The Apocalypse Read Online Free Page B

his hot chocolate, stood, and deposited the cup in the sink. Then he faced Isaac. "We could play video games or something if it'd help clear your head."
    Isaac shrugged and took another little sip of his drink. "You're tired. If you want to go back to bed, it's cool."
    Jake was many things, and while insensitive and rude ranked up there at times, neither quality dominated when a friend was troubled. So he returned Isaac's shrug and meandered back to the living room; as predicted, Isaac followed him and again took up his seat on the couch. Still mildly drowsy, Jake fell into the recliner and positioned the chair into a reclining position. Immediately, exhaustion reentered his body, but Jake stubbornly fought to keep awake.
    "I hope somebody calls soon," Isaac muttered, worry unmistakable in his words. "They'll have to learn something soon, right?"
    An undecipherable grunt was the initial reply that Jake issued. "Dunno, man. Can I do anything to help you feel better?" Isaac shook his head, and Jake gave a resigned nod. "You know where everything's at here, dude. Help yourself to whatever."
    The last thing that Jake heard before falling back into a deep sleep was Isaac's sigh. After that, he was completely out of it. So maybe insensitivity and rudeness still managed a little dominancy.
    Pale light, mainly from the bright snow, streamed into the living room. Ever the morning person, Jake snapped out of his reverie. Habit always woke him up at 6:15, even on the weekends; his body's time clock was so dependable that Jake found no need to set an alarm clock. Thus, it was routine that he awoke at a quarter after six Friday morning, even though his sleep had been greatly disturbed, and stretched lengthily.
    It took Jake a few seconds to remember why he was sleeping in a recliner and waking up with a bad crick in his neck. He was even taken aback to see Isaac Ayers stretched out on the couch asleep, but things suddenly came back to Jake in a rush. He thought about Hannah and wondered how she was doing; apparently no one had called about her, although Jake couldn't be exactly sure that a ringing telephone would have woken him up.
    Quietly, he eased out of the recliner and ran a hand through his thick brown hair. Isaac didn't stir, so Jake figured he could take a shower before waking him. He hadn't forgotten his promise to take him to see Hannah, after all. Jake went upstairs, collected clean clothes from his room, and then took a hot shower. Twenty minutes later, he was back downstairs, fully dressed and feeling refreshed.
    Jake glanced at Isaac, who was still sleeping, and debated about waking him up. It was probably good for the guy to get some sleep. If Isaac received bad news about Hannah later, he might not get any rest for awhile. With the best interests of his friend in mind, Jake left Isaac alone in the living room and entered the kitchen.
    Vibrations from the cell phone in Jake's back pocket caught him off guard as he was opening a package of strawberry milkshake-flavored Poptarts. He flicked his phone open and read a text message from Brent saying that school was delayed for two hours because of the snow and ice. Jake called his friend, and a couple seconds later, Brent's voice came through the speaker of Jake's cell phone.
    "Hey, man."
    "Hey," Jake replied while putting his Poptarts into the toaster . "I won't be at school today. Ayers and Hudson were in a wreck, and I guess she's hurt bad." Jake heard Brent suck air in sharply through his teeth. "Isaac's over, and I'm going to stay with him."
    "Good. How bad is Hannah?" Brent sounded genuinely concerned, certainly more concerned than Jake was feeling. "Are you going to see her?"
    Jake made a face. "I'm taking Isaac to see her. I don't really know how she is."
    "Dude, Ethan's going to flip," Brent commented with a nervous little laugh. "He's got it bad for Han, and you'd better believe that he'll give Hudson a hard time."
    "Hudson's a jackass, but it's not his fault that it's