemed most interested in eating.“Maybe she is.”“Can we give her some food? There’s another can of pasta in here.”“Not right now, but I’ll tell you what.The next time we find a place to settle down for a bit I’ll try going back there to see if I can offer her something.For now, you two have to stay away from her.”They passed by a bus that had slammed into the side of a house.As Jess drove around it the headlights showed that the vehicle sported the same insignia as the one emblazoned on Jesse’s work shirts and maroon jacket: the city’s public transportation authority.They still hadn’t made it out of the city yet.The carnage was everywhere and every few minutes Jess came across a street that he was unable to continue on.Cars would be piled up in accidents that blocked the way.He’d have to turn around and go back to find some other route to get through.Occasionally, cars would be burning in the street.They’d roll their windows up against the black smoke as they passed by and then roll them back down once they were clear.There wasn’t a living person to be seen.Bodies were also strewn on the sidewalks, pedestrians perhaps, out walking the dog or taking the trash to the curb.Others had survived, Jess was certain, like the others in the building, but they all seemed long removed from the city.It took twice as long to get anywhere as it would have normally, even with the gridlock.The boys marvelled at the ash, looking so much like snow, was still falling from the sky.When he turned his wipers on the boys realized that it wasn’t snow.The flakes were smudged across the windshield, leaving a dirty trail.This was dust, or soot, perhaps from the earth or from things burning, blowing up into the air and descending back to the ground again.It soon formed a thin layer on the van.He had his boys roll up their windows.“Don’t touch or taste that stuff if you can help it,” Jess said.“It’s not what it looks like.”An hour later the falling ashes had become thicker.The distant horizon was blotched out by them.The sky almost seemed to darken continuously as they drove.They weren’t getting a whole lot closer to their destination but they were getting out of the heart of the city, and the going did seem to get easier the further out they got.The roads still weren’t clear, but it was better.It was normally a trip that took a few hours, depending on the traffic [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl trzylatki.xlx.pl
.“What does that even mean?”“Implants, dad,” Dustin said.“The PAL starts feeding your brain directly.”“Why would you want to do that?”“Because there’s no need for devices anymore.You don’t need to worry about forgetting your smartcard – it’s always with you.”“Michael wants to be a cyborg.”“Shut up!”Michael shook his head.They went over something on the road that made the van jump and jostled them all back onto the road before them.Jess heard things bounce around in the back and now banging could be heard on the wall directly behind their backs.“What is that noise?” Michael said.“I’ll tell you later.”“Can’t you answer anything?”Jess stomped on the brakes and put the car in park.“Fine, you want to know? I’ll tell you, but we’re all going to regret this.Those noises coming from the back of the van? That’s your mother.Remember that old woman in the laundry room? How she turned into some kind of a monster? Your mother’s the exact same way.I found her when I was walking over to the grocery store.She tried to attack me but I was able to get her in the back of the van.I’m hoping we can help her.Find a doctor or a government base where they can give her an antidote or something - but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”More bangs came from the rear of the vehicle.“Do not even think about going back there to see her.She’s not herself and we can’t see her or talk to her until we get her help.Just be thankful that we found her.”Jess reached down by their feet and pulled out the basket of cans.He handed three cans of Chef-Boyardee pasta and a can opener he swiped to Michael.Slowly Michael turned the handle on each can and they ate in the silence of the upward glow of the pointed flashlight.The boys were circling their fingers around the inside of the can to scoop up as much of the sauce as they could.Dustin began tapping on the bottom of the empty metal cylinder, creating a repetitive drum beat that echoed in the cabin.“Where’s Orson?” Jess said.Michael pulled it out of the bag and showed him.The screen came on and his fingers did a few motions on the glass.He raised his gaze for only a moment; a frustrated look flashed on his face as if he didn’t get the answer he wanted and then he continued on for five more minutes, pushing buttons and looking increasingly agitated.“Fuck!”“What did you say?” Jess grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at him.“I don’t want to hear you say that word again.It’s completely inappropriate and your mother would not be happy to hear it.”The look on his face did not change.Smug and young - it made him seethe with anger until one of his hands lashed out and slapped the boy across the face.Before he realized that he was winding up for another blow, Dustin cried out.“Stop dad!”Michael just stared at him, more shocked than hurt.Probably what he looked like many years ago, he thought.“I’m sorry.I don’t want to hear you use that word again.”He shrugged his shoulders and turned the smartcard off, slipping it into his jacket pocket.“Well, what did it say?”“I can’t get a signal to make a phone call.I can’t get anything to work.Data usually works everywhere nowadays – not in the subway, but everywhere else.Where are we going?”His eyes were pleading in the light of the flashlight.“We’re going to grandma and grandpa’s place.I’ve got us clothes and food.They were prepared for these kinds of emergencies there.”“What about my stuff?” Dustin said.Jess knew that he was thinking about his video games and his collection of mint anime comic books that were worth a small fortune.“We’ll come back for it if we can,” Jess said, urging them toward to the minivan.“It’s not going anywhere.”The response didn’t really put Dustin at ease.He didn’t care that the gadgets were useless without power.Obtaining them took years of lobbying prior to holidays and birthdays.They were valuable because of the difficulty in obtaining them.Chapter 20He looked at his older son now through the rear-view mirror.He looked so much like he used to, the wide-set jaw and the way his nose wrinkled at the bridge when he was tense or laughing – any reaction apart from being still.Michael though, had one thing that his father hadn’t for many years: a sense of ownership; of entitlement.Michael felt that his appreciated physical abilities, his adult-like physique, granted him entry into adult decisions and events.His father had given up competing for all that was available to him.He had that drive at Michael’s age – that desire to be the best; a leader and go-getter.But that was before everything changed.Now Jesse worked because he had to.He was tired and broken.“Where are we going?” Michael repeated.“I told you: to your grandparent’s,” he said.“Why does Mommy keep hitting the walls?” Dustin said.It was a title he hadn’t used in many years.Mommies were protective.Dustin wanted his mommy.“I don’t know,” Jess said.“All of these infected people seem angry for some reason.”“Maybe she’s hungry,” Dustin said.Jess thought about the various infected people he’d seen over the last few days and shuddered as he pondered what they seemed most interested in eating.“Maybe she is.”“Can we give her some food? There’s another can of pasta in here.”“Not right now, but I’ll tell you what.The next time we find a place to settle down for a bit I’ll try going back there to see if I can offer her something.For now, you two have to stay away from her.”They passed by a bus that had slammed into the side of a house.As Jess drove around it the headlights showed that the vehicle sported the same insignia as the one emblazoned on Jesse’s work shirts and maroon jacket: the city’s public transportation authority.They still hadn’t made it out of the city yet.The carnage was everywhere and every few minutes Jess came across a street that he was unable to continue on.Cars would be piled up in accidents that blocked the way.He’d have to turn around and go back to find some other route to get through.Occasionally, cars would be burning in the street.They’d roll their windows up against the black smoke as they passed by and then roll them back down once they were clear.There wasn’t a living person to be seen.Bodies were also strewn on the sidewalks, pedestrians perhaps, out walking the dog or taking the trash to the curb.Others had survived, Jess was certain, like the others in the building, but they all seemed long removed from the city.It took twice as long to get anywhere as it would have normally, even with the gridlock.The boys marvelled at the ash, looking so much like snow, was still falling from the sky.When he turned his wipers on the boys realized that it wasn’t snow.The flakes were smudged across the windshield, leaving a dirty trail.This was dust, or soot, perhaps from the earth or from things burning, blowing up into the air and descending back to the ground again.It soon formed a thin layer on the van.He had his boys roll up their windows.“Don’t touch or taste that stuff if you can help it,” Jess said.“It’s not what it looks like.”An hour later the falling ashes had become thicker.The distant horizon was blotched out by them.The sky almost seemed to darken continuously as they drove.They weren’t getting a whole lot closer to their destination but they were getting out of the heart of the city, and the going did seem to get easier the further out they got.The roads still weren’t clear, but it was better.It was normally a trip that took a few hours, depending on the traffic [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]