The Last Struggle - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Ravaged Land: Divided Book 3) Page 3
“It would probably be better if the renegades managed to take them out,” Shawn said stepping away from the window. He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.
“Do you think that’s a possibility?” I asked, worried that I already knew the answer.
“No.” Shawn sighed. “I think the natives might have a shot, but it wouldn’t be any better having them in charge.”
I leaned my head against the window frame as the world outside darkened. A gray cloud moved over the sun blocking out the light.
“Either way we’re screwed. Maybe we should just give up.” I sniffed. “The last thing I want is to get stuck with either The Evolved or the natives.”
Shawn came to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “We can’t give up. We’ll find somewhere safe. The Evolved are taking out the renegades, and next they’ll work on the natives. All we have to do is avoid them all.”
“You make it sound so easy.” I jerked back when a raindrop smacked into the window right in front of me.
“I hope it will be,” Shawn said, but when he looked away from me, I knew he didn’t think it would be.
The rain started to fall faster. It wasn’t long before I spotted Logan, Charlie, and Abby running toward the house. My eyes stopped on the rundown brick building Logan had found the fishing poles inside.
Logan dashed inside and dropped off the fishing poles. He quickly caught back up with Charlie and Abby who were almost to the house. Lightning zapped down to the ground in the distance, and both girls screamed as they picked up their pace.
Thunder rumbled so loudly it felt as though the earth was shaking. Shawn turned me away from the window and toward the bed.
“At least we don’t have to worry as much when it rains,” I said lowering myself down on the musty scented bed.
“I worry even when it rains.” Shawn patted the back of my hand. “But you should rest. Let me do all the worrying while you rebuild your strength.”
My eyelids suddenly felt heavy. Shawn glanced out the window before slowly making his way to the door. My eyes closed more and more with each step he took away from me, and before I knew it, I was sleeping.
4
It was still storming when Ryder came into the room with a cleaned bowl. Beads of water dripped down to the floor from his soaking wet hair. He must have gone outside to the lake to clean out the dishes.
“I brought you some rice,” he said looking into the bowl. “Unfortunately, they didn’t catch any fish.”
“Thank you,” I said sitting up and taking the bowl from him. I put the first spoonful in my mouth slowly as if I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d had rice before, my mom had made it often, but it had been quite some time. “It’s good.”
And it was, but then again, anything probably would have tasted good to someone has hungry as I was. The edible weeds I’d had earlier had been good too, but they hadn’t been filling. Hopefully, the rice would be.
“Here,” he said handing me a cup of water.
I gulped down the liquid which was still warm from having been boiled. Ryder waited as I finished the rice.
“Want more?” he said taking the bowl from me. “There’s more. I think I made too much.”
“Not right now.” I laid back down still not feeling quite like myself.
Ryder paused in the doorway and looked down the hall. He shifted his gaze down to his feet turning his head slightly in my direction.
“I kind of wanted to talk to you about something,” Ryder said keeping his voice low.
“Oh?”
“Yeah… um. You know,” he said taking a deep breath, “I’m not stupid.”
“I never thought you were,” I said, pushing myself up slightly. It took a second, but when he caught my eyes, I instantly realized what this conversation was about. He was talking about Shawn. He’d already figured it out. “I’m not mad. I don’t blame you. After all, I’m the one that fucked up.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. My skin felt as though it was suddenly one size too small. My exhaustion was making me react in a way I hadn’t expected.
“Ryder,” I said my voice small. I didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be. I’m the one that’s sorry.”
“Please, don’t leave.” My voice scratched my throat.
“Leave? I’m not leaving.” His eyes finally met mine. “We’ve got too much to do. And you were right from the beginning.”
“Right about what?”
Ryder raised his eyebrow. “About not getting involved in the war.”
“I’m not sure how we can avoid it.” I sighed as I lowered my head back down to the pillow.
“We just need to stay away from everyone. Let them take each other out one by one.”
Ryder tilted his head to the side. He didn’t say it, but I could tell he was thinking about the renegades, and how they were losing. For all we knew, they’d already lost.
“Get some rest,” Ryder said flashing me a smile before he left the room.
A tear leaked out of the corner of my eye. I wasn’t sure if I was upset about the war, or if it was because of how hurt Ryder had seemed about Shawn and me. It was probably both. Maybe it was just everything.
It was hard to continue going on when each day was a struggle. I was exhausted, and I’m sure the others were too. How much longer could we all keep running? But it wasn’t like we could stop and fight. We didn’t have a choice. Our lives depended on moving.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think about any of it. All we could do was take it one day at a time. Maybe we’d never find our safe place. Maybe it just didn’t exist.
When I opened my eyes again, it was early morning. A pale light poked through the window and the only thing I could hear was an occasional crackle from the fire. I’d been so tired I’d slept right through the night.
I sat up on the bed and hugged myself. The house was so quiet I could hear every little creak and squeak. A strong feeling of aloneness overwhelmed me.
The memories of being alone in my house after my parents had died assaulted me. I pressed my palms against my eyes, but the memories only became stronger.
I quickly got out of the bed and walked over to the window. The weather had calmed significantly, but a light rain was still tapping at the window.
The world outside was still a light shade of gray. If the sun had made it over the horizon, the clouds blocked out much of its light.
There were deep puddles covering much of the yard. I watched the raindrops sprinkle into a nearby puddle when a shadow caught my eye.
Moving across the yard toward the brick storage building was a hefty man. He weaved side to side. The man brought what looked like a bottle up to his lips before slowly turning toward the house.
I stepped out of view, praying he hadn’t seen me. My heart pounded so hard I felt lightheaded all over again.
Why was he going to that building? I carefully peeked out and watched as he stepped inside the brick building and closed the door behind him.
I sucked in a deep breath and looked around the room. There was a part of me that hoped I was still sleeping in the bed and what I was seeing was a horrible dream. But I wasn’t in the bed, and I definitely wasn’t sleeping.
I walked quickly across the floor and into the living room. Abby and Charlie were laying on the sofa, each resting a head on the opposite armrest. Ryder was asleep in the chair, and Logan and Shawn were missing.
I heard water pouring and stepped around the corner. Shawn was standing at the counter pouring himself a cup of water.
“Shawn,” I whispered and gestured aggressively. I wasn’t sure if I needed to wake the others. It had just been the one man.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Shawn said soundlessly setting the cup down.
I shook my head. My feet slowly started making their way back to the bedroom as I waved for him to follow.
“What is it?�
� he said narrowing his eyes.
“Come on!”
I turned around and went back into the bedroom. My back was already against the wall by the window when he stepped into the room.
“What’s going on, Emery? Is everything OK?” he looked at me with concern soaking his eyes.
“I’m fine, but there’s a guy out there.” My voice was quiet but raspy.
Shawn stepped up next to me and carefully looked out of the window. After a second his shoulders sank down, and he shook his head. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s because he’s in that storage building.”
“What? Why would he be in there?”
My eyes were wide. “I have no idea. I think he was drunk.”
“Drunk?”
“He was weaving around, drinking from a bottle, then he walked into the building and closed the door.”
Shawn gazed at me for a few moments as if he was trying to decide if what I’d seen had been real or part of a crazy dream.
“Native?”
“I couldn’t tell. It’s too dark,” I said, working to control my breathing.
“You’re sure?”
My eyebrows squeezed together. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Was there anyone with him?” Shawn narrowed his eyes as he peered out into the gray morning light.
“He was alone.” I swallowed hard and peeked out the window toward the building. “What are we going to do?”
Shawn rubbed his thumb back and forth across his chin. I turned toward the window when the pit-pat of rain increased and thunder rumbled in the distance. Another storm was rolling in.
“Maybe he’s just hiding out from the rain,” Shawn said.
“Maybe.” I grabbed my elbow and started pacing away from the window. “Or maybe he’s going to bring back his friends and ransack the place.”
Shawn shook his head. “Could be, but if that’s his plan, why is he waiting in there? Why would he go into that building instead of the house?”
I scratched my head and looked out the window. He was right, it didn’t make sense. For all we knew, he was just some drunk guy wandering around who just happened to pass out in the storage building.
“What’s in the building anyway?” I asked.
“Logan said it’s just some gardening tools, ropes, and other random junk. He said most of it is rusted and unusable.”
I tapped my gun. “We could go confront him.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Shawn said running his hand through his hair. “He might just leave. I say we wait it out.”
“Should we wake the others?”
Shawn shook his head. “Not yet. Unless you think we should?”
“No,” I said chewing on my lip. He stared at me, and I was pretty sure he could sense my uncertainty. “But maybe we should see if there is a bag in the closet. Pack up some things in case we need to make a run for it.”
“Good idea,” Shawn said walking over to the closet.
He pulled open the door revealing the clothes still hanging inside. The fabric hung heavily on the hangers. Every article of clothing had the same washed out appearance. I wondered if there was anything usable, maybe I could wash it in the lake once the rain stopped.
Shawn bent down and pulled out a dust-covered duffel bag. “Not ideal but I found this.”
“That’ll work,” I said as Shawn pulled out a pair of beat-up sneakers. He sized them up to his boots and smiled. “Better than boots?”
“I’m not so sure with all that rain,” I said.
“Hmm, you might be right.” He stood, keeping the shoes in hand. “You want to pack up the rice, or should I?”
I chewed my lip for a moment. “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on our friend.”
“OK, I’ll be fast,” Shawn said walking out of the room. I leaned back against the wall and stared out of the small space between the curtain and the window.
When the table squeaked against the kitchen floor, I was sure Shawn had woken the others. But after several minutes had gone by and there were no sounds of movement in the other room, I realized just how tired everyone was.
I couldn’t move away from the window. In fact, I couldn’t even look away from the storage building for more than a few seconds. As the minutes ticked by, I started to wonder if what I’d seen had even been real.
I’d been so exhausted, that maybe it had all been in my head. No. That wasn’t possible. It was far too real.
The sounds of Shawn climbing up from the basement rattled through the air. Seconds later, I heard hushed voices, but I was able to pick out a few words. Ready. Rice. Man. Worried.
Shawn was worried about me, or maybe he was worried about the man. I wasn’t certain. It was only a few seconds later before both Shawn and Ryder made their way into the room.
Ryder stepped in front of me and peered out of the window. He put his hands on his hips and turned toward me.
“Has he left?” Ryder asked.
I shook my head.
He raised his brow and ran his fingers through his hair. “Well then, let’s go pay him a visit.”
5
Shawn started pacing near the bed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t know anything about him.”
“We know that there is only one of him, and there are six of us,” Ryder said, confidence bursting out of his eyes.
“And if he’s renegade, what will you do then?” Shawn said narrowing his eyes at Shawn. “Will you just let him go so he can tell his buddies all about us and about this place?”
Ryder’s lips parted slightly, but he pressed them back together.
“That’s what I thought,” Shawn said looking away from his without bothering to hide the smug look on his face. “I think for now all we can do is wait.”
Ryder looked at me, and I tilted my head down slightly before meeting his gaze again. He let out a deep sigh.
“OK,” he said releasing the tension that had accumulated in his shoulders. “I’m going to update the others.”
Shawn approached the window cautiously and gazed out across the yard. I watched him, unable to look away.
“Ryder knows,” I said keeping my voice quiet.
“Knows about what?” Shawn said completely oblivious as to what I was referring to. He was too busy thinking about the man in the storage building to realize I was talking about something else.
I glanced at the doorway worried Ryder would step back into the room. “About us.”
Shawn turned sharply and studied my expression. “You told him?”
I nodded and pressed my lips together. There was a lump that had quickly formed in the back of my throat that I couldn’t swallow down.
“When he brought me the rice, he told me he’d figured it out.”
Shawn cocked his head to the side. “You confirmed it?”
“I didn’t deny it.”
“And he was OK with it?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t seem thrilled but was accepting. He’s mad at himself for screwing up.”
“He should be,” Shawn muttered.
Shawn pulled his shoulders back before turning toward the window. It seemed as though he didn’t know what to say now that everything was out in the open. He didn’t look anywhere near as happy about it as I thought he would.
Even though things hadn’t worked out with Ryder, he was a great guy. I would trust him with my life. Of course, I would trust Shawn just the same.
There was no going back to how things had been, not that I wanted to. Ryder had Charlie to worry about and I, well, I just hadn’t been ready. I still wasn’t sure if I was ready, but I was willing to see where things would go with Shawn.
Falling for someone as hard as I fell for Shawn wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. In fact, it was scary as hell. When there is a war going on around, and love finds you, it can almost feel like torture. With all the worry and dread that something could happen, well, it was almost a weight that was too heavy to carry.
“Yeah,” I said without hesitation.
“You were staring at me.”
“Sorry.” I forced a smile. “I was deep in thought.”
Shawn looked at me for a split second before shifting his eyes back to the storage building. “Holy shit.”
“What?” I said turning to look out the window.
“There he is,” Shawn said, moving us both out of the way.
For a moment I felt relieved that I hadn’t imagined it, but the feeling quickly washed away and was replaced with dread. I tried to look out the window, but Shawn put his arm up to keep me back.
“He doesn’t have a bottle,” Shawn said. “But he’s definitely not walking straight.”
“He had to try to sleep it off,” I suggested.
Shawn widened his eyes briefly. “If that’s the case he didn’t sleep off enough of it.”
“Can you tell if he’s a native?” I asked feeling a twinge of frustration that Shawn wouldn’t allow me to just look for myself.
His head moved up and down. “Native.”
“Is that good or bad?” I asked suddenly unsure of which I would have preferred.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think it matters.”
“Why is that?”
Shawn leaned to the side slightly to follow the man’s movements. “Because he’s leaving.”
“Of course it matters,” I said narrowing my eyes. “He’ll bring back his friends.”
“Bring them back to what?”
“To this place!”
Shawn didn’t seem the least bit rattled by the thought. “To show them where he passed out?”
“He’ll tell them he found this amazing place,” I said waving my arms around.
“How would he even know how amazing it is? He didn’t set foot inside. For all he knows, this place is like all the others,” Shawn said stepping in front of me. He looked into my eyes, and I instantly calmed. Shawn was right, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t bring them back to show them his find.
I tried to think of something to say, but my mind had gone blank. Damn those eyes.