The Apocalypse Read online

  Hannah's mood hadn't improved by the time she got home after school. In fact, she positively slammed the door of her white Jeep and stomped through an inch of snow to her house, a hefty two-story cabin-themed home across the street from the Allens' smaller white house. She stopped inside at the door to remove her shoes, as her mother would freak out if Hannah tracked wet snow throughout the place. Light laughter floated into the living room, where Hannah was removing her coat, and she knew where the source had to be. She also knew who the source had to be. Even so, Hannah made her way into the kitchen.

  "Hannah!" Diane Allen's voice was filled with warmth, and it instantly brightened Hannah's foul mood. She'd always liked Jake's mom, even if he was a prick. "We were just talking about you."

  Stifling a knowing groan, Hannah's blue eyes flitted to her mother, a woman who Hannah didn't favor very much. Patricia's hair was a golden blond, but the two did share big blue eyes. "Hi, sweetie," Patricia greeted innocently from where she was stirring something at the stovetop. "Did you have a good day?"

  "Don't try to distract me." Hannah sat down at the table beside Diane and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from a platter at the center of the table. Her mother was cooking on the other side of the room, but Hannah was starving more than usual because of her measly lunch. "What were you gossiping about? Or should I even ask?"

  Liveliness always lit up Diane's emerald eyes, but they were particularly shining now. "Oh, we were just remembering the time that you and Jake had chicken pox, that's all." Hannah winced, but Diane went on. "Those oatmeal baths were so cute, weren't they, Patty?"

  "Please don't say anything," Hannah moaned, burying her face in her hands. The toddler baths were enough to make Hannah blush and lose her appetite over, which was a huge feat. "The last thing I want to hear right now is how you two betrothed Jake and me at birth or whatever. No stories."

  "Are you that pissed at me over the tater tots?"

  Hannah jumped, but both older women laughed lightly. Sometime after Hannah had hidden her face, Jake must have slipped in. Even though she'd tried to convince her mother otherwise, Jake—as well as his mother—had a key to her house for emergencies, so there was never a way to know when he'd just show up. Hannah had to be constantly on her guard, but for some stupid reason, she'd let it down. Since Jake should have been at basketball practice, Hannah had assumed she was safe.

  "If you're that mad, I'll let you win next week." Jake plopped into a chair across from Hannah and grabbed a cookie, just as she'd done. "Would that make you feel any better?"

  "No." Hannah's eyes narrowed as she glared at Jake. "I hate pity. Not that I think you're capable of pity, Allen. You're far too heartless to even pretend."

  "Hey, you remember this conversation next week," Jake ordered with his mouth full of a cookie. "I've tried to be nice but no. It has to be your way."

  "What are you even doing here?" Hannah asked hatefully. "Shouldn't you be off passing basketballs and gas with the boys?"

  "As touched as I am that you keep up with my busy schedule, no," Jake smirked. "We've got a bad weather advisory or something, so practice was canceled." He looked over at Patricia. Hannah stood up and retrieved milk from the refrigerator in fast, easy motions. "Isaac's riding home with Seth though."

  Patricia glanced at the clock and frowned. "He's still running behind." Her blue eyes swept to where Hannah was brooding at the table. "Did your brother say anything about being late?"

  Hannah snapped to attention, but it took her a few moments to understand the question. Her younger brother always caught a ride home with his best friend when he had practice. Finally, she shrugged. "No. I don't—"

  "There was a freshmen class meeting after school," Jake casually spoke up as he reached for another cookie; he took one of the largest ones on the platter. "He said he was staying for it."

  Muttering darkly under her breath, Hannah was cursing her brother's friendship with Jake. Fraternizing with the enemy should not have been allowed. She barely had a stable relationship with her brother, but Jake and Isaac hung out frequently. After puberty hit, Hannah wasn't sure that Jake really liked Isaac that much, but when he'd stepped in and tried to help Isaac out of his nerdiness, Hannah knew their friendship was the real deal. Jake had even performed a miracle and gotten Isaac interested in football, and now he was transforming Isaac into a basketball player.

  Hannah gave Jake a dirty look, but a light cough to cover a giggle told Hannah that Diane was the only one who had caught it. Both mothers were very well aware of their children's vendettas against each other, but no amount of chiding over the years had helped. If anything, being told to get along only made Hannah and Jake fight more. The adults had finally given up and just chalked it up as something to be amused by.

  Eyelashes were only batted if a trip to the emergency room was required, which hadn't happened since the fateful football game during their sophomore year. A rough game had come to pass where Hannah's thumb required three stitches and Jake's ankle needed an x-ray. Then Jake and Hannah had been punished, but when Hannah's stitches were removed, the two were at war again.

  "Oh." Patricia added something to the pot she was stirring. She then faced Jake and smiled. "I'm so glad you got Isaac into sports. Why did you quit football again, Jake? You were so good at it."

  "I hated the coach last year," Jake explained, glancing at Hannah. They both knew the story was darker than that. She shifted in her seat, unable to stay calm when he was lying. "The new one this year was all right, but since I didn't go to summer workouts, I couldn't play."

  Diane's eyebrows lifted, and Hannah wondered if she knew the real story. "I tried to get him to stick it out." Apparently not. "But his mind was made up."

  "That's a shame," Patricia commented sadly; she was the more maternal one compared to Diane. Diane was still a teenager at heart.

  "No kidding," Hannah agreed, eyeing the platter of cookies; when there was one left, she'd steal it just as Jake reached for it. "He's had more time to hang out here."

  Jake rolled his green eyes so that the light caught in them and made his eyes stand out brilliantly. "I've explained this one to you, Ayers. I'm obligated to spend a minimum of twelve hours each week here so that you don't forget what a real man is. Dating Hudson and all, you don't get an example too often."

  "Don't talk about Greg." Hannah glowered, filling with hatred. "Just because he's not an insensitive prick like you doesn't mean that you have any right to criticize him. He's smarter and sweeter than you are."

  A bright, albeit sarcastic, grin spread across Jake's face as he surveyed Hannah. "It's funny how you compare every guy to me. Am I on your mind that often?"

  Diane was watching Hannah and Jake with merriment. "You two are so adorable," she laughed, glancing at Patricia, who shared her amusement. "When are we planning their wedding?"

  "When hell freezes over," Jake answered dryly. He stood and helped himself to a glass from the cabinet and milk from the refrigerator, and Hannah snatched another cookie, nodding agreeably. "I'd rather shoot myself in the foot and jump into the ocean as shark bait than marry her."

  Hannah snorted. "I'd pull the trigger for you and give you a push into the water."

  "Or maybe I'd just shoot you, Ayers, and let you be the shark bait," Jake smirked. "I think I'd cut my own legs off with a butter knife before I willingly spent my whole life with you."

  Shrugging, Hannah chewed a bite of her cookie indifferently. "I'd induce physical harm on myself too, jerk. If it came down to marrying you or shutting my head in a car's sunroof, I'd be headless at my funeral."

  Jake almost laughed, but he apparently caught himself in time, or else the near laugh was scornful. He did grin though. "Dude, I'd slice my stomach open, nail my small intestine to a tree, and run around in circles to rip all my insides out before I'd marry you."

  Patricia and Diane both started to intervene, but Hannah spoke over top of them with no trouble, not a bit affected by his grotesque comment. "That's noth
ing. I'd roll around in raw meat and then jump in a lion's den to keep from marrying you."

  "Not a bad idea, Ayers," Jake remarked as he took a drink from his glass of milk. Amusement was in his eyes. "Put an end to your miserable life."

  "My miserable life?" Hannah repeated with raised eyebrows. She polished off her cookie and made a face at Jake. "Who's constantly in my business and eating my food? I think you're jealous of my life, honestly."

  "Oh I am," Jake agreed, but his tone was extremely sarcastic. "I'm so jealous of your life that I'd rather take mine than be a part of yours."

  "Jake…" Diane shook her head a little, and her chin-length brown hair swayed. She then turned her attention to Hannah. "I heard today that the Rascal Flatts are coming back to Cincinnati. You think you'd want to go see them again?"

  Hannah's eyes lit up. She'd once seen the band with Diane before, and it had been amazing, regardless of the fact that Hannah wasn't a country music fan and had hardly heard any of the band's songs. "Absolutely!"

  "Great." Diane grinned and stole a glance at her son. "You think you'd want to join us?"

  "Not on your life," Jake answered without a moment's hesitation. Patricia laughed, which must have encouraged him. "I'll definitely pass."

  "Thank God for that," Hannah mumbled as she stood up and gave Diane a quick hug. "Hey Mom, Greg's picking me up at four-thirty. We're eating and then studying for physics at Morgan's. Okay?"

  Patricia looked outside the window and faced her daughter uncertainly. Worry was evident in her eyes. "What about the weather, Han?"

  "What about my grade, Mom?" Hannah shot back. Softening quickly, she waved her hand carelessly. "Besides, it's not like the roads won't be salted and all. And Greg's driven in snow before. We're all used to it."

  Patricia glanced at Diane, who shrugged. "All right. You'll be home after that?"

  "Not if I can convince Greg to get milkshakes afterwards." Hannah's grin was cheeky, and Jake snorted, but Hannah chose to mostly ignore him this time, although she did give him a disdainful glance. "All that studying is going to starve me to death."

  "As if you'll do any studying," Jake muttered. Then he smirked. "Oh wait, that's right. You're talking about Greg Hudson, aren't you? Yeah, you won't do anything but study."

  Hannah rewarded Jake with a sarcastic laugh. "At least I'll pass the test. You won't do anything but fail."

  Jake didn't say anything back, and Hannah was grateful because he very well could have pointed out that his GPA was just as good as hers and was on the borderline of being better. When Hannah accepted that their arguing was over temporarily, she waved politely to her mom and to Diane before going upstairs to get ready.

  Jake thought that she'd only be studying tonight? Ha! What did he know? Hannah had just enough time to shower and get all dolled up in her favorite jeans and a pretty sweater. Hopefully Jake would still be around when Hannah went downstairs, just so she could rub her date-like appearance in his face.

  Chapter 2

  Malicious Malady

  Stretched out in his nice warm bed, Jake was sleeping peacefully when his mom burst into his bedroom, flicking the light switch so that yellow light flooded the darkness. He didn't stir, even as she shook his shoulder and hissed his name repeatedly. For the first seven minutes that Diane Allen was in his room, Jake was unaware that anything was going on, but a very firm shake finally roused him.

  "Jacob Grant, get up!"

  "Mom…" His voice was thick with sleep. Jake opened his eyes and looked at his alarm clock. Illuminated in blue light was 1:24. What was going on? He'd been dead asleep since long before eleven. "Whaddya want?"

  "Hurry." Despite his grogginess, Jake heard the nervous impatience in his mother's tone. He squinted at her and saw how pale her face was. Suddenly, Jake was fearful for what was happening.

  "What's wrong?" he demanded. "What happened?"

  Diane jerked back Jake's blankets, and a rush of cool air hit his bare chest. Since he was wearing only flannel pajama pants, Jake grabbed for a discarded t-shirt and pulled it on, still eyeing his mother warily. "There was a car accident," she informed him shortly. "Hannah's hurt badly. I need you to keep Isaac company while I run over to the hospital."

  Jake's first reaction was the desire to roll his eyes before crawling back into bed, but not even he was that heartless, not even when it came to Hannah Ayers. Besides, Isaac was his friend. He gave a brief nod and got out of bed. Diane disappeared instantly from his bedroom. Thoughtlessly, Jake retrieved socks from his top dresser drawer and headed downstairs, where he saw Isaac sitting on the couch.

  "Hey," Jake greeted semi-awkwardly, his tone still husky with sleep. Isaac's blue eyes were bright with alertness, and he was as colorless as Diane had been. Jake didn't like it at all.

  Isaac moved over on the couch, needlessly making more room for Jake to sit. "Hey," he answered lowly. Isaac swallowed audibly, and Jake could tell how scared he really was.

  The two guys sat in silence for roughly five minutes. Jake didn't know how to console Isaac, especially since he didn't know any details, and it didn't seem like Isaac was in the mood to talk anyway. He didn't really understand why Isaac wasn't going to the hospital also; if things were that bad, why wasn't Hannah's brother there? When Diane rushed into the room, Jake looked up and saw her hug Isaac tightly in a lengthy embrace. She stroked Isaac's blondish hair and murmured something that Jake didn't catch. Finally, she pulled back.

  "Jake, turn the heat up," Diane commanded as she pulled on her brown leather coat. "Make some coffee or something, and for God's sake show some manners." In a motherly gesture that was more Patricia-like, Diane kissed the top of Isaac's head and then moved toward the door. "Be good, boys. I'll call you if there's anything to tell."

  After Jake fiddled with the thermostat, he faced Isaac, who hadn't moved at all. "Do you want some hot chocolate or whatever?" The younger boy shook his head, and Jake shifted his weight. "Do you want to talk?"

  Isaac looked up, his forehead wrinkled in concern, and his eyes followed Jake's movement toward the nearby recliner. "Greg hit ice." Jake had never heard such fury from Isaac's mouth. Yet his voice was somehow quiet and matter-of-fact. "The bastard apparently tried to brake, and the car spun out of control. It's totaled."

  Jake nodded slowly, allowing his mind to process the information. He remembered the weather advisory and glanced outside through the glass of the front door. Nothing but whiteness. He briefly worried about his mom being out on the road too, but Jake let it go, reasoning that she'd be careful.

  "Dad called from the hospital around ten-thirty," Isaac went on. Jake remembered that Benjamin Ayers worked almost constantly as an emergency room surgeon. "The ambulance brought H-Hannah in then. Mom sent me over here and then left. I guess it's taken this long to stabilize Hannah."

  Although Jake didn't particularly care for Hannah, it upset him to hear Isaac talk. The kid was obviously distressed. "Do you know why my mom left?"

  "M-my mom was breaking down." Isaac's voice positively cracked with the admission, and he looked over at Jake worriedly, but Jake made sure his face didn't have any semblance of mocking. "Hannah's messed up bad."

  "Was anyone else in the car? What about Hudson?"

  Isaac's eyes hardened. "Greg's got a broken arm," he spat out in disgust. "He has a little scratch on his cheek, but they got the glass out quickly enough. He'll be fine." Isaac scoffed. "Until I get my hands on him, that is. I'll kill—"

  "Hey." Jake kept his voice soft. He understood Isaac's anger, but now wasn't the time for it. "Hudson's an idiot, I'll give you that, but don't think about him right now, all right? What do you know about Ay—your sister?"

  Pain crept onto Isaac's face, and he didn't say anything for several minutes. He shrugged then. "She busted her head somehow, and she had to get stitches in her shoulder, knee, and forehead. Somewhere else too, I think." Isaac swallowed and shook his head. "They're talking brain damage though."

  Jake sucked in air sharp
ly. No wonder Isaac was so troubled. Even if Jake knew that Isaac and Hannah weren't super close due to the three years of age difference, no one could have doubted the sibling love there. Hannah was very protective of her brother, and Isaac looked up to Hannah more than anybody. It all went unspoken, but it was obvious.

  "What if she dies, Jake?" Isaac's voice was barely a whisper. "I…if her brain swells—what if…" He met Jake's eyes, and Jake was afraid that Isaac was about to break down. "She'll be okay, right?"

  "She'll be fine," Jake assured him with a little smile. He stood up and went over to Isaac, prodding his arm. "Come into the kitchen with me." Without waiting on a reply, Jake moved into the kitchen, where it was colder than the living room. As Jake was pouring water into the coffee pot, he saw Isaac entering from the corner of his eye. "You should eat something, man. It'll help."

  Isaac managed a half smile. "That's H-Hannah's philosophy," he commented softly. He climbed onto a barstool and watched Jake making hot chocolate. "I wish I could do something to help her."

  "And I'm sure Hannah will give you plenty to do when she's home." Jake smiled and tried to lighten to mood. "She'll have you bending over backward bringing her stuff. Probably food."

  "True…" Isaac sighed and rested his elbows against the countertop. "You may not like her much, Jake, but she's…I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't around."

  Jake brought two heavy mugs of hot chocolate to the counter Isaac was sitting at and perched on another barstool. He sipped some of the hot liquid slowly. "She's your sister, dude. Of course you love her." Jake shrugged and looked at the clock. It was almost two o'clock in the morning. "If no one threatens my life for driving in the snow, I'll take you to see her whenever visiting hours start. Okay?"

  A little hint of a smile softened Isaac's face, despite Jake's poor word choice. "Yeah," he agreed with a concise nod. "Mom refused to let me go tonight, so… Thanks, Jake." Isaac reached for the other steaming mug of hot chocolate and took a drink. "When Hannah's all good again, will you hold Greg still so I can break his other arm?"