“My name is Kerrigan Monroe,” I said. A lump rose in my throat, but I forced it away. “My parents are Stephen and Kathleen Monroe. That’s all I’ve ever known, Ms. Sinclair, and that’s all I’ll ever need to know. They taught me to stand up for what I believe in, and to fight for what’s right. That’s what I’m doing. And I won’t just stay here because it’s the ‘safe’ thing to do. If there’s any possible way I can help put an end to this, that’s what I’m going to do.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say her look of pity turned to one of pride. She pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded, smoothing my hair for another moment before placing both hands on my shoulders. “Hold that sentiment to your heart, sweet girl. Because I guarantee when Bennett finds you—and he will—he will try his best to manipulate you. He’s a boy who’s always found a way to get what he wants. The lust for power runs in his blood, and in yours as well. He’ll use that to his advantage.”
“I’ve never lusted for power a day in my life.”
“Good. Hang on to that. Because from here on out, your knowledge of right and wrong will be the only defense you have.”
And with that, the earth began to shake.
Chapter 11
I never thought anything could be more frightening than a sky filled with funnel clouds. I was wrong.
The ground lurched beneath my feet, turning my blood cold. It trembled and buckled more with each passing second. I held out my arms for balance as panic surged through me, and I looked to Susan, desperate for some sort of direction.
A ball of fire the size of a basketball shot toward us, connecting with Susan with a sickening sizzle. She didn’t even have a chance to scream before her body burned and collapsed into a heap of ash before my eyes. My stomach clenched as I gaped at the remains of the only sane family member I had left.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins, just barely overpowering the urge to puke. I turned and bolted for the house, with Ethan and the others running alongside me. A few more feet. You can do this. Get in the house, and you’ll be okay. The steps are right there. For a split second, I just knew we’d make it.
Then a wave of fireballs crashed into the house, one right after another, engulfing it in flames.
I skidded to a stop, only to trip and fall face-first into the grass. I scrambled to my feet, then turned and ran toward the road just as the house exploded behind us. The force knocked me down again, my body slamming against the ground. Pain seared through my head, but I pushed myself up on all fours as I gasped for air. Heat scorched my skin, and the crackling of the burning house reverberated in my ears while I tried to force my body to move damn it, but it wouldn’t listen. Footsteps thudded close by, and seconds later, someone was tugging on my arm, yanking me to my feet. Still in a daze, I allowed the person to pull me along, though I stumbled the first few steps.
“Run!” he yelled. “Now!”
Ethan. It was always Ethan.
Slowly regaining my senses, I broke into a sprint toward the road. Once we reached the broken asphalt, I doubled over, putting my hands on my knees so I could catch my breath. God, it hurt. I didn’t know if I needed to cry, or puke, or pass out, or all of the above. Every sensation built on top of another, creating a weight in my chest that surpassed any ache I’d felt before.
Ethan grabbed my hand again, bringing me back to the moment. I glanced at his dirt and sweat-streaked face, only to be distracted by the flaming trees standing no more than half a mile away. I looked up, my breath coming in panicked pants at the fire streaking across the ash-colored sky.
“No time,” Ethan panted, starting down the road in a jog. I stumbled behind him, trying to keep in step, but I felt like a rubber band being stretched too far. I couldn’t take much more of this. I just couldn’t.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Dr. Fowler with his hands on his knees. Our bags were scattered around his feet, their contents spilled everywhere. If I was at my limit, there was no telling how much pain he was in. I stopped, forcing Ethan to look at me.
“Fowler,” I managed to say. He glanced over to see what I was talking about, then nodded once. He and I headed back to the doctor, and everyone else came to a halt.
“Keep going,” Dr. Fowler called to us shakily. “No time to waste. I’ll catch up.”
Ethan and I shared a look. There was no way we were leaving a fifty-something-year-old guy out here by himself. Plus, he was the only one who actually knew where we were going. “Keep walking,” Ethan told the others. “We’ll catch up.”
They hesitated for a moment, but picked up a steady pace without further question. They walked as if there wasn’t fire falling around us. As if we couldn’t burst into flames at any given moment. It was amazing what had become the norm for us.
“Go,” Dr. Fowler protested, straightening once Ethan and I reached him. “I just . . . I need a few minutes. That’s all.”
“We’re not leaving you here,” Ethan told him.
“He’s right,” I agreed. “We can’t just leave you out here alone. We need to find somewhere—”
The doctor gasped, and his eyes went wide with terror at something behind us. I whirled around, and just when I thought I’d seen it all, a black horse descended from the sky amongst the fire crashing around us. My heartbeat faltered. My breath caught in my throat. The horse soared through the air so naturally it was unnerving, and by the looks of it, it was coming right for us. I grabbed Ethan’s shoulder, I think to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
The closer it came, I realized it wasn’t just a horse; it had a rider. All I could do was stare at the black-clad figure holding the horse’s reins. I wasn’t even sure the rider was human.
A choking sound escaped Dr. Fowler, and I ripped my eyes from the horse and turned in time for the doctor fall to the ground, clutching his chest. I glanced back over my shoulder, but the horse and its rider had both vanished into thin air. And though the world still burned around us, fire no longer fell from the sky.
Too much. This was all too much.
Ethan and I crouched beside the doctor, and though the fire roared, I couldn’t tear my eyes from him. His face contorted in pain as it deepened to a disturbing shade of purple, and all I could think was he’s suffering. He’s suffering and in pain and dying because of me. All of these people—these innocent people—were dying because of me and my bastard of a brother. What had they done to deserve this?
“My heart.” Dr. Fowler wheezed, struggling to breathe. “My . . . God almighty . . .”
“You’re okay,” Ethan said, though his voice was thick with emotion. “You’re fine, Doctor. You’re okay. Deep breaths.”
He dropped to his knees and clutched the doctor’s hand while tears pooled in his eyes. During this entire week together, he’d been the strong one. He’d been my anchor to reality. I hadn’t seen him cry once. Now, tears spilled down his cheeks with no sign of letting up.
Dr. Fowler grasped onto my wrist tightly, his fingers like ice. “You have to go,” he said through clenched teeth. “You have to finish this. Finish what we started.”
“You’re fine,” I insisted. “We’re not leaving—”
“Damn it, girl!” He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. “The world is collapsing around you. Stop arguing and just do what I say.”
“How?” I conceded, swallowing thickly. “Where do we go?”
“Map in my pocket.” With Ethan holding on to Dr. Fowler’s hand for dear life, I reached into the doctor’s pants pocket. I found a chunk of paper, which I pulled out and unfolded halfway to see red pen marks outlining a route. “He’s in Kentucky, with the safe house. Susan said he should be there . . . family’s old estate . . .”
I nodded, silencing him. He and I stared at one another, and when his eyes weakened, my heart crumbled. Just a few days ago, he’d saved my life. He brought us here, steps closer to what could possibly be a solution to this craziness. He was the mastermind behind our mission. It wasn’t fair for him
to meet this fate, to die in the middle of a broken road.
The doctor took one final, shaky breath, and with that, his eyes closed for the last time.
Ethan slumped to the ground, choking back a sob. I stayed on my knees, unable to tear my eyes from the doctor’s motionless body. I hadn’t realized he and Ethan were close. Or maybe the gravity of everything was just now hitting Ethan. A person can only be strong for so long. As for me, I was tired of feeling things. Grief, panic, fear . . . I’d already experienced enough of it to last a lifetime.
In one week’s time, I’d lost my parents. My sister. The only home I’d ever known. I’d been thrust into Sunrise, which was meant to be some sort of twisted home away from home. I’d met an aunt I never knew existed. Then, I lost all that, too.
I had no idea what to make of the world outside of the route we’d traveled. All I knew was destruction. Misery. Heartache. I didn’t know how many people were still alive. I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know anything anymore. At this point, I just wanted it all to end.
The dead were lucky. We were the ones stuck in hell on earth.
“Come on,” Ethan said, rising to his feet and wiping his eyes.
He held his hand out for mine, and I eyed it for a minute. Ethan was good. Honest. Brave. Much braver than I. I wished I could figure out where his strength came from, because I didn’t have the motivation to even stand. Fresh tears pooled in my eyes as I stared into his, which were filled with understanding. They also still held that fierce determination I’d come to know him for. Maybe if I took his hand, some of that strength would spread to me. When I did place my hand in his, however, I didn’t feel stronger. I didn’t feel braver. But I did feel like I wasn’t in this alone, which was better than nothing.
“Stay together,” he said as we fell into our attempt at a jog. It more closely resembled hobbling down the road.
“Wouldn’t dream of anything else,” I said breathlessly.
“What the hell was that horse thing?” he asked.
“Soldier of the apocalypse. Guess it wasn’t a crock, after all.” I squeezed my eyes closed and tightened my hold on his hand, trying to force out the mental image of Dr. Fowler lying in the road. I couldn’t believe we’d just left him there. Alone. After all he’d done for us, we left him to die alone.
“Watch out!” Ethan shouted.
My eyes popped open just as he yanked me out of the direct path of a fireball that collided with the broken pavement. The two of us fell to the ground, and I landed on top of him with a thud. We scrambled to our feet in time to escape another one that hit where we’d landed, setting off an explosion of flames to our right. We broke into a full-on sprint down the road, pumping our legs with every ounce of energy our bodies could muster. I didn’t think about the pain. I didn’t think about the lack of air in my lungs. All I could think about was survival.
We came upon the rest of the group a few minutes later, and we stopped the second we reached them. They stared at us, confused, while we panted for breath.
“Where’s Fowler?” Danny asked.
Ethan took in one more haggard breath before starting down the road once more. “Gone,” was his only explanation. Haven gasped and Danny’s eyes widened. Nate seemed unaffected, but honestly, I was learning not to expect much from him in terms of emotion. Danny was right—there was no loyalty where Nate was concerned.
“Where’re the bags?” Danny called to Ethan’s retreating figure.
Ethan froze, and my heart skipped a beat. Our bags. Our food, our blankets . . . all of it had been left scattered on the road. I turned and looked in the direction from which we’d come, only to see that very road burning in the distance.
“Gone,” Ethan repeated. He turned to face us, walking backward while speaking. “We don’t have time to stand around. We need to find a safe place to stop and make a plan.” He turned again, and without question, the other two guys fell into step behind him.
As I started to follow, Haven reached out and touched my shoulder. Her face was white, her eyes weary. “He’s really gone?” she whispered. “Dr. Fowler?”
“Yeah,” I answered with a small nod. “Heart attack, I think.”
She looked at me for a beat longer before glancing to the sky. I followed her gaze, and saw that the sky was now a dewy orange color. Fitting.
“May the angels lead you in, Dr. Fowler,” Haven said softly.
My eyes snapped back to her, and her own were closed with her face lifted toward the sky. I wasn’t sure why, but her words spiked nothing but bitterness, which burned inside me. How could she believe in a heaven at a time like this?
My mom always made sure I said my prayers at night. She said we had to be thankful for all we’d been given, and that prayer was our direct connection to God. He and his angels were up there, watching over us and helping us when need-be. All I could think was, if they were up there, they were pretty damn crappy at their jobs.
Chapter 12
The cave we stumbled upon some time later wasn’t ideal; it was damp, moldy, and smelled like raw sewage. Of course, we didn’t smell much better. But there was no fire. That made it good enough for the time being.
We huddled together just inside the cave, peering out the opening as fire streaked across the sky. It crashed into trees, into roads—anything it could consume and engulf in flames. The only reprieve was the rapid shift in temperature. Instead of being well below freezing once the sun set, it was now warm enough to stop the shivers. At least we didn’t run the chance of freezing to death anymore. There was a bonus I never imagined.
Ethan stepped in front of me, and his bloodshot eyes and stubble-lined jaw broke my heart. He was a far cry from the boy in the cellar. Now, I wanted to be the one to wrap my arms around him, to tell him we’d be okay and that he wasn’t alone in this. Instead, for some stupid reason, I hesitated. He held out his hand to me.
“Can I see the map, please?” he asked.
I nodded, reaching into my pocket to pull out the paper I’d jammed in there earlier. It wasn’t much more than a crumpled ball, but it was still readable. He unfolded it, studying it while Danny stepped over to look at it too.
“We’re right about here, I think,” Ethan said, pointing. “And we need to get here, according to Doc—” He cleared his throat to cover his choked up voice.
“Ethan?” I asked softly. “Are you all right?”
He shook his head, his closed eyes telling me to stop. “The doctor said he—Bennett—should be in Kentucky. At that safe place he was going on about on the radio call.”
Danny clapped his hands together. “All right, then. Off to the hills we go. What’s the plan?”
Ethan hesitated, looking outside once again. Things hadn’t calmed down at all. We couldn’t possibly go out there, right? Not in that mess. I stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. I expected him to flinch away or shrug me off, but he didn’t.
“What’re you thinking?” I asked.
“We have to walk to fucking Kentucky,” he murmured, shaking his head. “Kentucky, Kerri. That just seems so—”
“Insane?”
“Exactly.” He sighed and walked away, and my hand slipped from his shoulder. He ran a hand through his hair while pacing the length of the cave. Guilt filled me in knowing we’d just kind of forced the leader thing on him, but who else made sense? Danny wasn’t the leaderish type. Physically, Haven was as weak as I was. And Nate . . . well, he was something all his own.
Ethan placed his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. “Guys, I wish I had this drawn out plan. But damn it, I’m just as clueless as the rest of you. My only suggestion is to follow the route Fowler mapped out, and hope it takes us where we need to go.”
“He said Bennett’s family has an estate there,” I added. “So maybe, if we follow this” —I pointed to the map— “then we can just, I don’t know, narrow it down when we find a huge house?”
Danny smiled—one of those “bless your heart, y
ou naive girl” kind of smiles. “He broadcast to the world—the world—that this is a safe haven. So, it’s gonna be more than a ‘big house.’ It’s going to be a sprawling estate on a massive chunk of land. Hell, it may even take up half of Kentucky, for all we know. And plus?” He tapped his temple. “Think about it. Don’t you think that people will still be heading in that direction? People desperate for safety, especially now? For all we know, he’s already come back to the radio and made another announcement during all this chaos. I say we just follow the crowd, because you know there’s going to be one.”
He had a point. Before I could tell him that, however, Nate scoffed. The rest of us looked over at him, leaning back against the far wall of the cave. Danny blew out an exasperated breath, like he was dealing with a kid in the middle of a tantrum. Pretty accurate, actually.
“Got something to add?” Danny asked. “Out with it.”
Nate rolled his eyes, kicked off the wall, and strolled back over to us. “I’m just wondering what the hell you all plan to do if we actually make it to this place.” He stopped in front of Ethan. “Seriously, oh wise one. What’s the point of all this? Why do you even care?”
“I care,” Ethan began, “because if there’s any way to stop this, then as decent human beings, we should. I care because—”
“Not only that,” Nate broke in, “but if—and that’s a big if—we get there, don’t you think the damn place will be crawling with guards? Security? You think a guy that smart is going to be out in the open, waiting for someone with a bright idea to come strolling in and put his game to an end?”
I swear, if looks could kill, Nate would have been six feet under already. Ethan balled his shaking fists at his sides.
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