Half Dead World: Book One from the Apocalypse Tales by Adrienne Hargrove (little readers txt) 📗

He brings his head down and looks at me with those dark chocolate eyes. “Sorry, my brother is in fact, the most opinionated and obnoxious kid on the planet.”

“It’s okay, and don’t worry you’re under no obligation to charm me.”

He grins at me, and when his parents get involved in their own conversation he leans in and speaks low. “Finish up so we can go for a walk in the back garden before the rain starts back up.”

I look down and see that his plate is nearly empty. I clean my plate as quickly as possible. Then, Jackson asks his parents if we can go for a walk before dessert. “That’s fine” Mrs. Armstrong’s warm voice floats across the table. “But don’t be too long, its Chocolate bread pudding tonight and you know how hard it is to keep your dad from eating it all. Mr. Armstrong turns to Wilder and waggles his eyebrows like a cartoon villain. Wilder smiles and nods back, as if to say the great dessert heist is set and he is ready. As we leave the dining room, I hear Mrs. Armstrong chastising them about how they will not take more than their fair share.

“Wow, so, the chocolate bread pudding must be pretty good.”

Jackson looks taken aback. “You can’t be serious! You’ve never had it at the café?”

I shrug “Bread pudding has never been one of my favorites.”

He looks at me with a cross between sympathy and complete astonishment. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and gives it a little squeeze. “Okay, so, when you try it tonight, I don’t want you to be too hard on yourself. I mean, you have missed out on the best dessert on the planet for as long as the café has been open. But I guess you couldn’t have known that, and from here on out I predict you will be a complete devotee.”

I laugh aloud at his utter ridiculousness. “So, what is so great about this bread pudding?”

“In house chocolate croissants, white chocolate chips and Amaretto sauce…do I need to say more.

“Not unless you want me to get a cavity.”

We both laugh and I can’t get over how different he is at home than he is at school. He is super popular, and he is always surrounded by friends, but he has always seemed a little stand offish or guarded. Right now, in this moment, he seems so comfortable, like an open book. Which is great, because I really want to know whatever it is that his parents wouldn’t tell me at the dinner table.

“Okay, since we don’t have long before its time to go eat the world’s best dessert…spill it. Why does Mr. Daxter have such a problem with my parents? His eyes round and he gives me slightly startled look. I can see him deciding what he should tell me and then his face becomes resolute.

“I’m gonna tell you because I think you have a right to know. I don’t really understand why your parents haven’t told you any of it. Besides, I know eventually you are gonna be one of us. My mom doesn’t see it yet, but she says you have a good energy about you.”

I try to hold my expression together, even though my brain is screaming what the heck. Be one of them? What doesn’t his mom see? I bite my tongue not to interrupt with all my new questions because what I really need to know is about my parents. But holy flux what is all that nonsense about? He must think I know what he’s talking about because he said it like it was just a rational part of conversation. A panicked thought enters my brain. What if they are all part of one of those religious suicide cults!

“Haven, are you okay? You have a strange look on your face.”

Clearly, I did not achieve reigning in my expression, as I had hoped.

“Yes, I’m fine, just very curious about my parents and Mr. Daxter.”

He nods but looks a little unconvinced as he continues. “Well, it all started years ago when the government was trying to pass the religious acts into law. Mr. Daxter was an up in coming politician, well on his way to becoming a regional counselor. Obviously, he was a big proponent of getting the laws passed. So, he was given a government position to drum up support and persuade people that the laws were necessary. Several states were proving very difficult to convince.”

“Wait, wait, wait, sorry to interrupt, but did you just say Mr. Daxter was a politician and not a teacher?”

“Yes, Mr. Daxter became a teacher after his political career took a nosedive. Anyway, Louisiana, having maintained a relatively strong religious base was proving one of the hardest nuts to crack. Many of the wealthier churches banded together and, along with their prominent members, fought to stop the religious laws from being passed. It just so happens that your dad was the head of the central Louisiana churches’ legal advisory board. He created a lot of legal problems for Mr. Daxter and the government. He won some small concessions here and there within the religious acts. But, in the end the government was just too powerful for the people to overcome. After decades of the Constitution being diluted, there just wasn’t enough legal ground to save freedom of religion. That being said, your dad and the churches did manage raise awareness and cause discord that spread beyond just Louisiana. They showed a lot of people, exactly what the government is; a business willing to manipulate and control people for its own gain. They also made Mr. Daxter, look completely incompetent. After it was all said and done, the new laws were passed, but the supreme council, deemed Mr. Daxter, ineffective and suggested he find other employment within the government network. So, that’s how