“What’s your name?” Eva asked.
The woman blinked several times. “Chloe?” She shook her head. “I think.”
“Well, we’ll call you Chloe for now, okay?” Eva said first looking at the woman’s arm before looking at the cut above her eye. She looked me over her shoulder. “We should probably try to find bandages too.”
“There used to be a pharmacy store near here,” I said.
“Which way?” Eva asked.
I spun slowly, trying to make sense of my surroundings. So much was destroyed that it was hard to find a landmark. There was a fast-food sign that had crashed to the ground and most of it was still intact. I knew exactly where we were.
“Follow me,” I said.
I wanted to jog but the sharp pains that jolted up to my hip with each step stopped me from moving faster than a regular walk. I looked back at Chloe. She looked so frightened.
Chloe was taller than Eva but with the wide-eyed look she wore, she seemed smaller. She was slender and her hair was still styled, although there was dirt and debris twisted between the loose curls. The makeup that had probably once been expertly applied was smudged at the corners and down her cheeks, likely from both rain and tears.
“What happened to you?” I asked. The words had slipped out before I even considered what I was asking. The last thing I wanted was to scare her any more than she already was. She appeared to already be on the edge of a mental breakdown.
“I was at home. In my apartment,” she said. “Everything was shaking. I don’t know why but I went outside and hid under a tree waiting for my boyfriend to come home. He didn’t come home.”
“Where was he?” Eva asked.
Chloe hugged herself. “At work.”
“Do you live near here?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” Chloe said looking around. “None of this looks familiar. I’ve been looking for help since the ground stopped shaking. The only thing I’ve seen is dead bodies. Lots and lots of dead bodies. I’m not even sure if you two are real.”
“That’s awful,” I said.
Eva rolled her eyes at me before shifting her gaze back to Chloe. She placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.
“We’re definitely real,” Eva said.
“I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” Chloe said.
“What do you mean?” I asked stopping in front of the store that wasn’t much more than a heap of stone, bricks, and wood.
A tear cut a path through the dried blood on her cheek. “What if we’re all that’s left?”
I wasn’t sure what to say. All we needed to do was to get out of the city and find somewhere that hadn’t suffered damage from the violent earthquake.
“Wait here, okay?” I said looking in Eva’s eyes.
She tightened her grip on her weapon and nodded.
I carefully climbed over a pile of bricks, moving the top ones around to see if I could find anything that might be of use. I was afraid to go too far into the building because there were parts that were still standing and I wasn’t sure how long they’d stay up. There were boards and other parts of the ceiling still hanging from metal beams. Surely, they were weakened and the rain dropping down on them definitely wasn’t helping.
I found several bottles of a generic pain reliever and a travel pack of kid’s bandages. The wound over Chloe’s eye probably needed stitches but the bandages would have to do.
“Anything else in there?” Eva asked. “You know, like food and water?”
“Not that I could see,” I said. “The ceiling is going to fall soon and I don’t want to be under it when it does.”
Eva groaned. “You’re such a wuss.”
She charged past me, heading toward the rubble. I tried to grab her arm to stop her but she was quickly out of reach.
“Eva,” I said. “It’s not safe.”
She waved her hand and ignored my warning. I opened the package and pulled out a bandage with a cartoon cat.
“Sorry,” I said.
“It’s cute,” Chloe said her face blank.
I carefully peeled off the backing and applied the bandage to her cut. “Think it’s going to need two.”
“Okay,” Chloe said.
“Really, you need stitches,” Adam said.
Chloe sighed. “I’m thinking that’s probably not going to happen.”
“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “Probably not.”
If the cut would have been on Eva’s face, she’d be devastated. She’d scream and cry about the hideous scar she’d have for the rest of her life. She’d wail about the plastic surgery she’d need and how I’d have to pay for it. Chloe didn’t seem to care but then again, Chloe was still pretty out of it.
There was a loud crash from the building behind me. I stepped in front of Chloe as I turned to see a hunk of metal swaying side to side like a giant axe above Eva’s neck.
She was bending down, picking something up off of the ground. If the metal fell, it would be like Eva was in a guillotine.
“Get out of there!” I shouted.
She didn’t argue. Eva looked like a bunny as she hopped from pile to pile of rubble until she got back out onto the road.
She raised a brow and held up a plastic bag with a yellow smiling face on it. Eva seemed proud of herself. I exhaled and looked away from her.
“I got supplies,” she said clearly annoyed that I was impressed. It was probably a bag full of makeup.
“You almost got decapitated,” I said.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Eva groaned.
If that wasn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I didn’t know what was. I scratched my head as I looked around, trying to find a building that might have supposed and be safe to enter.
“What about my arm?” Chloe asked.
“Just keep it as still as you can,” I said.
Chloe frowned but nodded. Hopefully, her arm wasn’t broken. Perhaps it was injured like my leg and that it would improve over time.
We needed to head further out of the city where there was a better chance that buildings would still be standing. I hated to admit it but Eva was right about one thing. We were going to need supplies.
But first, I wanted to see my home.
15
Stevie
My breaths quickened. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Gage!” I said not caring if I woke him.
He popped up with a gasp.
“You have to see this,” I said. After the words were out of my mouth, I wished I would have worded my request differently.
“What’s going on?” Gage asked in a groggy voice. Good. He had gotten some rest.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the window. “It’s the water. How are your eyes?”
They were more than half-closed as he stepped up to the window. The sky was still gray but it was brighter than it had been during the night.
“Better,” he said. “Still blurry. Is it gone?”
“Yes,” I said unable to hold in my excitement.
“Storm surge,” Gage said letting a small smile curl on his lips. “I was right. Maybe.”
My head bobbed quickly as I walked over to the fridge and took out two coffee drinks. I held one out and Gage stared at it for several seconds.
I was almost certain he could see what I was offering… he was just trying to decide if he wanted the drink.
“Thank you,” he said finally taking it from me. He took a sip and twisted the cap back on the top of the glass bottle. “So… what do we do now?”
“We’re going to leave,” I said. “And we should go like now.”
“Are you worried the water will come rushing back?” Gage asked cocking a brow.
I chewed my lip before giving him a nod. “Very worried about that possibility to be honest.”
“I think it went back to where it came from,” Gage said.
“But that’s just a guess. You don’t know,” I said doing my best not to sound as though I
were insulting him… because I wasn’t. It was just the truth. With what was going on, no one knew what would or wouldn’t happen. I grabbed the backpack. “Let’s go.”
Gage didn’t question me. He gestured toward the exit and waited for me to lead the way.
There were sand and various types of debris in the stairwell. Trash and even seashells scattered about. The salty scent of ocean water dried the back of my throat.
When we reached the first floor, there was water pooled up to the second step. I stepped down and shivered as the cool water soaked my still half-wet clothing.
Outside of the building, the devastation around us, caused me to suck in a sharp breath. Gage placed his hand on my shoulder.
There were buildings that were completely gone. Nothing about the place I grew up looked the same.
An eerie feeling, like being surrounded by ghosts, iced my veins. There wasn’t a soul around. Suddenly, I was extremely happy to still have Gage at my side.
“This is horrible,” I said. “I don’t know how anyone could have survived this.”
“I don’t think anyone else has,” Gage said.
I tilted my head toward him. “Does that mean you don’t think we should bother to check our homes?”
Gage turned his gaze forward. “I honestly don’t think we need to. It’ll just make things worse.”
I knew he was right. The only way someone could have survived was if they just happened to make it to the top of a very tall building and that building managed to stay together. Also, I wasn’t sure if we even had time. The water could come back.
We were lucky. If you could call it luck.
“Okay,” I said quickly wiping a tear away from the corner of my eye. “We should head inland. Northwest.”
“It’s going to be a long walk,” Gage said.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “If this rain keeps up, maybe we’ll be able to find a boat.”
Gage let out a soft laugh. Not because it was particularly funny but because it was true.
“Tell me about your vision,” I said. “What can you see?”
He pointed at a tipped over street sign about a block away. “I can tell it’s red and that it’s a stop sign but I can’t see the letters.” His finger moved to a car on its side. “I can tell that’s a gray car but I couldn’t tell you what kind.”
“I couldn’t tell you what kind it is either,” I said bumping my elbow into him.
“Basically, I can see shapes and colors just not detail,” he said turning to me. “Even your face is a little blurry. But I know it’s you.”
I looked away, feeling uncomfortable with his eyes studying me so intently. “Are you in pain?”
“No,” Gage said.
“Good. Maybe we can find you some glasses or something,” I suggested.
Gage shrugged. “Maybe. If they haven’t been washed away like everything else.”
We walked toward the north end of the city. I hated how quiet everything was. There were no sounds coming from cars nor was there the constant hum of everything in motion. It was so quiet I could hear each step I took… the splash of the water… the squeak of my foot sliding around in my wet shoe. I could hear the brushing of Gage’s clothes as he moved his arms and legs.
The quiet wasn’t something I ever had. I’d always been around noise. And here I was, longing for that noise.
“I wonder how long we’ll have to walk for,” Gage wondered.
“No idea,” I said. “Days?”
“Maybe weeks or even months,” Gage said. “You saw how far and how deep the water was.
It wouldn’t have surprised me if most or even all of Florida had been under water. I was still worried that it would come back and Gage and I would be washed away like everything else.
“We’re probably going to need more than what we have in this bag,” I said.
“I figured as much,” Gage said. “But I’m concerned we won’t be able to find anything safe to ingest.”
“We can boil water,” I said with a shrug.
Gage raised a brow. “And you know how to make a fire?”
“You rub two sticks together. How hard can it be?” I joked.
“I guess we’ll find out. Lighters and matches, even if we could find them, probably won’t work,” Gage said looking up. “And how will we even get a fire going with this rain?”
I gave his question thought. “We’ll need like a tarp or something, maybe? Or if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to find a home that is still usable.”
“I don’t think we’ll be able to travel at night even with our flashlight,” Gage said looking down. “I’m so useless now. If only I wouldn’t have looked at that stupid light. It was only for a second.”
“It was very bright. Everything around us was practically white,” I said.
“I still wonder exactly what it was.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Maybe we’ll never know. At least not exactly. I mean, how could we possibly know if everything and everyone is gone.”
“Do you really think everyone is gone?” Gage asked.
“I don’t know. I hope not but with everyone we’ve seen thus far, it’s not hard to feel pessimistic about it all.” I frowned. “Anyway, the only choice we really have is to just keep going. Either we’ll find out what happened or we won’t. Either way, this is our life now and we’re just going to have to figure out how to survive.”
Gage nodded. “It would be easier if everything wasn’t blurry.”
“A lot of things would make this easier but we’ll have to make do,” I said. “At least you’ve had improvement. That’s a good sign. Maybe tomorrow your vision will be even better.”
“Yeah,” Gage said. “I hope you’re right. I just hate feeling like this. Everything in my head is a jumbled mess of useless information. It’s like everything is out of order.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” I said. “We’ll figure it out.”
We continued out of the city. I may have sounded hopeful when I spoke with Gage but I wasn’t. I figured it was only a matter of time before the giant waves returned.
I met Gage’s eyes and forced a smile. “Let’s find another backpack and fill it with supplies. Maybe we won’t find anything usable but there is always a chance we will.”
Gage gave me a nod.
Really, what finding supplies would do was to distract us from the rain and what our future held. We really needed that distraction.
16
Joss
We stood there on the front lawn, staring at the remains of the home. A few wooden beams still stood but most everything was on the ground or scattered around the neighborhood.
On the ground next to my foot was a family picture. It wasn’t my family but I recognized the girl in the picture. I’d gone to high school with her and their family had lived in a small house two blocks down the road.
It was painful to think that things from my life could be scattered two blocks away. I looked down the road in both directions. There wouldn’t be anyone standing there looking at our things.
It was just Caleb and me.
“Hello!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “Anyone here?”
I waited but I wasn’t surprised no one responded.
“Was this what they intended when they reset the planet?” I asked. “I should have paid more attention to what my dad was saying.”
“Why?” Caleb asked. “It wouldn’t have changed anything. This was out of our control. If people had known this was going to happen, they would have been prepared.”
I stared at the house for a long moment. “Some people knew. My dad talked about the people who were prepping for something like this.”
“Well, maybe those are the people we should be looking for,” Caleb said.
I took several careful steps closer to the house. The basement had flooded with water. If they’d been hiding from the storms, they would have drowned… their other option would have been to run out of the house an
d get blown away like Deacon and Lexi.
A tear rolled down my cheek. It was warm compared to the drops of water that smacked my face.
“I’m sorry, Joss,” Caleb said trying to pull me away from the destruction.
My eyes widened and I looked around the neighborhood. If there was a house standing, maybe they would have gone there for shelter. The brief moment of hopefulness disappeared when I saw the neighbors brick house crumbled to the ground.
The tears fell quicker. My family was gone. I was alone.
Caleb took my hand and led me back down the street. There wasn’t a point in checking but I knew he was leading me toward his house on the other side of town.
Caleb had been an only child but he’d gotten along with his parents. I knew even if he wasn’t showing it, he was devastated.
His home was in a similar condition to mine… quite possibly even worse. There was no way anyone could have survived inside.
We walked a block away from the house and Caleb dropped to the curb and lowered his head. I sat down next to him but I didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say.
Something rustled in the bushes behind us and jaunted into the road. The little black kitten stopped and stared at us with frightened green eyes. After a long moment, it let out a tiny meow.
The soaked kitten looked so small. Her little body shivered as she cautiously approached us.
“We should probably gather up what we can… like food and water and such,” Caleb said ignoring the kitten. “Maybe we’ll be able to find a car.”
“Where are we going to go?” I asked. The cute cat stopped three feet away from me and continued to stare. She had a collar around her neck in the shape of a heart.
Caleb shrugged. “We’ll find help. There has to be some out there, right? It’s not like we’re the last two people left on earth.”
“Even if we found a car with keys, look at the roads,” I said my gesturing hands caused the kitten to hop back a full two feet. “They are impassable.”
“We’ll have to strike out on foot first,” Caleb said. He shook his head and looked at me for a quick second. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know what we should do.”
The Reset Series (Book 1): Flood Page 8