Solstice: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse Read Free Page A

upward toward the rectangles of endless blue, he remembered the previous summer and going to the sea with Christopher. Warm weather seemed a thousand years away. He sprinted upstairs to see his son, anticipating Leila’s third degree over his torn clothes and the missing dog. There wasn’t much he could tell her, anyway.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    London, England
     
     
     
     
     
    “Everyone needs to meet in the lobby following breakfast,” Stuart McCarthy announced. The kids milled around the lobby of the ultra-modern—by Wilmington, North Carolina, standards, anyway—Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, London. For the last four days, he had had five over-achieving high school seniors in his charge. The other chaperone had fallen sick at the last minute, and Stu was stuck with nobody to fill in. Probably best, anyway. If there was anything he didn’t want, it was another captain on the boat. He wanted to get the little escapade over with as quickly as possible. He was getting Maddy for the holidays without a fight from Shelia. That had made him wonder. She must have met someone.
    He’d been a bachelor and weekend dad for half of Maddy’s ten years. He wasn’t exactly fond of the situation, or even used to it, but he’d learned to live with it.
    The disheveled kids stumbled around like a bunch of zombies, and he felt like one himself. He doubted the hotel restaurant had enough coffee to get him going. The previous night, every little noise had gotten him out of bed. He needed to be on his toes with a group of horny kids, making sure everyone stayed inside their rooms after curfew. No sex. No alcohol. He’d finally ended up ordering a bottle of wine himself. As he stared out the window beside his bed at the Thames and the London Eye beyond, he became nicely buzzed. Why break routine just because he was away from home? The lights reflecting on the river at night were quite a remarkable sight, but he was ready to be on the plane on the way back to his daughter.
    Looking at his English Lit honors class, he decided he must have missed something. Oh well, as long as nobody ended up dead or pregnant, he could pat himself on the back for a job adequately accomplished.
    “Mr. McCarthy,” called Josh, the blond running back with a brain and a millionaire dad. “This food sucks. Can’t I order a burger?”
    That was the only problem with teaching at a high-dollar private school. The kids were under the impression they could have anything they wanted, when they wanted. They were in charge. He, the lowly teacher, worked for them .
    “All I can tell you, Josh, is eat what they have or else wait until lunch.”
    “Well, I’m not waiting, and I’m not eating breakfast crap.”
    “Then it looks like you’re screwed.” Twenty-six more hours and then they would be on a plane, and he could place music in his ears and pretend he was alone. He only hoped the solar storms the news networks kept reporting wouldn’t delay anything.
    “It’s really not what we want, Mr. McCarthy,” Ashley Landers said. She was pretty and knew it well enough to use it. She flashed her dimples and pushed her long blond hair away from her face.
    Stu sighed. “All right. I saw a McDonald’s a few blocks over. We’ll walk.”
    Josh and his sidekick, a smaller, slightly less brainy version of himself named Brett, grumbled loudly. Stu’s patience was thin enough to tear. He considered sending the kids back to their rooms until time to leave for the airport, but that would be ridiculous. Besides, dealing with spoiled parents was worse than dealing with spoiled teenagers. He bit his lip and wished like hell he had a flask of something that would warm him from throat to belly tucked into the pocket of his sport jacket.
    “Everyone up to their rooms. Get your coats. We’re heading to Mickey D’s.”
    Still complaining under his breath, Josh shook his head and headed toward the elevators, followed by his smaller doppelganger. The rest of the class