Omega Days (An Omega Days Novel) Read Online Free

a freshman away at college. She gave the girl a gentle elbow. “I’ll miss you.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah, really. But we’ll Skype, and I’ll be home before you know it. You’ll barely know I’m gone, and you won’t have to complain about sharing the bathroom anymore.”
    Crystal shrugged.
    “Besides, you’re going to be busy. Starting high school’s a big deal.”
    Her sister shrugged again, but this time she smiled.
    They set their loads down not far from the doors to Cunningham Hall and plopped onto the grass to wait for their parents. Both immediately went to their iPhones, Skye texting her best friend, Kate, who had gotten into Rutgers. After a few minutes she noticed a frown on her sister’s face. “What’s up, snot?”
    “Don’t call me snot.” She didn’t look away from the screen. “Something’s happening in San Francisco.”
    “What?”
    “I don’t know yet. Fires or a riot or something.”
    Skye looked to where the city would be across the bay but couldn’t see it through the campus buildings. Cotton balls for clouds drifted overhead, and it was hard to believe anything bad could happen on a day like this.
    “It’s a big city,” she said, “there’s always something going on there.” Kate texted her back to ask if California guys were as cute as New Jersey guys. Her thumbs blurred.
Definitely. Cuter.
Their parents arrived a moment later, her father setting a footlocker down with a grunt.
    “Almost done,” said Mom, dropping to the grass beside her daughters and falling onto her back with an exaggerated groan. “You girls will have to carry me upstairs.” They all laughed.
    Dad swung his arms like a track star warming up and puffed a few quick breaths. “Okay, two more bags,” he said. “You want to start getting this stuff upstairs? I’ll be right back.”
    “Once we’re done with our nap,” Mom said, making the girls laugh again.
    “I’ll give you a nap.” He shook a fist and winked at Skye. “See you in a minute.” He headed back to the parking lot.
    Skye watched him go, glanced at her mother chatting with Crystal, and was suddenly not in such a hurry to see them leave. She slipped her iPhone into a hip pocket and eyed the pile of stuff on the grass, strategizing what to take up first. She looked at her mom, then past her. Dad had almost reached the lot when a man in a hospital gown staggered out from between two cars. Dad stopped and held out a hand to him, but if he said anything he was too far away to hear.
    The man in the gown jerked toward her dad, grabbed his arm, and bit his shoulder.
    “Dad!” Skye exclaimed, springing to her feet as her mother and sister looked around in alarm. Off to their right, people suddenly began screaming. Ahead, her dad went down with the hospital patient on top of him.
    Skye ran toward them, ignoring her mother’s shouted questions. She didn’t know who this person was or what kind of problem he had, but he was hurting her dad and Skye was going to kick his ass. Dad was hammering at the crazy person with his fists, but now the man’s face was buried in her father’s neck, and she saw those fists suddenly open, fingers shuddering and clawing at the air.
    “Daddy!” Legs pumping, Skye crossed the distance and kicked the crazy person in the ribs as hard as she could. He didn’t even react. There was blood everywhere, and one of her father’s legs was sticking out straight, twitching in a way that made her want to be sick. The crazy person was snarling and ripping at her father’s neck with his teeth.
    She kicked him again, then beat at his back with her fists. “Get off! Get off! Get off!”
    Another scream from behind her, and she recognized Crystal’s voice. She spun to see her little sister standing with her hands over her ears, shrieking as she watched two people tearing at their mom on the ground. Skye started sprinting again, back toward her sister, and then a screaming, fast-moving shape rushed at her from the right.