“She’s right,” Ryder said keeping his eyes forward. He picked up the pace and walked to the front of the group.
Shawn walked next to me, and Logan and Charlie were several feet in front of us.
Shawn looked over his shoulder.
“What is it?” I asked.
Shawn chuckled. “Aw, nothing. Just a bit paranoid, I guess.”
“About that girl?”
“Yeah. Worried she’ll bring them all back after us. Maybe they’ve come for me.” Shawn hesitated. “Did you see how she looked at me?”
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure what her look had meant. She had looked at me in much the same way.
“If this snow weren’t here, I’d feel a little better,” Shawn said glancing at the path we were leaving behind us. “If only it would melt away. I’m sick of winter.”
I looked up at the sky. The sun was still shining brightly, but there was a big gray cloud making its way toward the sun ready to block it out. Our tracks in the snow weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“Maybe it would be better if it snowed. At least then our tracks would be covered,” I said.
I lowered my gaze noticing that Logan and Charlie had stopped walking a second too late. It felt like I’d hit a wall when my body slammed into Logan’s back.
“Oof!” I grunted as I took a step back. “Sorry about….”
My words trailed off vanishing into nothing when I saw why we’d stopped. I drew in a deep breath as my hand moved up to cover my mouth.
Every single one of us jumped when a large black blob fell out of the sky and landed with a thud. An icy chill ran through my body.
I pulled my shaking hand away from my mouth as I scanned the area. There were black blobs scattered everywhere.
I swallowed hard and finally found my voice. “What happened?”
4
For as far as I could see, the ground was littered with giant black bird carcasses. Including the one that had just fallen from the sky in front of us.
“Are they all dead?” Charlie asked wrapping her arms around her middle as though she was trying to make herself smaller.
“Looks like it,” Ryder said kicking the bird that had just fallen from the sky.
There were just so many birds it was hard to believe what I was seeing. Everywhere I looked, except for the area behind us, the birds stretched out for what seemed like miles and miles.
All of them… dead.
We continued forward although our pace had slowed significantly. Walking between the dead bird bodies in the snow was quite difficult to navigate.
“Did someone kill them?” Charlie asked, with a slight hop away from one of the birds when the wind lightly blew a feather out of place.
The sky darkened as the gray cloud covered the sun. There was a thud behind us, and I instantly turned with my gun aimed at the dead bird that had just fallen to the ground.
“God dammit,” I said, trying to catch my breath.
Another fell a few feet away. And then another. Thud. Thud. Thud.
“Holy shit,” Shawn said spinning in a slow circle as the birds fell down around us in a slow and steady rain. Only it wasn’t rain. “They aren’t dying and then falling, they’re diving head first to their deaths.”
I watched as one of the pitch-black birds tucked in its wings and pointed its beak at the ground. The sight of it rocketing itself to its death made my stomach turn.
“They’re committing suicide,” Charlie muttered.
“Why are they doing that?” I asked, my voice squeaking slightly at the end. The sight of it happening was horrifying, and somehow, we were stuck right in the middle of the strange occurrence.
Ryder shrugged. “Maybe they’re sick.”
“Maybe it’s in their code,” Shawn said jumping to the side when one zipped down several feet to his side.
“I don’t know why it's happening, but we need to get out of here,” Logan said jogging forward. “I don’t want one of them to come down on me.”
We all picked up our speed and followed Logan hopping over the dead birds while trying to avoid the falling ones.
“Up ahead,” Ryder shouted pointing at a small grouping of trees that had managed to stay standing through all the storms. The trees were dead without a single leaf on them, but hopefully, their branches would provide some coverage until the black bird downpour stopped.
I ducked under a low branch and stood in the middle of the dead tree trunks. The other huddled around, standing so close to one another that our bodies touched.
“They aren’t falling in here,” Ryder said gesturing out at the area around the trees.
“Doesn’t mean they won’t,” Logan said squinting as he looked up.
Shawn glanced at me and then at my gun. He was probably wondering what I planned to do with it against the dying birds.
“Seems to be slowing down,” Shawn said.
I pressed my lips together and let out a slow breath as I tucked my gun back into my waistband. I turned to look at everyone to make sure they were all OK.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said when I spotted a sign nailed to one of the trees. My heart rate didn’t slow… it increased.
“What?” Ryder asked as he turned and caught sight of what had grabbed my attention. “They're everywhere.”
The group was silent. All that could be heard was the occasional thud of a black bird rocketing towards the ground.
“Should we go back?” Charlie asked.
“To what?” Ryder asked. “Back to Jacob?”
“Maybe,” Charlie said with a small shrug.
Ryder sighed and placed his hand over his face to hide his frustration. It was obvious Charlie wanted to be done with everything we were doing, but it wasn’t like she was about to go off on her own. Especially not after what had happened.
“I think they’re done,” Shawn said acting as if he hadn’t heard any of their conversation, but I had no doubt with how close we were standing that he had. “Should we keep going? Find somewhere better before night.”
“Better?” Charlie grumbled.
I nodded and pushed my way between Ryder and Charlie. I glanced back at them over my shoulder. “I’m going.”
Shawn was next to me in a blink of an eye. When Logan made his way out behind us, I turned forward and marched on.
If Ryder wanted to put up with Charlie that was fine by me. I knew they’d known each other for a long time. But I was reaching my limit. If she didn’t want to be with us, she could find her own way for all I cared. It wasn’t like she was doing me any favors by sticking around. She was miserable with us. There was no question in my mind that the only reason she’d came along in the first place was because Ryder had. Now after what she saw, she wanted out. She wanted distance.
“Are they coming?” I asked not wanting to turn around.
Shawn turned. “Yes.”
“OK.” I looked up at the sky, but with the cloud coverage, I could only guess as to how much time we had left before nightfall. Maybe we could get in a few more miles as long as nothing else decided to slow us down.
“Are we going to stick to the same path? Ignore the signs?” Shawn asked, trying to hide his fidgeting.
“Definitely trying to avoid wherever the signs are pointing,” I said feeling the tension in my jaw. I let out a breath trying to wash away the stress and anxiety Charlie was causing me.
Shawn lightly touched my arm. “Sorry I didn’t mean to upset—”
“No, I’m sorry for being short with you.” I glanced over my shoulder and turned back to Shawn. “I feel bad for what happened to her, I really do, but she’s taking it out on the wrong people.”
“She doesn’t know how to deal with it,” Logan said. Of course, he was going to come to her defense. “She’ll come around.”
“It’s hard on all of us. We’re all tired and hungry and everything else.” I looked into Logan’s eyes. They were a lot softer than I’d remembered.
&nbs
p; He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Just give her more time. All that shit, and then, well, she’s had a crush on Ryder for as long as I can remember.”
“She shouldn’t have run off,” I said remembering the look in her eyes when she’d seen Ryder and me making out. “I mean, of course I feel bad about it, but I didn’t try to hurt her.”
“I know you didn’t,” Logan said. “She’s not as tough as she lets on.”
I blinked slowly. “You don’t say?”
Logan chuckled. “I’ll talk to her.”
“You’ve been talking to her,” Shawn said.
“I’ll keep talking to her,” Logan said turning to Shawn with a hard look in his eyes. They stared at each other.
I cleared my throat. “I appreciate that Logan, I do. And I really do feel terrible about everything, but if we are all going to be together, we need to do this together. This isn’t easy for any of us. Except for maybe you.”
Logan snorted and faced forward. “This isn’t easy for any of us.”
I could hear their footsteps behind us and Ryder and Charlie’s soft voices. It sounded like she was protesting something, but I couldn’t make out their conversation.
I shook my head slightly and picked up my pace. If Ryder couldn’t talk to her, Logan’s talking probably wouldn’t do much good either.
I’d just have to shake it all out of my mind. She was with us for the long haul whether she wanted to be here or not. It wasn’t like any of us were about to give up on her. Hopefully, she’d make it a little easier on us, but until she did, we were stuck with Miss Crabby Pants.
The sun pushed its way through the clouds and warmed us for the rest of our daytime travels. When we lost light, we were forced to camp out for the night.
Logan was able to set up a small fire, but he hadn’t been able to scrounge up much wood. It was lucky he’d got it going at all considering how damp everything had been. With the sun gone, everything was cooling quickly, and the fire was almost definitely necessary.
Logan stood up and let out a heavy sigh. He placed his hands on his hips and turned his back to the group. Ryder placed his hand on his shoulder. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about Eli.
I’m sure they all missed him terribly and they never really had much of a chance to grieve. We just had to keep moving forward.
Ryder stepped up behind me and lightly touched my back. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure,” I said. When he stretched out his hand, I realized he’d meant in private. I took his hand and followed him a short distance from the group.
Even though our fire had been small, it had made a difference. I shivered.
“So,” Ryder said running his hand through his hair, “I don’t know how to say this.”
“Just say it.” I crossed my arms.
He looked into my eyes. “I care about you, a lot, but with everything that’s going on—”
“Now isn’t a great time for things between us,” I said finishing his thought.
He breathed heavily. “That wasn’t how I wanted to word it.”
“But that’s what you mean isn’t it?”
He looked down at his boots.
“It’s fine,” I said sounding angrier than I had intended. “I get it.”
Ryder took my hand into his and squeezed it before letting go. “I’m just afraid she’s going to do something stupid. When we get there. When we’re safe, we’ll figure things out. Right?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Jeez, Emery don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Me?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not making anything hard. I’m agreeing with you, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Ryder’s eyes looked glassy. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t want to lose anyone.”
I pressed my lips together and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not going anywhere. I set out to look for a safe place, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do. It’s not like I forced any of you to come with me.”
Logan looked over at us. I cleared my throat and lowered my voice.
“You guys begged to come with me remember?”
Ryder nodded. “Fuck. I blew it didn’t I? God dammit, what’s wrong with me?”
“You didn’t blow anything.” I swallowed hard. It wasn’t like there had been anything other than a mutual attraction. I should have known better. I should have known it wasn’t going to ever go anywhere. Things were too rough. The timing was bad.
“Maybe I need to sleep. Can we pick up on this again later?” Ryder asked, his shoulders slumped down.
“Sure,” I said crossing my arms. “But my focus is on one thing. Getting somewhere safe.”
Ryder nodded. He knew how committed to my quest I was since the beginning. Nothing would change that.
“Let's go back,” he said stuffing his hands into his pockets. It was almost as if I could feel his pain radiating around him.
I felt bad for him. He was torn. It wasn’t like he wanted to see Charlie suffering. He didn’t want to be part of the reason she was hurting. I couldn’t blame him for that.
It wasn’t like I was making him choose, but Ryder must have felt like he had to make a choice between Charlie and I. I wasn’t surprised he’d picked Charlie, nor was I hurt. Yeah, of course it sucked, but he had to do what felt right, and he’d known her a lot longer than he’d known me.
I’d be OK. We’d be OK. We all just needed time, which was fine because I wanted to focus.
Once we got somewhere, things would work out. Everyone was exhausted. Tensions were high. We were all stressed out.
“Good night, Emery,” Ryder said walking backward toward Charlie once we were back to the fire.
“Night.” I forced a smile, but it looked like that only hurt him more.
I sat down next to Shawn and hugged my knees. He handed me a piece of beef jerky.
“Everything all right?” he asked keeping his voice quiet.
“Yep,” I said taking a bite and chewing longer than necessary in the hopes that I wouldn’t have to answer any more questions.
“You should get some rest,” Shawn said popping up to his feet. “I’m on the first watch. No better time to sleep than when I’m the man looking out for you.”
Ryder’s eyes were instantly on Shawn. I swallowed hard. Had Shawn heard our conversation? He couldn’t have.
He pointed at the ground before walking over to Logan. I laid down on my blanket near the fire watching as they discussed the area. Charlie laid down near my feet, and Ryder was across the fire from me.
Our eyes met for a moment. It looked like he wished he could take everything back.
I forced my eyes closed, hoping morning would come soon.
5
When my eyes popped open, it wasn’t morning. The entire sky was colored a beautiful shade of dark blue, and every star in the sky was visible. There was a yellowish hue to the moon that sparkled in the snow like glitter.
The spot we had found was at the top of a small hill with a few sad trees behind us. We could see for miles in most directions, except for where the trees blocked the way. Hopefully, that meant the trees would provide us some coverage to keep us hidden should an enemy approach, but probably they wouldn’t. They likely weren’t thick enough to help hide us in any significant way.
I couldn’t have been asleep for long considering Shawn was still on watch when I opened my eyes. Logan, Ryder, and Charlie all appeared to be asleep.
My body was beyond exhausted, but for some reason, my mind felt totally awake. I sat up and leaned forward, holding my chilled hands out toward the dwindling fire.
“Throw another branch on it,” Shawn whispered from where he was sitting away from the fire.
I looked over at the small selection of wood that Logan had gathered before he’d gone to sleep. The fire snapped and cracked like a wild animal when
I tossed in a branch.
“Everything OK?” Shawn asked his voice was low and his eyes narrowed.
I glanced back at the others to make sure my movements hadn’t woken them and made my way over to Shawn.
“I can’t sleep,” I said standing back about a foot from where he was sitting.
The empty land he was facing looked spectacular with the big, bright moon hanging over the glittering field. The moon looked so large it seemed as though we could reach out and touch it.
“Wow. Beautiful night,” I said surprised I was able to appreciate it.
“Yeah, I’m hoping it’s a sign.”
“What kind of sign?”
Shawn looked up at me, the moonlight reflecting in his perfect eyes. “For better things to come.”
“We can only hope,” I said with a shiver. “It’s still quite chilly though.”
“Sit with me?”
I glanced over my shoulder toward my blanket spread out over the snow. I probably would have been better off trying to get some sleep, but instead, I lowered myself to the ground next to Shawn.
“It’s so cold over here. I don’t know how you can stand it.” I said wrapping my arms around my knees. “If you want to get some sleep, I’m up now… I don’t mind keeping watch.”
“Nah, I’m not tired. I’d rather sit here with you,” Shawn said, his eyes glued to mine.
I swallowed down hard hoping it might settle down the butterflies that started flapping their wings inside of my stomach. As long as I avoided looking into his eyes, my mind wouldn’t wander. His eyes were just as magical as the twinkling stars above. They were the same glowing blue with the same sparkle only they were much closer.
“Of course you’re tired. We’re all exhausted. There’s no way you couldn’t be,” I said.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
I turned toward him without thinking and latched onto his sparkling eyes. Dammit.
The Last Remnants Page 3