Red Sky - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel Read online

  He grunted and took a bite of the sandwich. I walked into the kitchen and stood next to him. His eyes shifted over, but he didn’t move his head.

  “Why are you so anxious to get out of here anyway?” I asked keeping my voice low.

  “Maybe I’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic,” Nick said answering quickly. There were droplets of sweat gathered up at his temples. His eyes were shifting around in their sockets.

  I cocked my head to the side. “Have you been sleeping at all?”

  “Not much,” he said shaking his head. “Who needs it?”

  He turned to me flashing me a smirk that made my skin crawl. Something wasn’t right. His pupils were hugely dilated, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.

  “God dammit, Nick,” I said leaning closer. “Have you been… been using?”

  “What?” He released an awkward chuckle that vibrated through his nostrils. The tendons in his neck jutted out as he inched his face closer to mine. “Don’t be stupid.”

  The anger that radiated out of him frightened me, and it confirmed my suspicions. His hand tightened into a fist, and he slammed it down on the counter.

  “How dare you even ask me that?” Nick said. The fury that poured out of his bloodshot eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

  I ignored my fear and pulled my shoulders back. “Why did you do it, Nick?” Disappointment coated my words. “Where did you even find it?”

  He bared his teeth like he was a wild animal. I glanced toward the living room over my shoulder, and Nick’s eyes followed mine.

  Bronx was staring at us, his eyes narrowed. There was no doubt that even though he couldn’t hear us, he was concerned about what Nick and I were discussing.

  “Keep your fucking voice down my sweet sister.” Nick’s tone was as sour as it was salty.

  “You wanted us all to follow you out of here, but no one is going to want an addict leading the way. Gun or not,” I said crossing my arms.

  The knuckles on his fist were paper-white. First, his anger increased, and I thought he was going to pick me up and throw me out of the window, but then his face softened. He looked like he was going to cry.

  “I was going to throw it away, I really was,” Nick said.

  “But you didn’t.”

  “You can’t tell them,” Nick pleaded.

  I shook my head. “Of course I can.”

  “Look,” Nick said, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, “it’s gone. It won’t happen again. I made a mistake. Everything just got to me.”

  “If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that.”

  Bronx stood up, his eyes still on us.

  “Please don’t tell him,” Nick said shifting his weight.

  “He can probably tell.”

  “I’ll make this right with you, I promise,” Nick said, turning the ends of his mouth upward as Bronx approached.

  Bronx looked back and forth between us, settling his eyes on me. “Everything okay here?”

  My stomach twisted. I knew what I should have said, but I was an idiot.

  “Yeah, we were just discussing which route to take to grandma’s,” I said hating that I was lying for my brother. “He thinks he has a shortcut, but you pretty much never want to take one of my brother’s shortcuts.”

  Nick forced an awkward laugh. “Aw, they’re not that bad.”

  “They’re terrible,” I said taking a step out of the kitchen. I couldn’t stand to be next to him, not even for a minute longer. “Excuse me.”

  I wished I could have left the apartment, but the only place I could go to get away from Nick was my bedroom.

  When I stepped into my bedroom, I wanted to punch something. My pillow. The wall. Nick. But I sat down on the bed and drew in several long deep breaths.

  I couldn’t help but wonder when he’d found whatever he’d taken. How long had he been hiding it before he finally broken down? Not that it mattered, he still took it.

  There was a light knock at my door, and Bronx peeked his head inside. I could tell by the look on his face that he knew something was up.

  “Sorry to bother you, but your brother wanted me to tell you they’re back,” Bronx said jerking his chin toward the window.

  My stomach started to swirl as I stood up and made my way to the window. When I saw them wading through the flooding and debris, my mouth dropped open.

  I really wanted to hit something.

  Twenty

  I shook my head after Bronx asked me to come into the living room to discuss things with the group. There wasn’t anything he could do or say that would get me out there to discuss what we were going to do while my brother was wasted.

  “Shouldn’t we discuss this?” Bronx asked. “This changes things even with the rain and storms, doesn’t it?”

  “They can’t get inside,” I said with a confident half-shrug.

  Bronx looked over his shoulder and shook his head before stepping into the room. “I’m sure they could find a way. Just like we plan to find a way out.”

  The floor creaked as he took several steps into my room. I didn’t turn away from the window.

  The redness in the sky seemed to have lessened, perhaps because of the storm. Still, the men wore their masks as they tried to move through the yard.

  Water came up to their knees, and it looked as though they were struggling to wade through. It was as though the earth below was trying to suck them down into the soggy ground.

  “They’re turning back,” I said just as Bronx stepped up beside me.

  “That’s good for now, but not good that they’re still out there, and still trying to get to the apartment.” I could feel Bronx looking at me, but I tried to ignore it. “He just wants to talk about leaving.”

  The masked men stepped out of a view, and I turned away from the window. “I can’t talk to him right now. Tell him I’m not feeling well.”

  “You look fine,” Bronx said flashing me a smile. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I definitely don’t want to talk about it,” I said refusing to meet his gaze.

  “I think I know what this is about,” Bronx said lowering his voice.

  I shook my head and crossed my arms.

  “It’s about his eyes isn’t it?”

  My lips pressed together tightly as I cocked my head to the side. “Eyes?”

  “Yeah, I think you know what I mean,” Bronx said. “Not to mention I was with him when he found it. He thought he was being sneaky but,” Bronx said leaning closer, “I see everything.”

  I blinked several times. “He doesn’t know that you saw him?”

  Bronx shook his head. “He stared at it for a solid minute before he stuffed it into his pocket. Inner struggles perhaps.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?” I asked wishing I could take the question back. It wasn’t Bronx’s duty to stop my brother.

  “I didn’t really know what to say.” He tilted his head down. “I guess I probably should have. Has he been using long?”

  I glanced at the door and then back at Bronx. “Quite some time. Thought it was done but I guess I was wrong.”

  “Is that what you two were discussing in the kitchen earlier?”

  I nodded. “He didn’t want me to say anything to the others.”

  “I don’t blame him.”

  “So, if you could just keep this between you and me I’d really—”

  “Say no more,” Bronx said tilting his head to have a better look into my eyes. “I wouldn’t have anyway. He seems like a good guy… we all have our demons, don’t we?”

  I shook my head as I looked back into his eyes wondering what kind of demons Bronx might have.

  “Just tell him I’m fine with whatever he wants to do,” I said waving my hand in the air as if I’d seen a mosquito.

  “As you wish,” Bronx said taking one last look at me as if I might change my mind before exiting my bedroom.

  I turned back to the window, but the men were long gone. Hopef
ully, they wouldn’t try again, until the standing water dissipated, and we were long gone.

  Soft voices from the other room floated through the air like clouds on a summer day. I moved closer to the door.

  Nick was talking. “We’re leaving tomorrow unless someone has a good reason not to. Our time here is up.”

  “I just don’t know,” Jamie said. “If they couldn’t even make it through the yard, how will we?”

  “It’ll be hard, but we’ll find higher ground. I know the best routes,” Nick said.

  “We should give it a little more time,” Jamie said. “At least wait until the rain stops.”

  Footsteps tapped against the floor. “We can’t keep putting this off,” Nick said. “Eventually they’re going to make their way back here. We don’t want to be here when that happens.”

  “They gave up. They aren’t coming back,” Jamie said.

  “Maybe not yet, but they will,” Nick said his voice rising with each word. I could tell he was struggling to keep himself calm.

  Before I knew it, my feet were carrying me into the other room. Nick’s eyes shot up.

  “That means we still have time,” Jamie said turning as he heard me coming up next to him. “Tell him we should give it more time.”

  I looked into Nick’s eyes, studying them. It looked like he was crashing. He was sweating, and his fingers were shaking.

  “Nick,” I said keeping my voice steady, “I think you need to sleep on it. Take my room.”

  “I don’t need rest,” Nick said, his fists tightening. It looked like he wanted to jump out of the window and compete in an iron man competition. “What we need is to get out of here.”

  Blair wrapped her arms around herself. “If Nick says we should go, we should probably go. He was a police officer.”

  “Police officers don’t necessarily know how to handle situations like this. No one does,” I said. “We don’t even know what those guys are really after. They probably just want supplies.”

  “And they’ll fight for them,” Nick said.

  “Whatever,” I said letting out a heavy sigh. “Here’s the deal. You sleep on it, and whatever you decide in the morning, I’ll support you.”

  It looked like countless responses were zipping through his mind. I shifted my weight and stared at him, trying to mentally convey that I wasn’t going to change my mind.

  “Or your other option is to take your bag and go. Anyone that wants to go with him, is more than welcome to leave.” I stiffened my jaw. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up.”

  Not that anyone had been worrying.

  “Okay, so who’s with me,” Nick said stomping over to the pile of backpacks.

  “Me,” Blair said looking at me out of the corner of her eye.

  “I guess me too,” Maggie said with a shrug.

  Jamie put his hands on his hips and shook his head. He didn’t even have a chance to say his peace before Nick turned to Bronx.

  “What about you?” Nick asked.

  Bronx ran his fingers through his hair. “Wow,” he said with a chuckle. “Nothing like putting me on the spot.”

  “It’s not a difficult question,” Nick said his gaze seared Bronx’s flesh.

  The tiny smile that had been on Bronx’s face vanished. “You know what, I think I’ll stay back and make sure your sister gets out of here safely.”

  Nick and Bronx exchanged a heated look. The tension in the room became so thick it was hard to breathe.

  “Well, I guess that’s all decided then. We’ll see you guys soon.” Nick shifted his cold glare my way. “You remember the way, right?”

  “Funny,” I said cocking my head to the side, “was going to ask you the same thing.”

  Nick clapped his hands, and I shuddered. “Well, are we ready to go ladies?”

  Blair raised her nose into the air and stood next to Nick. “Whenever you are, right Maggie?”

  “Sure,” Maggie said seemingly disinterested.

  “Maybe you should wait until morning,” I said as Nick pushed past me heading toward the backpacks. “You’ll run out of light soon.”

  “We have flashlights,” Nick said, as he drew a shaky hand under his nose.

  I reached out for his shoulder but quickly pulled my hand back before touching him. “With the flooding, don’t you think it would be a better idea to just put it off a few more hours? Those men won’t come poking around here at night anyway.”

  “I think she’s right,” Jamie said.

  Nick turned sharply, his shoulders rising and falling. He looked like a wild animal ready to pounce on its prey.

  Jamie took a step back and held up his palms. “It was just a suggestion.”

  “Well, I don’t need any suggestions,” Nick said as he glanced at the window. His shoulders and expression both softened at the same time. “Maybe I didn’t realize how late it was.”

  “We have the flashlights.” Blair shrugged.

  “No, no,” Nick said placing his hand on Blair’s shoulder. “Their right. We should go in the morning. First thing.”

  I let out a long breath, relieved mostly for Maggie and Blair. But my relief was only temporary because there was no doubt in my mind that they were leaving in the morning. At least I’d feel a little better about Maggie and Blair being with him when whatever he’d taken would be out of his system.

  There probably wasn’t anything I could say to Blair to change her mind, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to bother. She was a grown woman and could make her own choices. If she couldn’t see right through my brother, that was her problem, not mine.

  And Maggie, I could tell her everything, and she’d just shrug. She was in her own stupor, one from a prescription that would soon run out.

  “Let’s eat something and then get our rest,” Nick said mostly to Blair because Maggie hadn’t moved from her little corner on the floor.

  “Great idea,” Blair said shooting me a quick glance of superiority.

  Nick ate quickly. He doubled checked the lock on my door before stopping to peer out the window. After about five minutes he laid down on the floor and nearly instantly, he crashed.

  Maybe, if Blair and Maggie were lucky, he’d sleep right through the entire day.

  Twenty-One

  I hadn’t slept well. My dreams were all about the various ways Nick was going to die. First, the muddy earth swallowed him up, and then in the second dream, poison rained down from the sky. There was another, but it was less realistic and involved trees coming to life.

  I was awake before I heard movement in the living room. For a moment I considered not going out there… not saying goodbye to my brother, but I think because of the dreams, I had to. It wasn’t like I’d ever wished death upon my brother, all I’d wanted was for things to have been different.

  I looked out of the window for a long moment as I listened to whoever was up walking around the apartment. Someone stopped in front of my door, and I glanced over my shoulder.

  It was still dark, but there was enough light to see Nick standing there. His breathing was normal. His eyes were still bloodshot, but his pupils had returned to normal. He no longer looked like he was sweating himself into dehydration.

  “You’re up,” he said, stepping into the room. “We’re going to head out soon.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “I just wanted to tell you something before we go,” Nick said.

  My eyes blinked rapidly as I stared at him. “What?”

  “I’m really sorry about what happened yesterday,” he said, and I could tell he was sincerely sorry. The only problem was that every time he relapsed he’d been sincerely sorry. This wasn’t any different. “I really screwed up, it’s just that everything got to me. The loss. Being cooped up. The end of the world. I fucked up, and I’m sorry. I know you won’t believe me, but it won’t happen again.”

  “Only because eventually you won’t be able to find any,” I said with a shrug.

  Nick shook his head and lo
oked down at his feet. “Well, believe it or not, I really am sorry. And pissed off at myself for being so weak.” He covered his mouth and coughed. “Anyway, thanks for not outing me.”

  “I probably should have,” I said tilting my head slightly.

  “I appreciate that you didn’t,” Nick brushed his hair back with his hands. “Are you sure you don’t want to join us?”

  I shook my head. “Seventy-five miles is far too long to walk through puddles for me.”

  Nick chuckled. “Don’t be too long. I don’t want to have to come back here and get you.”

  “Good luck, Nick,” I said with a small smile. It was the most I could offer him. “Take care of Blair and Maggie.”

  “Of course,” Nick said nodding. “And I know you’ll be in good hands with Bronx.”

  I raised a brow wanting to tell him I could take care of myself, but in a way, he was right. I would feel safer with Bronx and Jamie at my side.

  “I’ll see you soon then?” Nick asked.

  “Yes, soon.”

  He stood there staring first at the floor, and then his gaze shifted up at me. I knew he was considering hugging me. In the end, he decided not to, turned, and left my room.

  I stayed in my room. Not wanting to see any of them leave. I probably should have said goodbye to Blair and Maggie, but it wasn’t like I’d been close to them. They’d stayed in my apartment, and that was the extent of our relationship.

  I listened as they said their goodbyes. When the door closed, I did everything I could to fight back the tears.

  My brother may have been a stupid asshole jerk, but he was my brother. There was a fairly decent chance that he was the only family I had left.

  But I wasn’t going to cry. It wouldn’t be long until I saw him again. Hell, if the rain stopped, maybe we’d even catch up to them on the way.

  When I was sure I wasn’t going to burst into tears, I joined Bronx and Jamie in the living room. Bronx was staring out of the window, and Jamie was pacing near the front door as if he expected them to return.

  They both glanced at me at the same moment, but neither of them spoke. The apartment was so quiet without them here that I could have heard a feather floating through the air.