Read After the Event for Free Online

gun?”
                  “I think so. I heard him talking about it with our neighbor Jack. He was complaining that he didn't have very many bullets.”
                  “Yeah that is probably frustrating. Bullets are going to be pretty rare for a while. So what does your dad use when he is standing guard?”
                  “What's standing guard?”
                  “When he is looking out and making sure no one is coming on your property?”
                  Ben thought for a second. He didn't remember his dad doing anything like that. If his dad wasn't hunting or talking to Jack he was usually sitting on the porch of their house. “I don't think he does that, is that bad?”
                  “No that's not bad, he probably does it when you're not looking. Do you guys have a truck or a car?”
                  “A mini-van. It's my, was my mom's. My brother Alec doesn't like it but I think it's fine.”
                  “Yeah a minivan is nice and big but it uses a lot of gas. Are you guys running out of gas?” Ben shrugged his shoulders. “Well that's your next assignment. Next time you come over you have to tell me how much gas you all have and where you put it. But you have to look yourself and you can't let anyone catch you. Remember you have to blend in.”
                  Ben smiled. He was good at sneaking around the house. His father and Alec were always busy doing their own thing. Joseph was usually hiding from Alya and if she wasn't picking on him she was playing in the dirt somewhere. “Ok, I accept your mission.”
                  Trent patted him on the shoulder. “That's my little solider.”
     

Alec
     
                  “Alec, where did all the lights go?” Alya asked as she flopped her head back in his lap.
                  He ran his hand gently through her hair and stared up at the dark night sky. How did he answer a question in which he didn’t know the answer? Of course he hadn’t really spent much time pondering the question. The first few days he had wondered but after that his attention had turned to trying to protect his family.
                  He turned his attention to the dark night sky and pointed out the thousands of stars twinkling above them. “Those lights are still there.”
                  Alya lifted her head and stared up at the stars. “Why did they get brighter?
                  “What do you mean?”
                  “They didn’t used to be so bright.”
                  Alec couldn’t help but smile. “When we lived in the city all the lights on the ground made it hard to see the lights in the sky.”
                  The little girl thought about that for a moment. “I like these lights better, they’re more pretty.”
                  Joseph came outside and sat down next to Alec. As if by pure reflex Alya reached out and took a swipe at him. Alec blocked the attack, gave her a look, and she gave him a sheepish one in turn.
                  “What are you all doing?” Joseph asked.
                  “Looking at the lights in the sky.” Alya answered and scooted closer to him.
                  “They’re pretty.”
                  “Duh, it’s because the lights on the ground aren’t blocking them no more.”
                  Joseph gave her a confused look, Alya gave him a bright smile, and Alec just shook his head.
                  “Are the regular lights ever going to come back on?” Joseph asked.
                  Alec gave the little boy a tight squeeze. “I don’t know.”
                  Alya jumped to her feet which caused Joesph to flinch automatically, even with Alec there to protect him. “I hope they never come back on. These