White Out: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by Eric Dimbleby Page A

asked, “Daddah a scallion ?”
    Edgar exhaled through his nose, looking past Paulie. "Where did you say your pop kept those fancy rich-boy logs at, anyway? It's getting mighty nippy in here. I already froze to death once out there." He came down from the stairs, passed Paulie, and patted him on the head. Edgar smelled just like his boots. Or maybe the boots just smelled like him.
    "In here," Paulie said, leading Edgar across the messy basement. He'd been really bad about leaving his toys out since his mother was away. She was always on his back about putting everything in its proper place when the day was through (she would sing this song called “Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Do Your Share”), but his father didn't follow that rule the same as she did. That was okay, because putting stuff away at the end of the day didn't make a whole of sense, especially if Paulie was going to pull it all out again after breakfast the next day.
    Paulie reached the door, turning the knob and looking back at Edgar. Edgar looked v ery happy when the door opened. He looked like he might start laughing at any second, and that would be okay because Paulie hadn’t laughed in a long time. Paulie loved to laugh.
    "Would n’t ya’ look at that shit? He must have a couple hundred logs in here," Edgar said, rubbing his hands together, sort of hopping from toe to toe like he was standing on hot coals.
    "Daddah says be puhpart ."
    " I think you mean prepared," Edgar corrected him. He looked at Paulie like his eyeballs might pop right out of his head, like he was some kind of crazy cartoon character.
    Paulie repeated after Edgar, focusing on the way he said the word, " Puh-parrred ."
    "Your Daddy ain't prepared for me," Edgar said.
    “Food too,” said Paulie.
    Edgar looked down at him again, his eyes turning bigger than the moon. Now that Paulie thought about it more, it reminded him of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. That was the way the wolf looked when it was waiting for Riding Hood, sitting in her grandma's bed dressed in a nightgown, licking his chops as he waited for his trick to pay off. Paulie never looked at that storybook because it scared him too much. That and the one with the little kids lost in the woods by themselves, the ones that are taken by a witch until they throw her in the fire. Paulie couldn’t help thinking about those mean stories lately.
    " Yes, m’boy. Show me that food. If it's half as impressive as that there stack of logs, I'll be sticking around here awhile. I reckon you and I will get to know each other real good."
    Paulie liked the sound of that. Edgar was a really nice guy, and he talked real interesting too. Not to mention those fancy boots he wore.
    Edgar, after all, was a scallion .
     
     

 
    Chapter Five
     
    Paulie looked out the window, longing for the wonderful springtime his father had promised him. He could remember what it was like… only a few months ago before the cold had invaded. There was an absence in his life, of being outside, taking in fresh air and enjoying the warmth of the sun. He would always wake up on sunny days, working in the garden with his father, digging for worms, and he would tell his mother, "It's bee-ute-tee-ful outside, Mammah!" She would laugh when he said that. He missed his mother's infectious laugh, even more than the way she tickled him and nuzzled him when the scary monsters crept around the world of his dreams.
    The world seemed different in those days. The world was changing, no matter what his father would admit.
    It's just a little snow, kiddo. It'll let up any day now. Once it starts to melt, you'll forget all about this. Once your mom gets back, it'll be like none of this ever happened. The world isn't ending, no matter what th ose cuckoo birds said on the radio.
    The man on the radio said something about the a-pok-a-lips . Paulie still couldn't decipher what that actually meant, but it seemed pretty bad. The guy's voice was all shaky and gravelly, like he