The Life Beyond Read Online Free Page B

time. Nobody would know who was buried here if we never returned.
    I still remembered how Grandpa had always pinched a bite of Grandma’s dough before she put it in the oven. She’d caught him every time and slapped his hand away with a smile.
    12 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes since Grandma had died;
    17,999 minutes since her prayers had been answered and she was finally reunited with Grandpa.
    What would they say if they knew about Dad? What would they do? Grandpa had always known what to do, had always made even the trickiest situation look easy. Would he try to get past the fence to search for something that might not even exist?
    I brushed my fingers over the rough wood of the crosses, saying one last good-bye before I headed toward the house. I didn’t look back.
    Mom and Bobby sat on the couch in the living room. She was still wearing yesterday’s clothes and her long blonde hair was tangled. She looked up. Her eyes were blank.
    Click. Click.
    She was knitting. She’d started after Dad had left.
    Click. Click.
    Grandma’s knitting had driven me close to insanity in the bunker.
    Click. Click.
    Only 16 days, 3 hours and 11 minutes since I’d left the bunker with Dad, since I’d realized that whatever I’d hoped for over the years would never happen.
    23,251 minutes.
    That number came much closer to the way I felt. 16 days couldn’t express how every day in this world seemed like an eternity. Now my entire family was unravelling before my eyes.
    Click. Click.
    What would happen to Mom after she realized I’d gone to the fence? Would Bobby be able to take care of her? Would he be okay? And my little sister? Would she suffer?
    “Where’s Mia?” I asked.
    “She’s with Marie and Emma,” said Bobby, his voice flat.
    “Make sure she’s been to the bathroom. It’s time to leave,” I said. A strange numbness was spreading through my body and I welcomed it.
    I watched as Bobby, Mom and Mia got in a car with Geoffrey, As they drove away, Mia sat up on the back seat, gazing out at Safe-haven. A dull pain ached in my chest as I realized how hard this must be for her. I swore myself that one day I’d find a home for her - somewhere our family could stay forever and be happy.
    “Come on,” whispered Joshua, putting his arm around me and leading me over to the car where Rachel and Tyler stood waiting.
    Silence settled around us as we pulled away from Safe-haven. Its beautiful slopes were coated with a hint of mist, glittering in the sunlight. This place had started to feel like home – a place where we could live under the pretense of normalcy. Now I could add it to the list of things I’d lost.
    I didn’t dare look back.
    During our drive, I kept glancing out the window, making sure there wasn’t a helicopter following us. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were still being watched by the military. But I hadn’t seen another helicopter since the one that had appeared over Safe-haven, before Tyler had told us about the fence which separated us from the rest of the country. It was still hard to believe that the government had abandoned us like this.
    Rachel and Tyler sat in the backseat, not saying a word, not making any noise at all. Rachel had her head on Tyler’s shoulder, her dark hair blanketing her cheeks, her eyes half-closed, and they sat so close that their legs were pressed against each other. Still, I’d never seen them kiss. I wasn’t really sure what was going on between them.
    Just then, Rachel sat up and began to rub the cross around her neck, her lips moving silently. It looked like she was praying.
    Joshua’s thumb drew circles on the back of my hand while he steered the car single-handed. I slumped against the window. Rotting carcasses, empty roads, abandoned houses flew by. What would people on the other side of the fence say if they knew we had been living like this? Would they care?
    Suddenly a thought, dim and previously only pricking at the very edge of my consciousness, bloomed