Winter World (The Long Winter #1)(113)
He seemed more cheerful now, in the company of their family and friends. Abby and Alex were there, as were Jack and Sarah. Madison and David had come over with Jake and Adeline. The crew of the Pax were all in attendance too. Harry Andrews was manning the grill in the back yard, telling jokes and stories from their time on the Pax. Emma had heard all the stories a couple of times now, and they seemed to get a little more outlandish each time. In a few years, no doubt, the tale would be so large it would be more like a Star Wars sequel.
The sun was shining, and the snow was completely gone now. There was talk of people returning to North America and Europe and China. The world seemed new again. Anything seemed possible.
She was in the kitchen, prepping the salad, when James leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I’ll be right back. It’s a surprise.”
Abby, sitting at the kitchen table, raised her eyebrows.
Emma shrugged. “Knowing James, a surprise can literally, literally mean anything.”
Still, her jaw dropped when James reentered the house with Oscar following close behind.
The entire room fell silent. Emma realized that the crew of the Pax had never met Oscar. And she now knew what Oscar might represent to Alex.
Abby turned her gaze to her husband, who was holding a beer, frozen, paused in mid-sentence.
Alex glanced from James to Oscar, then he walked over to the two and held out his hand.
“Welcome home, Oscar. James told me what you did. Good job. I’m glad you were there.”
When everyone had left, James insisted on cleaning the house himself so Emma could rest. Oscar joined him.
When they were done, James entered the bedroom he shared with Emma, who was reading a novel on a tablet.
He plopped down on the bed and began pulling off his shoes. “Any good?”
“Just got to the good part.”
After a pause, she added, “I was really happy about what Alex said to Oscar.”
“Me too. We’re going to need a lot more like him.”
She sat up and set the tablet aside. “What do you mean?”
He looked back, seeming to remember she was there.
“Oh, nothing. Just saying, there’s a lot of work to do.”
She nodded, still feeling as though there was more to his words.
She was almost finished with the book when a wave of nausea swept over her. It was worse than anything she’d ever felt in space. It seemed to emanate from deep inside her and grip her entire body.
She stumbled on shaking legs to the bathroom, and just had enough time to close the door before the contents of her stomach emptied in the toilet.
James was up and at the door in seconds.
“You okay?”
She tried to clear the wretched contents from her mouth.
“Yeah,” she said between breaths, “I’m fine.”
“You think it was some food? Burgers were undercooked?”
“No. The food was fine. I think.”
“The salad?”
“James, I’m fine.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
She stayed by the toilet until she felt well enough to stand again. Then she reached into the drawer of her vanity and took out the home health analyzer. She touched it to her fingertip, and it extracted a drop of blood.
She sat on the toilet, staring at the display as it ran a series of tests.
When the results popped onto the screen, she scrolled by the blood chemistry and routine tests down to the infectious diseases panel, which read:
No pathogens detected.
She flipped back to the routine health checks. Cholesterol and white count were normal.
Her eyes grew wide when she read the last line:
Pregnant: Yes
The Story Continues
Read The Solar War, the thrilling conclusion to the Winter World two-book series.
More at:
AGRiddle.com/Solar-War
They decimated Earth during the Long Winter.
Now the Grid has returned, and they won’t stop until the last human is dead.
On a ruined world, humanity’s last survivors fight against impossible odds.
In their darkest hour, they discover a new hope for survival. But it comes at an unthinkable price, with consequences that will change everything.
AGRiddle.com/Solar-War
also by A.G. RIDDLE
The Origin Mystery
The Extinction Files
Departure
see more books by a.g. riddle at:
agriddle.com
Author's Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Winter World. This is my seventh novel, and it was the hardest to write, mostly because of the events occurring in my life.
Novels reflect their creators. They’re a window into our beliefs, our fears, and our fascinations. And they sometimes evoke our state of mind at the time they were written. I wrote Winter World during the winter of my own life, a time when my mother was dying. She had just been diagnosed with a rare lung condition (two, actually: PVOD and PAH). She was sixty-four. We learned that there was no cure for her condition, and no treatment.