Outpost

  Outpost

  A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller

  Kellee L. Greene

  Contents

  Books By Kellee L. Greene

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Books By Kellee L. Greene

  Mailing List

  About the Author

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 Kellee L. Greene

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of the author.

  First Edition October 2019

  Created with Vellum

  Books By Kellee L. Greene

  What Remains Series

  Sickness - Book 1

  Outpost - Book 2

  Book 3 Coming Soon!

  Red Sky Series

  Red Sky - Book 1

  Blue Cloud - Book 2

  Black Rain - Book 3

  White Dust - Book 4

  Indigo Ice - Book 5

  Yellow Heat - Book 6

  Ravaged Land Series (1)

  Ravaged Land -Book 1

  Finding Home - Book 2

  Crashing Down - Book 3

  Running Away - Book 4

  Escaping Fear - Book 5

  Fighting Back - Book 6

  Ravaged Land: Divided Series (2)

  The Last Disaster - Book 1

  The Last Remnants - Book 2

  The Last Struggle - Book 3

  Ravaged Land: Eventuality Series (3)

  The Wall - Book 1

  The Outside - Book 2

  Falling Darkness Series

  Unholy - Book 1

  Uprising - Book 2

  Hunted - Book 3

  The Island Series

  The Island - Book 1

  The Fight - Book 2

  The Escape - Book 3

  The Erased - Book 4

  From Below Series

  Creatures - Book 1

  Desolation - Book 2

  The Alien Invasion Series

  The Landing - Book 1

  The Aftermath - Book 2

  Destined Realms Series

  Destined - Book 1

  Chapter One

  The moonlight outside of the city was much brighter than it was on the inside. Even with the cool air brushing over my skin, it was still hard to believe that I was outside of the wall.

  My brother had left me no choice but to escape when he threatened to get me in all sorts of trouble with our father, the president of the city. If I would have stayed inside the city to face the music, it could have potentially been dangerous to everyone I’d ever helped. Not to mention, of course, I would have been banished without my backpack full of supplies.

  Disappearing through the secret tunnel had been my only option. The right thing to do.

  I’d already been planning to leave the city to find my friends ever since I’d heard about the tunnel. It had been difficult living with the fact that my father had banished them long ago for helping those on level one. Just like I had been doing.

  They’d broken the law and my father claimed there hadn’t been anything he could do to help them. But now it was time for me to try to find them or at the very least, find out what had happened to them.

  I’d had my bag packed and for the most part, I’d been ready but there had been one thing I hadn’t planned on taking with me when I left and that was Hayes and Grayson. My two accomplices.

  Hayes had told me that I’d woken him when I’d come in for my backpack. He’d tried to catch up to me while we were still inside the wall to see what was going on but I’d been too fast for him.

  Grayson, one of the guards, was curious about the commotion and followed, eventually catching up to Hayes. Now they were both with me, banished to the dangerous world outside the city.

  Why either of them came into the tunnel after me, I couldn’t understand. They’d spotted the bin, took a flashlight, and came after me.

  Really though, I shouldn’t have been surprised that Hayes had come after me. He would have done anything for me.

  Grayson said there wasn’t anything inside the city for him. His life had fallen apart.

  Honestly, I couldn’t blame him for thinking as much considering my brother had been sleeping with his wife. My brother thought it had been a secret but apparently, Grayson hadn’t been fooled. There were probably a lot of people who hadn’t been fooled.

  The air outside the city wall had a different feel… a different taste. It lacked the humidity and the blandness of the city air. This air was easier to breathe. But that could have just been the feeling of putting distance between my family and me.

  It hit me as we were walking in a random direction away from the wall that with Hayes with me, my situation wasn’t any different from Grayson’s. I didn’t really have anything left inside the city for me either. Everyone I’d ever cared about was at the moment, outside of the wall.

  Those on level one that I had helped, well, they’d been in good hands with Gina. Hell, they might even be better off with her. She was brave, smart, and bold. And most importantly, she wanted change.

  “You guys can still turn back,” I said. “There’s still time before morning. No one would even know you’d left.”

  I wasn’t sure how far from the tunnel we were or if we could even find it again. But I hated that they were out here because of me. I wasn’t going to feel responsible for them even though that hadn’t been their intention.

  “I’m not going back,” Hayes said looking around still in awe. His eyes were wide, filled with wonder, curiosity, and disbelief. Maybe he thought he was dreaming.

  “Me either,” Grayson said touching a leaf that was hanging from a droopy tree.

  It wasn’t like he hadn’t ever seen greenery before. There were trees, plants, and shrubs inside the walls but I couldn’t blame him because the ones out here seemed different. Fuller. Greener.

  There were all sorts of strange noises we hadn’t heard inside the city. Hoots and howls. Croaks and whistles. Squeaks and little chirps. The world was alive.

  We’d learned all about the outside world in our school but the books we had were old… passed down for generations. Whoever had written them hadn’t described things well because to them everything had been so common… so normal. To us, it was like stepping into a living creature. Everything buzzed and pulsed with life.

  “Where are we going to go?” Grayson asked. “Do we just wander around forever?”

  “I’m not exactly sure yet,” I said. I was going to have to tell them sooner or later that I wanted to search for my friends. It just didn’t feel like the right time considering we were all still adjusting. “I guess for now we just explore.”

&nb
sp; “Looks to me like nothing but trees for as far as the eye can see,” Hayes said. “It’s like a jungle.”

  Grayson kept his eyes forward. “Wonder how long it will take for them to realize we’re missing. They probably won’t even realize I’m gone.”

  “Linus is probably already worried,” Hayes said swallowing hard.

  “My father probably already has people scouring the city for me. I’m sure Ezra is quite pleased with himself,” I said imagining the smug expression on his face. The thought made me want to gag.

  Grayson shook his head and snorted. “Nadia won’t even mention to anyone that I’m missing. She won’t miss me. She’ll throw a party.”

  “Didn’t you have any family in the city?” I asked.

  “They basically disowned me when I married Nadia,” Grayson said with a snort. “Sadly, no one is missing me. Hell, if they send people out looking, they’ll just be looking for the two of you.”

  I frowned. “You’re exaggerating.”

  “I’m not,” Grayson said shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter. This is my new life now. I can be anything I want. Do anything I want.”

  “It seems like we’re just going to be three people roaming about just trying to survive,” Hayes said.

  “Aw, come on now. Our ancestors survived the end of the world, maybe others did too,” Grayson said. “It’s possible we could find a better place.”

  Hayes cocked his head to the side. “Or a worse place.”

  “I’m not sure how it could be worse,” I said with a snort. “Maybe we should try to have a positive attitude,” I said brightly and they both turned to me simultaneously. I flicked them both a crooked grin. “What?”

  Both Hayes and Grayson shook their heads.

  We’d been walking so long that the sun was starting to rise. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature was already starting to climb.

  Hours had gone by and we hadn’t seen or heard anyone coming after us. It was impossible not to think that we had truly gotten away.

  “Do you have anything to eat in that backpack?” Grayson asked. “I wish I would have known sooner that I’d be going on an adventure. I would have eaten a much larger dinner.”

  “Yeah, I don’t have a lot,” I said looking around. “I only packed for one. We’re going to have to find a food source eventually.”

  Hayes shrugged. “Fish?”

  “You know how to catch fish?” Grayson asked. “How are we even going to cook a fish?”

  “We’ll have to make a fire,” Hayes said.

  “Do you know how to make a fire?” Grayson asked Hayes.

  Hayes’s lips curled at one end. “I do.”

  “You won’t need to. I have a thingy your brother gave me that will make a flame,” I said. “A lighter.”

  “Why did Linus give you a lighter?” Hayes asked with narrowed eyes.

  “I told him I might need a way to start a fire,” I said with a shrug.

  Hayes’s eyes narrowed even more. “Why do I feel like you’re keeping something from me?”

  “It’s nothing,” I said.

  “It’s definitely something,” Hayes said. “I’ve known you long enough to know there is definitely something. What I don’t know is why you feel like you need to keep things from me.”

  “Because you’ll overreact.”

  Hayes huffed. “I will not.”

  “Yeah you will,” I said.

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  “Fine,” I said raising a brow as if accepting his challenge. “Back in the city, there is an underground operation where there were a few of us working to help people on level one. We’d give them food or supplies that they needed but couldn’t afford.”

  Hayes grinned. “I knew that. Your friends were banished for it, remember?”

  “Right but it didn’t end with them.” I sucked in a breath. “I was still working to help people on level one.”

  Grayson laughed. “The president’s daughter? Ha! That’s hilarious.”

  I puffed out my lower lip. “People having it rough while others live with excess isn’t hilarious.”

  “Well, I know but just that it was you behind it all,” Grayson said looking away from me. “No one would have ever guessed.”

  “I was hardly behind it. I was just one little cog,” I said.

  “This is all well and good but what does this have to do with Linus giving you a lighter?” Hayes asked. He hesitated before opening his mouth. “Oh. Dear. God. He’s involved, isn’t he?”

  I chewed my lip. “Sorry.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Hayes asked. “I knew it. I just knew it. That’s why I wanted your help. Why I asked you to marry me. I knew he was in trouble but I didn’t realize how deep it was.”

  I glanced down at the ring on my finger. “Well, you were going to get what you wanted anyway but it wouldn’t have ever helped Linus.”

  “I guess none of it matters anymore, does it?” Hayes said sourly. “Linus was stubborn and wouldn’t have listened to me even if I would have known.”

  “He’ll be okay,” I said at the worry I could see on Hayes’s scrunched-up face. It seemed as though he was having second thoughts about leaving his family.

  “It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that you had a bag packed and ready to go,” Hayes said. “How long have you known about the way out of the city?”

  I drew in a breath that dried my mouth. “Not that long.”

  “Were you going to tell me?” Hayes asked.

  “I don’t think so,” I said daring a quick glance in his direction.

  Hayes looked down. He didn’t have to say it out loud for me to know that my response had hurt him.

  “I thought I was protecting you,” I said defensively.

  Hayes chuckled. “Protecting me from what?”

  “My father. The less you knew about anything, the better. The safer you were,” I said.

  “He probably would have accused me of your disappearance,” Hayes said. “He would have wanted someone to blame.”

  “Hmm, that’s quite possible,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. Everything just happened so fast. I didn’t have a lot of time to think things through. When I saw the tunnel all I could think about was coming out here and looking for them—”

  “Them?” Hayes asked. His eyes narrowed and not because of the increasing light. “You were going to come out here to look for your friends.”

  I turned toward him, unable to hide the agony that filled my eyes. “It’s my fault they’re out here.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Hayes said. “They’re out here because they broke the law.”

  “What they did shouldn’t have been considered wrong.”

  “That may be but it wasn’t your fault.”

  I looked down at the thick grasses at my feet. “I should have been banished with them.”

  Grayson cleared his throat. His eyes shifted uncomfortably back and forth between Hayes and me. “I hate to interrupt but look at that.”

  Chapter Two

  The three of us stopped and peered between the trees. In front of us was an odd stone-like structure that looked as though half of it had crumbled to the ground below. Weeds and plants had grown up the sides as if it were attempting to devour the building.

  The windows and roof were gone but it looked like a safe place to stop for a rest and have a quick bite to eat. I’d also get a chance to figure out how to ration our food until we were able to figure out another way to acquire food. Fishing was a great idea but none of us probably knew the first thing about catching a fish since it wasn’t something we did inside the wall.

  I gripped the knife I’d taken from the city and held it in front of me. “You two wait here while I go check it out.”

  “Nonsense. I’m coming with you,” Grayson said shaking his head as if he thought the mere suggestion of separating way was foolish. “I was a city guard, remember?”

  “A gu
ard that stood there unarmed making sure no one from level one sneaked up to level two,” I muttered. “Did you ever even have to stop anyone?”

  Grayson looked away as he shook his head. “I could have easily, though.”

  “I’m coming too,” Hayes said. “We need to stick together. If we get separated out here, that could be disastrous.”

  “We only have the one knife,” I reminded them.

  Hayes glanced at the blade. “That’s my knife and it’s a rather dull one at that.”

  “It has a point and I’m pretty sure it’ll do what it needs to if it comes to it,” I said.

  Hayes held out his hand and I stared at it. He wiggled his fingers, waiting for me to hand it over to him. “Give it to me, please.”

  “You don’t think I can use it efficiently?” I asked raising a stubborn brow.

  “I’m sure you can but I’ve used it thousands of times. If I have to, I’ll stick it into something without hesitation, are you sure you’ll be able to do that?” Hayes asked with confidence glimmering in the corners of his eyes.

  “You’re a chef, not a killer,” I said but sighed as I handed it over to him. The only time I’d used a knife was to cut my dinner into bite-sized pieces.

  I’d like to think I’d use it if necessary but there was no evidence that I actually would. But to stick a blade into a person or even an animal kind of made my stomach swirl.