Pilgrimage (The New World) Read Online Free

smelled his father Hank’s great cooking from his upstairs bedroom, but had not stirred in time to join the group for breakfast. More than an hour had gone by since the aroma of biscuits and gravy had wafted into his room, and he wondered if there were any leftovers for him to enjoy. As he lay in bed attempting to shake away the cobwebs of the previous night’s depression, he heard the loud noise of crashing dishes from the kitchen below. Thinking that Jessica or Ross had dropped something; he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom for his morning ritual. A few moments later he exited his room and made his way to the stairs, but heard no sounds of the mess being cleaned up. Robert called out the names of his children and father while descending, but once again was greeted with silence.
    Feeling somewhat perturbed at the lack of response, he arrived at the bottom step and slowly rounded the corner into the kitchen. His pace then instantly quickened, as his father Hank lay on the floor with broken dishes surrounding him and the tap water still flowing at the kitchen sink. Kneeling next to the motionless body, he attempted to bring him back to consciousness, but Hank was pale and unresponsive to the efforts. Robert quickly sprang to his feet and raced for the phone to get some help. Within five minutes he heard the distant sound of sirens approaching, but it would make no difference as Grandpa Hank was already gone.
    The sheriff pulled up to the house in a cloud of dust with the ambulance just seconds behind, while Robert stood waiting for them on the front porch. He waved them all past as he informed the medical team that the body was in the kitchen. As Robert strode in behind them, the sheriff began to ask him questions of how the events had unfolded, and if anyone else was in the house. At that moment Robert realized that he didn’t know the whereabouts of his two children, and the only person who could shed some light on that particular question was lying dead on the kitchen floor. With a new cause for panic, Robert began to call out their names while frantically searching the house. The search soon led to the outside area of the property with the help of the sheriff, but it seemed unlikely that the kids would be hiding with all the commotion currently at hand. Just then Ross came running past the tire swing in a full sprint, and he didn’t even slow down until his father arrested his movement at the base of the front porch steps.
    Ross was greeted with multiple questions concerning where he had been, and did he know where his sister was. Through a series of half sentences as he tried to regain his breath, Ross informed the sheriff and his father of returning the pie plate, and Jessica’s security at the Wright’s house down the road. Then it was his turn to ask some questions about the ambulance and his Grandpa Hank, but the verbal answer of the horrible truth became unnecessary as the medical team emerged from the house with a sheet covered occupant on the gurney. The men from the ambulance reported to all present that it appeared to be a massive heart attack, and there was nothing that anybody could have done for Hank. The news was shocking to Ross, whose last words to his grandpa had been along the lines of “See you in a little while.” Hank had been so full of life just a short time before as they ate breakfast together, and now he was gone forever.
    With the body loaded into the ambulance, Robert assured the sheriff that he would come down to the hospital later that day to fill out whatever forms were necessary, but first he would need some time to gather up Jessica and have a talk with his two children. The sheriff nodded with agreement, and then followed the ambulance towards the hospital.
    Jessica was the first to notice the return of the two vehicles that had sped towards her house, but this time they drove by slowly with no sirens or lights turned on. Elizabeth Wright tried to get the attention of