The Last Struggle - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Ravaged Land: Divided Book 3) Read online

  When we reached what appeared to be the center of the city, we weren’t sure which way to go. There were several options that we hadn’t already investigated, all of which would take us to new parts of the hopefully uninhabited city.

  I was about to suggest giving up when Shawn grabbed my arm. He pulled me along as he moved quickly toward one of the buildings.

  It was a smaller building nestled between two buildings, a wide one which looked like it was about to tip over, and a tall one that was missing all of its windows. There was a faded sign on the building that informed me that it had once been a medical clinic.

  Shawn pulled me into the building and stopped to look around. His breathing quickened, but his shoulders slumped down.

  The entrance had been covered with a thick layer of dirt and grime. There was a strange plant that was growing over one of the broken chairs, looking as though it was trying to grow its way out of a nearby window.

  “Shit,” Shawn said pounding his fist against his thigh.

  It was clear that the medical clinic had been ransacked years ago. It was unlikely anything would remain, and even if it had, it probably wouldn’t be what we needed, or maybe it wouldn’t even be safe to use.

  “This was a dumb idea,” Shawn said dragging his feet through the dirt. He was walking toward a large room that had once been the pharmacy according to the faded letters that were still attached to the wall.

  “Is this where they would have kept the medicine?” I asked looking at a hole that had been broken through the tall, wooden front desk. There was a door laying on the floor to the left that had been ripped off its hinges and broken in two.

  “It would have been,” Shawn said walking through the doorway. I didn’t bother to follow him and turned around to watch the entrance.

  Shawn noisily kicked and moved things around. He didn’t bother to hide his frustration.

  “We could look for another clinic. A city this large would have more than one, wouldn’t it?” I asked.

  “It might. But it almost might be one of the piles of rubble we’d already walked by. Even if we did find another, it would look just like this.”

  Shawn threw a rectangular hunk of rusted, dirt-covered metal at the wall before taking in a deep breath. He made his way over to me, and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the building without another word.

  We spent much of the day going through random buildings that looked promising, but much like we suspected, everything had been emptied. With each disappointment, Shawn wanted to give up, but I kept insisting on one more.

  Night had crept up on us much quicker than we had planned, and Shawn wasn’t thrilled about spending the night in the city. But we didn’t have much of a choice. It would have been pitch black before we reached the outskirts thanks to the thick clouds that had filled the sky.

  “I guess we’re staying in here,” Shawn said with his hands on his hips.

  I couldn’t even guess what kind of building we were in, but at least it looked to be one of the most structurally sound of all of the places we’d been inside. My nerves twitched at the idea of trying to sleep in the strange place, but I wasn’t sure if I could make it another night without dozing off.

  At least when we slept in the middle of nowhere, we could see everything, inside the building, felt different. We couldn’t see anything except for what was outside the windows.

  “First floor or second floor?” Shawn asked.

  “What do you think?” I asked, not thrilled with either option.

  “Hmm,” Shawn tapped his chin. “I like that the back door opens to another road in case we’d have to split. First floor.”

  I nodded. “First floor it is.”

  Shawn picked a spot that was slightly away from the window but close enough that we could peek out should we desire. We sat down with our backs against the scummy wall.

  “Morning can’t come soon enough,” Shawn said putting his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me closer. The warmth was welcomed, but unfortunately, I didn’t feel any safer.

  Shawn picked at some of the mud around his shoes and let it crumble to the floor. I could tell he was frustrated that we hadn’t been able to find anything that would help Charlie.

  The earthy scent of mold filled the air and threatened to make me sneeze. My eyelids were getting heavier and heavier with each passing minute.

  I was just about to let them close completely when Shawn jolted upward and soundlessly crept toward the window. He held up his finger and pressed it to his lips.

  It didn’t take long for me to hear what had caused him to rush to the window. The voices were loud and careless. They weren’t even a little worried about who might hear them, but maybe that was because this was their city. Maybe they hadn’t expected anyone to be hanging around.

  “Three groups yesterday, and another two today,” a deep voice said. “It won’t be long.”

  “They have that big group to the east,” a woman’s voice said. Her voice cracked with every other word. “That’s the one that is going to be a problem for us.”

  “You give them far too much credit,” the deep voice said with a chuckle that turned into a cough. “This war is coming to a swift end.”

  Shawn’s eyes practically glowed in the darkness. He looked at me for a brief second, before slowly repositioning himself, so his back was tight against the wall.

  My nostrils caught another strong whiff of the mold, and it tickled my nose. It was as though the mold wanted us to be found. My eyes started to water, and I pressed my hands hard of my eyes and nose in an attempt to smother the sneeze before it could escape.

  “The Evolved took out the renegades, their numbers are so small it doesn’t even matter. It’s just them and us. Now it’s just a matter of time,” the deep voice said. The volume of his voice had increased with each word. They must have been coming closer to the building.

  I wanted to get to my feet in case we had to run, but I didn’t dare move. Maybe we’d be OK. I’d only heard the two voices, and I was pretty confident I could manage to take them out. Their bodies would hit the floor before they’d even see me.

  A second later, I heard more footsteps. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. It didn’t seem to end. That’s when I realized exactly what was outside the window.

  It wasn’t just two natives. It was a whole line of them making their way through the city. They were heading somewhere after attacking two of The Evolved bases they’d mentioned. If they found us, they would make easy work of us, or worse, they’d recruit us.

  My body trembled uncontrollably. I was afraid that they could hear my bones rattling.

  The bragging, confident voices were quieter, but the stomping of feet hadn’t stopped.

  “A few days, and we’ll take out the rest. The end is in sight,” the deep voice said. “This stupid war is almost over, and everything will be ours.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” was all the woman said in response.

  If they were still talking, they were too far away for us to hear them. But the footsteps… the footsteps weren’t slowing. They kept going on and on and on.

  All I could do was pray they would continue to follow their leaders. That none of them would notice us.

  I held my body tightly as if trying to make myself smaller. My lungs felt tight as if they were desperate for more oxygen, but I couldn’t move.

  Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

  11

  Shawn and I hadn’t slept at all. Even hours after the natives had gone by, we still hadn’t been able to relax our nerves enough to get any rest.

  The night had dragged. All I could think about was how I wanted to be back at the farm with the others.

  My stomach growled, and my mouth was as dry as the grains of rice that it craved. At the first hint of morning light, Shawn and I left the city.

  It took several minutes to orient ourselves and make sure we were walking in the right direction. Thank goodness the sun was rising and the clouds weren’t hiding it, or we may not have b
een able to figure out the right path quite as easily.

  “They walked that way,” Shawn said pointing in the opposite direction we were heading. “Let’s hope they continued on that route.”

  We walked quickly back down the same broken-up road we’d taken to enter the city. I was anxious to get back out into the wide open area and put the city behind us for good.

  Of course, it would have been nice to have found something that could have helped Charlie, but hopefully, by the time we got back to the house, she’d already be back on her feet. I could see the openness spread out before us and made my feet move faster.

  “In a rush to get back?” Shawn asked looking like he was dragging his feet.

  “Yes,” I said, my brow wrinkled. “Aren’t you?”

  “I suppose so.” Shawn ran his hand through his messy hair. “It’s just that I’m not really looking forward to telling them our trip was unsuccessful.”

  I touched his shoulder at the same time something quietly whistled past my head. “Did you hear that?”

  My eyes darted around trying to see in every direction at once. We weren’t far from where the city ended, but I didn’t miss the arrow that had stuck into the ground several feet to my right.

  “Oh, no,” I said grabbing Shawn’s arm. “We’ve got trouble.”

  He spotted the arrow as I yanked on him to follow. Shawn looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, we do.”

  We started running before I had a chance to turn around and look at what was behind us. Another arrow whooshed by us, landing several feet in front of us.

  “How many were there?” I asked between breaths.

  “Five. At least,” Shawn said taking another glance over his shoulder.

  I was trying to decide if I wanted to stop and pull out my gun, or if it was better for us to keep moving. Shawn made the decision for me by moving faster and pulling me along.

  “They aren’t following us,” Shawn said. “At least not yet.”

  “Maybe they just want us out of their city.”

  “Maybe they didn’t know why a native was with one of The Evolved.”

  I lightly touched my skin with my fingertips. “If they think you’re kidnapping me, they’d keep coming after us, wouldn’t they?”

  “Maybe they don’t care that much about losing just one?”

  Shawn and I both looked back at the same time. I saw the natives standing there holding their bows. They weren’t trying to send arrows our way any longer, they were just watching us.

  “I wish we weren’t running in the exact direction of the farm,” I said brushing a few stray strands of hair out of my eyes.

  “Good point,” Shawn said, letting go of my arm as we veered off toward the south.

  I wondered if he’d let go in the hopes that the natives watching would think that I’d left on my own accord. Maybe if they saw me running without being forced, they would be less likely to come after us. Then again, it didn’t look at all like they cared enough to bother chasing us down.

  “Are these the same natives that walked through the city last night?” I asked.

  Shawn glanced back. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know for sure.” Shawn exhaled slowly between his parted lips. “Lots and lots of natives.”

  “They're everywhere.”

  We didn’t stop running even after they were no longer in sight. My body was begging for a break, and begging for nourishment, but I couldn’t give it either. Not yet.

  Eventually, my body couldn’t do it anymore. But after another mile or so, I slowed. I just didn’t have the energy to keep up with the fast pace.

  “They’re not coming,” I said with my hands on my hips as I shrugged to catch my breath.

  “OK,” Shawn said breathing in just as heavily. “But we have to keep walking. In fact, I don’t think we’re going to stop for the night.”

  I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry. The thought that we’d gone too far crossed my mind. I worried that we wouldn’t be able to find the farm again considering how far we’d veered from our original path. Nothing around us looked even a tiny bit familiar. Not that it should with how far away we still were, but that didn’t help ease my anxiety.

  “What if we can’t see the farm in the dark? What if we end up getting lost?” I asked, twisting my fingers together.

  “Hmm,” Shawn said rubbing the back of his neck. Clearly he hadn’t considered all the things that could go wrong. He was just desperate to get back to the others.

  “Our visibility will be low because of the darkness, even if we do have the moonlight, I’m afraid it won’t be good enough.” My lips pressed together tightly. “I don’t want to get lost, Shawn. I’m tired. I’m hungry, and I’m really, really thirsty.”

  Shawn nodded. “Maybe you’re right.” He soundlessly punched the air with a tight fist. “We shouldn’t have left in the first place.”

  “It’s OK. We’ll find our way back,” I said taking in a deep breath. “We just have to be smart about it.”

  Shawn nodded, but his expression lacked confidence.

  “It was worth a shot. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out the way we would have liked.”

  “Ryder is going to be pissed.”

  I shook my head. “Ryder will be disappointed. I like to think we’ll get back and everything will be fine. They’ll be worried about us.”

  We walked mostly in silence as the sun moved across the sky. The miles went by, but before we knew it, the sun was touching the horizon. Even though neither of us wanted to, we stopped for the night.

  I walked around the area and picked a few edible leaves out of the ground. Shawn held up his palm when I offered him half.

  “It’ll just make me feel more hungry,” Shawn said.

  I shrugged as I popped a bitter tasting leaf into my mouth. There was a large boulder we sat next to and rested our back against. The second I finished the leaves and rested my head on Shawn’s shoulder, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep my eyes open.

  “I’m so tired,” I said with a yawn.

  “Shh,” Shawn said lighting running his fingers through my hair. “Close your eyes. I will keep you safe.”

  My eyelids bobbed several times before they just didn’t open. I sat there listening to the world around us, not that there was much to hear besides our breathing and an occasional cricket.

  I’d just take a short rest. Shawn and I could take turns keeping watch, but that wasn’t at all how it played out.

  Every time I fell asleep, it felt like only minutes had gone by before I was startled awake. Shawn would start to stroke my hair, and soon I’d fall back asleep only to wake again.

  My thoughts and dreams were tormenting me. What if Charlie was worse? What if we got back to the farm and they were all gone? Or worse… what if they’d all been killed and we’d find their bodies scattered about the house?

  Then I’d start thinking about all the things that could go wrong out in the middle of nowhere. Maybe the natives would catch up to us.

  My body craved sleep, but my mind was stubborn. It was refusing to let me have what I so desperately needed.

  “Again?” Shawn asked when my eyelids popped open for the fifth time. It took me a few seconds to realize where I was.

  “Sorry,” I said, feeling like I wanted to burst into tears. It was frustrating to want sleep so badly and not be able to get any. I was exhausted, and I didn’t think there was anything I could do about it until I was back at the farm.

  “You want to try again?” Shawn asked rubbing my shoulder.

  I shook my head. “I can’t. It’s only making everything worse.”

  “It shouldn’t be much longer.”

  “Really?”

  Shawn grinned. “You put in a good effort.”

  “Thanks, I guess. Too bad I feel more tired than I did before I tried.” I hugged my knees to my chest. “I’m looking forward to devouring some rice.”

  “Me too,” Shawn said, and I was pretty sure I�
��d actually heard his stomach rumble. “Me… too.”

  Shawn was right that morning hadn’t been far off, but what he hadn’t planned on was the dreary morning we’d were confronted with. The clouds were a dark sheet over the sky, and I wasn’t the least bit surprised when it started to drizzle.

  He stood up and stretched out his hand to me. “Ready?”

  “Very much so, but—”

  “Don’t say it.” Shawn’s jaw was tense. “We’ll find it.”

  12

  The door was locked when we arrived back at the farm. We peeked into the window, but there wasn’t anyone around.

  My pulse quickened wondering if my nightmares had been predictions. Maybe they were gone. I’d never see any of them again.

  “I guess I’m going to knock,” Shawn said looking behind us and then back at the door.

  “OK,” I said placing my hand near my gun.

  “Ready?”

  I nodded, and Shawn knocked three times in quick succession. The house was quiet.

  “Knock again,” I said, placing my fingertips on my gun.

  Shawn knocked again, and nothing happened. My stomach churned, making feel nauseated both because of my nerves and because of the acid sloshing around in the emptiness.

  “Again,” I said chewing on a dirty fingernail.

  Before Shawn was able to raise his hand to the door again, I saw Abby peer out from behind the wall near the hallway.

  I let out a breath and pressed my hand to the window. “Abby’s in there.”

  I tapped on the window and waved at her. She reluctantly stuck her head out a little further and came running to the door when she saw that it was me.

  “Did you find anything?” She said as she pulled open the door.

  Shawn looked down at his feet. “No.”

  The tiny bit of color that had been in Abby’s face drained away. “Darn.”

  “Sorry,” I said closing the door behind me. I looked up the stairs and then toward the hallway. “Any changes?”

  “Yes,” Abby said and started sobbing. “Logan is worse.”