The End of the World Series | Book 3 | Survive The Destruction

by McDonald, Clyde

  “We’ll leave tomorrow morning after a night’s rest,” Aby said firmly. “We don’t want to run into any trouble. In the light of day, we can be prepared for anything. It’ll be easier to find our way too.”

  “Fine,” Peaches said, putting down her knife and fork. “I suppose you know what you’re doing. I’ll let you lead the way.”

  Aby offered her a small smile. “You’re very trusting.”

  “I trust you more than I trust myself, honey. You’ve made it this far. You seem to know what you’re doing. Besides...I’m better at taking orders than making them,” Peaches sniffed. Aby thought about how the second her husband left she resigned herself to death rather than finding her own way to survive. She wasn’t wrong in saying that she needed someone to be ordering her around. Aby felt uncomfortable knowing that Peaches was the kind of woman who had been her whole life without being able to care for herself, needing a man to give her a sense of direction and purpose, but in some ways, she understood. She felt lost without Jake in the same way that Peaches felt lost without her husband. She wondered if the two men were out there feeling just as lost. Wasn’t that just love? Feeling lost without that one person by your side?

  “Why not get some rest?” Aby said to Peaches. She wanted to sleep herself, and she felt safe enough to do so in the house. She could sleep with a knife at her side and protect herself if anything went wrong. Peaches stood from the table.

  “Alright. I’ll take the sofa tonight...you look like you could use a proper bed for the night,” Peaches said. It was the nicest thing she’d managed to say so far and Aby felt she’d misjudged Peaches a little. She was selfish and self-centred, but there was good in her too. Now she felt bad for considering her disposable. She vowed to herself that she’d do anything to keep the two of them alive.

  Together, they’d survive. They had to.

  Eight

  Jake

  Jake’s eyes felt heavy as he opened them. It took him a minute to remember where he was. With his face pressed against the dewy ground and Megan lying close to him, he recalled their decision to rest for a while. He had hoped to wake up feeling energized, but he couldn’t remember the last time he felt that now. It had been some time since he’d even felt like he was really alive, and now that Aby wasn’t with him, it was like his life force had been drained from him.

  It was early morning now. They’d been asleep for some time. Jake sat up and rested his back against a tree, wondering what their next move was. He supposed they’d have to try their best to make it to the lake that day, since they didn’t have any supplies or weapons to keep them going otherwise. If they’d didn’t sort themselves out soon, they’d be in their worst position since the EMP started. Sure, they’d spent the majority of the past week fighting for their lives, but at least previously they had some chance of survival. Now they were empty handed and empty stomached. Jake didn’t want to think about the ways their bodies would betray them, slowly and painfully, if they didn’t find food and water soon.

  He let Megan sleep a while longer, noting that she seemed completely serene as she snored softly. He didn’t want to break the spell for her. They were living a nightmare, after all, and she seemed to be the one person who could escape it for a while. But when the sun began to make an appearance, he was forced to wake her. He could feel the dull ache of hunger in his stomach and he wanted to get moving before it got any worse.

  Megan stretched as she woke up. She had a smile on her lips for a moment, but it quickly faded. She sighed.

  “I was having the most lovely dream...I was on holiday, somewhere hot...I was drinking a cocktail.”

  Jake didn’t want to hear about the dream. That dream would never be a reality again. He helped Megan onto her feet.

  “We need to keep moving.”

  Megan looked a little hurt at the way he’d brushed her off, but he didn’t have the energy to apologize. He just wanted them to keep going. He set off without waiting for her to get herself together and she caught up a moment later. They continued on in stony silence.

  Jake didn’t like the man he was becoming. He could see the ways in which he was becoming colder, harsher, out of sync with his old self. He’d always been patient with Megan before and now it was like he couldn’t even hack a few minutes with her. He wished he could offer her some comfort, but his whole self seemed intent on rejecting any kind thoughts that came his way.

  And he knew exactly why. It was because Aby was gone. It was because he had no idea when he’d see her again. It was because he was terrified that the best thing in his life was over now. If she was dead, then what was the point? What did he have to stay alive for?

  He was nothing without her.

  Megan couldn’t possibly understand that. She’d never known true love. She had only just escaped an abusive partner. How could she understand how it felt to be away from the one you love and feel like your soul is gone too? Jake shook his head to himself as he continued downhill in the direction of the lake. He had to carry on, even if his heart was ripping in two. He had to believe that carrying on was worth it.

  They’d been walking for an hour when Jake spied a beacon of hope in the distance. There was still no sign of the lake, and they were moving at a sluggish pace, but there was a house nestled on the hill. It looked like nobody had been there in some time, but maybe it would hold something useful for them...some food, maybe even a weapon or two...Jake knew it had to be worth checking out. He grabbed Megan’s arm and pointed out his discovery.

  “We should go there,” he said. “It’s only a small detour from the direction we were heading...what do you think?”

  Megan bit her lip. “I don’t know...I have a bad feeling about it. Isn’t it likely it’s been ransacked anyway?”

  “We need to try...it’s the only house we’ve seen for miles. Come on. Let’s go.”

  Megan looked ready to argue, but as Jake headed off, she reluctantly followed. Jake felt confident that they were about to find something of use. Maybe their luck was about to change...it always seemed to. Jake’s old confidence was returning all at once.

  The house was quiet as they approached. It seemed like it was completely abandoned, but Jake felt a chill down his spine as he headed for the door. Megan’s doubt was making him anxious, but he opened the door anyway and stepped into the dark house.

  It smelt dank inside the cabin, but Jake didn’t let that put him off. As they entered the living area, he immediately began to look around for something of use, eagerly pulling open drawers and peering in cupboards, but every single one of them was empty.

  “What the hell…”

  “Maybe whoever was here packed up and left,” Megan said. She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t like this place, Jake...it’s giving me the heebies.”

  Jake tutted and waved her away. “Wait outside then. You can be a lookout.”

  Megan pursed her lips in irritation, but nodded and headed back outside through a side door. Jake couldn’t understand what her problem was. The house was their only chance to find supplies before they arrived at the lake. If they just moved on, they’d go hungry and thirsty. He was doing this for them.

  Jake continued on through the house. It was so eerily empty that it was like no one had lived there even though the furniture was all set out, like a show home.

  But then Jake’s nose caught on to a stench that seemed to be coming from within the house. He wrink;ed his nose, but followed the scent. It felt like a clue to whatever might be going on within the house.

  He stumbled upon a man sleeping on the floor and gasped. On the cold tiles of the kitchen, the young man lay sprawled. His breathing was ragged and loud. Jake didn’t want to startle him, but he figured if the man woke up and saw him there he’d probably panic. Jake considered waking up. He then considered stealing from his sleeping body, but he decided against that quickly. The man was very pale and scrawny. It seemed wrong to take from him.

  Jake considered for a minute what to do
. He could go and get Megan, but he suspected she would try and make them leave. The pair of them had entirely different views on how to function, and he couldn’t risk her forcing them out of the mysterious house. He decided to continue looking around the house and come back to the man when he was done with his search. Perhaps the house would offer up some answers about the man and who he was.

  Jake’s heart was racing as he walked around, searching every room meticulously. It seemed to have been stripped bare. He looked in places that he thought others wouldn’t think to, but he still didn’t find anything of note. Just dust. There were no personal items in the house either, oddly. Jake could understand someone stealing everything from the house but where were the photographs? Where were the general ornaments that people tended to collect over a lifetime? He found the whole thing very odd, especially when he found that the bedroom was empty of clothes and the bed looked like it had never been slept in. Why was the young man asleep downstairs when there was a perfectly good bed upstairs? Did he feel disrespectful using it because it wasn’t his house?

  The whole thing was a mystery. Jake was starting to get the sense that maybe Megan was right. Maybe they didn’t belong here. But as he headed back downstairs, he heard a loud groan from the kitchen. It sounded like the young man had woken up.

  Jake knew he had two options. He could check the man was okay or he could leave with Megan and get out of there before something bad happened. His gut was telling him to leave, but his heart was telling him something different. If the man was hurt, wasn’t it his duty to help? Once upon a time, he would’ve saved his own skin and left. But now, he thought of his precious Aby. he liked to think if someone came across her all alone in the world that they’d help her. And that made his decision for him. He couldn’t in good conscience leave someone in trouble.

  Jake headed to the kitchen and found the man stumbling to his feet. His mouth seemed to slope to the side like he couldn’t control his muscles. He began to mumble to himself, but Jake couldn’t decipher anything he was saying.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. The young man groaned in response, shaking his head around wildly. He was starting to freak Jake out, but he stood his ground. He seemed like he might be on drugs from the response he was having. His eyes were bloodshot. His face sagged and had a yellowish tinge to it, like he was sickly. He didn’t understand how he could help the man, but he didn’t want to leave him alone. Who knew what self-destructive things he might do.

  The young man panted hard, saliva pooling in his mouth and dripping down his chin. It was like he was rabid. And then, he began to scream. Jake stepped back in shock, not knowing what the hell to do. He’d never met someone so simultaneously terrifying and pitiful in his life. The scream he emitted was shockingly loud. He launched himself at Jake who held him off warily, grabbing the man by his shoulders, and then clutching at his neck. He choked him, hoping he could restrain him for long enough to make him pass out again. Staying with him had been a mistake. The man was obviously beyond help.

  The young man made a choking sound as he stared right into Jake’s eyes. By the time he passed back out, Jake felt cold to his core. He hadn’t expected that to happen.

  But then he heard the front door burst open. Several pairs of footsteps rushed through the house. Jake barely had time to react before he was faced with four grinning faces of young men. There was a darkness in their eyes that made Jake realize that he’d been a fool. He’d been trapped. The young man must’ve called out for their benefit. And now they were going to hurt him.

  Jake tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go. Megan was nowhere to be seen, so he presumed she was til okay. He wished he could tell her to run. He wished he could tell her that she was right. But there was no time. He didn’t know what the men wanted or what they might do to him, but the look in their eyes told him that their intentions weren’t good. One of them stepped forward and the young man who Jake had choked out laughed maniacally. Now Jake was wishing he’d killed him.

  “We’re going to have some fun with this one, boys,” one of the men said with a wolfish grin. Jake tried to dodge him, but the man slammed a fist into Jake’s already bruised ribs. He fell before he could stop himself. On his knees, he looked up just in time to see the fist heading straight for his face. The force of it was so hard that he smacked his head against the tiles, groaning in pain. He was seeing stars. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the men advancing on him, ready to hurt him.

  He let the darkness take him.

  Nine

  Aby

  When Aby woke, fear rushed through her for a moment as she tried to recall where she was. She always had trouble waking up in new places like hotels or at a friend’s house, but this time was even worse. When she shot up, covered in sweat, she feared for her life. She didn’t know where she was or why.

  And then it came back to her. She was staying with Peach. She had fallen asleep for eight full hours in her large and comfortable bed. The normality of being in a proper bed was almost too much for Aby to handle, and she felt tears spring to her eyes.

  “You’re being ridiculous,” she told herself aloud, but still the tears fell. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed something as simple as waking up in the morning to a normal life. Instinctively, she reached out for Jake across the bed, but of course, he wasn’t there.

  Aby took a few calming breaths and tried to force herself to stop crying. She had a long day ahead of her and she couldn’t afford to be getting upset over nothing. This was her life now. She wasn’t special in that regard; everyone else was going through the same thing. Maybe she just needed to get that into her head so that she could move on and focus on surviving.

  She forced her aching legs to swing out of the bed and find solid ground. Even after the best night’s sleep she’d had in some time, she felt a little groggy and her whole body was hurting from the injuries she’d sustained out on the road. The thought of walking around all day wasn’t a pleasant one, but Aby pushed it aside. She had to maintain a semi-positive attitude to make it through the day.

  The early morning sunlight streamed through the window and she cursed herself for sleeping so long. But without an alarm clock or Jake to wake her up, her body had taken control. Still, she felt she wasn’t too late to make the journey to the other houses and back. The sooner it was over, the better.

  Heading through to the living room, she found Peaches sound asleep. Aby was glad that she hadn’t had another of her crazy turns in the middle of the night and tried to harm herself. Yesterday, emotions had been running high for both of them. They were both delirious with lack of food and water. Today would be better, she convinced herself.

  “Peaches? Let’s get up and go,” she said, gently nudging Peaches. The older woman groaned and cursed under her breath.

  “It’s still so early…”

  Aby sighed. She should’ve known that Peaches wouldn’t be an early bird. It took her ten minutes to coax Peaches off the sofa and then another ten to force Peaches to dress and take a duffel bag for supplies. By the time they’d set off for the nearby houses, Aby was in a terrible mood and Peaches was insisting on complaining as they walked.

  “Honestly, this all seems like a fool’s errand. Maybe we should go back and just give up,” Peaches said mournfully. Aby bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from shouting at the older woman.

  “It’s going to be worth it. We’re definitely going to find something of use, no matter what...and I know you don’t want to go hungry again.”

  Peaches carried on muttering to herself, but she didn’t try and convince Aby to turn back again. After a while, Aby managed to tune her out completely and it made the entire journey a lot more peaceful.

  They walked for a long time. Despite her complaining, Peaches held up well with the long hike, and she was actually very useful. She found a crop of wild strawberries that she picked for them and her sense of direction was pretty perfect. Aby knew she herself was
incapable of making a single journey without her GPS. She was suddenly very grateful for her companion.

  The sun was high in the sky when Aby spied two cabins in the distance. She pointed them out to Peaches.

  “Is that where we’re headed?”

  Peaches nodded. “Yep. They’re the closest thing I have to neighbors, I suppose. Let’s just hope there’s no one home. It’s not very neighborly to steal from them, after all.”

  Aby felt a mixture of fear and exhilaration in her stomach as it twisted into a knot. She had no idea if they were going to meet anyone in the houses, but they hadn’t seen a single other person on their trip there. The odds were looking like they were in their favour.

  “Alright, let’s pick up the pace...the sooner we get in and out the better,” Aby insisted. Peaches nodded, finally being compliant for once. The pair of them stuck close together, ready for anything that came their way.

  But they found that the hour that followed was easy. Almost too easy. They found an open window in the first cabin and Aby clambered through it, letting Peaches in through the front door once she’d checked the house for inhabitants. The kitchen held an abundance of dried food, long life milk, honey and peanut butter. Aby remembered Jake telling her a few days ago that honey could never go off, and that peanut butter would preserve even if it wasn’t refrigerated. She even found a bottle of wine which she snuck into her bag as a treat. She knew they needed to take important things, but Aby also knew how a good glass of wine could cure all ills.

  Peaches filled her bag up with canned fruit and vegetables. She turned her nose up at the dehydrated meats she found canned up in the cupboards, but Aby insisted that they should take it. It was preferable to trying to hunt and kill animals themselves.

  The house seemed overly prepared for the scenario they’d found themselves in, but Aby wasn’t about to question it. She piled cans of soups, instant coffee and oats into her bag, ignoring the weight of the bag on her weary shoulders. It was painful to carry it, but it was also totally worth it.