Eternal Refuge

by Annabelle McInnes

  Euan only tripped twice before Nick took the lead, Euan’s hand on his shoulder for direction and support. Their resentment aside, they were in this together. A united front to ensure that they found safety and sanctuary for themselves and for Kira.

  But despite Euan’s best efforts, the memories clouded in, swamped his senses, stole what little focus he retained.

  Ash, flame, the stink of his own flesh as it burned. The taste of blood, the sensation as it dribbled down his torso. His vision black, lost. Pain, pain everywhere, but especially in his heart, where he held the guilt of knowing that he would die in that cabin and Kira and Nick would perish because of it.

  He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.

  ‘We need to find water!’ Nick yelled over his shoulder.

  Euan’s eye scanned their surroundings. Trees, boulders, rotten logs and scrub. The light was tinged orange, the air was murky with smoke. To find water in this environment was to find the proof of the existence of an afterlife.

  Still, Euan nodded and gripped a strong shoulder as Nick changed their course. Fingers were buried deep into Kevlar, the guidance Nick provided unencumbered by the past. A figure of authority, it was Nick’s strength now that provided guidance when Euan could offer none.

  They moved together. Kira clung and Euan stumbled. Nick was their beacon. Soon, the landscape changed, dipped. Nick followed the slope, used it as a conduit that pointed them to safety. It wasn’t long before they stumbled down the sharp edges of a ravine to follow an invisible trail cut by aeons of water into the landscape.

  Each step further, the air cooled. Each length run, the smoke dissipated. Soon, they could breathe without the rasp, could suck air into their lungs without the cough. Kira’s body was tight around Nick’s back. Euan’s shoulder ached from the weight of the packs.

  ‘There.’

  Euan’s focus followed Nick’s finger as he pointed through stunted trees and moss-covered stones. In the distance, water glinted and rippled. If Euan listened closely, he could hear the current fly.

  Kira cried out with relief, and Euan was hard pressed not to omit his own grunt of gratitude. In water, there was safety, his memories would abate and the fire could not reach them. The ravine provided walls of sanctuary. In the water, there was hope.

  They stumbled over the stones and the moss-covered boulders. The dirt squelched under their feet as they made their way forward. Here, the leaf litter was wet, soft. It would hinder whatever fire attempted to cross their path.

  The bank was black, brown and green. The sound of the stream was a chorus made from joy. It bubbled, it rippled, it lapped and tinkled. It was not deep, but it was enough to ensure their safety.

  At the edge, Euan tore off the packs and rifles, his shoulder screamed in protest. His breath was harsh, so was the pain. His feet, his ribs, his damn heart. Christ, he’d just watched men die. He’d shot his handgun point-blank directly into a face of a man who threatened to take Kira. His hands shook even as he attempted to pull the scarf from his head. Mickey-O, fuck. Mickey-O. Their hope, their salvation destroyed in a ball of fiery smoke and ash. Then there was Knight. The man that had orchestrated Euan’s rescue. A man quick-witted, sharp, brave. He would have stood at Mickey-O’s side and brought humanity to heal. In the two of them they had a chance. They had a future …

  And then it hit him.

  Christ, God-Almighty. Lily.

  Sickness, it rose up his throat like a weed made of horror. It took root in his gut and grew. His whole chest burned, and not just from the heat and smoke. He thought back, rummaged through memories tinged with fire. Their truck had been one of the few to survive the carnage. If his memories were correct, Knight and Lily’s was too.

  He waded into the water, it splashed brown and murky at his knees. He needed to feel the relief, the caress of liquid on his skin. Stones and mud created the shore. In the ravine, they were sheltered from the worst of the smoke, but they were open to other dangers. The orange clouds overhead rumbled and rolled. If it rained, this gully could flood. He immediately turned to Nick. ‘Don’t go too deep.’

  Nick nodded as he strode into the water and only then did he allow Kira to slip from his shoulders. Euan’s hand was already out, his arms open to take her into his embrace. The water splashed, ripples abound, as she waded in long strides that used all her strength to achieve. It was easy to snatch her fingers and crush her close. For a moment, he had no intention to ever let her go, even if the flames consumed them.

  ‘Oh heavens,’ she sobbed. ‘Euan … they’re all gone.’

  Euan swallowed, loosened his jaw. Took a breath. There was part of him that wanted to rail with her, succumb to the torrent of emotion that rose inside him. But Kira needed him to be steadfast, Nick needed him to lead. Probably the remainder of the human race needed him too …

  ‘Take one moment at a time. We’re safe here for now. Let’s regroup. Make a plan.’ His focus moved to Nick at the shoreline. ‘Nicky, you good?’

  Nick stood still. A silent sentry at the water’s edge. Liquid lapped at his ankles, his head still wrapped in one of Kira’s scarves. Golden strands peeked through the gaps in the sooty fabric. As Euan watched, he brought both hands up to his mouth and coughed. His body swayed with the effort to remain standing.

  Euan called to him, gestured for him to come closer. Nick looked over his shoulder and green eyes met brown.

  Hesitancy, a pause in time. Nick’s body bunched, muscles encased in dusty black fatigues tightened and his eyes blinked. The tension between them glowed, expanded, then extinguished in a rapid deceleration that made Euan shudder. A high and a low as vibrant and as effective as the rise and fall of the sun. When his focus returned to the water’s edge, his spine hunched, Euan once again shouldered the mantle of leadership between them.

  The burden was heavy, but it was one he bore willingly. He kissed Kira’s forehead, clasped her hand in his and took the few steps to reach the stubborn, quiet man.

  Nick’s breath was deep when Euan placed his hand on his shoulder. ‘You did good,’ he said.

  Nick’s nod was sluggish. It didn’t take long before it turned into a shake of disbelief. ‘They were our last hope.’

  That sickness was back. Euan had to agree.

  ‘There’s still the hotel. Mickey-O would have supplies, men there.’

  The shake of Nick’s head continued. ‘He told me most of his best were with us.’

  Bile, there in his throat. It burned. Christ, it fucking branded his insides with dread. How could this have happened? But even as the wisp of thought passed through his mind, he knew.

  He fucking knew.

  Treachery was easy when there was so much to gain in betrayal.

  Nick shifted out of Euan’s grip with slow reluctance. His scarf was removed and used with warm water to wash the soot and dust from haggard features. Green eyes then turned to flash towards the heavens. ‘Those look like clouds. If we’re lucky, it might rain.’

  Euan’s heart was heavy, his shoulders burdened with the weight of opposing decisions.

  There was so much to gain in moving forward alone. But so much to lose in defeat. To risk their lives in pursuit of hope was something Euan thought he’d never have to do again. He’d tried to save mankind once before.

  Look where that had got him.

  They were leaderless, their numbers decimated. Those that had survived that attack were likely fugitives, running for their lives, hunted by an enemy that was more powerful than they could have ever suspected. Where Parker had amassed that type of explosive power, Euan could only guess, but it had destroyed all their efforts in one single fiery ball of flame. To find those that still lived would be monumental, to bring them back from the brink of destruction, to build them up again, to lead them? And to what? More death, more destruction? A constant battle for survival against an army far more prepared. It was suicide.

  Maybe they had to search for safety elsewhere. Maybe walk their own path. He might be pa
rtially blind, his muscles wasted, but with time, his strength would return. That elusive farmhouse with a wind turbine that he had originally searched for to save Nick from himself was still a possibility …

  But was it the right one?

  He mimicked Nick and squinted towards the sky. Above the flying ash and the wisping smoke, yellow and grey clouds rolled towards them. Lightning flashed within their depths. If they let their watery burden free, the rain would save them all.

  Kira was back in his arms, Nick in his sight. Euan was at a loss.

  The sound of automatic gunfire rattled off in the distance.

  ‘Miles off,’ Nick muttered.

  ‘Still too close,’ Euan returned.

  ‘We need to find shelter,’ Kira added.

  Euan nodded. ‘We do.’

  The stream stretched out before them. They needed to find more than shelter, they needed to find protection, an opportunity for sanctuary, even if it was just so they could fall to their knees and hug in safety.

  Euan needed time. He had to consider their options, the risks and alternatives. He had never been one to make rash decisions, his skill had always been in weighing out the pros and cons. This was no different, except now, both Nick and Kira were at his side, vulnerable and exposed.

  Kira broke the silence, her thoughts a direct hit to his own. ‘We can’t give up. We can’t let him win.’

  Euan’s shoulders sagged, Nick let out a long sigh. Euan wrapped an arm around the woman, the other around the man. Their bodies pressed in warm against him. He kissed both their brows in turn, drew strength from the combined hold they shared. If survival was to win, then death was to lose. Euan did not believe that Parker would give up so easily. If they had known of the bunker, they knew of Kira and Nick.

  Above them, a rumble then a crash, and the sky finally released its burden and allowed the rain to fall. Nick tipped his head back, opened his mouth. The droplets of water splashed on his tongue.

  Euan’s gaze also turned skyward. He blinked as the rain pattered against his cheeks. He had no answers, he had very little hope. But Kira’s words reverberated in his mind.

  We can’t let him win.

  ‘Let’s keep moving,’ he said.

  Chapter 7

  Euan

  Fate was a vengeful mistress. But that evening, she took pity on them.

  Euan slammed through the door using his good shoulder. It splintered into a thousand shards of kindling as the dust from the implosion bloomed around them. He waved his hand in front of his face to clear his vision and coughed as the cloud of decay and abandonment filtered through his lungs. The encroaching gloom thwarted his vision as he scanned the interior of the forsaken barn with his single working eye.

  He scattered what was left of the timber out of the crumbling frame. His calloused hands were coated in the remnants of neglect, the cracks and the beds of his nails dark with the ash. A glance over his shoulder ensured his companions were close before he ducked through the void.

  Critters scampered in his wake as he took the few steps forward into a dusty wooden barn. Above him, the rafters creaked and groaned. Damp and rot were in his nose. The wind whistled through the cracks in the timber and the smell of animals still lingered in the cold air, a reminder of an age of domestication, of hobbies, of diversions.

  A period in the history of the human race that was now lost to the winds of time.

  His boots were loud in the cavernous space. Each step was taken with care, with consideration. When his eye adjusted to the gloom, he latched onto the single most important characteristic of the space.

  It was empty, and it had been for a long time.

  The gates to the stalls were open. The horses that would have slept here had been mercifully set free before their owners had perished. The dust on the floor was unaffected by human intruders. Leaves, straw, soil and the remnants of critters was the only markings that life lived here. Bales of hay lined one wall. Yellow with time, the twine that bound it was faded and frayed. Protected from the elements, it would serve as bedding for tonight.

  Euan said nothing as he limped further inside. A simple gesture of two fingers flicked forward was his only outward indication that it was safe to follow. He heard Nick step over the threshold and sigh. The crinkle of material echoed in the building as Kira slid from his back.

  ‘It is safe?’ she whispered.

  Euan turned as Kira shivered where she stood. Her lips tinted blue as she began to stamp her feet and shake out her limbs in an attempt to dispel the chill from her bones. Platinum hair was flaxen and slick against her skull, her scarf lost to the deluge outside in their flight for shelter. Nick was equally soaked. Dark fatigues clung to lean muscle, wet hair was raked back multiple times with dripping fingers. Short blond eyelashes were clumped over shadowy green eyes.

  Euan’s focus shifted from the temptation that they displayed to traverse the hardwood trusses that supported the building’s slate roof. Rain dripped through the missing tiles, a constant patter of wetness against concrete. He flexed his cold fingers and began to unbuckle the packs from his shoulders. ‘For tonight,’ he said.

  The adrenaline was fading fast from his veins and with it came the pain, the aches, the stings, the fatigue. The pressure he’d put on his body to get them to safety had come at a cost. A significant one. The setback to his healing may put them out for days. He hoped this barn could keep them hidden for more than an hour. He hoped that all the effort they’d put into avoiding detection would pay off.

  He hoped he was relying on more than luck to see them safe.

  He hoped for a fuck-load. All of which would be based on the wiles of chance, nature and one ruler of the damned.

  ‘Let’s get these bales of hay into one of those stalls,’ he murmured as he pointed to the far wall. ‘We’ll use it as bedding. I’ll go see if there is anything useful in the tack room.’

  Nick bumped his shoulder as he moved past. ‘It’s been so long since I’ve had to run for my life. I’m outta shape. I think I’m gonna need to sleep for a week.’

  Kira eyed Nick. ‘So, you’re on first watch?’

  When Nick groaned in reply, a smile touched Euan’s lips. Even though the anger between them fought for supremacy, Nick was still Nick. For this moment, their fatigue and fear broke down the barrier. There was no past or future. Just the present. He’d take the precious moment for what it was—a finite and fleeting thing.

  Euan showed a similar level of caution when he approached the tack room. The door was closed. The frosted pane of glass was gold with grime. The door handle was icy when he touched it, and it took a significant amount of strength before the latch loosened and clicked. The hinges creaked as the door swung inwards to a windowless darkened room.

  Kira was at his side before he had a chance to turn to call her name. She slipped him a pair of infrared goggles that had been stored in a pack. Their fingers brushed and he took comfort in the brief intentional contact. Her skin was streaked with dirt and soot. The crystal blue of her eyes glittered in the limited light.

  She reached up to finger the bandage that was, by some miracle, still wrapped around his head. ‘How are you?’ she asked.

  The sigh that escaped was followed by the sag of his shoulders. He tried not to lean into the touch, then gave up. He’d take whatever she would give him. He was exhausted, in pain, uncertain of what to do next. So, he said, ‘Doing good, sweetheart. You?’

  A knowing smile. It held hurt. It held sorrow and grief.

  He opened his mouth to speak.

  The tips of her fingers moved over his lips. She pressed down to halt his words. Her soft eyes turned hard, an unsurprising defiance glittered from within. ‘Not tonight. It needs to be talked about, but not tonight.’

  Under her fingers, his lips twitched. She had learned too well from him. He nodded despite the turmoil of emotions that brewed inside him. She was right. He needed to ensure their comfort and safety before he approached the subject that still s
at heavily between the three of them.

  Their flight for their lives through fire and flame physically may have happened today, but metaphorically, a war of words and emotions was still to come.

  Once the goggles were strapped to his face, through his one eye, he was able to see that most of the interior was untouched since it had been abandoned. Saddles covered in a layer of white dust lay on powder-coated steel pommels built for that purpose. Leather bridles, reins, corded halters and lead ropes of various lengths and materials were hooked to the walls. Brushes, combs and other horse-care paraphernalia littered the single pine table, the drawers where they were kept still open from when the owner had last rummaged through.

  Scanning the floor, he finally found something of use. Blankets and coats for the horses were piled against a wall. He flicked the infrared vision switch on his goggles and saw that the warm remains of tiny bodies had only infiltrated the layers closest to the floor. He picked the upper coats carefully and shook them out as he left the room. His shoulder protested at the aggressive movements.

  The musky smell of the animals still clung to the material, but Euan found comfort in the domesticated scent. It reminded him of peace, of kindness, of gentleness. A sense of homeliness that he hadn’t recalled in a long time. His mother had loved horses, but they had never had the money to enjoy them other than a brief touch of a velvet nose on the rare occasion they were in the city. Pony rides for children at an out-of-town fair had been the last time, when he was just a boy. He’d ridden the tired and hot beast as a twelve-year-old just so his mother could take a picture and pet its caramel coloured fur.

  He drew in a deep breath in an attempt to use that sense of security to ease his rising trepidation of their current predicament.