Darkness on a Pale Blue Stone Read Online Free Page A

onto her son's arm. God, please help us, she thought, though more as a simple reflex of fear rather than a request of any deity.
    Adam grabbed his mother's hand to comfort her. He was more focused on Gresson, however, and determined to make sure this man did not hurt his family.
    "Take whatever you want, just please leave us alone," Michael said.
    Gresson grabbed Michael's arm. "I need you to come with me. Now."
    "I... I... I can't leave my family."
    Gresson began to pull Michael toward the door. Michael struggled to get out of his grip, but failed. In desperation, he punched Gresson in the face.
    Gresson's only reaction was to stop moving. After a moment, he let go of Michael and looked back at his family, who watched in horror. Great. Just what I needed , Gresson complained to himself.
    "Okay. Let's go." He motioned for the family to follow him.
    Michael protested, "Wait, no!"
    "Michael, I am the best chance your family has right now of getting out of here alive. Things will be going sour real fast around here. We need to move."
    Shaking his head, Michael said, "Please just let us go."
    Gresson groaned and aimed his gun at Marie. "I really don't have time for this Michael. Either they all come, or just you. I do not care, but I am running out of patience."
    Marie froze and stared at the silenced barrel. Not a single thought was on her mind. Her brain was struggling to process her own fear at this moment.
    "Okay! Okay! We'll come with you," Alice said, moving in front of Marie.
    Michael looked at Alice, then nodded at Gresson.
    Gresson put his gun in his coat. "Let's move."
    As they stepped outside, the Cases saw how quickly the situation had disintegrated. Fires were scattered around nearby, some only a few houses away. Screams and shouts echoed from all directions.
    Gresson led the family down the street. They walked slowly in the rain and dark. The fires had brightened their surroundings, but not by much.
    They soon made it out to the main road. The wider space had more light. There were also more people here, all gathered in groups, moving in random directions at various speeds. Few noticed the Cases and Gresson as they walked along the road.
    Scattered on the road and the sidewalk were many cars, most abandoned. A few were smashed from collisions with other cars or objects along the sides of the road. At one point, the group passed the grotesque scene of an apparent pedestrian accident. The body of a young women lay crushed, half under the runaway car that had killed her. Marie began to softly sob as the group passed by.
    After walking for nearly an hour along the same road, the group heard gunshots ring out ahead. Gresson pulled out his gun and led the Cases to the opposite side of the road. They walked cautiously forward.
    The origin of the gunshots was soon clear. A group of hooded figures were standing in front of an apartment building, next to a dead body. They seemed to be keeping watch for others looting inside.
    Upon seeing the group walking up the street, one of them raised a handgun.
    "Hey! Get the..." he began to say. Within one second, Gresson had dropped him with a headshot. Before the others could react, Gresson shot them as well.
    "Keep moving," he said to the shocked Cases. They eagerly obliged, though now kept as much distance as possible from the tall man leading them that they had just witnessed kill with almost inhuman ability.
    The group continued their trek across the horrifying hellscape that was now Staten Island. The Cases all witnessed more dead bodies than they had seen within their combined lifetimes. The occasional plane fell from the sky and exploded on impact. The screams around them had become a constant white noise. They were drained of all emotion, meekly stumbling behind their solemn leader. They saw mothers screaming for their children, children screaming for their mothers, pets roaming the roads, more fires, and no lights.
    Another half-hour passed. An elderly man lay ahead of them in