The Red Sky Series Box Set

by Kellee L. Greene

  It seemed like a dream. A fantasy.

  And if a world like that could ever be again… I could say goodbye to Bronx. He’d go back to his life and forget all about pathetic ol’ me.

  I looked over as he crouched down and whispered something to Blair. Her eyes didn’t move from whatever she was staring at, but she gave him a quick nod.

  I shivered as Bronx made his way over to me. He laid down next to me and looked into my eyes through the darkness.

  “How’s she doing?” I asked.

  “Terrible,” Bronx said. “She’s good with leaving though.”

  “That’s good.”

  Bronx slid his hand down my arm. “You’re cold.”

  “Yeah,” I said trying not to shiver again. “I’m sure we all are.”

  He pulled me closer and wrapped his arm around me. “I’ll try to warm you up.”

  It was working. Just being next to him always sent heat surging through my veins.

  “You think leaving is a good idea, right?” I asked.

  Bronx smiled. “Oh man, I have no idea. I hope so. It’s not like I think staying here is the right move either.”

  “Maybe there are no right moves.”

  “There’s one right move for me,” Bronx said, his gaze moving down toward my lips.

  “And what’s that?” I asked my lips curling a bit.

  Bronx moved closer and lightly pressed his lips to mine. He pulled back and bit his lip. “The right move for me is to go wherever you go.”

  My heart fluttered.

  Bronx brushed his lips against mine. He moved his mouth across my cheek, stopping at my ear.

  “I wish it were us in that back room,” Bronx said.

  I closed my eyes at the need that filled his voice. It was too much to hear. I wanted him so bad and I knew he wanted me too, but there was absolutely nothing that we could do about it. It was torture. Absolute, utter torture.

  Chapter 12

  It wasn’t quite morning when I woke, but the light outside the big window indicated that it would be soon. Tom and Nina were at the windows while everyone else was still sleeping.

  I didn’t move. I didn’t want them to know I was awake because they were talking.

  “Yeah, they said it last night,” Tom said so quietly I could barely make out the words. “They’re leaving.”

  “Well, we can just keep going,” Nina said. “We’ll move quicker without them.”

  Tom was shaking his head. “Maybe I didn’t think this through.”

  “What are you saying, Tom?”

  “I think maybe we should go with them,” Tom said. “If we can convince them there isn’t anything out there, that’ll be three more people to help us rebuild. We just need to play along for the time being.”

  Nina was shaking her head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You know we’ll have it good at my parents.”

  “You don’t know that.” Tom looked out the window. “They probably won’t even let us in. You know how they feel about me.”

  Nina placed her finger over her lips when someone shifted their weight. They waited a long while before talking about.

  “I don’t know, Tom. It’s better for Milo to find somewhere we can stay for a while,” Nina said.

  “And he will. When we rebuild our own place again. You want him to be with us, don’t you? Safe? Protected?”

  “Of course, I do, Tom, but my parent's place will provide that too.”

  Tom snorted. “Except for the being with me part. I don’t want them in charge… controlling us. Controlling you again.”

  There was a long pause before Nina shook her head.

  “You know I’ll do whatever you think is best,” Nina said.

  “Good. We’ll tell them we thought about it and we’re all going to Winnipeg.”

  With that, Tom pulled Nina to him and planted a kiss on her lips. Her hands were around his neck and they gave each other a stare that was filled with love.

  Yuck.

  I didn’t get it.

  Nina stepped away and made her way to the back room with Milo. He was awake because I could hear the soft vroom vroom he made with his mouth as he drove his cars.

  It wasn’t long before the others started to wake up. When Nick walked over to the window to take a look outside, Tom told him the news I’d heard him and Nina discussing.

  “Okay,” Nick said. “I thought you guys had a place you wanted to go?”

  “Well,” Tom said crossing his arms, “we do, but it won’t get us out of this mess.”

  “Thought you didn’t believe there was help out there?” I asked walking up to them.

  Tom smirked. “I don’t, but I have a son. What if I’m wrong?”

  “What if it’s a trap and it’s run by your enemies?” I said raising my brow.

  “We’ll be careful about it,” Tom said turning back to the window. “But just in case I’m wrong, we need to check it out. For Milo.”

  “Right,” I said rolling my eyes as I turned away from him. He didn’t see, but even if he had, he would have just laughed.

  Molly stretched her hands over her head before walking over to Tom. She wrapped her arms around her thin body.

  “Hey, Tom,” she said stepping up next to him. “How are you doing?”

  “Fine,” he said looking her up and down as if she were from another planet. “What can I do for you?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going out there to tell the others that I’ll be joining them. Not just me, but all of us,” Molly said.

  Tom turned halfway and grinned at her. “You didn’t hear?”

  “Hear what?” she said narrowing her eyes at him.

  “We’re all going,” Tom said. “You know what?”

  Molly shook her head.

  “I’ll go over there with you to tell our new friends that we’re all interested in taking a trip up north with them,” Tom stood and looked at Nick. He gestured at the chair. “Keep an eye on things for me, would you?”

  “Of course,” Nick said. We were doing that whether or not Tom was in his chair.

  Tom put on a pair of gloves and started picking up the clothing and fabric they’d used to wrap themselves in. He inspected each item, shaking his head as he lifted them.

  “The dust is gone,” Tom said.

  “What do you mean it’s gone?” Molly asked.

  “It’s just gone… it disappeared. Melted?” Tom said clearly surprised.

  Molly cocked her head to the side. “Interesting. This means it won’t be out there forever, right?”

  “Yeah, we’ll just have to wait for it to stop falling,” Tom said lightly touching one of the pieces of fabric to the back of his hand with the bandage on it.

  It was good news except we’d only be safe until the next attack. That was unless we really could find a way to get somewhere that was safe. A place that wasn’t dealing with the constant assaults of weirdness.

  But did that exist? I hated to agree with Tom, in fact, I hated it more than anything, but I didn’t think there was anything out there for us either.

  Molly and Tom carefully stepped out into the falling dust. They took several steps but then stopped.

  “What are they doing?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Nick said.

  Tom reached over and adjusted a piece of fabric near Molly’s ear. She nodded, and they started walking again.

  The spot on the ground where Blair had fallen, had already been covered with new dust. It didn’t look any different from snow, but we all knew it was much different.

  Molly was brave to go out there after what had happened to Blair. There was no way I’d go out there unless, if maybe, the market was on fire. One fire was more than enough. My lungs still hadn’t fully recovered from all the smoke I’d inhaled when I’d been trapped in the fire at my grandma’s house.

  I still couldn’t believe it had happened. My grandma’s house had gone up in flames. I wish I knew what had caused
the fire… really, I guess the only thing it could have been was a candle. I’d been so careful with the candles. We all had been.

  “They’re coming back,” Nick said.

  I looked up and wondered how long I’d been lost in my thoughts. They were already wading their way back to the market through the powder.

  Bronx unlocked the door and my body shook when the bell rang at their entry. They carefully removed their clothing setting each item into a pile in the same spot as last time.

  “It’s all set,” Tom announced. “Soon as this white stuff stops falling from the sky, we’ll be on our way to safety.”

  “Did you meet them?” Nick asked.

  “We did,” Tom said.

  Nick and I exchanged a glance at the lack of information. Molly noticed the look and walked closer us, specifically closer to Nick.

  Molly giggled as she touched Nick’s arm. “They seemed nice. I think you’ll like them.”

  “Were they worried about us?” I asked.

  “No,” Molly said narrowing her eyes at me. “Should they be?”

  I shook my head. “Of course not.” I forced my eyes to stay off of Tom. “But you’d think they’d at least be cautious.”

  “Guess maybe they’ve had it different out there than you have,” Molly said giving Nick a little wink before she walked away. She picked up her box of cereal and started munching noisily.

  “We should pack up our things. There are bags behind the counter, plus the backpack Molly found.” Tom stood and placed his hands on his hips. “Maybe we should check the other house more thoroughly. There’re probably more packs… more things. We need to get ready.”

  “We’re not going to be able to take everything with us,” Nick said.

  Tom frowned. “Of course not. But we should take as much as possible. I need to talk to Nina.”

  He walked away without instructing anyone to take watch. It wasn’t like him and I couldn’t help but smile. I liked seeing him flustered.

  We spent the next several hours being ordered around by Nina and her notebook. She had us putting things in bags and organizing them.

  Blair hadn’t bothered to help, but she was sitting there watching intently. Her eyes narrowed every time Molly walked over to Nick, touching his arm and smiling at him.

  Blair’s hand moved slowly to her injured cheek. Her fingertips gliding down the bandage as she looked away from Nick.

  After we finished packing and organizing, for the time being, we were all exhausted. And hungry.

  “Let me check your wounds,” Nina said taking the first aid kit out of the backpack. “Who wants to go first.”

  Neither Blair nor Tom volunteered, so Nina stood next to Tom and pulled his hand into hers. She removed a corner of the bandage and stared for a moment before replacing it.

  “Is it worse?” Tom asked. He hadn’t even bothered to look for himself.

  “No change,” Nina said. “It just needs more time.”

  Nina knelt down next to Blair and carefully peeled back the medical tape. I didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t help but take a peek.

  Blair’s cheek was a dark shade of red and there were several blisters scattered within the redness. Each one of them varied in size. All of them looking as though they could burst at any moment.

  “Does it hurt?” Nina asked. “I have some medicine if—”

  “I’ll take it,” Blair said without answering the question.

  Nina nodded and quickly returned with some water and something tucked into her fist. She opened her hand and Blair grabbed the pills, popping them into her mouth. Blair closed her eyes as she swallowed them down.

  Everyone walked back to their posts, Nick stood at the window even though it was too dark outside to see more than a few feet due to the dim moonlight.

  “Gwen,” Blair whispered gesturing for me to go to her.

  I looked over my shoulder as if there might be someone else with my name in the room. “Yeah?”

  She curled her finger for me to move even closer. I crouched down next to her, pressing my lips together.

  “You saw it, right?”

  I swallowed hard. I wanted to lie. “Yeah.”

  “It was bad wasn’t it?”

  Again, I wanted to lie.

  “It was very red and blistered,” I said. “It just needs more time.”

  Blair shook her head. “I don’t have time.”

  Her eyes darted over to Nick. He looked in our direction for a split second.

  “He said he’s trying, but you keep telling him to leave you alone,” I said.

  She lowered her head. “He tried twice. That was it.” Blair turned to me. Her eyes red and filled with sadness. “He doesn’t understand what I’m dealing with. Guys like him don’t like disfigured girls.”

  “Blair,” I said feeling her sadness in my bones. “It’ll heal. You’re not disfigured.”

  “Even if it does, I’m currently hideous.” Blair sighed. “You know, those pills are making me feel tired.”

  She turned away from me and laid down. I wanted to tell her that it was going to be okay, but I could tell she didn’t want to hear it.

  I had to talk to Nick. He needed to know what was going on in her head. It wasn’t like I’d be breaking her trust or anything. She hadn’t told me not to say anything.

  Chapter 13

  I chewed my lip as I wrapped my arms around my chilly body. Nick was on watch and everyone was asleep.

  “Hey,” I said softly as I approached him from the side.

  He turned quickly as if he’d been in thought and I’d surprised him. “Everything okay?”

  His eyes darted around the dark room. I nodded.

  “Yeah, yeah, everything is fine, I just… wanted to talk to you,” I said wincing slightly at the bitter taste in my mouth.

  “You want to talk to me?” Nick asked curling his lips at one end. “That’s new. Not complaining, just noting it.”

  “It’s about Blair,” I said and the smile instantly vanished from his face.

  He held up his palm. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “You really need to talk to her,” I said feeling the tension in my brow. “She needs you now.”

  “There’s nothing I can do for her. She wants space.” Nick turned away from me.

  “She’s in a really bad place. She needs to be reminded of how you feel about her.”

  Nick snorted and refused to meet my eyes. “We weren’t anything.”

  “Really, Nick? Are you sure she knew that?” I said trying hard to keep my voice down.

  “She needs you, Nick,” I pleaded.

  “Suddenly you’re an expert on what Blair needs?” Nick asked sharply.

  I took a step back, holding my palms up. “Fine. Have it your way.” I leaned forward. “But if I were you, I’d cool it with the new girl.”

  “What?” Nick chuckled.

  “Oh, please,” I said matching his laugh. “I know you aren’t stupid. Especially, when it comes to women flirting with you.”

  “There isn’t anything I can do to stop women from flirting with me,” Nick said raising his brow.

  I shook my head. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

  It looked as though my words had been like a fist to his gut. But it didn’t last long before fire filled his eyes.

  “Is that all?” Nick asked. “I’m kind of busy here. Don’t really need my sister telling me how to handle my life.”

  “Yeah, that’s all. Hopefully, my words will sink in before you screw things up too badly,” I said turning on my heel.

  I heard him blow out a puff of air as I walked away. After I lowered myself to the ground next to Bronx, he slid his arm around my stomach and pulled me closer.

  “What was that all about?” he whispered into my ear.

  “Nothing.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “It was just me trying to talk sense into someone that is incapable of hearing it.

  “He’ll figure it out,” Bronx said
.

  I shook my head although it didn’t move much. “He won’t.”

  “There isn’t anything you can do about it either way,” Bronx said kissing the back of my neck. “But I like that you tried.”

  “Why do you like that?” I asked narrowing my eyes even though he couldn’t see me.

  “Because it means you care,” Bronx said. “I like that you care about people.”

  My jaw tightened. “I should have known better. This is how he is… how he’s always been.”

  “They’ll figure it out,” Bronx said snuggling closer. I could tell by his breathing he was about to fall back asleep.

  I laid there staring into the blackness the rest of the night with steam coming out of my ears as I replayed my conversation with Nick over and over.

  I had pulled one of the blankets we’d packed out of the bag and wrapped it around my shoulders as I sat at watch. Tom would probably comment about not taking things out of our supplies but I’d been so cold I didn’t even care.

  I’d slept on and off before my shift, but my dreams had been filled with old memories of Nick. And none of them were the good ones from our childhood. The drugs. The women. The horrible way he’d treated us.

  It was awful but the dreams, rather nightmares, had made me angry at him all over again. I tried to remind myself how lucky I was to be with my brother but it didn’t do any good. Everything from the past had resurfaced and I wasn’t sure how to stuff it back down.

  The sun was starting to come up, but I didn’t feel any warmer. Even though the white flakes falling from the sky weren’t snow, they still made the air feel cold to me.

  As the world around started to get lighter, I noticed the flakes weren’t falling as much as they had been. The poisonous powder had turned into light flurries. I didn’t want to get excited, but it seemed as though it was going to stop soon.

  I turned around wanting to tell someone, but everyone was still asleep. Nick hadn’t slept next to Blair, instead, he was in a random spot on the floor, his hands folded behind his head.