Page 15 (2/2)

"It’s not about that," she said "That was just an accident We’re Os It just happened"

"What just happened?" Caroline asked again

"I have news for you," Astrid barreled on "Good news"

Jake set down his plastic spoon and looked up at her

"We getting rescued?" he said bitterly

"I’nant," Astrid said

Jake just stared at her

"What?" he asked

"I’ to have your baby, Jake"

She pulled up her sweater--my sweater--and showed him her belly

Jake saw the rise now

Once you saw it, you couldn’t miss it

"How far?" he croaked

"Four asped

Astrid nodded A smile played on her lips

The kids squealed They jued her and danced around

Astrid laughed and let the toward Jake

Jake roared with happiness and ju and kissed her

I’d had enough

I walked away

"What’s wrong with Dean?" I heard Henry ask

"He’ll be okay," Astrid said, loud enough for irl I loved, who loved ether with her -addicted boyfriend

Also, the world as we knew it had ended and add to that the fact that I had killed aup on me

I went to look at the hole I wanted to take down so from the Accessories Department and put it up over the hole as a layer of extra protection

That’s when I heard the noise

So in the storeroom

"Hello?" I called into the dark space

I shined a flashlight around

There was the shattered Operations Center, with the useless panels that had once controlled our power, air, and water

There were the two lifeless bodies near the wall in theirfloral shrouds

Boxes of uts here and there

Eate, next to the intercoain and it wasn’t co froathered there, lingering over the breakfast that I had cooked for the down fro befuddled

"Did you leave the ladder hanging down froo?"

"No," he protested "Alex hauled it up after me I’m not stupid and neither is your brother"

"Well, there’s someone up on the roof now And they want in"

"Who are you?" Jake hollered through the hatch He had insisted Astrid take the kids to the Train She had agreed, much to my surprise

The hatch was padlocked, thank God I had checked it the day before

"We’re just some kids," the voice said

It did sound like a kid

"Please let us in It’s scary out here"

Now, that sounded a little like sarcased a look We stood on the ether, under the hatch

"How did you get up there?" Jake hollered

"What?" the voice said "We can’t hear you"

Whoever he was, it sounded al

Jake and I shared an uneasy look

"How the hay’d they get up there?" Jake e from your other friends"

"What other friends?" I shouted

I’d put on a mask, of course, in case we decided to open the hatch

"What other friends?" Jake repeated

"The ones with the bus"

I stared at Jake

"You have to let us in!" the voice demanded "We have Brayden with us!"

Jake and I scraht be a trick

"Brayden!" Jake screamed "How did you find Brayden?"

We pushed open the hatch, and three guys were standing in the beauns