The Phoenix Curse (Book 3): After

by D. R. Johnson

  Stephanie asked, "Why are we stopping?" She sounded terrified.

  "I need a moment," I answered as I slid out of the truck, knowing Joss would follow me. I eased the door closed, not wanting to agitate the freaks any more than they already were. They pressed against the fence but stopped when they couldn't push through. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I searched the landscape for anything moving in the distance.

  "What are we going to do?" Joss asked as he joined me, leaning against the truck.

  I ground my teeth together, the defeat and pain rising to unbearable levels. I walked up the road a few paces, trying to calm myself, but it wasn't working. My voice was rough and sounded unfamiliar to my ears. "I want to kill him."

  Joss was silent for a moment. Finally, he stepped away from the truck, replying softly. "He deserves it, but we have to get Hope and Stephanie safe first. So, what are we going to do?"

  I groaned, looking out across the horizon. As I stared at the line where the night sky met the earth, a small patch of sky to the north caught my attention. I raised up on tiptoe, focusing on the barely perceptible glow that pushed back the darkness, but it was so distant that even my eyes couldn't make much of it.

  "Let's make it through the night." I finally said, not bothering to point out what I saw to Joss. He wouldn't be able to see it anyway. "Maybe I can figure something out in the morning."

  I took a few more minutes to relax, taking in a deep breath of the cool night air. It was hard to say if it helped or not. Joss hung back by the truck, watching and waiting. I scanned the area around me one more time when something occurred to me.

  "Can you hear anything?"

  "You mean besides those fuckers over there breathing?" He scoffed, and I spun on him, caught off guard by his tone. He was ready for my reaction and was smirking slightly, but there was no humor in his eyes. He shook his head.

  I sniffed loudly as I walked past him. "Watch your mouth."

  I climbed into the cab and looked in on the girls in the backseat. Stephanie was wrapped in her blanket, staring out the window toward the freaks. Hope sat in her mother's lap with her head resting against Meg's shoulder. She had drifted off to sleep.

  "We're going to keep moving. Hopefully, we'll find a place up the road to hold up for the night." I said softly, doing my best not to disturb Hope. Meg only nodded in reply, and she ran her hands over Hope's hair, smoothing it out.

  "We forgot her shoes," Meg said absently.

  Joss pulled his door shut quietly and looked back at her. "There might be some in the back. I left some stuff in there while I was rearranging supplies."

  Meg didn't comment as she continued to stroke Hope's hair. Joss gave me a concerned look and arched an eyebrow in question. I shook my head. Meg needed time. The traumatic loss she had experienced tonight was taking its toll.

  After starting the truck, I set the trip meter back to zero. The road was fairly clear, although sand had blown over the concrete and built up a thick layer in spots. It didn't pose much of a problem for the dually, but I worried about the tracks we were leaving behind. A solid trail for Reed to follow, but there wasn't anything we could do about it.

  My eyes were continuously drawn to the trip meter as it counted out the miles. Every mile we gained was another mile between us and Reed. I drove slowly, barely going twenty miles an hour, but I was willing to drive all night. We had covered nearly forty miles when the dark horizon in front of us began to form into blocky shapes. By the time I realized they were buildings, we were close enough that our headlight would have given us away, but I turned it off anyway. There were no lights, no sign of anyone living there, and no freaks. As we drew closer, I realized we had stumbled on a small, uninhabited town. Population zero.

  There were only a handful of buildings, and one of them had been burned to the ground. All the windows were shattered, and the weeds had taken over.

  "What do you guys think?" I asked. Stephanie leaned forward to get a better look out the window, but it was Joss that answered me.

  "I'll look around." He said, and I nodded.

  Joss ran from one building to the next, taking several minutes in each one, and finally poked his head out to wave us in. I drove the truck onto the curb, getting as close to the door as possible.

  Joss opened the passenger door and said, "This whole place has been cleaned out. There's nothing left."

  I frowned at him. "No supplies?"

  "It's more than just supplies. Everything is gone."

  I stepped out of the truck, looking around curiously. I blinked when I saw Joss already helping Stephanie out of the truck. He was only gone a few minutes. "Are you sure it's clear?"

  "Yes." He said firmly.

  My jaw dropped, not understanding how he could be so sure. Stephanie seemed to be in agreement with me because she planted herself against the truck, refusing to go further. Meg was equally reluctant to take Hope from the safety of the cab.

  "Stay with them. I'll look around." I said, pulling the flashlight out of my pack. As I walked off, I mumbled under my breath. "You better be right."

  "What was that?" Joss said from behind me. The tone of his voice was a challenge, however. He had heard me.

  I kept walking.

  Stepping inside, I paused a moment to allow my eyes to adjust. Slowly, the dark room became clear to me in the shadows, and I knew it was empty, but how did Joss know? There was no way he could see through this darkness. I shook my head in disbelief, flipping on the flashlight to sweep it through the room.

  Whoever had looted this place didn't leave much behind. There were a few benches and tables left, but only because they were bolted to the floor. Enough of the building was vacant, and I couldn't figure out what purpose it served in the old days. A restaurant maybe, judging by the tables. I wasn't certain.

  I walked to the back room, seeing more empty spaces, but not much else. There was nothing in here to barricade the doors, or even sit on. The building was small and open. Not the best place to defend, but it would have to do for the night.

  I walked back to the front room and saw that Joss had coaxed Stephanie and Meg inside. They huddled in the middle of the room, looking lost. Hope was sound asleep, cradled in Meg's arms.

  "Where's Joss?" I asked, wondering why he wasn't with them.

  "Getting the packs," Stephanie answered. Seconds later, he walked in with a bundle in his arms.

  "This way." He said, walking past us to the back room. I frowned at him as he passed, and handed the light off to Stephanie. The two followed him while I guarded the rear.

  Stephanie swung the light as she went, inspecting everything, but I was watching Joss. I had no idea what he was up to. When he stepped around a column and disappeared, I groaned loudly. I hadn't walked this far into the room, so I had missed the small hallway. How could I be so worried about Joss being careless, that I had been guilty of that very thing?

  I clenched my teeth, irritated with myself. Stepping around Stephanie and Meg, I followed Joss down the short hallway. It circled around to a large closet, picked bare, but big enough to fit three people lying down. It was enclosed and defensible.

  "Good?" Joss asked as he dropped his bundle, not waiting for an answer.

  My lips twisted wryly, and I nodded.

  Stephanie slipped the flashlight to me as she passed and began to settle down without protest. She tucked her blanket around herself and propped her pack against the wall for a pillow. It seemed easy for her, but she'd seen much worse than this since she started traveling with us.

  Joss produced a small blanket and was laying it down for Meg and Hope, but when Meg tried to lay her down, Hope squealed in protest. Meg pulled her close and began to whisper in her ear.

  "Shh, it's okay. You're safe here. You can sleep here. Mommy's not going anywhere."

  Meg's coaxing words calmed Hope, and she finally accepted her spot on the pallet. Meg sat down beside her, but I doubted she would sleep. I pulled Joss to the entrance of the hallway,
whispering so I wouldn't disturb the others.

  "How were you so sure this place was clear? You were only in here for a few minutes."

  He shrugged, giving me a small smirk as he tapped his ear. "I didn't hear anything."

  My mouth gaped, "Unbelievable."

  "I can hear them breathing from here." He pointed down the hallway. "If a freak had been here, it would have moved when I ran through, and I would have heard it."

  I leaned back, folding my arms as I considered. I recalled the strange glow I had seen to the north, and knew it was impossible for ordinary eyes to see it. It was the same for Joss. His hearing was as inhuman as my eyesight, and I would learn to trust it. I nodded. "Okay."

  Joss reached out, taking the flashlight from me and said, "I'll take first watch."

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next morning, Meg woke me at dawn. She motioned me to follow her, and I pulled myself to my feet, wiping the dust off my clothes. The floor was dirty.

  Stifling a yawn, I joined Meg in the larger room and asked, "Joss on watch?"

  "Yes. I checked on him a bit ago. He's carving... something." Meg paused, looking somewhat surprised by what she said. "He seems good at it."

  "His brother taught him."

  Meg smiled slightly, but it dropped from her face seconds later. She was struggling to cope with everything that had happened, and it was painful to watch. She exhaled loudly as she reached for her ear lobe, but caught herself. Instead, she folded her arms before she spoke. "I wanted to talk to you alone when I had the chance."

  "Of course," I said automatically.

  Meg chewed on her bottom lip as she hesitated, seeming indecisive. Finally, she reached for my hand, and I faltered. I expected she wanted to use her talent, but I wasn't prepared to feel her barrage of emotions on top of my own. It was too early in the morning for that. I raised my hand, giving her an apologetic look, but she didn't notice. She was too absorbed in what she wanted to tell me. Pressing her palm against mine, we laced our fingers together.

  Tears brimmed in her eyes, and her emotions were swirling within me before she began to speak. That was a first. I clenched my jaw as I struggled to keep them separate from my own.

  "I want you to know I'm sorry." She said. "I'm sorry I didn't leave when you wanted us to leave. I was so scared of what was out here, scared to bring Hope into all this. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

  "Meg." I sighed, a knot forming in my throat. I felt her guilt, her struggle, and it was too familiar, too similar to what I was already feeling. The lines began to blur. "I led Reed straight to--"

  "No." She said forcefully, interrupting me. "You didn't know we were there, and you warned us. It was my decision to stay, and I got Gordon..."

  Meg choked off into sobs and spun away from me. The strange link between us ripped away as she turned. She was trying to apologize, but her guilt had compounded with my own, and together, the emotion had started to spiral out of control. I took several deep breaths before I could calm myself, but Meg was taking longer to pull herself out of it.

  I centered myself, latching on to my feelings of survival and strength while I pushed the pain and guilt away. I touched her shoulder, needing her to feel my resolve, needing her to feed off my strength. Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth and let the words come. "This is Reed's fault, not ours. One day I'll find a way to pay him back, but for now, we're going to get Hope and Stephanie to a safe place. We will get them safe, and we aren't going to lose anyone else. We have each other now. We're a family, and we'll take care of each other."

  You're stronger than this, Meg. Find your strength!

  The words sounded weak to me. I was never good at making speeches, but thankfully, Meg's talent did what my words couldn't. She sniffed and wiped her face, turning back to me. The pain was there, hiding in her eyes, but she stood straighter. The defeated slump in her shoulders was gone.

  "Thank you," She embraced me in a tight hug, and my eyes went wide. I wasn't expecting it, but I recovered fast enough to avoid it being awkward. Wrapping my arms around her, I gently patted her back and even managed to ignore how uncomfortable I felt when the hug lingered.

  Joss stepped into the open doorway, a smile on his face. He nodded once to me before turning around to lean against the door frame, leaving his back to us. My cheeks heated when I realized he had heard the whole exchange.

  "I have to find something to plug those ears," I muttered.

  "What?" Meg pulled back, shocked. Her head turned as she followed my eyes, and then she smiled unexpectedly. "I do like having you weirdos around. It makes me feel like less of a freak."

  I cringed, frowning at her. "We're not freaks."

  Meg grinned at me, and I heard Joss chuckle. I rolled my eyes and walked outside, shoving Joss's shoulder as I passed him. Meg followed me, looking curiously at our surroundings. "This place looks so different than Vegas."

  "Someone looted it, or it was evacuated," I answered. I had spent some time walking around the buildings during my watch, and everything was stripped bare. There was nothing worth salvaging.

  "What are we going to do?"

  "There's nothing here for us," I said. "We should wake the girls and get moving again. Even if Reed doesn't have a vehicle, he could probably track us here within a day."

  I glanced back the way we had come, and saw the tire tracks clearly in the sand covering the road. There was no way to hide our passing, but at least Reed couldn't track us at night. Both Meg and Joss had followed my eyes to the road, and they nodded in agreement.

  "I'll wake the girls," Meg said, turning to disappear into the building.

  As soon as she was out of earshot, Joss asked, "Where are we going?"

  "North," I said without pause. "I saw something last night. Some lights that I don't think were natural. Area 51 might be a real settlement."

  He ran a hand through his hair, a look of concern crossing his face. "Good. We don't have a lot of food. There are some supplies in the truck, but nothing useful. Not even trade goods."

  I closed my eyes and sighed. All that time gathering things in Vegas, and none of it made it with us. I said, "We'll find something. We always do."

  "We don't always find good things." He said flatly and reached into the bed of the truck. He pulled out a handful of familiar brown packets.

  "MREs?" I groaned, turning away from him and the offensive food packs. "I can wait."

  Joss chuckled, but he was serious. He prepared a pack for Stephanie and Hope, although Hope refused to touch hers. Meg ended up finishing it off, and I wasn't entirely sure Stephanie would keep hers down.

  As we started our drive, all eyes were wide and staring out the windows at the landscape. Hope was in awe, but I was looking for buildings, signs of life, and Reed, but the only thing out there was sand and rocks.

  It was difficult staying on the road at times. Some stretches were obscured by sand, and most of the road signs were gone. When we passed a toppled sign, I had to stop the truck to look at it. I smiled with relief when I recognized the road name. We were heading the right way.

  "Why aren't there any cars?" Joss said after a while. I had wondered the same but didn't mention it. Meg and Stephanie didn't need to worry about something we couldn't change. His question got their attention.

  I clenched my jaw together to stop a groan, but decided it was best to share my thoughts. "I think that last town had time to evacuate."

  "Where'd they go?" Stephanie asked.

  "That's what we want to find out," I answered, and it ended the conversation. I was able to catch a glimpse of Meg in the rear view mirror, and she was staring out the window thoughtfully. She had said all of her friends had gone north. Maybe she hoped to find them.

  The trip meter continued to spin. We had gone eighty miles when the truck sputtered. My heart leaped anxiously as a loud rumble shook the frame, and the engine cut out. I pumped the pedal, feeding it more fuel, and the truck stuttered before coming back to life.

 
I sighed heavily, ignoring the looks everyone was giving me. If the truck died out here, I had nothing to fix it with. We gained several more miles before it happened again. I slipped the transmission into neutral and let the truck drift down the road before I tried the ignition. It responded.

  Stephanie leaned forward, the strain in her voice almost palpable. "What's wrong?"

  "We might be walking soon," I grumbled. I felt her fall back into her seat.

  My stomach twisted in knots. I had chosen this course thinking we would be able to get away if anything looked off, but that option was dangerously close to dying along with the truck. I gripped the steering wheel with my sweaty palms and continued down the road.

  The truck held out a while longer, long enough for me to realize that the rock formations we were coming up on were a little too uniform to be natural. We were closing in on another town, and this one I didn't remember from my maps.

  I could clearly see the buildings before Joss sat up. He shot a quick glance at me, realizing that I already knew what we were driving into, but before he could say anything, the truck sputtered out again. I coasted, tried turning the engine over, but nothing. The truck rolled to a stop, the trip meter stopping right before it rolled over to one-hundred and five.

  "Goddammit!" I spat, slapping my hand against the steering wheel. The cab was quiet after my outburst as everyone let the situation sink in. I reached forward to pop the hood and climbed out of the cab, diligently going through the motions to see if I could fix the problem. I knew I wouldn't be able to. Not without tools or parts, or a brand new engine.

  I slammed the hood, and turned toward the town that sat in the distance. Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned against the truck and stared ahead. Joss joined me moments later.

  "We need to get off the road," I said, not looking at him.

  "What can you see?"

  "Nothing," I replied. "Not a damn thing. Nothing's moving up there."