“Stay back,” Bronx said his eyebrows scrunching together as he looked at me.
My jaw stiffened, and I pushed past him. I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and pulled it open an inch before he could stop me.
When I saw there was no fog inside the main room, I opened the door wider. “It’s clear.”
Bronx placed his hands on my shoulders and moved me to the side. I could feel the anger radiating through his touch. He hadn’t wanted me to be the one to check, and he made sure I knew that by the dark look he flashed me.
“Sorry,” I muttered, but I wasn’t even a little.
I followed Bronx out toward the window, glancing over my shoulder as we left the storage room. Jamie didn’t follow, but Danny did albeit apprehensively.
The wind picked up, and the cloud outside the window swooshed around. As I drew closer to the glass of the window far from the door, I saw the pumps outside through the particles.
“It’s leaving,” I said even though it was obvious.
Bronx’s head was turned toward the door where the glass had been broken. Every so often, the light would catch on the particles coming inside the room.
“Get back in the storage room,” Bronx said taking a step back.
Danny and I both moved slowly backed away from the broken door. Now that the cloud was thinner, it was finding its way inside the building.
“Get back!” he shouted when he turned and saw we weren’t moving fast enough.
It only took a few seconds to get back into the storage room. I pressed my hand to my chest and took several breaths expecting my breathing to feel weird, but I felt normal.
Bronx started stuffing a blanket under the bottom of the door. Blair stepped out of the office and crossed her arms.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“The cloud’s leaving,” Danny said.
Bronx looked at the top of the door and shook his head before turning to face us. “There bits of it everywhere.”
“It’s going to come in here?” Blair asked her voice cracking.
Bronx let out a sharp breath. “I don’t know.”
Chapter 18
Over the next couple hours, Bronx stared at the blanket that covered the crack underneath the door. If anything was leaking into the storage room, he didn’t mention it, so I could only assume that it wasn’t.
Without windows in the storage room, we had no idea if it was still day, or if somehow darkness had swallowed the gas station. The candles in the room gave off a glow that made shadows dance on the walls.
The gas station had been constructed very simply, perhaps it had been built in a hurry. The lack of exits had been a good thing, but the lack of windows hadn’t been. One thing I knew for sure was that the builders definitely hadn’t had the end of the world in mind when they’d come up with the design.
I sat with Nick while he rested. My body was tense as I listened to Bronx moving about in the other room. Nick’s intense mumblings in his sleep weren’t helping to ease my mind. It was like he was trapped somewhere between a deep sleep and being awake. If what he was trying to say was important, I couldn’t tell. I hadn’t been able to make out many of the words and what I could decipher made little to no sense.
I stood looking at the faux-wood paneling walls as I paced back and forth inside the small office room. A small spot of blood had managed to seep through the make-shift bandage on Nick’s thigh. I was thankful it hadn’t been more.
“Hey,” Nick said looking at me through half-opened eyelids.
“Hi,” I said dropping down into the chair next to him. I leaned forward. “How are you feeling?”
Nick attempted to smile, but his bottom lip quivered. “I’ve been better.”
The muscles in my face tightened, but he noticed whatever shield I had attempted to hold in front of myself crumble away. He knew me too well. Nick reached out and grabbed my hand.
“No, Gwen, don’t make that face. Gives me terrible flashbacks to our childhood. It’s like I can hear you calling out to mom about to tattle on me about something I did wrong.” Nick shook my hand weakly until I had no choice but to meet his eyes. “I’m going to be fine. I promise you that.”
I opened my mouth to tell him how little his promises meant, but his eyes narrowed, forcing me to press my lips together.
“Don’t say it. I’m telling you the honest to God truth. Other than being so damn tired, I’m going to be fine.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked choking back my tears. Tears I didn’t want him to know were close to falling down my cheeks.
“I just can. My body is on the mend.”
“You lost so much blood.” My head was shaking as I looked away from him. I shouldn’t have told him. But then again, he probably already knew.
“I’m making more as we speak. Hey,” Nick said shaking my hand again until I looked up. “I know my promises don’t mean all that much to you, but this is one thing I wouldn’t lie about.”
A long breath squeezed out from between my lips. “Okay.”
“So, what’s going on out there? How’s Jamie doing?” Nick asked.
Surely Blair had been keeping him abreast of everything that was going on. Maybe he’d forgotten, or maybe he wanted to compare information. That seemed like something a police officer would do.
“The cloud is moving away.”
“And Jamie?”
“He’s fine.”
Nick’s head cocked slightly, wrinkling the fabric of the pillow underneath him. “Are you sure about that?”
“As sure as I can be… why? Do you think something is wrong?” I asked.
“He was out there a long time. Much longer than Monica’s feet had been.”
Nick was right. But if anything had been wrong, surely Jamie would have mentioned it by now.
“Well,” Nick said, each blink lasting longer than the last, “keep an eye on him.”
Nick pushed himself up until he was sitting. I’d tried to help him, but he waved me away. He stared at the door as his palm moved up and down his uninjured leg.
“Help me,” he said using more energy than he had to scoot himself forward to the edge of the sofa.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked crossing my arms.
“Going to try to stand. And you’re going to catch me if I fall.”
“Just like old times.”
Nick raised a brow. “Still have your sense of humor, huh?”
“Always. You should probably wait for Bronx. I don’t want to drop you.”
“You won’t. Give me your shoulder.”
I leaned down, and he placed his hand on my shoulder. He had most, if not all of his weight on his good leg.
When he was standing a smile curled onto his face. “See, I’m doing better already. Bet you’d never even guess I’d been shot less than twenty-four hours ago.”
I widened my eyes and stared at him before shaking my head. At least his positive attitude would probably help speed up his healing.
“Should I try taking a step?” Nick asked, uncertainty saturating his tone.
“I don’t know,” I said chewing on the inside of my cheek. “Maybe give it another day or two, you don’t want to make it worse.”
Nick winced as he tried to put a little more weight on his bad leg. “Maybe you’re right.” I tightened my grip on him and helped ease him back down onto the sofa. “Tomorrow. I’ll try again tomorrow.”
I smiled, but Nick didn’t smile back. He’d worn himself out. “Do you want more of the pain medicine?”
“Someone like me probably shouldn’t.”
“I don’t think you’re going to have problems with the generic over the counter stuff we have.”
“I guess,” he said turning his head to the side and closing his eyes. Every bit of optimism he’d had only minutes ago, seemed to have vanished.
I nodded at him even though he didn’t see me and left the room. Blair was already standing several feet away from the
door holding a bottle of water and three pills.
“I’ll bring them to him,” she said without looking at me.
“Thanks,” I said even though I was slightly annoyed she’d been listening in. Maybe I shouldn’t have been annoyed. With all the time she was spending with him, it was pretty obvious she actually cared about him. She probably would do a far better job of taking care of him than I ever could.
I sat down on my blanket and watched Bronx as he paced in front of the door. It felt as though I’d been watching him for an eternity before he crouched down and pulled the blanket out from the crack at the bottom of the door.
His fingertips glided back and forth across his forehead as he stared at the small gap between the floor and the bottom of the door. Bronx opened his mouth, but then started to pace again.
“I’m going to check on the situation,” Bronx finally announced. He turned to me, his gaze as sharp as a blade. “Alone.”
The left side of my face turned upward into a cocky smile. I shook my head before tilting it to the side. “Try to stop me.”
He chuckled but stopped abruptly. The slight smile he’d worn for a moment instantly disappeared. “Where’s that rope?”
“Funny.”
“Who said I’m joking?” There was a long hesitation before he looked away. “I’ll be quick.”
I stepped up next to him, ignoring both his stare and the one I could feel from Jamie piercing me through the back.
“You’re not going alone. What if something goes wrong?” I asked leaning closer to him. The intoxicating woodsy scent of his deodorant filled my nostrils. My mind flashed back to our kiss. It almost felt as though it had happened a lifetime ago. And to two very different people.
Bronx looked at me, and I wondered if he was thinking about the same moment. He swallowed and pointed at the gun on his hip. Nick’s gun.
A gun wasn’t going to drag him back into the storage room if he passed out or whatever the poisons out there could do.
“Let’s go then,” I said taking a step forward. He held up his arm to block me, but then lowered it.
“I’ll lead.”
I shrugged. “If you must.”
He pulled the gun out of his waistband and looked at Danny over his shoulder. “Watch the door.”
“You got it,” Danny said bouncing forward on the balls of his feet.
“But stay in here,” Bronx reminded him.
“Of course,” Danny said standing to the side of the door.
Bronx sucked in a deep breath and released it quickly. He slowly opened the door and peeked out. I followed him as he stepped out into the main room.
I jumped when Danny closed the door behind us. Bronx’s spine relaxed, and he lowered the gun as he looked around the sunlit room.
The cloud that had trapped us inside was gone. It was like it hadn’t ever existed.
Shannon’s body was still lying on the floor where we’d left it. When we got closer to the door, I could see another body in the distance, and I knew without a doubt that it was Monica.
“They hadn’t made it far,” Bronx said.
“If they had, Jamie wouldn’t have ever made his way back.”
“I’m still surprised he did.”
Bronx opened the front door and stepped out in front of the building. I followed him, paying close attention to my body.
“You okay?” Bronx asked noticing me lightly touching near my collarbone.
“Yeah,” I said sounding surprised. “I’m totally fine. You?”
Bronx didn’t answer. He didn’t even move. I stared into his eyes until I realize he was looking at something over my shoulder.
My voice felt as though it was stuck in my throat as I spun on my heel to face whatever was behind me. I almost choked on air when I saw what he was looking at.
“Holy crap,” I said watching as the massive blue-gray cloud moved across the ground heading to wipe out whatever was left behind us. “It’s moving so fast.”
“The wind I guess… or maybe it’s just really, really big.”
“What is it?” I asked even though I knew Bronx didn’t have the answer.
His shoulders tensed up toward his ears. “Death.” Bronx drew in a breath, and his body relaxed slightly. “Guess we should tell the others.”
I nodded, but a sourness bubbled up to the back of my throat. The cloud may be gone, but we couldn’t leave. There was no way Nick was ready.
Chapter 19
We were all squeezed inside of the office. Nick was sitting up on the sofa, but I could tell he would have rather been lying down.
“Well, that’s good news,” Nick said, taking a look at each one of us. “So why do you all look like someone died?”
He chuckled, but it turned into a cough. Bronx stroked the long stubble on his chin as he stared at Nick.
“You too? I’m not dying,” Nick said staring at Bronx.
“I know,” Bronx said.
“You know,” Nick said inching himself forward, “I have an idea.”
My eyes were rolling before he finished his sentence. Nick’s good ideas were few and far between.
“Well?” Bronx said tapping his foot.
“Okay,” Nick said, clapping his hands together. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get back on track.”
My shoulders tensed and I rubbed the back of my neck. If someone didn’t remind him about his leg, I was going to have to do it, and I really didn’t want to be the one to do it.
“We?” Bronx asked.
“Well, I was thinking that you guys could get started, and I’ll catch up in a few days. I know how important it is to Gwen to get moving—”
“What? I mean, of course, it is, but we aren’t going to just leave you here,” I said throwing my hand into the air.
Nick held up his palm as he shook his head. “I’ll catch up in a few days.”
I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. It wasn’t even a few seconds before I started laughing.
“You’re crazy,” I said. “We’ll be fine, all of us, waiting here until you’re better. There is no way we’re going to separate.”
“No,” Blair said biting her lip. “Nick’s right. You guys should go ahead.”
I didn’t blink as my gaze shifted over to Blair. “Lovely, you’re both insane.”
“Gwen,” Nick said reaching out for my hand, but I stepped back. “Grandma might need you. We’re already behind schedule.”
“We had a schedule?” I asked.
“You’re overreacting,” Nick said.
I could feel my blood starting to boil. It was scalding every inch of my body. I drew in a deep breath.
“I am not overreacting,” my voice was shaking.
“Calm down,” Nick said.
“Calm down?” My voice raised several octaves. “Calm down? Oh, I’m plenty calm. This idea of yours is just stupid, and it’s not going to happen.”
Nick glanced up at Blair and then Bronx. “Could I have a few minutes with my sister?”
“They don’t need to leave. Anything you’re going to say to me, you can say in front of them.” I could feel my heartbeat racing so fast it was shaking my body.
“I just want you to think about it. Grandma might need you more than I do,” Nick said. “You know, I wouldn’t tell you to go if I didn’t think you’d be okay. We can’t be that far.”
“You’re out of your mind. It’s at least another fifty miles!” Gwen said.
Nick swallowed, and his eyes met with Jamie’s for a split second.
“What was that?” I asked.
“What was what?” Nick asked.
“That look.”
Nick rubbed his palms together. “I trust him to get you there.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked back and forth between them. My eyes settled on Jamie’s. “You talked with him about this?”
There was a long silence before Jamie’s eyes darted to the side wall before he turned them back on me. He ran hi
s hand through his hair.
“We did,” Jamie said.
“And you think this is a good idea?” I asked.
Jamie shrugged.
“Well, it’s a terrible idea,” I said before storming out of the office. I blew right out of the storage room and didn’t stop until I was standing outside facing the gas pumps.
I rested my back against the wall pressing my hands against my chest. My lungs felt tight, but it wasn’t because of anything that the fog cloud had left behind. It was from stress. Nick had lost his mind.
I let myself slide down to the ground. The cloud was even further in the distance, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It didn’t seem real even though I was staring right at it.
The sound of footsteps softly tapping the floor alerted me to the fact that someone was coming. I didn’t want to look. At least one thing I knew for certain was that it probably wasn’t Nick.
“Hey,” Jamie said peeking around the corner. He looked apprehensive about stepping outside. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Wait, that’s a lie. I’m pissed off.”
Jamie chuckled. “I appreciate your honesty.” He slowly stepped out and stood next to me. I knew without looking his eyes were on the cloud. “Hope you aren’t pissed at me.”
I shook my head.
“Nick?” He asked.
“Bullseye.”
“Wait, maybe I should be pissed at you too,” I said remembering that Nick and Jamie had discussed the plan and Jamie had been on board.
A small frown sprouted on Jamie’s face. “He’s looking out for you.”
“It’s better if we all stay together.”
“Who knows how long it’s going to take for his injury to heal. Could be weeks.”
“Right. Exactly,” I said looking up at Jamie. “And he said it was no big deal and he’d be right behind us. Nonsense.”
Gravel crushed under Jamie's feet as he took a step back and leaned against the building. “Well, if you want to wait, we’ll wait. I just know you've been wanting to get to your grandma’s house for a while and I know a bit about how you feel about Nick.”
The Red Sky Series Box Set Page 26