Demon Ash

by M. J. Haag

  I waited there until the last truck rolled through and the groups started off. Drav gave me a lingering look and raised his hand in farewell before sprinting away, his long braids moving in the wind. It wasn’t until I turned that I saw Kerr standing behind me.

  “What are you still doing here?” I asked.

  “Molev needed Drav, not me,” he said with a shrug.

  “Bullcrap. They left you behind for a reason. Why?”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “Tell me why, and I’ll find out which girls here might be interested in hooking up with a hot demon man named Kerr.”

  “Drav wants you safe,” he said immediately.

  I grinned, missing that sweet man already.

  “Come on, let’s go find my brother.”

  “I thought we were going to find the girl who likes me.”

  “Patience, Kerr. Girls don’t like guys who seem desperate.”

  After at least an hour of asking and walking around, we found Ryan by the east gate.

  “About time you showed up,” he said, catching sight of me.

  His dark hair lay plastered to his scalp, and his shirt had sweat stains under the arms and down his chest. He strode over and gave me a huge hug.

  “You stink,” I said, returning the hug before pulling back.

  “I’m conserving supplies by skipping deodorant.” He grinned widely.

  “And soap from the smell of it. What are you doing to get so sweaty?”

  “Just finishing clean up.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the dead infected on the ground outside the gate. “We load them up, then the armed group takes them to the burning grounds.”

  “That sounds gross.”

  “It is. But it’s worse if we leave them lying there. Not only do they smell, but the infected are getting smarter and have started using the bodies to climb the fence.”

  “Ew. How much longer do you have to work?”

  “I’d get done faster if you helped.”

  “No, Mya,” Kerr said immediately.

  I rolled my eyes and gave Ryan a shrug.

  “I promised I would stay inside the fence.”

  Ryan looked at Kerr and offered his hand. Kerr took it immediately, surprising me. It shouldn’t have though. The fey learned quickly.

  “This is Kerr. Drav went out to help clear a safe zone, and Kerr got stuck babysitting me.”

  “Not stuck, Mya. I volunteered.”

  “I’m Ryan. I hear you guys are pretty strong and fast. Any chance you want to take over for me so I can spend some time with my sister?”

  “Please?” I asked.

  “Yes, I will take over. Where will I find you when I’m finished?” Kerr replied.

  “Shooting range,” Ryan said. He hooked his arms around me and started tugging me along. With a grin and a wave to Kerr, I willingly obliged.

  “Why are we going to the shooting range?” I asked once we were out of sight. “And did you even get to sleep last night?”

  “I grabbed a few hours. But, there’s a lot of work to be done. Which is why you’re going to spend some time on the range. You have to be able to shoot to go on a supply run with me this afternoon.”

  I stopped walking.

  “I promised Drav I wouldn’t go outside the fence.”

  “I know. But I also know you’ll break that promise.”

  “Why?”

  “I know you’ve been paying attention, Mya. Even with everyone helping, we’re dying here. There aren’t enough of us experienced supply scavengers left. If you don’t help out, it’ll be some kid too young to hold a gun or some older person who can barely walk. We need supplies. You and I have to be a part of those who go, or the people here will starve.

  “I get that Drav cares about you. Do you think Mom and Dad don’t worry every time I go out? We can’t hide behind the fence.”

  “You suck,” I said, knowing he was right. “And Drav’s going to be so mad when he finds out.”

  Ryan grinned, and we continued to the indoor shooting range where he showed me how to use the gun I would be assigned. I wasn’t that good, but he told me that with all the infected the fey had killed, there would be less around for the supply run.

  When I finished emptying my current clip into the target, I engaged the safety and set the gun back down. Taking off my earmuffs, I studied the odd pattern of holes around the head I’d been targeting.

  “When do we leave?” I asked, turning to Ryan.

  Kerr stood just behind my brother.

  “Where are you going?” Kerr asked.

  I shifted my gaze to Ryan, who looked far too amused.

  “Ryan, where are we going next?” I asked, hoping the change in wording would ease Kerr’s mind.

  “Well, you’re going to go back to your tent to take a nap like a good little ward, and I’m taking Kerr to meet some of my crew.”

  I glanced at Kerr. “He means friends.”

  “Will there be females?” Kerr asked, losing his frown.

  “Yep. Not sure they’re worth your time, but I’ll let you be the judge of that,” Ryan said with a shrug.

  Kerr grinned widely, showing off his very pointed canines.

  “Whoa,” Ryan muttered.

  Kerr didn’t hear. He was busy promising me that he would not ask to see anyone’s pussy or boobs.

  “You know what? You’re with Ryan, now, and his responsibility. Have fun.”

  I left Ryan with Kerr and started my way back to the temporary housing. I knew darn well Ryan hadn’t meant for me to actually nap; besides, the tent would be too chilly without Drav to warm me. But, with nothing else to do, I went there anyway, wanting some time to think.

  Around me, people moved with the same weariness as the day before. Some were armed. Some carried things from one building to another. Ryan was right. I needed to pitch in. To help ease some of the strain. Supply runs were a start. After he and I returned, I would talk to Matt to find out what more I could do. Not just me, but the fey, too. These scouting missions were fine, but the fey needed to integrate and become part of the community. Their presence might be what the survivors needed to give humanity hope again.

  I’d just reached the tent I shared with Drav when Mom found me.

  “Hi, sweetie. Want to come with me and help with laundry?”

  “I’m not sure if I have time. Ryan said he wanted me to go with him on a supply run.”

  Her expression went from happy to troubled.

  “Well, if you’re going with Ryan, you won’t have time for laundry. Promise me you will be careful,” she said. “I worry every time Ryan leaves. I understand he has to go, but I still can’t stop wishing it were someone else.”

  I stepped close and hugged her. “I get it. But, we’ll be smart and watch out for each other. When I get back, I’ll see what I can do to start helping around here.”

  She hugged me tightly in return then released me.

  “You’ll need to talk to Matt. He’ll add you to the work schedule.”

  “I’ve been wanting to ask, what’s the story with him? I know Dad said the military is more relaxed because of so many civilians helping out, but why just Matt and not Commander or some kind of title?”

  “We haven’t had much luck with people in charge here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s the eleventh leader. All the ones before him have died in some tragic or unnecessary way. Infected. Hellhounds. Suicide.”

  “Suicide? Now?”

  “I know. To make it through so much and then give up.” Mom shook her head. “Knowing that something purposely allowed those hellhounds in shook everyone.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You saw the lights all over this place. They keep the hounds away at night. Over a week ago, someone shot the lights with arrows. The hounds broke through the fence, and well, I already told you the rest.

  “Anyway, after that incident, the commander in charge decided living wasn’t wort
h it anymore. There was some dispute about who was next in line. No one wanted to be that person. Matt stepped up and said we needed to change. That military rank no longer mattered. That we were a ragtag group struggling to survive in a world that had either forgotten about us or that had already given up. He said we’d probably all die within a week, but he wasn’t ready to give up a day of that remaining time without at least trying. Most of the people agreed we weren’t going to make it. But, we all wanted to keep trying.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “Five days,” she said with a sad smile. “Our numbers have been cut in half since then.”

  Matt had been in charge for four days before we arrived. I thought of his desperation to talk to Molev right away, the maps in his room, and all those color-coded pins.

  “When we heard from McAlester that there might be a way to kill the hounds, that help might be coming…well, that lit a new fire in everyone’s hearts. Everyone’s but Matt’s. He cautioned us not to believe in something we hadn’t seen for ourselves.”

  “That’s why he drew all the infected in?”

  “Yes.” She glanced over my shoulder. “Here comes your brother.”

  I turned to look at Ryan.

  “Where’s Kerr?” I asked.

  “Talking to Julie.”

  “Oh, Ryan. That poor man will be stuck there for hours,” Mom said.

  “Who’s Julie?” I asked.

  “A lonely woman grieving the loss of her entire family. She’ll talk to anyone who will listen.”

  “Kerr said he wanted to meet her,” Ryan said.

  I shook my head, knowing he’d made the introduction to distract Kerr.

  “We better get going,” I said to Mom. Now, more than ever, I wasn’t going to let Ryan go out alone. I knew what might be waiting out there.

  “Be careful,” she said.

  “We will,” I promised. She hugged us both then walked away.

  Ryan and I jogged across the compound. My heart hammered the entire time. I half expected Kerr to show up and tell me I couldn’t go. However, Ryan seemed to have found the perfect distraction because we reached the gate without spotting Kerr.

  Two military trucks with several armed men already loaded in the backs waited near the gate.

  “Thought you weren’t going to show,” one of the men called to Ryan just as the inner gate swung open to allow the first truck to enter.

  Ryan and I jumped into the back of the second one. The man near the back reached out and pulled the metal grate up and pinned it in place, creating a clever cage that would keep us safer from infected.

  “Not a chance. Mya, this is Tom.”

  Ryan introduced me to the rest of the guys in the truck, twelve including us, then asked where we were going.

  “Warrensburg,” Tom said.

  “I thought it was marked,” Ryan said.

  My stomach sank.

  “The town is. But, there’s a high school and a few gas stations on the outer edge. We’ll scout the school first and if it seems clear, hit it and hopefully find enough food to last us a while.”

  The truck rolled through the gate, and I looked out at the wide unprotected expanse of field.

  I didn’t know how far Warrensburg was from Whiteman, but I hoped we’d return before Kerr noticed me missing.

  Eighteen

  Trees lined the sides of the road, their barren canopy creating a creepy tunnel. No one spoke over the rumble of the engine as we stood in the back, watching the roadsides. Ready for anything, each man had his gun aimed outward through narrow windows in the steel grates.

  Nervous energy made me feel twitchy. Yes, I had volunteered for this. The people at Whiteman needed food. And, I didn’t want Ryan to go without me, not when I could see how exhausted he and most of the other men were. But, knowing I needed to help didn’t make me feel any better about leaving the security of the fence. Drav would be furious with me.

  The truck rocked as we hit a pot-hole.

  “Is this the safest route?” I whispered to Ryan.

  “Nothing is really safe anymore, Sis. You should know that.”

  Yeah, I did know. Ryan nudged me playfully with his shoulder.

  “So you and the big gray dude, huh?”

  “Shut up,” I whispered, almost smiling. Only Ryan would bring up my love life at a time like this.

  “Debris in the road,” Tom said, keeping his voice low. “Watch the trees.”

  The truck slowed, and I glanced at Ryan.

  “We’ll probably be able to drive over whatever it is.”

  A series of pops went off from the lead truck.

  “One from the trees,” Mark, who watched the front, said. “He’s down now.”

  The rest of us kept our eyes on the trees as the first truck went through whatever the infected had tried to put in our way. Branches based on the sounds. Our truck rolled over the debris next without another infected sighting.

  I glanced back at the trunks of the two large trees laying in the road, and anxiety coiled in my belly as we drove on. It didn’t feel right that only one infected had been out on its own. Not with that kind of trap laid. The thought that the infected were getting smart enough to not attempt an attack because we didn’t stop made me shiver. Hopefully, there was a different route home.

  It didn’t take as long as I had expected to reach Warrensburg. Other than the trees, we didn’t run into any more obstacles.

  “Is this the first run to this place?”

  “Nah, we’ve hit Warrensburg before. We went to a preschool the first time. General store another time. We try to pick locations on the outskirts. It’s too dangerous to go further in because of the noise of the vehicles,” Ryan explained.

  It took a few more minutes before I spotted the high school. The large building dominated the surrounding acreage while the parking lot sat barren and ghostly.

  How long had it been since students walked Warrensburg High’s halls? Around a month now, I figured. School felt like a lifetime ago. Ryan had been a senior. Would he ever graduate, now? I glanced over at him and doubted it. He wasn’t that kid anymore, and our new lives didn’t require diplomas.

  The trucks cruised through the parking lot straight toward the side entrance where they stopped and cut the engines.

  “In and out guys and girl,” Tom said quietly. “If you see an infected, try to avoid it. If you have to shoot, shoot to kill and get out before more come. Truck one has the cafeteria. We’re here for the routine things. Sanitary items. Let’s move.”

  Two of the men quietly opened and lowered the back gate. The first man jumped out of the truck and headed toward the doors, which opened without a sound.

  A crackle of static came from the cab as I waited my turn to climb out the back. I glanced at the cab as the driver picked up the radio and spoke quietly. He turned to look back at me through the window.

  Tom went around to the driver, and Ryan nudged me so I would get moving. Mark remained, closing the gate and guarding the truck.

  I checked the safety on my gun and started toward the side door with Ryan when a hand came down on my shoulder.

  “You weren’t supposed to come, little lady,” Tom said.

  It felt like a rock settled in my stomach. A radio call from the base meant that Kerr knew I was missing.

  “We need help, right?” Ryan said before I could speak for myself. “We all pitch in to stay alive.”

  “Just keep an eye on her,” Tom said, before moving past us into the building.

  Ryan nodded his head for me to follow.

  Inside, the lights didn’t work. The hall we stood in wasn’t completely dark, but several of the men held penlights and shined them up and down the hall’s length. The school looked normal, just empty.

  “Look for supply closets near the bathrooms. Grab what you can and get back to the truck,” Tom said.

  The eleven of us split into two groups. Ryan and I went to the right with three others. If we hurried and got
what we needed, I’d be back before Kerr could really freak out. Hopefully.

  My group walked down the hallway, one of the men’s penlights helping to illuminate the way. Light filtered into the hall from closed classroom doors. We came to a set of stairs.

  “We’ll go up and start a sweep of the second floor. You two finish up down here. There has to be a bathroom somewhere.”

  Ryan nodded. I hesitated. I wanted to get back to base quickly. Splitting up would be the fastest way to make that happen. But, it didn’t feel like the safest. I looked up and down the hallway. There were no blockades or other signs of infected traps.

  “You good?” the guy asked me.

  I nodded and watched them slowly make their way up the stairs. Ryan motioned for me to follow, and we started down the hall again. Near the end, where the hall branched off to the left, we found bathrooms and a supply closet. Ryan tried the nob. It didn’t budge.

  “Shit,” he said softly.

  A brush of noise came from behind us. I looked down the hall but saw nothing. Neither Ryan nor I moved as we waited to see if the sound would repeat itself.

  The sudden pop that echoed through the halls made us both jump.

  “Come on.” I tugged on Ryan’s arm, ready to lead him away from the gunfire.

  “It’s okay, Mya. In a town this size, there is bound to be an infected roaming in here. Hopefully, it was the guy with the keys to the supply closet.”

  Several more shots rang through the hallway, followed by a scream that bounced down the halls. Ryan’s wide eyes met mine.

  “Time to go,” he said.

  He clicked off his light and held his gun between his hands.

  “Which way?” I asked.

  Ryan paused, looking down both hallways. At the very end of the one we’d already walked, a person staggered forward, stopped, and turned in our direction.

  Ryan switched his grip on his gun and grabbed my hand, pulling me down the opposite hall. A groan echoed after us. I didn’t dare look back as we ran side by side.

  A door opened just as we passed. An infected lunged out and grabbed for Ryan, the momentum taking them both to the floor. I stopped and aimed at the infected, watching its jaws snap at Ryan as my brother held it back with a forearm to the throat.

  I exhaled and pulled the trigger. The boom of the shot rang in my ears as the infected fell to the side. Rushing forward, I hauled Ryan to his feet. He picked up his gun.