Blood Cult Read Free Page B

sounded from the street outside. Chrissie groaned in
her sleep and her left arm flopped onto my midriff. I lay in the darkness with
eyes open and thoughts circling, unable to settle.
    The idea that tomorrow wouldn’t be just another day, that there would
never be another day like those that had gone before, was virtually impossible
to comprehend. It was unreal. No matter how hard I tried to grasp it, it eluded
me.
    I don’t know how long I lay there trying to come to terms with what had
happened, but I do know that weariness eventually overcame me. When I woke the
room was filled with diffused sunlight. I lay for a few moments and then my
brow creased and I turned my head on the pale pillow. The bed beside me was
empty.
    I looked to the window on the far side, cream curtains hiding the view.
There was no noise. Or rather, there was no evidence of human noise. The sound
of traffic that usually arose from the nearby highway was gone. The birdsong
was striking and I couldn’t recall the last time I’d noticed it. It was so
clear and present, unfettered by the rumble of human activity.
    The sound of Chrissie’s laughter arose from downstairs. I stared at the
door beyond the foot of the bed for a moment and then sat up, swinging my legs
over the side. I bunched my toes in the thick carpet, something I’d developed
as a habit to reduce pre-work stress after watching Die Hard with Bob,
John McClane doing the same to reduce the stress of flying.
    I frowned as I thought about the report that needed finishing by the end
of the week. Catching myself, the reality of what had happened the day before
rushed in.
    I looked to my reflection in the full-length mirror on the wardrobe door
before me and shook my head. ‘At least that’s one good thing about the end of
the world,’ I stated with a frown, pushing all thoughts of the financial report
from my mind despite the nagging feeling that I ought to get it done.
    Standing, I briefly considered dressing, but ended up padding out of the
room in my white nightie, hem just below the knee. I went downstairs and headed
into the kitchen-diner. Bob was frying eggs on the far side of the room as
Chrissie tucked into a bowl of Frosted Flakes while sitting at the table.
    ‘You just missed Dad doing his Incredible Hulk impression,’ said Chrissie
as she looked over with a smile, spoon raised halfway to her mouth.
    I stared at her as I struggled to take in the scene of apparent
normality.
    ‘You know, the one when grits his teeth and makes the veins in his neck
pop out, his face going all red,’ she expanded, mistaking my look of confusion
for a lack of comprehension.
    I quickly turned and left the room, walking along the hall and entering
the lounge.
    ‘What’s wrong with Mommy?’ I heard her ask as I took deep breaths,
feeling a little sick.
    ‘You eat your breakfast. I’ll go check on her,’ replied Bob.
    I heard his footsteps drawing closer in the hush and felt him enter
behind me.
    ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked, moving round to stand in front of me and
searching my gaze as I bowed my head.
    ‘I can’t just pretend everything’s fine,’ I said.
    ‘No one’s asked you to,’ he replied, sounding puzzled by my response.
    I raised my eyes to his. ‘How can you go on like nothing’s happened?’
    ‘I can’t,’ he replied, ‘but I can go on like it shouldn’t change who we
are or how we act as a family.’ His words were steady and firm, like his gaze.
‘We need something to hold on to, and that something is what we share together.
It’s each other.’
    I looked into his eyes for a few moments and I nodded.
    ‘There’s no traffic noise,’ I observed, glancing out of the front window.
‘Even the sirens have fallen silent.’
    ‘Yeah,’ he said with a nod, following my gaze, ‘I haven’t worked out if
that’s a good thing or bad thing yet.’ He turned back to me. ‘Come on,’ he
said, taking hold of my hand. ‘Come and have some eggs. I’ve done them just