This World We Live In (The Last Survivors, Book 3) Read Free Page B

music," she said.
    I can't say I've missed Simon Garfunkel, but it was nice to hear "Bridge Over Troubled Water" again.
    We sang it in middle school chorus about a mil ion years ago.
    When it rains, you can forget the sky is gray al the time. If you're cold, wel , that's perfectly normal on a damp, dreary day. Bad weathe r - good mood.
    Bad weather and electricity, that is.
    May 5
    "I've been thinking," Matt said at lunch. "About a couple of things."
    I'd been thinking, too, about nail polish. But I knew better than to mention it. "What?" I asked instead.
    "First of al , if we're going to stay here, Jon and I should start chopping firewood again."
    "I hate the idea of the two of you out there al day, hungry, doing al that work," Mom said.
    "It has to be done," Matt said. "But I think before we start on it, Jon and I should try something else."
    "What?" Jon asked.
    "We know we have food for a while," Matt said.
    "But we could certainly use more. And I can't remember the last time we had protein. The rain got me thinking. The shad run the Delaware River in spring."
    "They start in April," Jon said.
    "This year they might be a little late," Matt said.
    "But it's safe to bet the river ice has melted. I don't know if
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    there'l be a lot of fish, but it's worth going and catching what we can."
    "Could we go tomorrow?" Jon asked. "How long wil we be gone?"
    "Wait a second," I said. "How come I can't go, too?"
    "Wait two seconds," Mom said. "I haven't agreed to any of this yet."
    Matt gave Mom a look. We've been together so much the past few months, we don't have to talk anymore. We know each other's looks to perfection.
    "How long would you be gone?" Mom asked.
    "A week," Matt said. "Maybe less. We're about fifteen miles from the Delaware, so Jon and I should plan on a day's travel there and back. Then it would depend on how the fish are running, how long we would stay. We'l camp out, or if there are houses we can use, we'l sleep in them. Deserted motels.
    We'l take some food with us, but if we're lucky, we'l catch some shad first thing, and eat that until we get home."
    "You'l need rods," I said. "And flies. And I stil don't see why I can't go."
    "You hate fishing," Jon said.
    "You don't like it, either," I pointed out.
    "Yeah," Jon said. "But it'l be something to do."
    "We have one fishing rod in the attic," Matt said.
    "And Mr. Nesbitt used to fish. There's a pretty good chance I can find his rod. If not, we'l look for one in other houses around here. It shouldn't take too long to find everything we need. When people scavenged this fal , they were looking for food, not wading boots. We have sleeping bags, so that's no problem. Nobody'l mistake us for professionals, but there probably won't be much competition, either. If 30
    we can bring back a trash bag or two of shad, we could salt them and eat off them for weeks, maybe even months."
    "There's so much I don't like about this," Mom said. "Including breaking into people's houses and stealing things."
    "We're not stealing from anyone who's stil here,"
    Matt said. "Mom, let's say we leave at some point.
    Would you object if someone came in and took our firewood?"
    Mom sighed. Matt grinned. Jon looked positively giddy.
    "I stil don't see why I can't go," I said. "I can bike fifteen miles, same as you."
    "Mom shouldn't be left alone," Matt said. "And it would be easier for me to go with Jon."
    I knew I wasn't going to win, and sulking and pouting would only make everybody mad at me.
    Which was a shame, because I used to be real y good at sulking and pouting.
    "I want to break into people's houses, too," I said.
    "I bet I could find lots of stuff we can use."
    "Like what?" Jon asked in his best "I chop firewood; I bring home fish" voice.
    "Stuff you're not civilized enough to care about," I said. "Toothpaste. Deodorant. Shampoo."
    "You're right," Matt said. "We should al look around the houses nearby and see what we can find."
    "You can't go before Tuesday," Mom said.
    "Monday you