“What were we supposed to do about it? We were robbed at gunpoint by a large group,” Peter said defensively. “You weren’t there. You don’t know what it was like. It wasn’t like you would have handled it any differently than I had.”
“I don’t know,” Marnie said in a slightly softer voice. “You could have tried to find more before coming back here.”
There was a short hesitation filled with sounds from the creaky floor. Peter’s voice was rougher. “They were with us.”
“So?” Marnie said her tone sharp as a blade. “You don’t have to try to help every Tom, Dick, and Harry you come across. We’re your family, Peter. Your kids should come first. Like they do with me.”
Peter laughed. “Please.” His voice rumbled out from deep in his throat. “If you put them first, why are you still here?”
“We’re perfectly safe here,” Marnie snapped. “Safer than out there.”
“I thought you said you had enough supplies?” Peter asked, attempting to calm his voice with a soft cough. It sounded as though his words were touched with concern.
“I do but God knows when you’ll be back again.” It sounded like she was drumming her fingers on the top of the table. “And what were you thinking bringing these strangers into our house? How long have you known them? It’s like you are constantly forgetting but we have kids here.”
Peter groaned. “How could I ever forget? Your voice is constantly in the back of my head reminding me over and over again.”
“Good.”
“You’re a fool if you think I’d ever put them in danger. Sometimes I think you actually forget that they’re mine too. I wouldn’t ever do anything that would put them in any kind of danger.”
“You left us, Peter,” Marnie said. The chair squeaked as it moved across the tiled kitchen floor. “We didn’t leave you.”
Peter exhaled loudly. “Don’t worry about them. They’re good people. I’ll get them north and bring back some supplies as soon as I can.”
“Stealing from them again? It’s not worth it, Peter. You almost got banished last time,” Marnie said.
“They didn’t even know I was there last time. In and out like a ninja,” Peter said and Marnie instantly snorted.
There were footsteps tapping softly across the floor. They sounded as if they were coming closer to me. I could see a shadow creeping up on the wall beside me. It hung there for a moment before it shrunk and disappeared back into the kitchen.
“They understand the situation,” Peter said.
“That’s what I am? What we are to you? A situation?” Marnie asked with a chuckle tinged with severe anger.
“You’re putting words in my mouth.” Peter sighed. “I’m doing the best I can for you and the kids, you have to believe that. Let’s not forget you kicked me out.”
“What choice did I have?”
It felt like all the oxygen in the house was being sucked into the kitchen. The silence that filled the room made my ears ring.
“If you wouldn’t have slept with that whore it wouldn’t have happened. You are the reason things are like this. It’s you. You ruined our lives. I kicked you out of the house because I couldn’t stand to see your face. I can barely stand to be in the same room with you.”
“You know I couldn’t live in the garage.”
I shifted my weight and the floorboard squeaked loudly. They’re talking came to an abrupt stop. Moments later, I heard footsteps and they didn’t stop. Whoever it was, went down the hall and locked themselves in one of the rooms.
I turned back toward the window and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the tall shadow stretched out onto the wall beside me once again. This time I felt eyes on me… eyes that I was almost certain were Peter’s.
I held still. I couldn’t breathe. I prayed for the shadow to go away.
Nine
Marnie stood on the front porch watching her kids. We were at the front gate and the kids were hugging Peter repeatedly.
Aleah’s eyes were saturated with sadness. She was already missing her father. The love she had for him was enormous.
His son, Flynn, clearly loved his father as well but he held it in. He played it cool even though it looked like it was killing him.
“When will we see you again, daddy?” Aleah asked.
“Soon. Really soon,” Peter said picking Aleah up and kissing the side of her head at least six times. She curled toward him as if it tickled.
Marnie was at a distance but still, I could hear her laugh. She quickly brought her hand to her mouth when she saw my eyes dart in her direction. If Peter heard her, he ignored her.
“All right, baby girl, we gotta go,” Peter said placing her down. “You both be good for your mom, okay?”
“Of course, dad,” Flynn said. “I help her out. With everything. Things you should be helping with.”
He turned away. And Peter inhaled. It looked like the air he’d taken it had been covered with needles that poked his airway.
“Bye daddy,” Aleah said without moving. Her feet were glued to the ground.
“Go on back by Mommy,” Peter said.
“I want to watch you leave,” Aleah said.
Peter placed his hand on her head. “Okay but go watch from the porch.”
“Fine,” she groaned in a way she must have learned from her brother. She started walking away but turned halfway with a shining smile on her face. “Love you, uncle Kellan.”
“I love you, sweetheart,” Kellan said with a big smile and a wave. He adored the girl.
“Love you too, daddy,” Aleah said with a little wave.
“Love you too. To the moon and back,” Peter said. “Love you all.”
It looked like it was hard for him to make his feet go but eventually, they did. Kellan placed his hand on his shoulder. Peter nodded and Kellan gave a small squeeze before taking his hand back.
Peter didn’t look back. Not even once. He didn’t say anything until we were at least a mile away… probably longer.
“Let’s pick up the pace,” Peter said.
Nick glanced at Molly and she offered him a little nod.
“Let’s do it,” Nick said.
We moved quicker over the drying terrain. It was early and the sun wasn’t high but still, the heat was there. The air smelled like the inside of an oven and I was sure it wouldn’t be long before it felt like we were inside one too.
The temperature had dropped some during the night but it was rising quickly. Then again, maybe it was our rapid pace that was making it feel so hot.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it was an attack of some kind. But there wasn’t a cloud in sight and no one was getting sick. It was more like the world had been damaged and the heat was the result.
Maybe my imagination was just acting up because of my lack of sleep. For all I knew, it was just summer. A hot northern summer.
Peter led us to an old farmhouse. He pulled a pistol out from under his shirt and held it close to his body.
“Hey, man, what is this place?” Nick asked nervously. His eyes were glued to the gun.
“Storage,” Peter said.
“Not safe?” Nick asked.
Peter breathing was calm. “Should be. Better safe than sorry, right?”
“Right,” Nick said.
The place was empty as Peter had suspected. More importantly, in the basement poorly hidden under brown tarps, were boxes and boxes of supplies.
Peter took a backpack from the closet and started to fill it. “This should be our last stop before Winnipeg,” he said without looking up. “Maybe we should fill another?”
“How many more days until Winnipeg?” Nick asked.
“Depends how quickly we walk,” Peter said. “How quickly can we walk?”
Nick looked at Molly and she shrugged. Peter shrugged too.
“I know you’re anxious to get there and I can assure you that we are going almost as fast as we can. There have been a few delays and Molly is doing great but she’
s pregnant and we can’t push her for the sake of the baby,” Peter said. He held his palm up. “I don’t want this to sound heartless but we’ll get there when we get there.”
It did sound heartless… to me. Peter couldn’t understand what I was feeling and I, despite the sourness in the back of my throat, I didn’t care to explain it to him.
“We’re almost to the Red River,” Kellan said breaking the silence.
“What’s the Red River?” Molly asked.
“It’s a river we follow the rest of the way,” Peter said. “And if we get hungry enough, we can attempt to catch a fish or two.”
Nick chuckled. “With what? Our hands?”
“No,” Peter said holding out something that looked like a large pen and a small crank. “With this.”
“What is it?” Molly said shaking her head.
“A pocket fishing pole,” Peter said. “I better not lose this one though, we’re down to our last five.”
“Hmm,” I said frowning. “I’m not sure it’s safe to eat anything. It’s probably all been contaminated by the attacks.”
Peter nodded. “It’s possible, but we’ve eaten them since the ice and we’re both still here. Maybe cooking helps or maybe we’ve just been lucky.”
“You guys are risk takers,” Nick said.
“When you get hungry enough, you’ll take those risks,” Peter said staring into Nick’s eyes. “Guess you’ve all been lucky.”
I thought about everyone we’d lost. It was hard to believe in luck but then again, I was still alive. Luck clearly had a part in that.
“It’s not the best water but if it comes down to it, we’ll boil it.” Peter shoved a flashlight into the pack and a pack of batteries. “We’ll carry what we can but there won’t be many more stops along the way.”
“Just one more, another storage, but it’s kind of out of the way,” Kellan said.
“There aren’t any more homes or buildings along the way?” Molly asked narrowing her eyes.
Peter zipped the backpack and stood. “There probably are but this is the path we take. And I don’t want to veer off it if we don’t need to.”
“This route is a bit more rustic but we haven’t come across anyone else taking it. It’s both quicker and safer,” Kellan said.
“Well, that’s not the whole truth,” Peter said pulling the backpack over his shoulders. He crossed his arms and faced us. “Truth is, from time to time, we do see others on this route.”
Nick’s color whitened.
“Oh, no, don’t worry,” Peter said holding up his hand. “It’s people like us. Others who are leading survivors to Winnipeg.”
“We probably won’t meet any others but if we should, don’t worry. Unless we worry,” Kellan said with a warm smile. It wasn’t the first time I thought Peter and Kellan were overconfident but it was the first time it made me nervous.
I looked around at their storage area and remembered that Marnie had been upset Peter hadn’t brought her supplies. “Maybe we should bring some back for Marnie.”
“What?” Peter said looking at me. His were fiery hot coals that felt like they were searing my flesh. “I thought you were in a hurry?”
“I—I am,” I said.
“She has enough. I checked before we left,” Peter said turning away from me. “Besides, she knows about this place.”
I wanted to tell him that she wouldn’t come out this far but I was sure he already knew that. He’d been married to her, he knew what she would and wouldn’t do and, apparently, he didn’t give a crap.
As we left the house, Nick pulled me aside. “What do you think about all this?”
“You’re asking me?”
“I’m asking you.”
I shook my head. “I’m not thrilled but I want to get to Winnipeg. Are you worried about something?”
“No, I guess not,” Nick said.
“Are you sure? Because if you are you should tell me,” I said softly. “We don’t have to go with them. Maybe we’ll get there faster on our own.”
Nick sighed. “I don’t think we will. I’m not even sure where we are. We’re in the boonies. Haven’t seen a road sign in miles.”
“All we have to do is go north… get to this river,” I said.
“Are you guys coming?” Peter shouted. His arms were crossed as he squinted at us from the road at the end of the driveway.
Nick gave me a quick glance. “Are we going?”
“Yeah,” I shouted back with a smile before turning back to Nick. “For now, we stay with them. You wanted that gun, right?”
“Right,” he said and we made our way toward Peter. Molly looped her arm through Nick’s. “Although I don’t know how I’ll get it. It’s just that the lack of knowing where we are was just making me nervous.”
I nodded and looked up at the sky. The only thing I could tell for sure was that we were still heading north.
“Everything okay?” Peter asked Nick once we started walking again.
“Yeah,” Nick said running his fingers through his hair. “I guess we just hoped we’d be there by now.”
“This route is the fastest,” Peter said. “You’ll see.”
The day seemed to drag on. All I could do was hope that we had put in a lot of miles.
My drenched clothing felt as though it was digging into my skin. The heat was so intense that it prickled my arms.
“It’s so hot,” I groaned as I noticed a wrapper on the ground. I stopped in my tracks at the footprints in the dusty, dry dirt. The others had already stopped walking but I hadn’t noticed. “What’s going….”
Nick grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him. “Stay back.”
Ten
Peter and Kellan were carving a path ahead of us. We were told to slow our pace and stay as far back as possible. Peter had wanted us to stay out of sight but there really weren’t any hiding spots.
The person in the distance was alone. Based on her long hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, I assumed she was a woman. She was dragging her feet and the way her head moved around, it seemed as though she was looking for someone.
When Peter and Kellan were within twenty feet, she turned around, her eyes wide with terror. Her mouth dropped and she stopped walking. It almost seemed as though her lips curled upward at the sight of Peter and Kellan.
“What the hell?” I said.
“Yeah,” Nick said. “Looks like she knows them.”
They talked to the woman as we continued our approach. Peter whipped his head around and when he saw us coming, he placed his arm around the woman’s shoulders. The three of them came to meet up with us.
“It’s okay,” Peter shouted from a distance. “No need to worry.”
“Thanks for the update,” I muttered and Molly snickered.
The woman’s head was down but she was looking up at us through her spidery lashes. The kind of lashes that were probably making Molly jealous. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was wondering what kind of mascara the woman used instead of wondering what she was doing out in the middle of nowhere all alone.
“This is our friend, Amber,” Peter said. “Amber, these are the survivors we’re taking to Winnipeg.”
She held out her hand to each one of us as he introduced us. Amber repeated our names as she shook.
“You guys are in great hands,” she said with a smile. Her lips were so plump I wondered if she’d recently been stung by a bee. “My partner and I were off to look for more survivors.”
Peter squeezed her shoulder and she frowned. She drew in a breath as she looked back up at us, her eyes settling on Molly.
“She didn’t make it,” Amber said. “And I’m lucky to be alive.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Nick responded almost immediately. I could tell by his posture that he had shifted into police officer mode. He was an inch taller it seemed and on high alert.
“Me too,” Amber said. “She was an amazing woman.”
Amber’s eyes moved down to Molly’s stom
ach. She clasped her hands in front of her and took a cautious step forward.
Peter placed his hand on her shoulder and Amber’s cheeks turned pink.
“I must apologize for staring,” Amber said. Her eyebrows arched downward. “I lost mine a few weeks ago.”
“That’s terrible!” Molly said lightly placing her palm on her cheek. It was clear to everyone there that Molly was suddenly worried about the likeliness of the survival of her baby.
“It really is but it wasn’t anyone’s fault unless we can blame nature,” Amber said. “It wasn’t caused by anyone or by the attacks. I was eating well, sleeping well but maybe I shouldn’t have been doing as much as I had been.”
Peter looked down for a moment. “Amber wanted to help people. She wanted to help everyone.”
“We’re two peas in a pod, aren’t we?” she asked bumping him lightly with her elbow.
“What happened to your travel companion?” I asked changing the subject. Amber’s interest in Molly’s stomach was making me uneasy. I was surprised she hadn’t asked if she could touch Molly’s bump.
Amber shook her head. The deepening frown put wrinkles in her forehead.
“It’s another sad story, I’m afraid,” Amber said turning to me. She wasn’t anywhere near as smiley to me as she was to Molly. “She fell off a cliff. I tried to save her but it was too late. I blame myself.”
Peter’s knuckles whitened as he squeezed her again. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“If I wouldn’t have had my back turned… if I would have been faster,” Amber said drawing in a sharp breath. Her shoulders started shaking and her hands quickly went up to cover her face.
“Shh,” Peter said wrapping his arms around him. “It’s not your fault.”
Amber dug her fingers into Peter’s chest, wrinkling his shirt under her hands. “I’m sorry,” she said letting go of his shirt. She took a step back and wiped away her tears. She looked up at us and then quickly shifted her gaze down to her feet. “I’m sorry.”
I looked over at Kellan. His arms were crossed. It seemed unusual that he hadn’t said much but maybe he just didn’t know Amber as well as Peter did.
Yellow Heat - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Red Sky Series Book 6) Page 5