Working out the implications of the life of the Spirit.
He kept his Blackberry charged, even though the service had yet to be restored. He took that, the charger, all the kid’s passports and his wallet. He told the kids to take only one change of clothes. They were going to go and try to find their parents. The kids were eager to go. They had been stir crazy sitting in a hotel with no TV and nothing to do for five days. Taylor and Monica missed their parents. Jeri [...] Read more »
Since when did the U.S. army collect bills for the hotel industry? Was what Colby wanted to say, but after securing an invite to chow, he thought he’d hold his tongue for now. “Thanks for the heads up.” At the supper chow line, Colby was shocked to see how many kids were there. They outnumbered adults probably 50 to 1. He guessed – and he had a gift for guessing the right amount of people in any given gathering – [...] Read more »
They had pizza and junk food in the room but in a couple of days that was all gone, as was all the snacks in the mini-bar. Service was not offered from the kitchen and they still had not received an email or call from Liza or Henry. The service for Blackberry was still down, but Colby was able to get online and check his online mail accounts. There were dozens of emails from family and friends who knew they [...] Read more »
Even through the sealed glass the five huddled in the hotel room could hear the confusion happening outside. Horns were honking. Car alarms we constantly going off. The sound of glass breaking and people shouting were enough to drive an atheist to prayer. There was nothing for them to do. The TV wasn’t working. The only radio signal was the emergency warning signal, but it was playing its test signal over and over. Power was lost for a while, but [...] Read more »
“Are you calling me ignorant?” “Ignorant and stupid are too different things.” Colby always had this way of talking down to people when he got upset. He’d go on and on about things he knew little or nothing about just to make someone back down. Davina really didn’t like it, but since she was gone Colby had no one to check him before he went too far. “You can be ignorant and not be the fool, but you can’t be [...] Read more »
The walk down the wall and across the empty lanes of traffic was not nearly as difficult as the climb up the other side. Colby had the children go first, so that he could catch any who slipped. They didn’t seem to have the problem. The twenty extra pounds he’d packed on his already slightly overweight body since Davina was killed turned out to be Colby’s biggest concern. That, or subsequently the lack of oxygen that resulted in being so [...] Read more »
But his arguments wouldn’t sway his sister. His arguments would never sway his sister. They never could. She was even more stubborn than he was. “I’ve got to do this.” She handed him the key to their room. He knew she had made up her mind, however irrationally. “How will we be in touch?” “We’ll find a way. Keep the kids safe.” She bent down and gave her two kids a hug. “You listen to Uncle Colby. I’m going to [...] Read more »
“But we shouldn’t be separated,” Colby insisted. But Liza countered, “We’ve got our Blackberry’s.” “They aren’t working.” “The network will be up soon,” Liza reasoned. “Unless civilization has crumbled, the network will be the first thing up.” “Are you so sure civilization hasn’t crumbled?” Colby winced. He saw the four sets of young eyes look at him with the same horror his sister’s eyes held. “I’m just saying if we don’t know the facts, we should stick with what we [...] Read more »
The truth was, taking care of the kids was what was giving Colby his sanity. He didn’t have time to really grieve. He needed to keep busy, to keep his mind of the loneliness – to keep his mind of the senselessness. But he knew Liza was right. The kids needed to have fun. They were growing fast and he knew that soon he couldn’t force them to spend time with him. Jeri was becoming quite the serious young women, [...] Read more »
Looking to the horizon he saw the distant shore. The waves lapped up against the boat as the bow met every gentle crest. His thoughts returned to his first voyage across these waters. He was a young man then. Only sixteen years of age. His wild living had ended abruptly as a band of Celtic pirates invaded the area he lived in and captured this Latin-speaking Briton to sell as a slave. He was sold to a druid tribal chief [...] Read more »