White Dust - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Red Sky Series Book 4) Read online

“Hey,” Bronx said lightly touching my shoulder. His eyebrows squeezed together with concern. “Where did you go just now?”

  “Huh?”

  “You looked as though you went somewhere else,” Bronx said.

  I chewed on my fingernail forcing myself to look away from him. God, he was so good looking.

  “I… I guess I was just thinking about something,” I said.

  “Oh,” he said as if he were disappointed.

  I cocked my head to the side. “What?”

  “It’s just that I’m here with a beautiful woman, and she’s thinking about something else,” Bronx said with a soft chuckle. “It’s a good thing I’m a patient man.”

  My heart fluttered rapidly inside my chest. Bronx leaned closer.

  “I’ll give you all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere,” Bronx said, and it felt like every bone in my body melted.

  I didn’t even know what to say to him. It wasn’t like I wanted to talk. What I really wanted was to feel his lips on mine… his hands on my body.

  At the moment my only worry was Tom and if there was anything that could make me forget about him, albeit temporarily, was Bronx. My eyes quickly darted around the room. Everyone was sleeping, even Molly had stopped tossing and turning for the time being.

  I turned in my chair toward Bronx and stared at his stomach for several long seconds. I could feel his eyes on me as I stood.

  The second our eyes met, I couldn’t even remember what I had wanted to forget about. Nothing felt real. I had entered a dream.

  Bronx didn’t move, as I inched toward him, but the way he was looking at me was just as intimate as any touch. A fire ignited deep inside me, and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop myself from placing my hand on his chest and leaning into him.

  He angled his head down, his eyes glued to my lips. My hand curled around his neck pulling him toward me.

  “Gwen,” he said, his voice a mixture of coffee and dark chocolate. “You sure?”

  I nodded and pulled him to me. His lips were soft against mine, warm and gentle like a summer breeze but as passion filled us, the breeze turned into a hazy, brisk wind. I could almost feel it against my cheeks, blowing my hair around my head.

  Bronx pulled me tight against his body. He practically growled as his lips devoured mine. My body surged with a need so powerful it felt as if I were a glowing orb.

  “Jesus, Gwen,” Bronx said pulling back for a second as if he needed to catch his breath. He grinned as he shook his head. “The things you do to me.”

  His hands roughly moved down my back, pulling me so close there wasn’t any space between us. I wrapped my hands around his neck, holding him as though I was afraid that if I didn’t, he might just disappear into nothing.

  Someone shifted behind us, and Bronx slowly pulled back. The grin he wore kept my pulse racing.

  If it had been completely up to me, I wouldn’t have let things come to such an abrupt end. Bronx was like a drug to me, something completely safe that could take all of the pain away.

  It hadn’t occurred to me until that moment, but maybe that wasn’t a good thing. I shook my head… I was over-thinking it.

  “What?” he asked curling his lip upward as he looked at me. “You’re shaking your head? Regrets already?”

  “No,” I said tugging at the front of his shirt. “Definitely not.” I lowered my voice. “It’s just that I got carried away. Forgot where we were.”

  Bronx touched his thumb to his lower lip and looked into my eyes. “Yeah, I sure as hell wish we were somewhere else.”

  “Really? What would we do?” I teased.

  “Oh, God, you’re killing me here.” Bronx raised a brow. “Maybe we should claim one of those houses in town as our own.”

  “Moving in together already? You move quick.”

  Bronx’s head moved side to side slowly as he looked me up and down. “Baby, I move slow. Real slow.”

  Before my entire body started to throb with desire, I spotted movement outside the window. My expression must have changed because Bronx’s eyebrows instantly squeezed together.

  “What’s that?” I asked looking around him.

  Bronx followed my gaze and peered out of the window. Glittery little white crystals flittered down from the sky.

  It looked magical. I couldn’t help but smile because even though it was cold outside, I was warm next to Bronx.

  I placed my palm on the cold window. “It’s snowing.”

  Seven

  Bronx took my hand into his. I sighed as I watched the snow fall. It was weird though. The air had been chilly, but it didn’t seem as though it had been cold enough for snow to fall.

  Then again, what had happened between Bronx and I had warmed me to the core. I wouldn’t have noticed if I had been standing inside a freezer.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said.

  Bronx nodded. “It really is. I wonder what this means for us though.”

  “Does it matter? It seems like we’re stuck here for the time being anyway.”

  “We’re going to need a place we can start a fire. We’ll need warmer clothes… blankets,” Bronx said, letting go of my hand and running his fingers wildly through his hair. “I don’t think we’re prepared for this. Should we wake Nick?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think we need to. It’ll be morning soon and who knows, maybe it’ll stop when the sun comes up.”

  “You should get some rest before it does,” Bronx said wrapping his arm around my shoulder and giving me a squeeze as he kissed the top of my head.

  I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep after what had happened. All I’d be able to do would be to lay there and think about him. My life would have been so much different if I had put my head up back in my apartment before all this had happened. I’d been so isolated that I never got to experience life before the end of the world.

  Then again, maybe Bronx wouldn’t have given me the time of day before.

  I laid down on the floor away from the others staring at Bronx as he looked out of the window. There was no doubt in my mind he was sitting there watching the flakes twinkle down to the ground.

  At some point, I must have fallen asleep because when I blinked, it was morning and everyone was standing at the window staring out into the wintery wonderland that surrounded us.

  “It’s not cold enough to be snowing,” Nick said shaking his head.

  I walked up to the window and looked out at the covered ground. There had to be at least an inch of snow on the ground, and it didn’t look as though it was going to let up any time soon.

  “Morning sleepy head,” Nick said with a smirk.

  “Morning,” I grumbled, jerking my chin toward the window. “Started last night on my shift.”

  Nick nodded. “Bronx informed us.”

  “They’re worried it’s another attack,” Bronx said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

  “It looks like snow,” I said, but there was no way I could rule out the possibility.

  “It does,” Nick agreed. “And while it’s colder, it just doesn’t feel cold enough for it to be snowing. Not to mention it seems as though the sun is still trying to shine through the thin clouds overhead.”

  He was right. The sky was an unusual shade of gray and the higher you look up toward the clouds, the brighter it was. It was almost so bright you couldn’t look up for long.

  “Well,” Tom said placing his hands on his hips. “We can’t let this stop us from checking the other houses.”

  “We can,” I said narrowing my eyes. “There is more than enough here.”

  “Clothes, blankets, cooking utensils, pots, storage, backpacks, candles, flashlights,” Tom said shaking his head. “There’s so much more we can use. Wouldn’t you like a change of clothing?”

  I shook my head. “Not if it means risking our lives.”

  “I was out there walking around in the black stuff, and I’m fine. We’ll cover up,” Tom said.

  “Yo
u first,” I said cocking my head to the side.

  “Fine,” Tom said.

  Nina grabbed his elbow. Her voice was soft and filled with worry. “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Tom said looking around the room. “Help me find some gear to cover myself.”

  They were gone for maybe five minutes when Tom came back into the room in his testing outfit. He had plastic bags over his shoes and was wearing a tan, long jacket over his clothing. There wasn’t anything over his pants, but on his head, he was wearing a pair of thick plastic goggles over a dark blue ski mask.

  “Let’s do this,” he said pressing his winter glove covered hands on the door. There wasn’t a single inch of his skin that was exposed.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Nina said frowning as she chewed her lip.

  “We need to know,” Tom said. “What if we were forced to leave? We need to be prepared for everything and anything.”

  What Nina was really saying was that she wanted someone else to check. She didn’t want her precious husband to take the risk.

  Tom waved everyone away from the door. “Stay back.”

  Nina put her hand on Milo’s shoulder and led him into one of the back rooms.

  “I want to watch,” Milo groaned.

  Nina’s eyes widened. “No way, no how.”

  “Come on, mom,” Milo whined.

  “Listen to your mother,” Tom said as he drew in a deep breath. The second Milo was out of sight, Tom pushed open the door and stepped outside.

  Nick pulled the door closed before a single flake could drift inside. We all watched as Tom made a trail in the snow at the front of the market.

  At first, he walked back and forth keeping his eyes down on the snow at his covered feet. After a few moments of studying the ground, he raised his hand and caught some of the flakes on his glove.

  Tom stayed outside for a solid ten minutes before he came back to the door. Nick hesitated for just a moment. Nina shifted her weight, grimacing at Nick.

  “Let me in,” Tom said. “It’s just snow.”

  Nick let out a slow breath and opened the door. Nina looked as though she wanted to throw her fist into Nick’s face, but she tucked them into her pockets instead.

  Tom started to remove his protective gear near the door. He threw each piece into a pile.

  “Jesus Christ!” he said as he removed and dropped the ski mask to the floor.

  “What?” Nina asked taking a step forward.

  He shook his hand vigorously and looked down at his skin. “I guess it’s not snow.”

  My eyes darted down to his pile of clothing and noticed the white flakes didn’t seem to be melting.

  “Look,” Tom said holding up his hand for all of us to see.

  “Oh my God, Tom,” Nina said grabbing his hand and looking at the marked-up skin. “Are you okay? Do you feel okay?”

  “I feel fine except for the fact that it burns like hell,” Tom said pulling his hand back so he could shake it again.

  Nina pressed her lips together. “There’s a first aid kit here.”

  She disappeared from the area leaving us all standing there staring at Tom. He was too busy studying his hand to even notice, or care about all our eyes on him.

  “The pain is diminishing,” Tom said. The marks on his hands looked like they were forming into little blisters.

  Nina came back into the room and pointed to the chair. She looked at the back of his hand and shook her head as she muttered something. Tom smiled a little as he snorted.

  “I’m not amused, Tom,” Nina said as she wrapped gauze around his hand. “What if this eats right through your flesh and bones? Will you be laughing then?”

  “It’s not going to,” Tom shook his head. “It burned for a few minutes and then stopped.”

  Nina stood and placed her hands on her hips. “You have no idea what those chemicals will do over time.”

  “Okay, okay you’re right,” Tom said. “But now we know what it does. We know how to protect ourselves when we go out to check the other houses.”

  “You’re not going out there to check the houses,” Nina said, her voice rising to a level I hadn’t heard before.

  “We’re all going to take turns,” Tom said.

  Nina pressed her lips together tightly as she drew in a slow breath. “You’re crazy.”

  “I’m not afraid,” Molly said with a shrug. “I’ll volunteer.”

  “That-a-girl,” Tom said.

  “I’ll go with her,” Blair said, and I couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping open. She must have noticed my reaction because Blair turned to me and shrugged. “Feeling a little cooped up.”

  Nick’s jaw was stiff. “Neither of you are going out there unless Tom lends me that gun so that I can accompany you.”

  Tom looked as though he was going to instantly reject the idea, but he turned his head to the side and looked at the clothing piled on the floor. “Seems reasonable, but how can I be sure you’ll give it back?”

  “Guess it’s a risk you’ll have to take if you want us to go out there,” Nick said keeping all expression from his face.

  “Fair enough,” Tom said leaning closer to Nick. “I’m sure you’ll give it back.”

  Nick didn’t respond. He turned and clapped his hands at Blair and Molly. The girls exchanged a glance.

  “We ready to do this?” Nick asked.

  “Whenever you are,” Blair said.

  “Yeah!” Molly said sounding far too excited. “Need to get out of here. All I want to do is eat and sleep. This place is depressing.”

  Nina chewed her fingernail as she looked at them. “Maybe you all should just wait until we actually need to go out there.”

  “No,” Tom growled. “We need everything we can get now. What if this gets worse, Nina? What if we’re stuck here for a very long time? We need to be prepared for the worst.”

  Nina rolled her eyes. “The worst happened a long time ago.”

  Before Tom could say anything else, Nina turned her back to him and walked away. The conversation was over.

  Tom clenched his teeth for a second before turning to Nick. Steam was practically coming out of his ears. “Let’s get you three ready.”

  Eight

  Blair, Molly, and Nick were covered head to toe. I couldn’t help but feel a sudden jolt of sourness inside my stomach at the thought of them going out there.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked Nick.

  He placed his hand on my shoulder and curled his lips at one end. “You worry too much, Sis. It’ll be fine.”

  It didn’t surprise me one bit that Nick was confident about the task. But I didn’t like it. It made me worried that something was going to go wrong.

  “Stop worrying,” Nick said with wide eyes. He apparently was reading my mind. “I’ll have the gun.”

  “The gun isn’t going to protect you from that stuff falling from the sky,” I said feeling the tension in my brows.

  Nick gestured at the pile of Tom’s clothing laying on the ground. “They’ve been sitting there for this long, and that stuff hasn’t eaten through the fabric. We’ll be fine as long as we don’t let it touch our skin.”

  “How do you know it won’t eat through it in twenty more minutes?” I asked.

  Nick shrugged. “We don’t, but as long as we don’t take too long, we’ll be fine.”

  “What if something goes wrong?” I asked. “What if you can’t get back?”

  “We’ll come back. Not to mention you can see every house out of the front window.” Nick patted my back. “You’ll be able to watch us every step of the way.”

  I wanted to tell him to reconsider. Blair and Molly too. It felt like they were doing something unnecessary just because Tom wanted them to.

  “I won’t let anything happen to them,” Tom said trying to sound reassuring but failing to do so.

  It wasn’t like there would be anything he could do from inside the market. There wouldn’t be anything
any of us could do but stand here and watch because if we went out there, the flakes would eat away at our flesh until there was nothing left. Or at least that’s what I imagined would happen.

  I glanced down at the bandage on Tom’s hand. What happened to him could have been so much worse.

  “It doesn’t even hurt,” Tom said when he noticed me staring at his hand. “I’m sure it’ll be all better in a few days.”

  “Right,” I said. Because that’s what happened with these attacks… people got all better. If only Jamie were still around so that I could tell him.

  Tom checked them over to make sure there wasn’t any skin showing. After he approved their attire, he handed Nick the gun.

  “This is temporary,” Tom said holding the gun tighter when Nick tried to take it. “Understood?”

  Nick’s nostrils flared ever so slightly. “Yeah. Understood.”

  Tom didn’t want to let go, but after a few more seconds, he did. It looked as though giving up the gun was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, and that was counting everything that had happened since the red sky.

  Bronx, Tom, and I stood at the window watching them walk into the falling powder. Nina kept Milo away from the window, and I was almost certain it was to prevent him from seeing something terrible should things go bad.

  They left a trail in the white stuff as they made their way to the closest house. I could see Nick holding the gun as he looked into the windows.

  The house must have been locked because they walked around and when they got back to the front, it looked like Nick elbowed the window. A few seconds later they disappeared inside.

  My heart pounded fast as my fingers twisted against one another. I shook my head and turned away from the window. “I hate this.”

  “They’re going through the house looking for things,” Bronx said. “If something would have gone wrong, I’m sure we would have heard something.”

  “A gunshot you mean,” I said biting down on my cheek.

  “Yeah, something like that,” Bronx said. “They’re just searching.”

  Tom rolled slightly forward on the balls of his feet. “Hopefully they’re packing things up.”