Read Sympatico Syndrome (Book 1): Infection (A Pandemic Survival Novel) for Free Online

truth, or maybe they don’t know it, but Elly is confident this is going to be devastating and wants us to take precautions. That’s why I said you were a genius. I didn’t know where to go to isolate ourselves, but you gave me the idea of using the island. It’s far enough out in the lake from what I recall that the only way to get to it is by boat.”
    “What about school? What if it turns out to be nothing? I have finals coming up, and I can’t afford to miss them.”
    “Forget school. If Elly’s wrong, we’ll figure out where to go from there. Your safety and health are more important.” Cole couldn’t believe he was basically advising his son to drop out of school.
    “Okay, but what should I do now? I packed like you told me. Am I flying home?” There was a hint of fear in Hunter’s voice, as though he was trying to mask it.
    “No. It’s too dangerous. There’s no way to know if the other passengers are contagious. You’ll have to drive.”
    “Drive? Alone? Won’t that take me days to get there?”
    “Two days if you only stop to sleep and go to the bathroom.”
    “Okay.” There was a pause, then Hunter asked, “Dad, what if I catch it?”
    “Listen to me, Hunter. This is scary, but you’ll be okay. I’m sure I’m just over-thinking this. It was my job to predict worse case scenarios, remember?” Cole spoke in his calmest voice and glanced at Sean and Jenna. They looked as worried as he felt.
    “But, here’s what I want you to do. Go to the nearest ATM and use the credit card I gave you for emergencies. Get a cash advance. Whatever the limit is. Then get yourself some supplies. Water, hand sanitizer, masks, gloves. Food you can eat in the car. That kind of thing. Be low-key. Don’t act panicked. If you can, go to a few different drug stores for those items, buying gloves at one store and masks at another. Try a hardware store for masks. They carry respiratory masks that filter out pretty much everything. Forget about those flimsy paper masks.” He paused. “Are you still there, Hunter?”
    “Yeah, just writing it all down.” He sounded scared but calm.
    “Good. Don’t freak out. I’m probably way over thinking this and next week we’ll laugh over this.”
    Hunter chuckled. “I sure hope so.”
    “Hey, while you’re at it, get some camping gear. Heavy duty stuff. Use the card. If there really is an epidemic, the safest place you can be is out in the country, some rural location away from other people. Do you have those portable battery chargers? I gave you one for Christmas.”
    “Yeah. Have it right here. I’ll charge it up.”
    “Good. Get a couple more at least, to keep your phone charged. Hell, get a solar charger if you can find one.”
    “You know all of this is gonna cost a fortune, right? You’re not going to get pissed off when the bill comes, are you?”
    “No. It’s okay. I’ll deal with the bills later. Besides, we can always use the camping gear out on the island. There are woods set away from the lake and it would be fun to camp there.” He tried to make it sound like that was the real reason he wanted the camping gear, but his mind was whirling. What if there was a panic before Hunter reached home? What if the trip became dangerous? He wanted his son to have some kind of protection and food in case of an unforeseen event.
    “Is this all I should get?”
    “Food. Get food. Stuff that doesn’t spoil. Beef jerky, granola bars, water purification tablets. They’ll have those at the same place you get the camping gear. Those packs of tuna. That kind of thing. Powdered milk. And a camp stove.”
    “You know you’re kind of freaking me out. All of this for a two-day drive?”
    “Like I said, I’m over-thinking. I want you to be prepared for anything, and we can always use the supplies on the island.” Cole heard a faint beep on Hunter’s end.
    “Word must be getting out, Dad.”
    “Why, are others leaving too?”
    “No, but this is the third ‘End of