Decay (Book 1): Civilization Read Free Page B

refracted through the water before shining through the skylight. It was the first week of August. Four months after the attack Jonathan sat at the bar in the kitchen facing out into the family room. He no longer referred to it as the family room. Instead it was just “the room” to him.
    It was his sixteenth birthday. He had baked his own cake using boxed cake mix and a can of frosting from the supply room in the basement. He was surprised by how well it turned out. The white cake was a little bit dry, but there was enough frosting to make up for it. The only thing his father didn’t stock up on was birthday candles, and it seemed as if frosting wasn’t high on the list of necessary supplies either. He wasn’t even able to write “Happy Birthday Jonathan” on the cake. None of that mattered much anymore. How happy would this birthday be with nobody to spend it with?
    He looked down at his cake and closed his eyes. “I wish that my family is alright, and that they will find their way back home soon.” Jonathan inhaled deeply and blew out the imaginary candles. He found that it made him feel silly afterwards.
    Cell phones found their way onto his list of things to hate. Because his parents each had a cell phone, they had the home phone disconnected. The only thing they kept was their cable, and the internet was the first service he lost the day of the attack. Over the next couple of days TV channels started to go off the air.
    On the day after the attack he was able to catch the end of a news broadcast. “- and families are being advised to stay indoors until the attack can be stopped or contained,” the reporter warned in a smooth voice as the TV came on. The man had short dark hair, black plastic framed glasses, and a handsome face. Jonathan recognized him from the billboards as Bradley Andrews from Channel Thirteen News.
    “The National Guard has been dispatched from as far north as Los Angeles down to San Diego to try and head off the attack as it quickly spreads into neighboring counties. We are going off the air until we have more information, but be sure that we will remain right here with you to provide any news as soon as it comes in. Until we return there will be a list of safe zones posted along the bottom of the screen, but we advise you to only try to make your way to any of them if it is absolutely necessary. Thank you and stay safe.”
    Jonathan looked through the list of safe zones hoping for something close. Most of the list was made up of hospitals and schools with a few military bases. Panic set in as the list started for the third time with no listing for a safe zone in Clay Hills. “If there is no place safe in town, how long do I have to live?” he said out loud. The reporter never returned, and the channel went off the air later that afternoon.
    The day after that, Jonathan caught a portion of a presidential broadcast from the white house. “We are still unsure of who is responsible for the attacks on the western half of the United States,” President Granderson stated calmly in his firm voice. He was in his late forties, short brown hair with deep hazel eyes. He wore a black suit with a red tie and a white shirt.
    He pushed his thin wire framed glasses back up onto his face and continued his speech. “We believe that if it was the work of a terrorist group then they would have stepped forward to claim the attacks. At this time we have not received any such claim. Once again, the attacks seemed to have started in southern California. From there it spread quickly along the coast.
    “The danger zone reaches from the southern tip of California, Western Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Oregon. We are urging citizens in the connected states to stay indoors for the time being.  The National Guard is working around the clock to contain the spread.
    “We have received word that the attack has also spread into Mexico. The Mexican government has contacted us just a few moments ago. The reports from