Apocalipstick (Hell in a Handbag Book 1) by Lisa Acerbo (best motivational books for students .TXT) 📕

“Something caught our attention in the woods, and we shot at it. But it must have been an animal.” Billy shrugged away Jenna’s chastisement.

“Nothing’s around anymore.” Eric pouted, not at all contrite. “Look over there.” He pointed to a dead, dangling branch.

“What about it?” Jenna could not see anything remotely interesting about the limb.

Eric grabbed a pebble off the roof top, then pitched it at the branch. “We noticed the branch and wanted to see who could dislodge it first. We were trying to make it fall, but we’re not allowed to have any fun.” As if to emphasize his point, Eric slammed his foot on the concrete. “Gus was right on us. Told us to stop fooling around.”

“And yet the branch remains part of the tree. I guess you need a few more lessons with me after all.”

“It’s at a weird angle.” The shorter of the two boys, Billy had a cowlick Jenna always had the urge to smooth it away. “We learned our lesson. It’s not our job to save the group from dead branches unless they turn into zombie trees.” A lopsided smile detracted from his attempt of rebellion.

Eric leaned close, confiding in a conspiratorial whisper. “Gus tries to act like our father, you know?”

“Really?” Jenna, at 21, was closest to their age, yet felt like she came from a different generation. She widened her eyes as if in on the boy’s hustle and held back a laugh when both the their heads bounced in unison.

The twins looked like they ought to be anywhere but in the middle of the apocalyptic pandemic.

An image of them driving a tractor on a farm in the mid-west with their freckled, homegrown, innocent faces, flashed through her mind. The overalls Eric enjoyed wearing almost every day added to the cliché.

“You wouldn’t want to announce our location, would you?” Jenna tried to be stern, but she could not help but show a rare gap-tooth smile.

She reached out and brushed Billy’s shoulder, working hard to keep her fingers from his cowlick.

“There’s nothing around.” Eric shuffled from foot to foot. “It’s been so boring the last couple days.”

“Then you have time to hear Gus’s deep-sea fishing stories.”

Eric opened his mouth to protest.

Jenna held up a finger. “Not a word. You love how Gus looks out for you both. Someone’s got to keep the two of you in line, and I’m too young to mother you.”

Billy blushed in response and shrugged her off.

Jenna was well aware he’d developed a crush on her over the last couple of months. There were few women in camp under thirty and other people in her group had developed relationships. Jenna never dreamed of realizing love anymore, not in this world. Sure, there were fantasies, but dreaming about sex and the reality of her situation were two different things.

Billy opened his mouth. “I, uhm—”

“I need to relieve Caleb”—it was too early to discuss anything serious—“but maybe I’ll whip you guys at poker tonight.”

“I doubt it, but you’re welcome to try.” A grin tugged at the corners of Eric’s mouth.

The boys’ smiles appeared so similar, Jenna did a double take, then waved goodbye. “See ya.”

A pang of envy for the ease they lived in this new world overtook her.

Stationed by a crumbling chimney, Caleb stood immobile in dark jeans and a black hoodie from which a hint of a profile peaked. His black hair obscured his face and the rest of him was inked in the shadow. He was a loner like her, and Jenna had made it her goal to avoid him since the attack. Now, thanks to guard duty, she marched over.

Does there need to be a further discussion? No.

He nodded. She returned the greeting, and the two stood side by side silently, watching the sky. Minutes ticked away.

“My friends.” Emma’s arrival and voice made her jump.

“What?” She didn’t bother to filter out the annoyance in her tone.

“Someone’s on edge.” The older woman put a hand on Jenna’s back.

“So, it seems.” The words followed Caleb’s restrained chuckle.

Jenna scowled, wishing she was anywhere else.

“Peace offering.” Emma handed the younger woman a bowl of something lumpy and lukewarm, then turned to face Caleb. “Doesn’t look so wonderful out today. I was hoping for sunny and a high of seventy-five.”

Jenna peered over the edge, the final cloak of darkness being slowly pulled away. “Not much like Alaska?”

“Not much like anywhere.” Emma had been vacationing on the Jersey shore with relatives, a long way from her home in Alaska, when the pandemic hit. She’d never made it back to find out about her former life.

Losing family is devastating, but not knowing must be much worse.

“Alaska was cold so I guess I shouldn’t complain about the weather, but it’s too hot here for me.” Emma drew in a breath of air as if it provided nourishment. “Like the weather is our biggest problem these days.”

“I miss the sun.” A hint of longing etched Caleb’s voice. “What I wouldn’t do to stand in it again.”

“I’d help you with that if I could, but my medical knowledge only goes so far.” Emma gave him a pat on the shoulder, then continued her rounds, leaving Jenna holding a bowl of breakfast but having no desire to eat.

Jenna bit into her bottom lip with her top teeth. The food balanced on the four-foot wood roof railing, and she pushed her spoon around in it for a few minutes. “Will we make it to Virginia soon?”

“We’re already in Pennsylvania. Maryland’s pretty small. We should be there in a couple days if all goes well, and we find fuel for the trucks.”

“Will things be normal there?”

“Nothing will ever be as expected again.” His face lifted. “I should go inside.” He turned, then took a few steps toward the door. “Find me later.”

She nodded but wouldn’t. Being alone with Caleb was disconcerting. For now, the New Race and humans were allies, all fighting the common threat from the undead, but Jenna knew peace wouldn’t last. Why would they need