Point Of Profusion: A Post-Apocalyptic Epidemic Survival (The Morgan Strain Series Book 5)

by Max Lockwood

  “Not really,” Alec said apprehensively. “I guess we’ll figure it out as we go.”

  Bethany quickly shoveled the rest of her food in her mouth and set the dirty dish in the sink. She didn’t bother cleaning up after herself. They would never return to the old farmhouse.

  She left Alec and Elaina to the packing and retreated to the spare room upstairs, where she tucked herself into bed. Peeking out the window, she searched the flat land for any sign of Will, but he was already gone. Probably for the best, Bethany decided. He had a way of getting her into trouble. If Bretton’s army discovered them together, they would not take kindly to the defiant woman who fought them at every turn and the traitor who’d killed their king.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The house was silent, save for the howling wind that whistled though the tiny gaps in the old home. Melissa squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that if she tried hard enough, she could will herself to sleep.

  When she was a child, her mother used to tell her to read a book when she couldn’t sleep, but Melissa didn’t have the strength to hold a flashlight up to the pages to be able to see. Anyway, they had gone through so many sets of batteries that she didn’t want to risk burning out another flashlight.

  Without asking, she had reclaimed the bedroom she had once shared with Bobby Dean. When she pressed her nose to his pillow, she could smell his natural musk, a scent she usually hated in other guys but didn’t seem to mind with Bobby Dean. That must have been a sign that what they had was real, right?

  She flopped from one side to another, looking for the perfect position to finally make her feel comfortable. She flipped her pillow a few times, searching for the cold side that would soothe her aching head.

  Every time she tried to quiet her mind, a troubling thought would enter. Bobby Dean was a frequent visitor, as well as the spine-tingling sound of the gunshot that ended his life. Now, Will’s stupid smirk entered her brain, taunting her. He was a ghost that never ceased to stop haunting her. Wherever she found misfortune, Will was not far behind.

  Melissa jumped at every noise, afraid that Will had lied about leaving town and was actually hiding around the property, waiting to jump out and kill her, once and for all.

  If it weren’t for the dreams that punctuated her periods of wakefulness, Melissa would have assumed she had gone the entire night without drifting off. But the appearance of Bobby Dean meant that she was on a different dimension, if only in her imagination.

  In her sleep, the two cruised down a windy highway in a red Ferrari. Melissa sat in her seat with one hand on the side of the door, the other on Bobby Dean’s thigh. She was a little nervous, but he screamed with delight every time the engine purred.

  Suddenly, the car slowed down and came to a stop on the side of the road. They were suddenly in a white Hummer.

  “What are you doing?” Melissa asked. There was no reason for him to stop the car. They were having such a lovely time and she never wanted it to end.

  “We’re going to give that kid a ride,” he said, pointing out the window.

  The door opened, and Thomas slid into the back seat as if he were being picked up for school.

  “Good to see you two again,” Thomas said brightly. Melissa was suddenly very aware of the location on her hand on Bobby Dean’s body. She slowly pulled it back toward her body, hoping Thomas wouldn’t notice. They hadn’t had any closure with their little fling. She didn’t even get the chance to properly say goodbye to him.

  “Good to see you, too, buddy,” Bobby Dean replied. “How are you feeling?”

  Thomas turned his head to reveal a long pink scar that wound around his skull. His ginger hair was shorn close to his scalp.

  “I’ve got a bit of a headache,” he said casually. “But you don’t have to worry about me getting you sick. I’m just not allowed to get too close to you, just in case.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Bobby Dean smiled. “Do you like working in Safe Haven?”

  Thomas shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. Every day is pretty repetitive and they give me a lot of tasks to do, but at least I get a bed to sleep in and a few meals a day. Because I don’t have a family to take care of me, I live in the group home. The food isn’t as good and our house isn’t as nice as some of the others, but I guess I can’t complain too much.”

  “Is Callum being nice to you?” he asked.

  Thomas bit his lip. “He doesn’t seem to like me very much. He says rude things to me when we pass each other on the street. I think he’s mad that we made things difficult for him.”

  “That’s terrible,” Melissa said. “You don’t deserve that.”

  “I don’t know,” Thomas responded. “Ever since I’ve had the surgery, I’ve had a hard time disagreeing with Callum’s opinions about me.”

  “You don’t have to go back there,” Melissa assured him.

  Thomas frowned. “Where do you think we’re going now?”

  They arrived at the town’s entrance, in front of the guarded gates. A guard opened the door and yanked Thomas out of the vehicle by the wrist.

  “Good to see you, Thomas,” Bobby Dean said, waving to the young man. Thomas turned and looked at the car, a blank expression on his face. He didn’t seem to have any idea where he was or what he was doing. He certainly didn’t recognize Melissa as she waved goodbye.

  “Why did you take him back there?” Melissa asked as they drove down the road.

  “Oh, he can’t stay with us,” he said. “He was just visiting.”

  “Oh,” she replied, accepting his answer.

  “He loves you, you know,” Bobby Dean said matter-of-factly.

  “I don’t know about that,” she replied bashfully.

  “I do. He told me about you guys. Don’t worry,” he added, seeing Melissa’s shock, “he said that you didn’t get very far with him.”

  “The house burned down,” she said softly. “Things went from bad to worse after that.”

  “Do you love him?”

  Melissa paused for a moment to think. She never had the chance to fully address her feelings for Thomas.

  “I don’t think so,” she replied. “Maybe as a friend, but nothing more than that. I like you, now.”

  “I like you, too,” he said, taking her hand into his. They drove along the familiar dirt road, back to the farmhouse they called home. Bobby Dean came to a stop outside the house, and Melissa hopped out of the vehicle. She wanted to ask him to go up to the loft with her so the other two wouldn’t catch onto what they were doing in their private time.

  But Bobby Dean didn’t get out of the car. She turned around to pester him into hurrying up. In his mouth, he had the barrel of a rifle, the metal resting against his bottom teeth. Melissa blinked and the gun went off. She fell straight to her knees, absolutely devastated that Bobby Dean would do such a thing. She screamed a blood-curdling shriek and scrambled back onto her feet, just in case there was the possibility that Bobby Dean was still alive.

  But when she stood up, the car took off and sped down the road, kicking up dust in her face.

  Melissa sat straight up in bed, perspiration soaking her head. She buried her face in her pillow and screamed until her throat was raw. She could not go back to sleep after that. In fact, she didn’t want to try to go back to sleep for fear that she would lose Thomas and Bobby Dean all over again.

  Having nothing else to do but lie in bed and worry about the future, Melissa hopped out of bed and tiptoed her way out into the kitchen to make sure that all of the essentials were packed. Alec and Elaina were typically pretty thorough with predicting what they would need, but they often overlooked the obvious. Besides, Melissa knew the contents of the house better than anyone. If anyone needed to double-check their goods, it should be her.

  She jumped when she saw Bethany sitting alone at the table, her face illuminated by a half-circle of tea lights in front of her. Her long black hair hung like curtains in front of her face.

  “What are you doing up?” Melissa h
issed, stifling the urge to scream.

  “Couldn’t sleep,” she said plainly. “You?”

  “Same,” Melissa said, standing awkwardly in the doorway. She paused, not knowing if she should turn right around and go back upstairs or stand her ground. It was her house, after all, and she was not going to let anyone make her feel like a stranger on the last night there.

  So, she went outside and set the lukewarm kettle back on the coals until steam rose from the spout. When she returned inside, Bethany had not budged. Melissa had hopped that she would use her brief absence from the house to return to her room and save face.

  Bethany cleared her throat. “I think we got off to a bad start. I know that this is partially my fault.”

  Melissa grunted as she dipped the bag of tea into the hot water.

  “I wanted to apologize for how everything went in the school. I don’t know if telling you what I knew about Samantha would have changed anything with Bobby Dean, but I still feel bad.”

  Melissa cringed hearing her say his name. Death tended to bring the best memories to the forefront of one’s mind, but Melissa hadn’t forgotten how he was temporarily enamored by the girl. She could not pretend that Bobby Dean was a saint when he ogled Bethany as he sat in the worn-out recliner.

  “I guess I just wanted to offer you an apology. If you accept it, that’s great. If not, I understand.”

  “Thanks,” Melissa mumbled half-heartedly. She wasn’t sure why she was accepting an apology from Bethany. She didn’t want anything to do with Bethany, let alone have any reason not to hate her.

  “So,” Bethany said, tracing her finger along with table, “what are you going to do? Are you leaving with Alec and Elaina tomorrow, or are you staying at the house?”

  Melissa took a sip. “I’m going with them. We’re going to live like nomads, traveling around so we don’t get caught again. I think it’s the best option.”

  Bethany nodded. “Will asked me to go with him. I couldn’t make a decision and he wanted to leave immediately. He took off right after asking me but said I could still catch up with him if I wanted to.”

  “Ha,” Melissa said dryly. “You’d be out of your mind to spend time with him. Do you know what he did to me?”

  She shook her head.

  “It figures that he would leave that little detail out of the story. He shot me because I shot Natalia. She was in a rage and about to kill him. I saved his life, and he tried to kill me for my help.”

  She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt, exposing the circular scar. Her skin was puckered and pulled, distorted by the way her flesh had healed without medical intervention.

  “It got infected and I nearly died, even though he missed my vital organs. I guess it’s a good thing that he’s bad with a gun. I mean, bad for you if you want him to protect you, but good if he decides that you’ve wronged him.”

  “I didn’t realize that,” Bethany said solemnly.

  “Yeah. You can see why I wasn’t pleased to hear you were a friend of Will’s. It made it all the more suspicious when we realized you weren’t telling the full truth.”

  Bethany played with the wax of a melted candle. “I understand. I had some baggage that I wasn’t proud of, either. I don’t want the world to know that I had something to do with so many deaths of healthy people.”

  “The damage has been done,” Melissa said. “We’ll never know if Bobby Dean could have been saved.”

  Bethany dribbled hot wax on the table, letting the drops harden on her fingers before peeling them off. “I’m starting to think that I would be better off alone. I’d like to be able to travel with others, but it’s just not looking possible. I think it’s best if I leave here in the morning and head a different direction.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right about that,” Melissa said coldly. She was not going to make the mistake of offering kindnesses that could never be given. She wanted Bethany to know that she was not wanted nor needed in their group.

  Bethany smiled curtly, folding her hands in front of her body. She was not going to let Melissa think that her words affected her in any way.

  Melissa drained her cup into the sink and turned on her heel, returning to her bedroom. She was emotionally exhausted and did not want to spend another moment with Bethany. The hot beverage seemed to soothe her considerably, to the point where she thought she would try to sleep again.

  After she heard Melissa close the door, Bethany sat at the table until the remainder of the candles burned out. Then, she flicked on a flashlight and got to work.

  Alec and Elaina had neatly packed several bags with a variety of goods. Two of them held food items, while another contained first-aid supplies, flashlights, and other household items. Being cautious not to make any noise, Bethany quickly sifted through the bags, taking whatever she found useful. The can of instant coffee, plastic cups of fruit in syrup, energy bars, and lightweight bags of beef jerky went into the sturdiest backpack, followed by flashlights, batteries, matches, and a fresh change of clothes. Finally, she stuffed bandages, ointment, antibiotics, and other medications into the front pocket. Bethany kept filling the large backpack until every last square inch of available space was used.

  Then, she tiptoed her way to the gun rack, silently pulling the old hunting rifle off its shelf. She reached into the box of ammunition and stuffed her pocket with shiny brass shells.

  Once she had everything she needed, she crept to the back door, careful to make sure the screen didn’t slam shut behind her. Bethany took a sigh of relief once she made it out of the house without drawing attention to her movements.

  In the barn, she held a flashlight in her teeth and rearranged her goods in the different compartments of the motorcycle. She took a bite out of a protein bar before storing the rest in a leather pouch.

  She walked the bike out to the road, still listening for any sign of movement from inside the house. Bethany couldn’t afford to get caught now and certainly didn’t want a confrontation.

  Perhaps it was out of guilt, but Bethany continued to walk the bike down the road. The vehicle started with an awful roar, which would certainly wake one of the three inhabitants of the house. Bethany knew that no one would be able to catch her if she started the bike right then and there, but she couldn’t handle seeing the looks on their faces or hearing their dismayed shouts when they realized she was stealing from them. Even worse, she shuddered at the thought of hearing their pleas to return it.

  Over the course of the epidemic, Bethany had stolen a great number of things from people—everyone did. However, it was rare for her to take things from decent people. She thought about their disappointed faces when they woke up in the morning and realized that their one good weapon and their single form of transportation were missing, taken from them by the girl who’d previously agreed to accompany them on their journey.

  Then, she put it all behind her. Once she made it to the end of the farm section, she hopped on the bike and let the grumble of the motor silence her worries. She didn’t have time to feel bad for others. Everyone was on their own in the new world, and she couldn’t begin letting sentiment put her in harm’s way. She made her way into town, hoping that Will was still there. If she was going to choose another travel companion, it would have to be Will.

  But if Will had decided to move on, it wouldn’t be of any major consequence to Bethany. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, especially when she had the right resources at her disposal. With a mode of transportation, a good weapon, and all the supplies she could ever need, she was ready to take on the world. She didn’t know where the confidence came from, but she was sure that this time would be different. She wasn’t going to roll over and let anyone capture her. She would fight back.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Melissa was jolted from her sleep by one hand violently shaking her shoulder. She swung a fist but thankfully missed Alec’s injured arm. When she realized who was waking her, she sat straight up and pulled the covers up to h
er neck.

  “Alec!” she squealed. “What the hell?”

  “Where’s Bethany?” he asked, looking around the room as if Melissa had invited her in for a slumber party.

  “I don’t know,” she mumbled sleepily. “Did you check the barn? She likes to hang out in the barn for some weird reason.”

  “We checked,” Alec replied. “I think she’s gone.”

  Melissa raised her eyebrows but pulled the sheets up a fraction of an inch to hide her mouth, just in case it betrayed her by smiling. Their little heart to heart must have worked—Melissa simply told the girl she was not welcome, and she left. With just the three of them left, it would be easier to move from place to place without getting trapped. Three people could easily live comfortably out of a car. They would need less water, less food, and fewer weapons than a group of four. Melissa wasn’t sure why Alec seemed so shocked. It would work out for the best.

  “Do you think she got hurt?” Melissa asked, trying to find a motive for his concern.

  “I don’t know about that,” he replied. “Besides, a gun and a motorcycle would make it a lot easier to survive an ambush.”

  “She doesn’t have either of those things,” Melissa said groggily. She wanted ten more minutes to wake up in peace. She had finally gotten a little much-needed sleep.

  “Melissa,” he said, his voice on the verge of breaking. He nudged the mattress with his knee, trying to shake some sense into her. “You don’t understand. All of the stuff we prepared for our travels is gone.”

  “What?” she yelled, getting out of bed. The two of them walked briskly to the kitchen where they found Elaina pacing back and forth. Her hair looked like it had been pulled in frustration.

  “I did the math,” she said, nodding her head toward the noticeably smaller bags on the kitchen counter. “If we maintain a diet of 1,500 calories a day, then we have enough food to last us four days.”

  “That’s not so bad,” Melissa said. “I guess we can just stock up when we get to the next town.”