The Roar (The Roar Series Book 1)

by A. M. White

  She dabbed some of the medicine on the wound. Timothy held my hand and rubbed my calf. They both appeared to be genuinely concerned.

  “Listen, this is a distraction, but don’t think you are off the hook. You both have a lot of explaining to do,” I stated.

  “We will have time for that when we get to the river,” Timothy reckoned.

  He swept me into his arms and carried me, with Cara at his side. His strides were long and even. Despite everything, I felt safe there in his arms. If this thing in my leg could stop people from dying, we had to get to the coast.

  The glimmer of hope that someone I knew was waiting for me was diminishing. My heart tightened at the thought. I held Timothy’s jacket in my fist. I needed to be comforted.

  He bowed his head to me in his arms. “We will get through this,” he reassured. His black eyes pierced through mine.

  Timothy had said on more than one occasion that he would make sure I made it. He was convincing. I had proof that he needed me, but did he want me? I pushed that out of my mind, once more. It was illogical and a waste of time. I needed to survive; nothing else mattered.

  “I’m scared,” I admitted.

  “I am too,” he confessed.

  “Me too,” Cara chimed in, “but if we weren’t I’d question our sanity.” She picked a leaf from a tree and dissected it.

  “Tell me something good,” I muttered to them.

  “Oh, wait until you see the ocean. When I saw it for the first time, it brought me to tears,” Cara exclaimed. I never knew it would be so beautiful, so immense.”

  Timothy chuckled, “She wouldn’t leave the beach that first day. She ran along the shore like a child. I loved it too, running the sand between my toes. It was nothing like anything I had experienced.” He shook his head, “We were both sunburned beyond belief. Our skin eventually, got used to the sun but I’ll never forget that pain.”

  “My skin blistered. I thought it was going to shed down to my bones,” she reminisced. “Thank goodness, there had been UV lights underground or I’m sure I would have died from sun poisoning. It was worth it, though; I’d never been happier than that first day at the beach.”

  I recalled my own trips to the ocean, my family playing in the sand, collecting shells at the water’s edge, the waves rolling on the shore, and the warmth of the sun upon my skin. I’d even liked the way the salt clung to everything; the taste of it on my mouth. I wanted to be there with all my heart.

  Deep in those memories, we continued in silence. I wondered if we could have a day like that together when we arrived. It would be heaven on earth to put everything behind me and just enjoy being alive for a day.

  We made good ground and stopped to rest beside a creek. I had the baggy of dried meat to share for lunch. Timothy refilled our water bladders and massaged his arms from carrying me. I insisted that I felt better and would walk from here. I hated being a burden.

  I splashed cold water from the creek on my face. It stung my face and hands. I lay flat to watch the tree limbs sway in the breeze above. The sound of the nettles rustling was calming.

  Timothy was the first to get antsy. He wanted to get to the river by nightfall. So, amid grumbling and groans from Cara and I, we started moving.

  I limped along in the beginning. Timothy became concerned and I brushed him off. I sucked up the nagging ache to walk as normal as possible.

  We rounded a corner to find a community left abandoned from the end of the world. It was the first time I had seen what our civilization had become. The houses were large and built of brick. The roofs sagged from years left unattended. Most of them were overgrown by kudzu or other vines. Cars were strewn about in the road, rusting in the elements.

  Timothy snagged me behind a tree. “Usually I avoid going near any remnants of your world like this,” he whispered. “We need to cut close because the river is just past the hills on the other side. There is nothing there for us; do you understand?”

  My eyes were wide at the sight of the ruins. “I didn’t know anything had made it through,” I stammered.

  He nodded, “Places like this are out there, but there may be inhabitants. Be quiet and stay hidden.”

  I asked, “What if one of these cars could still run? It might make traveling faster.”

  “The roar took all transportation, remember? Some places stand only because of their distance from the machines. It still wiped out all electronics and engines. There is nothing of use to us here. It has been ransacked by our people taking what could be used.” He took off his jacket and stuffed it into the bag.

  I closed my eyes. I didn’t think I’d ever see a house or cars again. The urge to investigate subsided. If this made Timothy nervous, it had to be worth listening to him.

  Cara took the lead. Timothy kept an eye on the houses as he moved from shadow to tree. I trailed behind him, following his steps.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I saw a curtain in one of the house windows sway. I paused and motioned for them to do the same. I held my breath as I peeked around the tree. It may have been the wind blowing through a shattered window. I waved at them to proceed.

  “Who’s there?” a voice called. A shotgun cocked.

  Cara glared at me. Timothy shook his head with his finger on his lips to quiet us. I lowered myself to a squatting position. There were bushes that I could look through without being seen.

  There was a man standing on a deck of one of the houses. He held a shotgun pointed in our direction.

  “I will shoot you dead if you come any closer, I swear!” He yelled.

  Timothy looked weary. He raised his hands and stepped out from behind the tree. He kept his head low, to hide his eyes.

  “Sir, we’re just passing by. I’m sorry if we alarmed you, but I promise we aren’t looking for trouble,” he shouted.

  “Yeah, I heard that before,” the man accused.

  “Sir, we are going to the river. We don’t mean any harm,” Timothy said.

  “How many of you are there?” The man lowered his gun.

  “Only three of us, me and two girls,” Timothy announced.

  “Are you armed?” The man yelled.

  “Only to protect ourselves,” Timothy stated.

  “Make your people come out. I want to see them,” the man waved to the door and a guy about our age came onto the deck with a gun aimed at Timothy.

  Timothy took a chance and motioned for us to join him. “Both of you stay behind me,” he whispered.

  Cara and I approached Timothy, staying in his shadow. The man relaxed in his stance. He and the boy talked in hushed voices.

  They came to an agreement of what to do with us. “You told the truth about your companions being girls. I suppose you probably told the truth about your weapons. I’m going to allow you to pass, but we will have our sights on you are all times. My son and I won’t hesitate to kill you if you try anything,” he hollered.

  Timothy made sure to put himself between the house, Cara, and me. His hand brushed mine and I slipped my fingers around his. I took Cara’s hand in my other and we walked past the houses. I was sure that the guns were still pointed at our backs; it seemed that Timothy had made the right choice in revealing us to them.

  Soon the crumbling road lay before us. I let go of them. Our boots clanked upon the concrete. My eyes continued to scan the houses for more movement.

  “Hey, wait up,” someone called out behind us. A young man ran toward us.

  I wielded my knife around. Timothy pulled Cara’s knife. It was the boy. He trotted along the road, his hands raised in peace. His gun was holstered. I brought the knife to my side. Timothy and Cara lowered their heads, to not give away that they were moles.

  “Wait, please. I haven’t seen anyone else but my Dad and our people in so long,” he sounded desperate, “At least no one that wasn’t trying to kill us.”

  “How do you know we won’t try to kill you,” Timothy growled his head still low, the knife at his side.

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nbsp; “You have on a red jacket, right? It means you are friendly, plus you were going away like my dad asked,” he stated.

  He kept his hands raised. He was cute in a boyish way. His blonde hair long and messy; stubble grew from his chin. His eyes were noteworthy though, they were sparkling blue. They had innocence in them I hadn’t seen in forever.

  “The red jacket didn’t keep you two from threatening us,” Timothy retorted.

  “We have to be careful. You know how people are out here, man,” the guy reasoned. “My name is Max,” he held a hand out to me.

  I took a step forward and took his hand. Timothy and Cara tend protectively. Max shook my hand.

  I blubbered, “Nice to meet you. I’m very sorry but we have to get going.”

  “Max, is everything alright?” His dad called from an open window. “Yeah dad, it’s fine.” Max huffed. “I get the overprotective thing, too.” He winked.

  “We’ve had a rough time, too,” I understood. “My friends have been on the road a long time.”

  “My dad and I were separate in the beginning. He found me though and we’ve been lucky to lay low,” he said sympathetically.

  Cara was growing impatient, “What do you want?”

  Max swayed from her boldness. “Ok, I’ll cut the crap; my sister is sick. I wanted to ask if you guys have any medicine or something that might help her. We found pain killers in a medicine cabinet but that only helps with the pain. I think she needs antibiotics,” he pled.

  I looked back at Cara and Timothy. They were talking under their breaths. Max was wringing his hands.

  “Please, I can’t stand to see her like this. I know you don’t fully trust me. I understand, but if you will show me you have meds, I’ll give you my gun,” he begged.

  “Hold on.” I backed up to Timothy and Cara. “You have to help,” I insisted. “If he will give you his gun, I think we would be ok.”

  Cara eyed me, “How do we know they won’t kill us as soon as he sees what we are?”

  “I’ll handle that part,” I decided.

  They both stared at each other a moment and nodded. “If he makes one move, I’m shooting them and we are getting out of here,” Timothy announced.

  I went back to Max, “We will help, but I have to tell you something first,” I said gently. “You have to promise me that you will hear me out and if you can’t deal with it, we walk.”

  He smiled broadly, “Anything, heck, I’ll even throw in dinner and a warm place to stay if you will help her,” he volunteered.

  “My friends are not like you and me,” I started, “They saved me from the moles. They have been protecting me and guiding me to someone that can stop all of this. Cara and Timothy are like them.”

  His mouth dropped. He eyes darted to each of us.

  “Calm down,” I spoke, “They can help your sister. I have been shot and I swear I was healed in hours.” I pushed back my sleeve to reveal the white mark that was left, “See?”

  He closed his mouth and moved to inspect the scar further. “They saved you?” he squeaked.

  “Yes, a man sliced my back and Timothy’s arm. We both would have died but Cara healed us. She knows what to do,” I reassured him.

  Max stared at our little group in amazement. “I’ll be darned; two dirt devils saved a human.”

  “That’s what we do,” Cara shrugged.

  Max laughed, “I guess it doesn’t matter who saves my little sister but the old man might have some hang ups. Give me a few minutes to talk to him,” Max proposed.

  “You got five minutes then we leave,” Timothy warned.

  Max ran toward the house. We all stood in the road, waiting.

  “What have we gotten ourselves into now?” Timothy complained.

  “Listen, like Cara said, this is what you do. Hopefully, we will get to warm up a bit and have a decent meal,” I persuaded. “This girl might die if you don’t do something.”

  Timothy crossed his arms over his chest. He was not happy with our involvement with these people.

  “Besides,” Cara gulped, “Max is kind of cute.”

  “Of course, you girls want to help him because he’s kind of cute,” Timothy rebuked.

  “Timothy, be nice.” I glared at him.

  “What? I’ve dealt with you two lovebirds this whole way. Get over it,” Cara added.

  Max reappeared from the house. He trotted toward us.

  “My dad isn’t too happy about it but he will keep himself together to save his baby girl,” Max said. “She needs help bad and he knows it.”

  Timothy lifted his head, exposing his eyes. “Is he going to be able to handle seeing this?” Timothy regarded him.

  “Wow,” Max retracted, “That is a little startling.” Max looked me in the face. “I had no idea-,” he trailed off.

  “You’ve never seen one of us?” Cara wondered.

  “No, but it doesn’t matter, like I said. What does matter is that your friend doesn’t seem to want to be bothered with this,” Max responded.

  “He will be ok. He’s just got his feathers ruffled because Cara told him you are cute,” I laughed.

  Both he and Cara blushed. “Kind of, I said. Kind of cute,” she corrected.

  Max smirked, “I’ll take that as a compliment even from a dirt dweller,” he joked harmlessly.

  “Ok, ok, Cara, show him the vials of medicine so I can have the gun,” Timothy instructed.

  Cara opened the bag to show the few bottles she had stuffed in her pockets before jumping from the treehouse. The glance was enough for Max. He disarmed and handed the gun to Timothy.

  Timothy checked the chamber and magazine. It was fully loaded. Timothy approved the barter.

  Cara took her place next to Max. She touched his arm and told him his sister would be alright. Max smiled at her in appreciation.

  Timothy groaned. I took his arm and we walked toward the house. He gave me a nasty look or two as Cara probed about what was wrong with his sister. I caught snippets of their chattering. His sister had a hacking cough and a high fever.

  The Tylenol they found helped to keep the fever down, but her coughing, aches, and sweats had rendered her bedbound. He was genuinely worried for her.

  The brick steps to the front door rocked under our feet. Max entered first; a foyer that was once welcoming, now dull, and solemn opened to us. Cautiously, I stepped inside with Timothy. A living room lay before us. Max waved us inside further. A few huddled bodies were cast about the room. A couple of them belonged to young girls and boys wrapped in blankets, their eyes peeped from them. An old man and woman lay bundled on the couch.

  “Max?” I paused. “Why didn’t you tell us there were more people in here?”

  “I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” he confessed. “None of them are able bodied or can fight. We take care of them.”

  I shook my head at him. “If you want to be trusted, you cannot lie through omission.”

  Timothy pulled me back to the door. “I’m done here,” he announced.

  “Wait! I promise none of them can hurt you. Most of them we found here in the houses starving or unable to survive on their own,” Max panicked.

  Timothy relented seeing the hopeless eyes peering at me from the corners of the room. He looked at my face and saw my silent plead. Timothy’s grip loosened.

  A deep ragged cough echoed from upstairs. Cara turned her head to a stairway to the right of the living room.

  “Is that your sister?” She asked.

  “Yes. Please forgive me. I needed you to see what state we are in. We are trying to save people too,” he went on, “If I told you there were ten people in the house would you have come?”

  “Where’s your father?” Timothy demanded.

  “Upstairs with Lily, he won’t let you work on her if he isn’t there. He needs to see what you are doing. Can you blame him?” Max defended.

  “I guess not,” Cara agreed. “Take me to her.”

  “Is he armed?” Timothy questioned. �
��I don’t want any more surprises.”

  “He is, but so are you. You outnumber us. It would be stupid of him to try anything,” Max reasoned.

  We timidly followed Max. The stairs creaked loudly as we climbed them.

  Lily coughed several more times. Her effort made me wince. Timothy had his hand on the gun at his side, ready for any trick. I held his other hand caressing it with my fingers to soothe his nerves.

  We rounded a doorway to find his sister laid on a bed covered in sheets. She was so small and meek, maybe four years old. Her hair was the same as his, the color of straw, but it stuck to her forehead from sweat. Her eyes were the same blue, but clouded and pink in the whites.

  His sister sat up hacking into a cloth his father held over her face. His dad had thick creases between his eyebrows from concern. He patted her on the back and rubbed her shoulders. Lily’s skin was a sickly color of gray.

  Cara looked over her shoulder at me, eyes wide. I knew Lily was in bad shape. I didn’t need Cara to tell me.

  “How long has she been like this?” Cara directed to Max.

  “She’s been coughing for a month, now. We have been fighting the fever for a couple of weeks,” he revealed.

  Max’s father stood when he saw us. He appeared to be sizing us up.

  Cara introduced herself, “My name is Cara. I am going to see if there is anything I can do to help.”

  Cara moved quickly to Lily’s side. She laid her head on Lily’s chest. She listened intently. Her face fell and turned white. I knew the prognosis wasn’t good.

  Max’s dad moved toward us. He hadn’t looked so big at a distance. I noticed the rag in his hand was covered with thick dark blood. His expression was lost. His eyes were exhausted and swollen from sorrow.

  Cara hugged Lily and backed away. “I need to talk to you in the hall,” she instructed and herded us out of the room. “This is beyond my medicine,” Cara croaked. “She has clots in her lungs.” Her eyes welled with tears.

  “How can you tell with only a second to listen,” Max spoke softly.

  Cara reached for him. “I can hear the rumbling in her lungs when she breathes, her heart is faint, and I can hear the effort of her blood pushing past it,” Cara trembled. “It’s possible she has tuberculosis.”