“Where is the medic?” Crimson asked as they came upon a gathering of Blue squad.
“They are down at the supply camp helping out,” one of the soldiers said.
“Good thing you weren’t shot in the leg,” Crimson said as they walked through the open field toward the supply camp.
The supply camp wasn’t any better. The malnourished prisoners sat huddled together in the middle of the camp, most of them looking like they were going to fall over any second. Bodies were littered about and the sounds of moans and crying filled the air. Ben walked to the edge of the camp and sat down.
Crimson stopped. “You all right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I just need to rest for a moment.”
“I’ll find a medic and come back.” Crimson made her way through the camp.
Ben sat there and took in a deep breath of the smoke-filled air. He had made it. He was alive. His shoulder felt like shit but he was still breathing. As he looked over the huddled, now-freed prisoners he realized things could have been much worse. How these people had managed to survive was beyond him, but they had.
Ty came up behind him and sat down. “You good?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” Ben said. “Thanks for saving my ass back there.”
Ty gave him a Cheshire grin. “Yeah, I guess I did save you, didn’t I?”
“Damn, I guess I’m never going to hear the last of this, am I?”
“It’s not like that, B. If there is one thing you taught me, it’s that you don’t go around bragging every time you save someone’s life. Like I saved yours...just a little bit ago. You remember that?”
“Don’t make me laugh, it makes my shoulder hurt,” Ben said with a smile.
“If I hadn’t saved you your shoulder would be the least of your problems.”
“Or if you had acted sooner I wouldn’t have gotten shot in the first place.”
Ty scrunched his face. “Why you always bringing up old shit?”
They both laughed and fell into silence for a few moments.
“Hey B,” Ty said
“What’s up, Ty?”
“You ready to head back home?”
Ben thought about his soft bed, the good food and Elly. “Yeah, I’m ready to head back home.”
Ally
She stood outside the door, afraid to knock. What if they were mad? What if they no longer wanted her there? What if they had left? Ally stood there, frozen in uncertainty, when Adam opened the door. He stood there with a look of shock on his face and within a second he had her wrapped up. She didn’t resist. She leaned into the hug, relishing every moment.
“Oh thank God,” Adam said as he squeezed her tight. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again. Are you okay?” he asked as he stepped back and looked her over.
“Yeah,” Ally said, not even trying to hide the smile. “I’m fine.”
She had stayed at the military base for two days. They had cleaned and bandaged her wounds while also allowing her to eat as much food as she could keep down. Maclin was there the whole time. He had told her how they were hunting down the remnants of the Chinese invading force and he asked if she had seen any of them. She had told him no. She told him all about the earthquake and about how she was trapped underground and hunted by the wild dogs, but she left out Zhang. They had confirmed that she had been trapped in what had once been a subway station before it had been abandoned well before she had even been born. Finally, once she had gotten enough rest, Maclin and a few others escorted her back to the safe zone.
Adam wiped away his tears and looked over her again. “After the earthquake...I went out looking for you but-”
“I’m fine, Adam,” Ally said. “I’m sorry I ran away. I’m sorry I put you through that.”
“Don’t say sorry,” Adam said, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t-”
“Yes, you should have. I shouldn’t have snapped at Dena, and I never should have said all the things I said to her.”
Adam smiled and pulled her close again. “Dena, Coby! Ally’s back, she made it back!”
Ally peeked over his shoulder and saw Dena and Coby come running over with looks of disbelief on their faces. They sat there on the front porch of their house, hugging and crying.
Ally was home.
They had rabbit with fresh carrots and potatoes from Dena’s garden. Ally told them all about what had happened, and she didn’t leave out Zhang. When it was over they all sat there at the dinner table, speechless.
“You could have been crushed,” Dena said.
“The dogs tried to eat you?” Coby asked.
“The soldier helped you?” Adam asked over everyone else.
“He saved my life,” Ally answered. “A couple of times, actually.”
“But they are the bad guys,” Coby said, confused.
“Not all of them,” Ally said, thinking of the man.
Night came quickly and soon Coby was asleep on the couch. Adam smiled at the boy and went over and picked him up.
“I’m going to put him down for the night.” He looked to Ally and his eyes became watery again. “It’s good to have you back.”
“It’s good to be back,” Ally said, returning the smile.
Adam carried Coby upstairs and for the first time it was just Ally and Dena. No one said anything. Dena shifted uncomfortably.
“I’m sorry,” Ally said, tears already running down her face.
Dena sat up. “Honey, why are you sorry?”
“You know why. I’m sorry for what I said and for how I’ve been acting.”
Dena got up and sat down next to Ally, placing her hand on her back. “What’s that saying about family never having to say I’m sorry?”
“If I thought there was a chance my family or anyone I had lost was still out there I would look until the day I died.”
Dena looked away for a second and collected herself. “And you were right when you said I have been putting my family in danger.” She looked back to Ally. “I don’t know how to get through this, but I know that when I thought I had lost you too…I realized I had been neglecting the people that are here.”
They sat there in silence again.
“Why is life so hard?” Ally asked. “It’s not because the power went out, because my mom died before that. Why is it like this?”
Dena sat there quiet for a moment and finally shook her head. “Honey, I don’t know. I’ve heard people say that life takes more than it gives but I don’t know if I believe that. I think that it’s easier to remember bad times than good times. Adam and I have been together for a long time and our marriage hasn’t exactly been easy. When things are bad I can remember every bad day but we had more good days than bad.”
Ally thought about that for a moment. She thought about how things were before her mother got sick. She even thought about how things were afterwards, when they were at the farmhouse outside of Centralia. Things had been good.
“I guess you’re right.”
“I think it just comes down to what you decide to focus on. You can focus on the bad or you can focus on the good,” Dena said.
“I want to learn to focus on the good,” Ally said. “I want to focus on days like today.”
Dena smiled and gave her a hug. “I do too. No matter what happens, we are in this together.”
Alec
The sun felt warm and a cool breeze washed over his face. For a brief second he didn’t care where he was or what was happening, he simply enjoyed the moment. He felt a bump and was jostled so he opened his eyes and realized he was in the back of a Humvee. Alec pushed himself up slowly and saw Mason in the driver’s seat.
“Mason?”
The man glanced back at him and smiled. “You okay?”
Alec was tired and sore but he was alive. “I think so.”
“Good.” Mason glanced in the rearview mirror and then focused on the road.
“We made it?”
“So far, so good. We’ve bee
n driving for a while and there hasn’t been any sign that we’re being chased.”
“Who attacked the camp?” Alec asked.
“I don’t know. Hopefully it was us…the U.S. military, but I wasn’t going to chance it. I grabbed this Humvee and as many gas cans as I could fit in the back and then came for you.”
“What about the others?”
Mason was quiet for a moment. “Hopefully they made it out ok. Everyone was scattered when I came back for you.”
“Yeah, hopefully they are ok.”
They rode in silence for a few more minutes.
“Where...where are we going?” Alec asked.
Mason glanced back at him with a huge smile on his face. “I told you I knew your brother. My Helo crashed not too far from where you lived back when you were searching for your sister. Ben and Jack took me in and nursed me back to health. I lived there over the winter time.”
Alec tried to wrap his head around this. Mason was the military man Jack had told him about. The one Ben had left with. He had a million questions but wasn’t sure what order to put them in.
“I know where it is,” Mason continued. “I’m taking you back home.”
To Be Continued in After the Event Book 7
Coming Soon
About The Author
T.A. Williams is the author of the After The Event Series (After The Event, The Remnants, Innocence Lost, Into The Dark and The Resistance). He lives in middle-America, USA with his wife, son & new daughter.
http://www.TheTAWilliams.com
The Wasteland: Book 6 of The After The Event Series Page 14