The Dead and the Gone: Chapters 1–5

“She’s only been there two weeks and they can’t manage without her,” she said.

He thought, not for the first time, how much more convenient things would be if the Morales family could afford a computer.

She was going to a meteor party in Central Park to watch.

Papi thought Bri was too devout, but Mami said it’s just a stage fourteen-year-old girls go through.

Papi’s nickname for her was La Dramatica, and Mami still hadn’t forgiven her for the scene she’d made when Carlos announced he was enlisting in the Marines: “You’ll die!"

He showed Alex where the cartons of beer and cigarettes were, and as Alex carried them to Benny’s car, Jimmy filled empty boxes with milk and bread and other perishables.

Uncle Jimmy locked the steel gate, leaving Alex with the uncomfortable sensation of being a prisoner, even though he knew he and Julie were safer if the store was locked shut.

“With all the looting and everything, the hospitals must be full.”

NASA was most likely consulting physicists and astronomers from around the world about the quickest way of getting the moon in place.

Broadway was limited to emergency vehicles, and they were flying down the avenue, their sirens screaming.

All the grocery bags scattered around looked ridiculous now, a crazy extravagance during a crazy day.

Staten Island, Long Island devastated.

“Even if they can come up with something, it may take months, even years, before they can implement it,” the scientist replied.

It might take a while, and there might be a lot of politicking involved, but eventually New York bounced back from any misfortune.

Alex was relieved to find the church open and surprised at the number of people there.

“We’ve been told the subways are not yet back in service and bus service is severely restricted, so unless your work is essential to the survival of the community, you’re requested to stay within walking distance of your home.

Alex had thought the ritual of the Mass, which he knew so well, would provide him with comfort, but his mind was reeling from all Father Franco had said.

He was taken aback by the sight of the normal: paint cans, screwdrivers, duct tape all neatly in place.

He sat on the sofa and told himself this was the ideal time to cry, when his sisters couldn’t see him.

“Unpleasant though it is to contemplate, we must assume deprivation and death lie in wait.”

Father Mulrooney raised his formidable eyebrows.

You may only return to the body you’ve identified if you are accompanied by an official.

Alex thought the rules were stringent, but they made sense, and he was relieved that what was called for was so carefully spelled out.

If she hadn’t been ambitious to improve her family’s lot, she wouldn’t have gotten the training and the hospital in Queens wouldn’t have called for her to come in because of an emergency and she wouldn’t have taken the 7 train to Queens and Alex wouldn’t be standing in front of Yankee Stadium with menthol-scented gel rubbed beneath his nose.

The noise was what attacked him first, a cacophony of screams and sobs.

Alex felt a sharp sting he was stunned to identify as envy.

It was the only prayer he could think of, no matter how inadequate it might be.

“Otherwise all my years here will have been in vain.”

They still had food in the house, but their supplies were dwindling and he wasn’t sure when they’d be able to replenish them or how.

St. Jude must be very busy right now, interceding for everyone who’s been praying to him, so it might take a while for a miracle.

Alex Morales, who had never missed a day of school, who had never talked back to a teacher, let alone a priest, had just defied the headmaster.

The scent of his parents’ clothing nearly made him sick with longing.

“No,” Alex said, surprising himself with his vehemence.

It was hard for him, hard for all of them, but he pictured Bri and how brave she was, and he felt a new surge of pride.