But she knew it didn’t mean an end to their suffering, to the horrors they’d already experienced, and would continue to experience.
It wasn’t true happiness she felt. More like the briefest of respites, like a single breath after laps and laps swimming underwater, only to be submerged once more, with nothing to do but swim and swim forever, hoping for that next brief breath of air.
“Come on, Sadie,” said James.
Sadie looked up. It’d been like she was lost in a dream. Chad was already halfway across the highway.
James and Sadie crossed the highway, Mandy trailing behind them, her rifle held in front of her, ready.
It was strange to look down each way on the highway and see absolutely nothing at all. Not a single car. Not even an abandoned one.
Albion was a small town on the other side of the highway. It took them another half hour to reach the edge of it.
Sure enough, there was a rusted out old granary there, just like Max had said there would be.
But there was no Max. Her mom wasn’t there either. No sign of the minivan. Or the Ford Bronco.
Sadie shuddered when she thought of that Bronco.
“Seems like no one’s here,” said Chad, looking up and down the abandoned dirt road. “The town must be really small. We can stay here for a while without much of a risk. What do you think, Mandy?”
“Let’s wait,” said Mandy.
There was an area off to the side of the granary, where overgrown hedges and trees would partially shield them all from prying eyes, if someone did come by this way.
The hours ticked by. The sun had already risen high in the sky and was headed down again.
Sadie couldn’t stand the waiting. She wanted to just know. One way or the other. She wanted to know what had happened. She was trying not to hold out hope that her mom and Max had lived. But now that they were there at the meeting place, she couldn’t contain the hope, and it seemed to burst through her, taking over her whole being. She’d become nothing but hope, a ridiculous and impossible hope that she knew she shouldn’t even be daring to experience.
“You hear that?” said Mandy, perking up her head.
Sadie heard it. It was the sound of an engine off in the distance.
No one spoke. Everyone listened.
“It doesn’t sound like the minivan,” whispered James finally, as the engine noise got closer and closer.
Sadie knew he was right. It sounded louder, rougher. The minivan had either been quiet or high-pitched and whiny.
Whatever it was, whoever it was, they were getting closer every minute.
“Look,” said James, pointing.
In the distance, there it was.
Unmistakable.
It was the Ford Bronco.
Coming right towards them down the road.
“Shit,” said a few of them at once.
They all had their rifles up and ready. Everyone except Sadie. She was too stunned to raise her gun. She’d known not to hope, but she’d let it get the best of her, and now… now she was beyond devastated.
“What’s the plan, Mandy?” said Chad.
“Shit if I know,” said Mandy.
“Shoot to kill,” said James. “Shoot as soon as they get out.”
They spoke tensely, knowing that they might have finally found their last living moments.
The Bronco stopped. It was close to them, but Sadie couldn’t see through the windshield. She just saw shadows and reflections playing across it.
The door opened.
“Don’t shoot!”
“It was a familiar voice. Impossibly familiar.
It was her mom.
Alive.
Sadie dropped her gun and ran towards her mother, tears streaming down her face.
“Mom!” cried Sadie.
There were tears in her mom’s eyes as Sadie embraced her, hugging her as tightly as she could, never wanting to let her go.
Max appeared, limping horribly. His face was black and blue, badly swollen. His nose was crooked, dried blood all over his face, poorly wiped off.
James joined in the hug, and for a moment it felt like it was just three of them in the world, their little family together once again. It was as if nothing had happened and nothing ever would happen to them again.
When Sadie finally looked up, Mandy was kissing Max, smashing her pretty face against his battered one.
All of them were laughing and crying, often at the same time.
Sadie felt good.
But she knew it wasn’t over. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“So what’s the plan?” said Chad.
“Same as before,” said Max. “Head west.”
Sadie tried not to hope. She should have known better, but she found herself longing for a calm life, somewhere out west, in a remote spot away from the madness, where they could all start to live again, undisturbed.
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About Ryan Westfield
Ryan Westfield is an author of post-apocalyptic survival thrillers. He’s always had an interest in “being prepared,” and spends time wondering what that really means. When he’s not writing and reading, he enjoys being outdoors.
Contact Ryan at [email protected]
Staying Alive: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller (The EMP Book 2) Page 22