After Today (The After Series Book 1)

by Jacqueline Hayley

  “I need to stop, Jake. I can’t keep going.” She was choking on sobs, and breathing behind the face mask was difficult.

  Turning, he put both hands on her shoulders and stared down at her. She blinked wet eyes, focusing on the tawny hazel depths of his that were highlighted by the headlights stretching out behind them. They were pretty, if you could call a man’s eyes pretty.

  When did Jake become a man?

  “Mac, focus.” He gave her shoulders a gentle shake. “You’re strong. Stronger than you think you are. And we need to keep moving.”

  “How much farther?” She whimpered. She was tired. So damn tired.

  She just wanted this day to be over.

  “The accident is just up ahead. It looks bad, so just concentrate on following me and try not to look, okay?”

  Mac nodded mutely and they continued on, ignoring the coughing car occupants they were passing. She tried to overlook the occasional slumped passenger.

  They were sleeping. Not dead. Definitely not dead.

  Trudging onwards, her over-loaded mind wandered, attempting to forget the horrors the day had unfolded.

  It was funny Jake had mentioned that time she’d sprained her ankle because it was the first, and only, time she’d noticed him as anything other than Chloe’s little brother. She hadn’t seen much of him that summer, which made his growth spurt even more obvious. Suddenly he was taller than her, his voice was lower, and although still gangly, the breadth of his shoulders hinted at the man he was about to become.

  Yeah, she’d noticed him all right. And then Jason Aldrich had done a dive-bomb and reclaimed her attention and, two weeks later, they were going steady—all weird thoughts of Jake forgotten.

  The urge to pee brought her back to the present. The closer she and Jake came to the accident, the less light there was because most vehicles had turned off their engines and headlights. Mac couldn’t see beyond the wreckage of metal that was blocking the road. It looked like a semi-trailer truck had lost control, and several cars had become collateral.

  “Do you think there’s a rest stop ahead? I really need to use the bathroom.”

  Before he could answer, a gunshot rang out. Gasping, she ducked behind a minivan with Jake throwing an arm over her head, urging her lower to the ground.

  “Jesus Christ,” he mumbled as another shot rang out. “It’s coming from behind us.”

  Blood was pounding so loudly in her ears that Mackenzie found it difficult to hear anything with the panic that was coursing through her. She wanted to crawl into the van, put her hands over her ears, and pretend this wasn’t happening.

  She started fumbling for the rear door handle of the vehicle, but she was shaking so badly she couldn’t get a proper hold. Seeing what she was doing, Jake brushed her away and tried to open it, but found it locked.

  “Come on.” He grabbed her hand as they skirted the side of the van and approached the woman sitting in the driver’s seat.

  “Let us in!” Jake called, rapping softly on the window.

  The woman shook her head, her eyes sad. A stream of blood was coming from her nose and it started gushing as coughing racked her body.

  Mackenzie looked at Jake in despair. “She’s infected, isn’t she?”

  He nodded grimly.

  A pounding of feet on asphalt had them swinging around to face an oncoming tide of people, looking as though they were running for their lives.

  “Fuck! Mac, come on!” Jake pushed her ahead of him. “Run!”

  Adrenaline forced her bone-weary body into a sprint, Jake’s hot breath inches behind. Screaming and more gunshots filled the air, competing with the relentless car horns. She slowed as they came abreast of the accident, but Jake shoved her roughly between the shoulder blades.

  “Keep going. Run, Mac, run!”

  She dodged an open door, and then suddenly the road was clear before them. The darkness ahead was complete, and Mackenzie’s chest was heaving as she gulped for air.

  Tiredness rushed back through her and she faltered, her chest tight. She tore at the inhaler in her backpack and sucked it with desperation.

  Jake unslung the bag from his shoulder and pulled out the flashlight, switching it on and aiming it down the highway that stretched before them. Behind them, the wave of hysterical people also slowed as they hit the darkness beyond the wreckage of the accident.

  “What were they running from?” She huffed, bending at the waist to ease a stitch in her side. She hadn’t been kidding about being unfit.

  “I don’t know, but I think we need to get as far ahead of them as we can,” Jake said grimly, walking forward.

  Mackenzie was dizzy with dismay.

  “Can’t we rest?” she asked.

  “The highway opens up ahead, we’ll be able to get off and find refuge in a field.” Jake stopped, waiting for Mackenzie to catch up.

  “Want me to carry your backpack?” he asked, concern lacing his tone.

  It was hard not to succumb to “damsel in distress” when every step rubbed her raw feet, her shoulders ached with the heavy pack, and she was tired. So tired.

  And oh god, the pressure in her bladder was becoming unbearable.

  “Maybe just for a bit.” She shrugged her backpack off and passed it over, sighing in relief at the immediate lightness on her shoulders.

  Reaching down, he grabbed a hold of her hand and wound their fingers together, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And they started off down the dark highway.

  Mackenzie all but ran for the line of trees bordering the field they’d just entered, the urgent need to relieve her bladder fierce. Ducking behind a bush, she gasped in relief, her lack of dignity the furthest thing from her mind.

  “Don’t wander too far,” Jake called out.

  Mackenzie smirked to herself. She was lucky to have gotten as far as she had. There’d been a very real chance she was going to wet herself. Thank god there were some random tissues tucked into the side pocket of her backpack.

  “What time is it?” she asked Jake, emerging from behind the bush.

  “You really should start wearing a watch,” he said absently. “It’s almost nine o’clock. Let’s try to find somewhere to rest.”

  Mackenzie’s legs wobbled, but she obediently followed Jake as he made for an outcropping of large rocks.

  “This is a hell of an introduction to camping,” she said as they settled with their backs against a large, smooth rock, facing out over the moonlit field.

  “You girls used to set up tents in our backyard all the time,” countered Jake.

  “Yeah. But we were never brave enough to actually sleep in them.”

  “You didn’t happen to pack a sleeping bag in that backpack, did you?”

  “Do I look like someone who owns a sleeping bag?”

  His expression turned thoughtful. “You know, we passed a turnoff for a town, Essex, which should only be a couple of miles away. I’m pretty sure it’s big enough that it would have a hiking store and it’s our best bet to finding a car, too.”

  “We’re not going to need hiking stuff after tonight, though. We’re only a couple of hours from Sanford,” she argued.

  “We have old Mr. Murphey’s hardware store, but nowhere in Sanford that sells a good range of gear. It can’t hurt to be prepared.”

  “Prepared for what?”

  “For anything.”

  Mac drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. “Like a bug-out bag? Because I hate to tell you, we’re already bugging out.”

  The October days, although mild, still turned chilly when the sun set. Shivering, she rummaged through her backpack for a jacket.

  “Any chance you have one in there that would fit me?” Jake asked.

  “Peter wasn’t the kind of boyfriend who left clothing at my place. Which is a good thing, because I don’t need reminders of what a cheating jerk he is.”

  “He cheated on you?” Jake growled.

  “Yeah. With his wife.”
Looking back, she had a track record of dirtbag boyfriends.

  “You’ve always dated dirtbags,” Jake casually told her.

  Huh.

  “Look, a soul mate would be great. But at this stage I'd be happy to settle for someone who doesn't lie about being married, you know?”

  “Come here, Mac. Keep me warm and try to get some sleep,” Jake said, pulling her back against his chest. She relaxed, bracketed by his legs, and closed gritty eyes.

  “Are you cold?” she murmured.

  “Not anymore.”

  Jake jerked out of his doze, tensing around the sleeping woman in his arms.

  Mac. Jesus Christ, I’m holding Mac.

  His ass and lower back were numb after hours of sitting on the cold, hard ground. But there wasn’t a chance in hell he was moving. Not when the trusting, warm weight of Mackenzie reclined against his chest, and her silky hair—freed from its bun—cascaded over the arms he had wrapped tightly around her.

  He welcomed—hell, he relished—the responsibility he felt for Mackenzie. Even when he dated other women, she was always somewhere in the back of his mind. Now, the instinct to care for her, to protect her, had strengthened to a tangible level. He could feel his dedication to her in the thrumming beat of his heart.

  The sun wasn’t yet visible, but the sky was lighter and birds were calling all around them. In the early morning calm, the events of yesterday had a hard edge of surrealness. But he’d watched enough end-of-the-world movies to know it was those who were prepared that survived.

  And while this may not be the end of the world, he wanted to fully kit the both of them in Essex. He was happy enough to get laughed at when they arrived back in Sanford, when this all sorted itself out.

  If it sorted itself out.

  The woman in the minivan with blood pouring out her nose flashed through his mind.

  Jake’s stomach rumbled, reminding him of their meager food situation. It should be just over a mile to Essex, which he and Mackenzie could walk in half an hour.

  “Wake up, sleeping beauty.”

  She stirred and then snuggled farther into him.

  He fought the urge to dismiss reality, to stay sitting here as long as he could with Mackenzie in his arms. Because he knew that when they reached Sanford, he’d have to share her with Chloe, Kat, and Rachel. And those three were really shit at sharing.

  Jake couldn’t remember a time in his life when the four girls hadn’t been attached at the hip. They had a bond that made them more sisters than friends, and they were fierce in their love for each other.

  Absently, he lowered his head to sniff Mackenzie’s hair for the hundredth time just as she sat up, her skull smacking into his face.

  “Fuck!” he groaned, throwing his head back and pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, pain spearing through him.

  “Oh god, I’m so sorry!” Mackenzie twisted in his lap to face him, her thighs straddling him.

  He groaned again, nose forgotten.

  He needed to get her off before she realized she was sitting on one hell of a boner.

  Before he could displace her, a gush of blood had him yanking up his shirt and holding it against his face.

  She moved closer, bringing her own hands to cover his.

  “Are you okay?” she asked softly, eyes wide.

  “Just a bloody nose. I’ll be fine,” he mumbled, excruciatingly aware of the juncture of her thighs nestled over his throbbing cock.

  Jake knew the exact moment she comprehended his predicament. Those wide eyes blinked, and she audibly drew in a breath.

  “Oh. Oh, okay.” She stumbled to her feet and turned to face away from him, tugging the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands.

  “Can you pass me the water that’s in your backpack?” he asked, getting to his feet slowly. “This has already stopped bleeding.”

  She passed it to him without meeting his eyes.

  “Don’t get weird on me. It’s just an erection. Happens most mornings.” He grinned.

  “No. Nope, not going there.”

  “It’s a normal bodily function.”

  “Jake, stop! We are not talking about your dick.”

  “You just did.”

  She huffed and stalked toward the bushes she’d used last night. Laughing softly to himself, he rummaged through their food supplies and put together a passable breakfast of tomatoes, cheese and a bread roll he split into two.

  Mackenzie came back, talking to herself.

  “What’s up?”

  “Yesterday’s eyeliner can be today’s smoky eye if you believe in yourself enough,” she said. “And if there’s no mirror around to contradict you.”

  He wasn’t sure what to say to that.

  “Don’t say anything,” she instructed.

  “Babe, this conversation is above my friendship paygrade.”

  “And again with the babe.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  Instead of answering, she sat beside him and started eating.

  He grinned again.

  Jake and Mackenzie had been walking for just over twenty minutes and, even with the Band-Aids she’d reapplied, Mackenzie was struggling.

  “Want a piggyback?” he offered, only half joking. He’d carry this woman all the way to Sanford. Not that she’d take him up on his suggestion.

  “I’m fine,” she answered primly, attempting to cover her limping.

  They reached a sign showing Essex was not far off, and a car passed them. Jake hitched out his thumb but was unsurprised when it didn’t even slow down. The lack of people was unsettling. Had everyone locked themselves inside?

  Or was everyone dead?

  Jake shook his head resolutely. There’s no way this thing had spread that quickly. And if this virus had wiped other countries out, they’d have heard on the news. Right?

  Ahead, he could see the fields giving way to industrial-looking buildings.

  “I think if we cut through this field and head north, we’ll end up near the center of town and bypass the outskirts,” he said, shading his eyes.

  “North, huh? Sometimes I wonder what happened to the people who asked me for directions.”

  “You what?”

  “Talking about north, south, east and west is like a foreign language to me. I need you to say left and right, and then give me landmarks. Like, I’ll tell someone they need to follow the street until they pass the bakery, and then turn left at the boutique that has the yellow dress in the window.”

  “The way your brain works never ceases to amaze me.”

  “Just me, being as indispensable as always.” There was something about the lilt in Mackenzie’s voice that made him pause.

  “You’re one of the smartest people I know, you know that, right?”

  “Yeah, sure I am,” she scoffed.

  “It wasn’t your dad paying your way through college, or some miraculous inheritance that covered your education. You got two scholarships, Mac. And now you’re a kick-ass environmental lawyer.”

  She didn’t respond, but from the tinge of pink to her high cheekbones, he knew she’d heard him.

  They crossed the open expanse in easy silence and skirted a high school football field before cresting a small rise and seeing the sprawling grounds of the Essex Memorial Hospital spread before them.

  “Oh, wow,” Mackenzie said, stopping and leaning in against his side.

  The grounds looked like an airport parking lot, with vehicles covering every spare inch. Stationary cars were clogging the road into the hospital and spilled back out onto the main road. People were abandoning their cars and heading on foot toward the ER, even though a white bedsheet hung across the entrance with the words “We Can’t Help. Go Home!” spray painted on it.

  There was a growing crowd in front of the closed doors, and it didn’t appear they were letting anyone enter.

  “Why aren’t they helping?” Jake asked in frustration.

  “Maybe they can’t do anything. If the
re was a cure for this thing, then they’d be handing it out. And maybe the hospital staff is sick, too. If everyone in there is contagious, they’re going to want to quarantine themselves.”

  “Everyone should quarantine, otherwise it’s just going to keep spreading,” he agreed.

  “All these people…” Mackenzie squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to see them. I don’t want them to be sick. I don’t want to get sick.”

  “We are not getting sick, Mac. We’re going to be fine. We just have to steer clear of contact with anyone and get back to Sanford.”

  Mackenzie seemed to have shrunk into herself, and she couldn’t tear her eyes from the scene before them. He refused to let anything, even reality, stop them from getting home.

  Holding her elbow, Jake marched them away and across to the main road, dodging a woman assisting an elderly man who was coughing blood into his hands.

  He couldn’t take much more of watching Mackenzie limp along. It was killing him to see her in pain. The road ahead was crammed with empty vehicles, and he made his decision. “We’re going to take one of these cars.”

  “If this virus is airborne, then these vehicles have probably just had infected people in them. We can’t risk it,” Mackenzie said.

  He spun her toward him, forcing her to stop. “Enough. I know you’re trying to suck it up, but your feet are really hurting. I can’t keep walking past vehicles, watching you suffer.”

  “Remember I told you about the West Northern case? They knew nothing about this virus, how it’s carried, how long people are contagious for. We have to be careful.”

  Her eyes were wet with unshed tears.

  Pulling her against his chest, Jake propped his chin on the top of her head, knowing he’d do anything for her. Anything except risk her life.

  “You’re right. That row of houses down the block have vehicles in their driveways. We’ll take one of them. Someone carrying the virus could’ve been driving them, but at least they’re not parked on their way to the hospital.”

  “We’re just going to take someone’s car?” She snuffled into the front of his shirt.