I couldn’t stop the tear that leaked out of the corner of my eye and rolled down my cheek. He knew it, just as well as I did that he wasn’t going to make it.
I’d seen both my parents die, and I recognized the signs. There wasn’t anything we could do to save him.
If we managed to get the arrow out, he’d bleed to death. Maybe it would be quicker, but getting the arrow out would cause him tremendous amounts of pain. It would be torture.
Eli was the one dying, he should get to choose how he wanted to leave this world. His eyes stayed closed longer and longer with each blink. He was struggling to take in each one of his breaths.
“Hey,” Eli said forcing a half-smile, “it’s OK.
More tears leaked out of my eyes. Logan’s head was down. I knew him, and Eli had been close.
Eli’s eyes were on Logan, but Logan’s were focused on his knees as his shouldered bobbed up and down. It seemed to take a lot of effort, but Eli placed his hand on top of Logan’s.
“This hurts like hell…,” he drew in a sharp breath, “I… I can't do it. I have to go.”
My hand shook as I moved it to cover my mouth. Watching someone die was something that never got easier.
“I love you, man,” Logan said, and I saw Eli tap his fingers on Logan’s hand three times before they stopped moving.
His whole body had stopped. He was gone.
I pulled out my knife and sawed away at the arrow. Logan reached out his hand to stop me, but Shawn pulled him back. The second Logan realized what I was doing his head dropped.
Once I had the arrow off, I covered him with one of the blankets. There wasn’t anything I could say to Logan. I stood next to him and placed my hand on his shoulder for a moment before stepping away.
I sat by the window and watched for Ryder while the tears streamed down my cheeks. The snow was letting up, but still, there was no sign of Ryder or Charlie.
For all I knew, he was out there with an arrow in his chest just like the one Eli had. Only there wasn't anyone out there to carry him back.
Logan sat opposite the fire with his head down. He was like a statue. I don’t think he’d moved since I’d covered Eli.
The snow had almost completely stopped, but the sun was falling down toward the horizon. If Ryder didn’t make it back soon, he probably wouldn’t be coming back at all.
I wanted to be angry he’d left, but he’d known Charlie all his life. He’d probably even known how she’d felt about him, even if he had ignored it. It wasn’t like I’d wanted her to get hurt, and I was sure Ryder hadn’t either.
“Anything?” Shawn said stepping up behind me.
I shook my head and sniffed. “Nothing.”
“He’ll be back,” Shawn said, but he was only trying to make me feel better. “The fire’s dying. Think I should try to collect some wood?”
“Hmm,” I said, chewing on my fingernail. “Maybe give it a little longer.”
Logan stood up and left the room. Moments later we heard the pounding.
It wasn’t long before the fire was going again, and Logan slumped back down onto the floor in the same spot. Shawn paced behind me.
“What are we going to do if they don’t come back,” Shawn asked, stopping directly at my back where I couldn't see him.
“I don’t know,” I said glancing at Logan. He wasn’t about to offer advice.
“Should we go out looking for them?” Shawn asked.
I shook my head. “That would just end with all of us getting lost or killed. We should wait… at least for now.”
“Agreed,” Shawn said, lightly placing his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I wish I knew what to say, or do for you. Both of you.”
I nodded and turned away.
“Can I make you guys something to eat?” Shawn asked. Neither of us answered. I didn’t think I could eat when my stomach was in knots. “I’ll make something.”
Through the corner of my eye, I watched him pull on his jacket. His arm had healed rather quickly. I could tell by his slow movements it wasn’t back to full usage, but it was significantly better than when we’d found him.
Eli had been the one to help me patch Shawn up. And Shawn and I hadn't been able to do the same for him.
The second Shawn stepped outside, I started crying again. I tried to keep quiet since losing Eli was Logan’s loss. I’d barely even known him. Logan was hurting, not that he'd ever say so. I wished I could take the pain away, but I knew that I couldn’t. Nothing could.
The door burst open, and Shawn was standing there without the meat. He was breathing heavily. “They’re back. They’re almost back. I’m going to help. I’ll be right back.”
The door slammed shut, and I stood up. I walked to the door and opened it to see if I could see them. The cold air blasted me in the face so hard I had to step back. The wind was so cold it felt as though I’d been instantly frozen.
I shivered and closed the door. Before I could even grab my jacket, the door burst open again. Snow drifted in with Shawn as he stepped inside with his arm around Charlie. I sucked in the frigid air sharply when I saw Ryder on her other side.
I exhaled and took in another breath as though I was learning how to breathe for the first time. It pinched my lungs, but I breathed… and breathed.
He didn’t know about Eli. Neither did Charlie.
Ryder's eyes scanned the room as if he was taking attendance. When his eyes stopped on the blanket covered body, he dropped to his knees.
22
Shawn and I moved Eli’s body behind the house. We discussed it briefly, and everyone agreed it would be best to take him outside. After we covered him with snow, we waited outside for as long as we could to give Ryder, Logan, and Charlie some time alone.
When we got back inside, they were sitting in silence. It hadn’t seemed as though they’d talked at all since we’d left, but then again, maybe they had just run out of things to talk about.
I sat down next to Ryder and put my arm around his waist. He rested his head against my shoulder for a second before popping it back up again.
“I should have been here,” Ryder said. “Maybe I could have—”
“There wasn’t anything anyone could have done,” I said, squeezing him a little tighter. “He was in a lot of pain.”
Ryder sniffed hard and nodded. “I could have at least tried.”
“Charlie wouldn’t be back if you hadn’t gone after her,” I said, but it didn’t seem as though my words had made him feel any better. “What happened out there anyway?”
“Natives,” Ryder said, glancing at Charlie.
I looked at Charlie for maybe the first time since she’d gotten back. She was hugging herself. Her eyes were dark, and she looked different. She looked smaller and her skin pale. The spunky girl with a sharp tongue was gone.
She had been different for a while, or at least at it had seemed that way. Charlie had been getting as discouraged as the rest of us, but this was different.
“How did you get her back from them?” I asked. The room was silent except for the crackling fire.
“I cut one… knocked the other out. When I grabbed the third one’s bow, he ran off,” Ryder said, pausing between his words. His eyes quickly shifted towards Charlie and then back down at his hands.
“So they’re still out there?”
Ryder nodded.
“Did they see which way you guys left?”
“I don’t think so,” Ryder said.
I glanced at Shawn, and I could tell by the look on his face that he had noticed something was odd too. It was as though there was something they weren’t telling us.
Charlie was rubbing her wrists, and I could see red cuts similar to the ones Shawn had when we’d found him. “Are you sure they were natives?”
“Well, they didn’t say ‘hello we’re natives,’ but I’m pretty sure. They didn't have tattoos on their necks or faces. Why do you ask?” Ryder said meeting my eyes.
“Her wrist looks like jus
t like Shawn’s when we found him. I guess it doesn’t really mean anything.” I shrugged.
“She was tied,” Ryder whispered, but it hadn’t been quiet enough. His words had apparently aggravated Charlie.
She stood up and glared at me. “They tied me up, pulled my pants down, and did terrible things to me. I can tell you the details if you’d like. And the whole time,” her hands were balled up into tight fists, “they told me how I was going back to their camp, so everyone could have a turn.”
She stepped closer, showing me her blood covered wrist.
“They cut me. They hit me. All in the time I was gone. The only reason I’m alive… hell, I don’t even know why I’m still alive. I wish I wasn't.”
“I’m sorry.” It was all I could say. I wished there had been something, but there wasn’t anything I could do or say to fix what happened.
Charlie sat back down, itching her arm as if something was crawling under her skin. “They told me they’re coming back for me. It was the last thing that gross one shouted before Ryder got me out of there.”
“We have to get out of here,” I said standing up. “Why are we even still here?”
“It’s almost night,” Ryder said. “There were only three of them. There are six of us.”
“What if they’re getting help?” I said almost shouting at him.
He swallowed hard. He was struggling with all the same things I was questioning. It wasn’t like he had the answers… Ryder didn’t know what to do either.
“The temperature is dropping fast. I don’t think they’ll be coming,” he said.
“That’s when they will come! When we least expect it!” I screeched.
Shawn placed his hand on my shoulder in an attempted to calm me down. I shrugged him off.
“I’m right!” I said. “We have to get her out of here!”
Logan stood up and stomped his boot loudly against the floor. My mouth snapped shut. I looked up at him, my heart pounded in my chest.
“If we go out there, we’ll all end up like Eli. Is that what you want?” Logan said.
I drew in a deep breath and shook my head. My knees felt weak. I carefully lowered myself to the floor. It felt as though I just couldn’t hold myself up any longer.
How would I have been able to travel in the freezing cold in the darkness? I was completely drained and definitely not thinking straight. It just felt as though we had to do something to protect Charlie. To protect all of us.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured as I rested my head down on my arms. “You’re right.”
“We don’t know who’s right. All we can do is hope it’s the right choice,” Ryder said resting his hand on my knee.
The room fell silent. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened to Charlie. If she hadn't caught me with Ryder, none of it would have happened.
I wanted to know how Ryder found her, but I imagined he’d followed her footprints in the snow. He’d probably gotten very lucky, and then lucky again when the snow let up so that they could find their way back.
We sat there in the dark shivering. Shawn watched out the windows as best as he could. I knew how hard it was to see in the dark. If he saw anyone, it would probably be too late, but of course, I wasn’t going to remind anyone else of that fact.
“Why don’t you try to get some rest,” Ryder said patting my hand.
“OK,” I said, entwining my fingers with his. “Come with me?”
He nodded and laid down next to me. Logan guided Charlie over to the spot on Ryder’s other side. She curled up into a ball, and Logan covered her.
Charlie’s back was to Ryder and I. Her body trembled so much I knew there was no way she could be sleeping. She hadn’t liked me, and I can’t say I was particularly fond of her, but I never would have wanted anything bad to happen to her.
“If I ever see them again… I’ll kill them,” Ryder said, mostly to me. His eyes were unfocused. I could feel his anger rising as he was likely thinking about what he’d seen. “I’ll never forget their faces.”
“They’re probably long gone,” Charlie said as if she was disappointed he couldn’t come through on his promise.
I hoped she was right. I hoped they weren't determined to get her back. They could be hanging around nearby just waiting for an opportunity to take her away.
It wasn’t like they were finding new women to torture on a daily basis. If they wanted her badly enough, they might come back.
I tried to push the thought from my mind, but I couldn’t. I kept visualizing them out there in the darkness, watching us.
I wouldn’t be sleeping. Not tonight.
“We should leave in the morning,” I said resting my head on Ryder’s arm.
“Maybe,” he said. “Go on, close your eyes.”
I looked away so he wouldn’t see me staring into the darkness. I’d be surprised if any of us would actually fall asleep after everything that had happened. But I needed to be ready. I was the one with the gun.
23
The sun was shining. Droplets of water fell off of the icicles that decorated the exterior of the windows.
After we finished off what was left of the wolf, we packed up, which hadn’t taken long. Charlie stood near the door soundlessly rubbing her fingers together.
Logan peered out of the window in the front while Shawn stared out the back.
“All clear?” Ryder asked.
“Clear,” Shawn yelled, and Logan nodded.
“Everyone ready?” Ryder asked, looking first at Charlie and then me.
“Yes,” I said.
Charlie gave a shaky thumbs up.
I closed my eyes as he opened the door, not because of the bright sunlight but because I half-expected to be ambushed. Thankfully, what was in my imagination, hadn't happened.
It was hard to walk through the deep, wet snow, but no one complained. It was melting, and that meant it was getting warmer. No one talked as we plowed our way through, but that seemed to be our new normal.
I couldn’t shake the feeling we were being followed, but it must have been all in my head. There wasn’t a soul in sight. We could see for miles around us… no trees and no buildings, except for the one we were leaving behind.
It was just us, the snow, the sun, and sky. No one could sneak up on us without being seen, but that didn’t help ease my mind.
It was hard leaving behind the house. While it wasn’t safe to stay, it was a roof over our head. If it started snowing again, like it had been, we’d be in major trouble. The house had saved us. What were the odds of that happening again?
We marched through the snow for hours without coming across any living creatures. Maybe everything was dying out. The only tracks in the snow were ours in the snow behind us.
“Anyone need to stop for a rest?” Ryder asked.
Further ahead a small square shaped structure popped into view. It was hard to tell at our distance exactly what kind of building it was, but it appeared to be leaning to the side.
“No,” Charlie said. The snow crunched as she stomped her boot down into the snow.
“OK, we keep going then,” Ryder said when no one else spoke up.
I glanced at Shawn to make sure he was doing OK. It hadn’t been that long ago that he’d been in rough shape.
He flashed me a smile as he moved his legs up and down through the snow. It was hard to believe he was even the same person I’d found lying in the snow, close to death.
Something over his shoulder caught my eye. I tilted my head forward trying to look around him. Shawn squinted before he turned to follow my gaze.
There were black dots peppering the distant sky. I wasn’t sure if they were the same big black birds we’d encountered or if they were different, but there seemed to be more of them. They’d gathered reinforcements.
Either way, I knew what they were capable of. Any amount of them were too many as far as I was concerned.
“I don’t think they see us,” Shawn said, and Ryder cranked his
head to see what he was talking about.
“Shit,” Ryder said, reaching out towards Charlie for her club. Her face was tilted down. She must have been deeply lost in her thoughts because it didn’t even seem as though she’d noticed anything was going on.
“It doesn't seem like they are coming this way,” I said watching them as they got smaller and smaller.
It didn’t take long before I couldn’t even see the little dots in the sky. I was glad they hadn’t come our way because none of us were in any condition to deal with the birds. Shawn and Charlie both still had their bandages from the last bird confrontation.
As we approached the decrepit slanted shack, we walked by cautiously. The area was empty, but there was a circular area where the snow had been melted away. It looked as though there had been a fire burning there, not that long ago.
Ryder pulled off his glove and stuck his finger into the black ash in the middle of the circle. He stared at his fingers while he rubbed them together.
“It’s cold,” he said.
“They would be in minutes at this temperature,” Shawn said, his eyes on the shack. The door creaked as it swayed back and forth slightly.
Logan’s pink fingers wrapped around the handle of his knife, and he pushed the door open. His head moved as he scanned the space inside. “There’s some wood piled up. Otherwise, it’s empty.”
“Should we take some?” I asked wondering how much I could fit in my backpack.
Ryder and I each stuffed a log into our packs. “Too heavy?” Ryder asked as he pulled on his pack. “Logan could—”
“It’s fine,” I said with a smile. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Logan with my things, I did, but I felt more comfortable carrying it myself.
“Let’s get out of here then,” Ryder said. “In case whoever was here comes back.”
We didn’t delay to move out of the area, but we weren’t more than twenty feet away from the shack when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Or at least I thought I had.
I tugged at Ryder’s jacket sleeve, but when I tried to focus on where I’d see something, there wasn’t anything there. Perhaps it had just been my imagination.
Ravaged Land: Divided Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Books 1-3 Page 13