Read America The Dead Book Two: The Road To Somewhere for Free Online Page B

at the ground before
continuing.
    “ I don't know about leaving all
the the technology behind, that seems a waste. Not all of it was
bad. What do we really have left? Cars and trucks? High powered
weapons? I guess it's all still out there somewhere. But the
vehicles, the weapons will all rust away, fall apart, then what?
We'll run out of bullets someday. Does anyone know how to make
bullets, where to get the stuff to make gunpowder with? I don't,
that's for sure. And so what little we have that we're using will
pass away on its own. Maybe, in another twenty thousand years or
so, we'll all be living in caves throwing spears at our food. I
read something about that once. The world goes just so far,
something happens and it falls apart. Society devolves, then the
whole thing starts all over again from nothing,” he shrugged,
seeming uncomfortable.
    “ You know, I never heard you say
that much at one time before, Ronnie,” Mike said
laughing.
    Ronnie nodded. “I don't, not
usually, but I guess I've been thinking as well, Mike. I have Patty
to think of. We have each other to think of. In the old world, well, I was OK
with letting shit go by... slide. I had an attitude of whatever I
think or want won't make a difference so why bother? But now,
that's all changed. We're the ones building our own world. We can
do it right. Not like those guys back in Watertown,” Ronnie
finished.
    “ I agree. And I like the way that
you put it, Ronnie,” Kate said.
    “ Yeah, it really is that way,”
David agreed.
    “ I care about
what Mike wants. I, we, want to have children.
We want them to be safe. Mike and I haven't really talked about it,
but I'll bet that all of us will be talking about it tonight,” Kate
finished.
    ~
    The morning crept by, and eventually Ronnie,
Patty, and Kate said their goodbyes and left to take care of their
own responsibilities. David and Arlene went with them. They all
headed for one of the chain stores.
    Mike, Jeff and Sharon wound up checking over a
large map of the Eastern United States that Mike had been carrying
with him. It extended to about the middle of the country. The red
line of a grease pencil ran roughly along, following major routes
and ending in Mobile Alabama.
    “ Why Mobile?” Jeff
asked.
    “ Ronnie's people are from there.
He lived there as a kid until his parents died, then he came up
here to live and ended up in the city, New York, living with an
Aunt. From there he went up to Watertown to work and stayed. But,
he remembers the gulf coast as a kid. A little town called
Pritchard. He wants to see how it is, whether any of his people are
still there. It's south, that's where we're going. About as south
as you can get, and we'll have someone that knows the area when we
get there,” Mike explained.
    “ Got the same thing,” Jeff said.
“Arlene comes from Texas, spent time in Arizona, and got around in
Mexico quite a bit as well.”
    They all stood from the map and Jeff looked
over at the Auto store. “Think they got tires to fit my trucks?” he
asked.
    “ I wouldn't doubt it,” Mike said.
He looked over at the Hummers.
    “ Oh, they look okay,” Jeff said.
“It's dry rot. All cracked and split from sitting around. If you
wouldn't mind us being here a while, maybe we can change those
tires out. I've been more than a little worried about them,” Jeff
finished.
    “ You're welcome as long as you'd
like to stay, and I'm sure that comes from everyone. Let's go see
what they got,” Mike said. He and Jeff walked over to the auto
garage.
    ~
    By late afternoon they had swapped out tires on
one of the hummers and started on a second one. Tim and Annie, who
had gotten pretty good at changing tires with only tire irons, had
done the first few tires to show Jeff how it was done, then left
him to it.
    Molly was still working alongside Tom and Bob.
Between the three of them, they had finished the third Suburban,
complete with tube bumpers, top racks and rock slider side steps,
along with larger,