Naura Read Free Page A

than what we are seeing now.”
    She jumped to her feet, throwing her hands in the air. “How can it get any worse? And what of our daughter? Lily is just a year old, Bill. She would never survive an exposure.”
    “Go visit your mother in Maine. Get out of here for a while. At least until a vaccine can be found.”
    “You mean if a vaccine can be found.”
    “It will work out, Jackie… It has to.”

Chapter Four
     
    Naura stepped from the shower and switched off the water the way Tony had shown her.
    The human hair-soap smelled delicious, as did the bodywash she’d found on a shelf attached to the shower wall.
    She decided she rather liked the land walkers’ inventions and would have one made for the bathhouse when she returned home.
    Her damp clothes lay in a heap on the floor where she’d stepped out of them. She picked them up and brought them to her nose.
    They smelled of salt water and something else she’d never noticed until that moment.
    With a wrinkle of her nose, she laid them on the side of the sink to brush her teeth and hair before wrapping the towel around her body to go in search of something clean to wear.
    Entering the room she’d been designated, Naura noticed an open closet off to the right of an oversized bed. She trailed over to plunder the closet’s contents.
    Her eyes lit up with joy as she sifted through the droves of colorful material hanging from strange-looking contraptions along a wooden bar.
    She plucked a garment free and held it up to her chest. There were no sleeves on the top, and small white laces were tied together above the shoulders.
    “You will do quite nicely,” she murmured aloud, slipping it over her head and wandering across the room to open a drawer on a giant wooden box perched against the wall. What had Abbie called it? Oh, yes. A dresser.
    Grabbing a pair of soft white short pants, she pulled them on and went in search of Tony. She found him sitting on a couch in front of the television, loading a handgun.
    He glanced up as she stopped in front of him. “You couldn’t find anything less revealing to wear?”
    Unsure of his meaning, she took a seat next to him and turned her attention to the woman speaking from the television.
    “Although no cure has been discovered,” the pretty blonde proclaimed, “we are told that a vaccine is still in the works and that the CDC is working around the clock to put an end to this madness. I’m Mallory Cahill. Stay tuned for more on the Incola Virus after a word from our sponsors.”
    Tears stung Naura’s eyes with the knowledge of the virus’s origin. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for the epidemic’s existence.
    “If you’re going to insist on blaming yourself, do it somewhere else besides in here. Your guilt is choking me.”
    Naura shook off her gloomy thoughts and watched as Tony pulled something from his pocket and popped it into his mouth.
    “What is it that you ingested?”
    “It’s gum.” He held up a small, clear container with even smaller white squares inside. He shook it once before extending it to her. “Hold out your hand.”
    Naura did as he commanded, marveling as the gum rolled onto her palm.
    “Don’t swallow it,” he advised, returning the container back to his pocket. “You’re supposed to chew it until the flavor is gone.”
    Placing the gum in her mouth, she hesitantly bit down, gasping as the flavor burst across her tongue and took her breath. “I have never had gum before,” she breathed, fanning her mouth with her hand.
    “Not all gum is alike. I prefer the icy flavor; it opens my sinuses and keeps me alert when needed.”
    He suddenly looked uncomfortable. “You better get some sleep. We are leaving at daylight to take you back to the beach.”
    “I’m not going back,” she stated, staring into his eyes, refusing to back down.
    He ran his palm over the length of his beard. “I am not going to be responsible for you getting yourself killed.”
    Naura studied his