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

  Shawn and I exchanged a look. Her shoulders shook, and I wrapped my arms around her. She looked just as exhausted as I felt.

  “Are you feeling OK?” I asked.

  “I’m fine. I’m just worried sick about him… about both of them.” Abby wiped away her tears. “I don’t know what to do for him. He won’t eat. I can barely get him to drink.”

  “What about you?” Shawn asked. “Have you been eating and drinking?”

  She looked up at the ceiling as if the answer was floating around above her. Her eyebrows squeezed together. “I guess not.”

  “Let me make you some rice,” Shawn said checking the lock before throwing a log into the barely burning fire.

  “How’s Charlie?” I asked, and Abby looked like she was going to fall over. She managed to make it into the chair before looking up at me. “She's worse too.”

  I covered my mouth with my hand. Charlie had already been at death’s door, I didn’t know how it could have gotten worse.

  “Mind if I pop in on Logan,” I asked.

  “Not at all.” Abby rested her head back against the chair. “Maybe it’ll help.”

  “I hope so,” I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder for a moment before stepping into the hallway.

  I chewed on my cheek as I approached the door, afraid of what was waiting inside. Logan was tough, in fact, he was tougher than Charlie. He was just as much of a fighter as she was.

  I knocked lightly on the doorframe before entering. Logan was laying in bed with a blanket pulled up to his chin. His eyes were closed, and his skin was gray, but his cheeks had a pink tinge that gave me a touch of hope.

  “Logan, it's Emery can you open your eyes? We’re back.” His eyelids fluttered for a quick second. I hesitated. “We didn’t find anything.”

  I sat down on the bed next to him and placed my hand on the bumpy fabric that had probably once been soft. Logan didn’t look as bad as Charlie had when we’d left, but it couldn’t be good considering he hadn’t even responded.

  I leaned closer and touched his forehead with the back of my hand. He wasn’t feverish.

  “Logan you have to get better. We all need you. So, here's what I want you to do… I want you to lay in here and get better. We’re waiting for you, OK?” I stood and took his hand into mine. “Please?”

  I squeezed his hand, and I thought I felt a little tiny squeeze back, but when I did it again, there was nothing but loose, tired fingers. When I stepped out of the room and into the hallway, I resisted the urge to break down into a puddle of sadness in the hallway. I had to push it away and do what I could to be strong for everyone.

  Abby had fallen asleep in the chair, and Shawn was pacing back and forth in the kitchen.

  “I don’t want to use the fireplace, I'm afraid it’ll wake her. How’s Logan?” Shawn asked.

  I swallowed down the hard lump at the back of my throat. “He doesn’t even respond. It’s like he stuck in his sleep.”

  “Hopefully his body is working to fight off the poison. Fuck!” Shawn said trying to keep his voice down. He winced when he slammed his fist into his leg. “I wish we could have found something.”

  “Me too,” I said pressing my lips together. I drew in a slow breath as I turned and looked at the stairs. “I’m going to go tell Ryder the bad news.”

  Shawn nodded. “Want me to come with you?”

  I held up my palm and turned away. There was a change in the air as I made my way up the stairs. It was as if I could feel the pain and agony of the situation and it was suffocating me.

  Ryder was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. It looked as though he’d aged at least five years since only days ago when we’d left.

  “How is she?” I asked.

  Ryder shook his head. He tried to move his mouth, but he couldn’t make it work.

  “I’m sorry,” I said taking in a difficult breath, “we didn’t find anything.”

  He pressed his lips together and then cleared his throat. “Didn’t think you would. Glad you're back, did everything go OK?”

  “Yes, it was fine. Oh, except a group of natives passed by when we were hiding. As you can see that turned out OK.”

  “They didn’t follow you, did they?”

  I shook my head. “It was a big group, like the one we’d seen from the top of the hill.” That incident had felt like it had taken place in another life even though it hadn't happened that long ago. “They did say something interesting though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “They were talking about the war and said it’s ending soon.”

  “They probably were just talking.”

  My head bobbed up and down slowly. “I’m sure they were. It was close to bragging really.”

  “What did they say exactly?”

  “That they’d taken out several groups of The Evolved, five in all, I think. They believe it’ll be over soon, and when it comes to an end, they’ll be the ones in control.”

  Ryder glanced over his shoulder abruptly as if he’d thought he heard something. But I could see Charlie hadn’t moved.

  “I hope they both take each other out,” Ryder said scratching the side of his head. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “Yeah, no problem. Is there anything I can get for either of you?”

  Ryder rubbed his hands together. “Not now. Oh, and thanks for trying to find medicine. Shawn too.”

  I forced a smile and watched as he walked back into the room. He sat down in one of the dining room chairs he must have brought up and took Charlie’s hand into his. I could tell by the folded over sheets on the other side of the bed that he’s spent the night in the room with her.

  Ryder was too focused on her that he didn’t even seem to notice me standing there watching her chest rise and then fall. Her lips were dry and cracked, and there were dark, sunken circles around her eyes.

  I turned and placed my shaking hand on the railing as I made my way downstairs. The Evolved or the natives could come to the house, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing we could do about it. There was no way Ryder would leave Charlie behind, and I wasn’t even sure if Abby would leave Logan.

  There had been something in her eyes when she’d talked about him, and it wasn’t just worry. She was scared. She was terrified of losing him.

  When I got back into the living room, Abby was gone, and Shawn was at the fireplace working on the rice. I walked straight toward him and pressed my lips to his.

  “What was that for?” Shawn asked after I pulled back.

  I bit my lip. I couldn’t tell him that I was afraid of losing him. It could have been me in their shoes, watching Shawn’s life wither away.

  “I just wanted to,” I said.

  “Everything go OK up there?” he said his eyes slightly narrowed.

  “Yeah, fine. Charlie’s worse, and I told him about what we’d heard the natives discussing.”

  Shawn cocked his head to the side. “And what did he say about that?”

  “Not much… he hopes they all take each other out.”

  “That’d be nice.”

  “I hope what we heard is the truth, but if the natives do win and come poking around here, it’ll be the end of the road for all of us.”

  Shawn lowered his gaze. “They won’t leave them.”

  “No, and I’d find it hard to leave too.”

  Shawn held my gaze. “We’d have to go. Emery,” Shawn said grabbing my hands, “we’d have to leave. They’d want you to go. You know that, right?”

  “I’ve been with them since almost the beginning.” I shook my head. “Sorry, but I don’t think I could.”

  Shawn gritted his teeth and abruptly turned away. He didn't look back as he made his way into the kitchen.

  I sat on the floor resting my forehead down against my palms and closed my eyes. My thoughts were disjointed. I needed rest.

  I stood up and instead of going after Shawn and trying to explain I made my way down the hall. As I neared the roo
m Logan was in, I could hear Abby singing softly. I glanced in as I walked past the door and saw her lighting stroking the side of his head.

  It was a tune I wasn’t familiar with, but her voice was beautiful. If all it took to make everything better were a song, it would have been whatever Abby was singing.

  The master bedroom looked exactly how it had when we’d left. I didn’t bother to look out the window to make sure all was as it should be, I simply flopped down on the bed, and before I knew it, I was out.

  13

  When I woke, it was night. I was sweating and gasping for air. My heart was racing, but thankfully, I didn’t remember the nightmare I must have had.

  My stomach rumbled as I climbed out of bed. The wind whistled as it blew against the house making it creak and crack.

  I wiped the sweat from my brow and glanced out of the window. The clouds swiftly floated over the moon blocking it from view. Lighting flashed in the distance and not only could I see it, but I could also feel another storm was on the way.

  I walked slowly down the hall not wanting to wake anyone who might still be asleep. The house was dark except for the flickering candle on the table.

  When I reached the living room, I paused, startled by the shadow in the window. I quickly realized it was Shawn staring out into the night keeping watch over the house.

  “Shawn,” I said softly without taking a step forward.

  “Yes?” he said without turning around. “You should get some rest, let me keep watch for a while.”

  “It’s fine,” he said shaking his head. “Go on back to bed.”

  My feet moved softly as I made my way closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his middle and rested my head against his back. His body was warm.

  “You need to sleep too,” I said and his body tensed. He turned to me, and I could see the fear and worry in his eyes. Shawn didn’t want to close his eyes. “You’ll be more alert and capable of dealing with anything that could happen once you've rested.”

  He stared at me as if he wanted to say something, but his mouth didn’t move. I was starting to worry about his lack of sleep.

  “You could sleep on the sofa,” I said tugging on him gently to ease him away from the window.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, and my stomach twisted as it made a similar noise.

  Shawn moved closer to the sofa but seemed reluctant. If I let go, I was sure he’d turn and go right back to his post at the window. Once he sat down, however, it didn’t take much effort to get him to lay down.

  “Just a short rest,” Shawn said shifting his eyes toward the table. “There’s rice for you. It’s probably cold… would you like me to see if I can warm it in the fire?”

  I chuckled. “I’d like to see if you can actually close your eyes and get some sleep.”

  “Anything for you,” he said with a slight curl at the ends of his lips.

  “Good.” I smiled and kissed the top of his head.

  By the time I got the bowl of cold rice off the table and made my way back to the window, Shawn was asleep. He was curled up on his side with one arm tucked under his head, and his other flopped loosely over the side of the sofa.

  I stared out the window as I scooped up the grains of rice. Even though it felt like I was starving, I ate slowly.

  The clouds had completely blocked out the moon, and the yard was significantly darker, illuminated only when there was a flash of lightning. It didn’t take long for the raindrops to start tapping against the window, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed. When the wind blew harder, it slammed the rain into the window in noisy, massive sheets.

  The sounds were harsh, and the thunder so loud I worried it would wake everyone in the house. I was afraid the window was going to break, and each little shard would slice into my skin.

  The good news was that there wouldn’t be anyone traveling in this weather. If anyone were out there, they’d take shelter, even if that meant curling up into a ball and laying face down on the ground.

  I set the bowl down on the small table near the window and glanced back at the chair. My legs were sore and tired from all the walking Shawn, and I had done, but I was afraid that if I sat down, I’d fall asleep.

  I paced the floor, alternating between watching Shawn sleeping peacefully, and looking out of the window. It felt lonely in the darkness of the house, and the noisy storm didn’t help ease my mind.

  I stopped at the window and watched the storm rage through the yard. The bits of grass and weeds that had managed to grow back after the long winter, whipped around vigorously. The trees at the back of the property near the lake tipped so far to the side they looked as though they were about to snap in half. It was actually quite surprising they hadn’t considering they had already appeared to have been more than half dead.

  Abby’s voice broke through the silence. “It’s OK,” she said calmly, moments before I heard the sounds of Logan losing the contents of his stomach… which couldn’t have been much. “You’re OK.”

  I walked into the hall and stood in the doorway. Abby glanced up at me, but quickly returned her attention to Logan. She was struggling to hold him up and hold the pail in front of him.

  I entered the room and stood on the other side of Logan. My palms pressed against his back using nearly all my strength to hold up his weak body.

  “Does this happen a lot?” I asked seconds before Logan slumped forward. His whole body tensed, but nothing came out of him except for a noise from deep inside.

  “A couple times a day,” Abby said, dabbing a gray towel at his mouth. “There’s just nothing inside him except for the small amounts of water I’m able to get him to drink.”

  “Ugh,” Logan groaned, and Abby’s eyes widened.

  She looked at me and then moved the pail away from Logan. “Logan?”

  “Yes,” he responded, but his voice was thin.

  “It’s the first time he’s spoken in days,” Abby said wrapping her arms around his neck.

  Logan drew in a deep breath. “Down.”

  I realized he wanted me to stop holding him forward. I did my best to ease him back slowly onto the bed.

  “Stay with him. Keep him talking,” Abby said grabbing the pail. “I need to clean this.”

  She rushed out of the room. I could tell Logan was trying to look at me through the darkness inside the room.

  “Sick,” Logan said, his lips looked as though they were stuck together.

  “Yeah,” I said leaning closer. “Are you feeling better?”

  “Not really,” he said letting out a moan. Logan tried to move his arm, but it looked as if it weighed too much for him to lift.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  Logan’s head inched upward slightly. “Water.”

  I looked around and spotted the glass on the nightstand. It wasn’t easy, but I helped him take a small drink.

  Abby walked back into the room and clapped her hands. “That’s the most I’ve seen him drink since he’s been in that bed.”

  She crawled into the bed and pressed her cheek against his chest. Logan winced slightly, but there was also a hint of a smile.

  “Sorry,” Abby said unable to hide her excitement.

  Logan groaned and closed his eyes. We both watched as his breathing slowed.

  “That was a good sign, right?” Abby asked, all hints at happiness dissipated before my eyes.

  “I hope so,” I said, patting her arm. “I really hope so.”

  She rested her head back down, and I left the room to go back to my post at the window. Shawn was still asleep on the sofa. The only thing upstairs with Ryder and Charlie was an eerie silence.

  The storm was still going as strong as ever. I rested my head against the wall and watched the lightning flicker and flash. Maybe if Logan was taking a turn back toward the land of the living, Charlie would follow soon enough. She’d seemed worse off, so perhaps it would just take her a bit longer to fight away the poison. Not that Logan seemed to be out of the
woods, but I think Abby was right that it was a good sign. At least I hoped it was.

  Morning came quickly. The storm had finished, but the rain hadn’t. Most of the yard was flooded, and I was sure most of the surrounding land was as well. Hopefully, that would keep the natives and The Evolved away for another day. Of course, I hoped they’d stay away forever.

  Shawn sat up and stretched his hands over his head. He rubbed his eyes before walking over to me and wrapping his arms around me.

  “Morning,” he said kissing my cheek. “I’ll assume all was well through the night since you didn’t wake me.”

  “Nothing outside, but Logan was up briefly,” I said turning to stare into Shawn’s sparkling eyes. They seemed even more brilliant in the pale morning light. “He said a few words, but then drifted off back to sleep.”

  “But that’s good, right? Maybe if we can get him up… eating and drinking more,” Shawn said, abruptly letting go of me and walking toward the kitchen. He was back in the living room in a matter of seconds. “I need to boil more water.”

  Shawn peeked out the window before opening the door. A cloud of humidity floated in making the air feel so thick I could have cut it with a knife.

  “Be right back,” Shawn said before closing the door behind him.

  I watched as he walked through the deep puddles making his way to the lake out back. Some of the puddles looked deep enough that he could have just scooped water out of them, but he kept walking until the storage building and dead shrubs blocked my view of him.

  The floor above creaked, and Ryder appeared at the top of the stairs. His eyes were dark and empty.

  “Did someone leave?” he asked in a monotone voice.

  “Shawn went to get more water. Did the door wake you?”

  Ryder chuckled. “Wake me? Don’t be silly.”

  “When is the last time you slept?” I asked, crossing my arms.

  “Who needs it?”

  “Everyone. I could sit with her if you’d—”

  “No need,” Ryder said holding up his palm. His fingers shook ever so slightly. “I want to be here when she wakes up.”

  I pressed my lips together and sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll bring you up some food soon. Shawn’s going to make some more rice.”