Them or Us

Sutton’s grandson, both of them wrapped up in as many layers of clothing as they could comfortably wear. At the bow of the boat, a man and a woman stood together, locked in a passionate embrace, wind blowing the woman’s hair, the two of them looking like characters from some film.
    “You want a drink?”
    “No. Save it.”
    “You should try to have something.”
    “No point. Just want to rest now.”
    Danny closed his eyes, the brightness finally too much to stand. In the darkness he thought back and remembered the people he’d lost. He wished that Lizzie and their three children were on this boat now instead of him. Or maybe here with him …
    A few seconds passed. Or had it been minutes? The dead town seemed closer than when he’d last looked.
    “You still with us, friend?”
    Danny’s eyes flickered open again. “Very tired, Joe.”
    Joseph wrapped another blanket around his shoulders. Danny let his head loll forward, but then snapped it back again quickly when he heard a child yelp with pain. The noise startled him. It made him panic, made him remember.
    “Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” Joseph said, immediately sensing his dying friend’s unease. “Just kids being kids, that’s all.”
    Danny watched as a woman separated Jake and Chloe, both of them bickering over half a can of soda.
    “She stole it off me,” Jake protested. He yanked Chloe’s hair, then grabbed the can from her and knocked the rest of it back in one gulp.
    “That was mine!” Chloe screamed, lunging for him again. “I’ll get you for that,” she sobbed.
    Exhausted, Danny’s eyes flickered shut.

 
ALSO BY DAVID MOODY Hater Dog Blood Autumn Autumn: The City Autumn: Purification Autumn: Disintegration Autumn: Aftermath

 
    This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
    THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
    An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
    THEM OR US. Copyright © 2011 by David Moody. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
    www.thomasdunnebooks.com
    www.stmartins.com
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Moody, David, 1970–
    Them or us / David Moody.—1st ed.
         p. cm.
    ISBN 978-0-312-53583-4
     1.  Regression (Civilization)—Fiction.   2.  Survival—Fiction.   3.  Life change events—Fiction.   I.  Title.
          PR6113.O5447T47 2011
          823'.92—dc23
    2011025878
    First Edition: November 2011
    eISBN 978-1-4299-9063-9