The Last Disaster Read online

  “Were you a traitor?”

  A big smile appeared on his face. “Not really, but I guess, in a way, maybe I was because I was thinking about it. I was thinking about doing something to sabotage their whole operation.”

  “Had you been with them long?”

  “All my life.”

  “Then why the change of heart?”

  Shawn glanced at me. My heart skipped a beat when he looked into my eyes.

  “They did something I couldn’t be OK with. I couldn’t look the other way,” Shawn said.

  “Dare I ask?”

  Shawn’s lips formed a perfectly straight line. “There was a young girl. Maybe fourteen.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  “Probably not. The man leading our particular base was a tyrant. He’d slit someone’s throat for questioning him. Or break fingers just to prove a point. I’d seen him do those things on more than one occasion,” Shawn held up his hand with two crooked fingers. “Anyway, he wanted a wife.”

  I swallowed hard. “The girl?”

  Shawn nodded. “But it didn’t stop with her. He wanted another. She was ten. I can close my eyes and still hear her mother’s painful cries as they pulled her daughter away from her.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “Her mother was found hanging from a tree less than twenty-four hours later.”

  My stomach turned. “Were things always like that?”

  “I grew up on a different base, when I turned twenty they transferred me. It wasn’t bad at first, but things just kept getting worse and worse. I should have done something to help those girls.”

  “You would have been killed,” I said softly.

  “No kidding. I was almost killed, and I hadn’t done anything.” Shawn stumbled but held out his hand to indicate that he was fine.

  “So, why did they come after you if you hadn’t actually done anything?”

  “I’d made the mistake of telling someone I thought I could trust what I thought about Chet starting his harem of young girls.”

  We walked in silence for several minutes. By the look on his face, it appeared as though he was reliving the whole experience.

  “So, yeah, here I am. In the middle of nowhere, not sure if I’ll make it through the night.” He looked down at his dragging feet. “I’m not cut out for this. I had it easy at the base.”

  “You’ll be fine. All you need is some rest and something to eat. How long have you been out here wandering around?” I asked looking him up and down.

  Shawn shook his head. “I’m not sure. A week give or take.”

  “You really must have lost a lot of blood.”

  He nodded. “I believe I did. Thanks again for the bandages. You probably saved my life.”

  “Don’t mention it.” I smiled.

  “OK.” He smiled back. “Hey, look, your friends stopped. They’ve probably decided to kill me after all.”

  My hand jerked toward my hip. I was overreacting. They weren’t going to do anything although Charlie seemed to be itching to use her club.

  But why had they stopped? I guess Shawn and I would find out soon enough.

  11

  Ryder stood in front of the others protectively. Charlie had her club resting on her shoulder, her head cocked to the side as she sneered at us unnecessarily. Or maybe that was just her usual expression.

  “Something wrong?” I said as we approached.

  “No, except the big dummy here doesn’t want to leave you behind,” Charlie said flicking her eyes up toward the sky.

  I looked at Ryder, but his eyes were on Shawn. Why did he care so much about what happened to me? It wasn’t like we’d even known each other for that long. Sure, I didn’t want anything to happen to him either, but I didn’t want anything to happen to any of us. Not even Charlie.

  “We should probably kill you,” Ryder said eying Shawn.

  “If you’re going to do it, just get it over with,” Shawn said throwing his good hand in the air. “Really though, I think if you were you going to, you probably would have done so by now.”

  My dad was probably turning in his grave. I was breaking his rules, but hey, at least I was still alive. That had to count for something, didn’t it?

  “No one is killing anyone,” I said, holding up my palm. “Instead, why don’t you listen to what he has to say. Or you guys can go your way, and we can go ours.”

  “They are all liars,” Logan said, turning his head and spitting on the ground near his feet. “Can’t trust a word they say.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s lying.”

  “OK, Shawn,” he said, moving his mouth as though his name had tasted like mud, “what do you have to say? What is going to change our minds about you?” The cocky grin on his face even annoyed me.

  Shawn groaned and looked at me for several seconds before he turned to them and told them the same story he’d told me. They all watched him as if they were trying to find something wrong with what he was saying. Something that would prove that they were right and that he was, in fact, a bad guy.

  Instead, Shawn got a little choked up when he talked about leaving the girls behind with that creep that was in charge. If it was an act, he was very good. He’d even gone so far as to almost die to pull it all off.

  “If it wasn’t for Emery, I don’t think I would have made it through the night lying in the snow, now I actually have a chance,” Shawn said.

  “She’s foolish,” Charlie muttered.

  “Is she though?” The way Shawn looked at her made her shift her weight back and forth. “Maybe what this world needs is more people like her. More people that won’t steal, hurt, or kill others for whatever their cause. People that help one another, but what do I know?”

  Logan chuckled. “Kill or be killed. That is unfortunately the reality of our situation. This is the world we live in.”

  “It doesn’t have to be,” Shawn said, blowing out a puff of air as he shook his head. He liked the sound of his words, as did I, but it was like he realized just how ridiculous it all sounded.

  “Nobody is killing anyone. I mean, really, he can barely walk,” I said staring at his empty sleeve. “He’s with me, and if anyone has a problem with it, they’re free to go. I’m not keeping anyone here. You all wanted to come with me for whatever crazy reason.”

  Ryder crossed his arms. “What if you’re making a mistake?”

  “I guess it’s a risk I’m willing to take. You guys are all here with me, for all I know that was a mistake.” I adjusted my gloves as the cold air prickled my wrists. “It’s not like I have any part in this war. He’s just as much of a risk to me, as all of you are. At least that’s how I see it.”

  “Then you see it wrong,” Logan said. “They are trying to wipe us all out. They wouldn’t hesitate to slit your throat, or maybe even worse.”

  “Worse?” I asked.

  Logan bobbed his head. “Didn’t you hear his story? Lots of stuff like that goes on with The Evolved. That’s probably not even the worst of it. If they took you in as a slave, you’d beg them to kill you. Isn’t that right?”

  Shawn looked at me and nodded. He seemed to drift away as his eyes filled with sadness.

  “Well then, maybe we should keep moving,” I said taking a step forward.

  Ryder looked at me and then back at Shawn. “If he tries anything even the slightest bit suspicious, I’ll do what I have to. Is that understood?”

  I wanted to tell Ryder he didn’t make the rules for me, but before I could even open my mouth, Shawn agreed to his terms. He held out his hand, and Ryder apprehensively shook it.

  As we walked, I took out my water bottle and offered Shawn a drink. He took a small sip at first, but then something took over, and he swallowed down a big gulp.

  “Sorry,” he said passing it back. He wiped his lower lip with the back of his hand. “Thirsty, I guess.”

  “Do you have gloves?” I asked looking at his red fingers.

  He shook
his head. “Where are we going? I don’t know of anywhere that’s safe, do you?”

  My mind flooded with random warnings from my dad. One of them being to never tell where I was headed. I’d broken so many rules, but I decided to keep this one, at least for now.

  I shook my head and chewed on my cheek. It was already raw from having gnawed on it far too much recently.

  “Either way, I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me.” Shawn bowed his head slightly.

  “Anyone would have done the same,” I said, and Charlie huffed loudly.

  “No, they wouldn’t,” Shawn said smiling. But it was an odd sight… his perfect white toothy grin, and his dirty, blood-splattered face made an interesting combo.

  I shrugged. “I’m not those people I guess. Besides, I asked you not to mention it.”

  “That was the last time. I promise,” he said flashing me his perfect grin again.

  Ryder was quiet while we walked. In fact, his whole group was. It was as if they were waiting for something to happen. For something to go wrong. I could feel just how on edge they all were, but what was weird was that I didn’t feel it. Maybe that should have worried me, but it hadn’t.

  “Holy balls, look at that,” Eli said slapping his gloved hand against his thigh.

  With Shawn in his condition, I don’t think we could have been any luckier. It was some kind of miracle, or maybe it was just a mirage.

  The others ran ahead while I helped Shawn along. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched them run.

  12

  There, in the middle of the woods was an old brick house. Somehow it had managed to survive the big storm, the war, and whatever else had gone on while I was hiding out with my family.

  Ryder turned around and smiled at me. “No footprints, but we still have to check it out.”

  He pulled out a knife, and Charlie held her club up as they entered the unlocked front door.

  “It’s in pretty good condition,” Shawn said looking the house over as we approached.

  Eli and Logan walked around the perimeter, one went left and the other to the right. Their eyes alternated from the horizon down to the ground. When they met up at the front of the house, they entered.

  “No screams or sounds of that club bashing in heads,” Shawn said. “That’s promising.”

  “I don’t even want to know what that would sound like,” I said with a disgusted grimace.

  “Hopefully, you won’t have to.”

  I looked up at Shawn my eyebrow raised. “Would we even be able to hear that out here?”

  “The screams? Definitely.”

  “Ha,” I said helping him as we made our way to the house. I looked him up and down. “You seem to be doing a bit better already.”

  Shawn glanced at his wrist. “I think stopping, or maybe just slowing the bleeding helped a lot. Trust me though, this isn’t easy. I’m fighting every urge to just lay down and give up.”

  Before we even made it to the porch, Ryder popped his head out of the front door. “All clear. It’s a disaster in there though.”

  “It’s a roof over our heads, what more could we ask for?” Shawn said, walking past Ryder as he hobbled his way inside.

  I tried to follow Shawn, but Ryder took a step forward and held out his arm to stop me. “Can we talk a minute?”

  “Yeah, of course. What’s up?” I asked taking off my backpack and setting it near my feet, so I could feel it resting against my leg. I looked up at him and crossed my arms.

  “Are we OK?” he asked, shifting his weight nervously.

  I squinted at him. “Yeah, why wouldn’t we be?”

  “Several reasons, but I guess mainly because I didn’t want Shawn to come with us. I feel bad about walking away from you, but I don’t trust him. I still don’t,” he said looking down at his feet.

  “Just because Shawn was stuck living with the bad guys, doesn’t mean he is a bad guy.”

  Ryder cocked his head to the side. “It doesn’t mean he’s a good guy either.”

  “I understand that of course, but I gave you guys a chance, why not him too?”

  “You gave us a chance because we saved you from those creeps and I brought you back to Jacob.”

  I nodded. “True, but I could have just walked away. You would have let me go.”

  “Oh, is that right? I would have, huh?”

  I was absolutely right. He would have. There was no doubt in my mind.

  I looked over his shoulder trying to see inside the house, but all I could see was darkness and shadows. “I don’t know what it is, but something tells me he’s telling the truth.”

  “What if they’re out there right now looking for him? Maybe they want to finish him off.”

  “Then we better get him as far away as fast as we can, right?”

  Ryder stared at the horizon. I turned, so we were shoulder to shoulder. I could see for miles. There wasn’t anything out there except for a few broken trees and snow covering the ground for as far as the eye could see.

  We were living in a desolate world, and while we haven’t traveled far, nothing about the landscape had changed. Everything looked the same since I’d left my home. For all I knew, for all any of us knew, it would continue on like this until we couldn’t walk anymore. Until the brutal winter took us all out for good.

  “This house seems pretty decent,” Ryder said. “Maybe we should just stay here for a while.”

  “We aren’t even all that far from Jacob, not to mention the fact that I don’t think Shawn had traveled all that far after he escaped. He was in pretty rough shape. The Evolved could be closer than we think. Maybe even closer than Jacob realizes.” I took off my gloves and shoved them into my pockets. “We can stay for a day or two, or however long it takes for Shawn to heal up a bit more, but any longer is too risky.”

  Ryder groaned. “Ugh, you’re probably right. I just hate being out in the open because then I worry about you, and the others too.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said raising my eyebrow, “and so will the others. Don’t forget about yourself while you’re so busy worrying about everyone else.”

  Ryder laughed. “The one thing I don’t do. Never have worried about myself.”

  “Let’s go inside,” I said as a cool breeze drifted past, stinging my cheeks.

  Before I turned toward the house, an icy shiver ran up and down my spine. I quickly scanned the horizon unable to shake the feeling that someone was watching Ryder and me on that porch.

  Once we were inside, Ryder locked the door and closed the curtains. Eli and Logan were working to push all of the debris and other random junk to one side of the room.

  There was a fireplace, but of course, there wasn’t any wood.

  The floors were covered with so much dirt and grime that you could see every footprint that had been made since we’d gotten there. There weren’t any pictures or art hanging on the walls. The house was mostly bare. Anything that would have been of any use to us had been stripped out long ago.

  The place didn’t feel like a home, it felt like a shell… a cocoon, but at least for the most part, it was warm and hopefully, it would do its job keeping us safe through the night.

  Charlie found a broken broom that only had half of its thick straw-like bristles remaining. She swept the floors as best as she could, trying to remove the build-up of dirt.

  Shawn hadn’t cared at all about the filthy floor. He was already lying down, groaning as he held his bad arm steady with his good arm.

  I started looking through the rooms and closets, hoping I could find something to put down on the floor. The snow outside was cold, but at least it was clean.

  I was inside what had once upon a time been a bedroom. The metal-framed bed was still there, but everything else had been ripped out. The closets were empty and based on the accumulation of dust and dirt on the plastic shelving unit, they’d been raided a long time ago.

  “Oh!” I said noticing the blanket that was on the bed just as I
was about to leave the room. I reached out and grabbed the corner, yanking it hard toward me.

  When I saw the skeleton practically fused to the bed, I couldn’t stop the squeaking gasp that escaped from between my lips. The noise was so loud and odd, they must have heard it in the next room.

  “Oh, Jesus,” Ryder said as he stepped up next to me. He turned his head away and scrunched up his nose.

  I dropped the corner of the blanket as though it was contaminated with some kind of infectious disease. My stomach turned. Only seconds ago, it had been unnecessarily keeping the dead body warm.

  The smell from the corpse stung my nostrils. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed it when I first came into the room. Perhaps it had settled and only filled the room after I’d moved the blanket.

  My stomach twisted harder, and all I could think about was getting out of the room. I covered my mouth and pushed my way past Ryder.

  Seconds later, I heard Ryder closing the door. “This room is off limits.”

  “Claiming it for yourself?” Charlie asked with a silly giggle.

  “No, it’s already been claimed.” Ryder stared at her as if trying to send her a telepathic message.

  “Oh?” Charlie raised an eyebrow clearly not receiving his message.

  Ryder stomped over to the fireplace. “Yeah, and he, or she, is still in there. Trust me when I say you don’t want to go in there. That’s not something you can unsee.”

  “We’ve seen some shit,” Charlie said crossing her arms. She looked as though she was offended by his words.

  “Just trust me OK?” Ryder said looking up at her. “Let it go.”

  He stood and walked over to Logan, who was going through the piles of junk to see what he could use for the fireplace.

  “Let’s go get some wood,” Ryder said.

  Eli stepped out of the kitchen breathing heavily. “No need,” he said, and they both turned to him. “I think there’s some stuff we can use downstairs.”

  Eli, Logan, Ryder, and Charlie all left the room to go have a look at whatever Eli had found. The room was quiet, and it felt like it was the first time I’d breathed since I’d met them.