by Leela Ash
Jax nodded.
“Look, it gets better!”
They had suddenly come upon a gravel pathway. They glanced at each other excitedly. Each side of the path was littered with edible berry bushes.
“This is quaint,” Jax said, plucking a berry from its stem and popping it into his mouth. Layne laughed. Jax was the kind of person who would say “quaint and mean it.” She followed his lead, picking a handful of berries, and they began walking down the path, unsure of what they would find.
“Why do I feel like this is Hansel and Gretel?” Layne asked as they moved forward cautiously.
“Maybe we all feel like characters in a book when things are too good to be true, because we believe the catch will come at any minute.”
“What if I choose not to believe in a catch this time?” The day had been too perfect.
“We'll find out when we reach the end of the path,” Jax said with a shrug.
They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, picking berries and eating until finally, they reached a clearing. They stared at the sight in disbelief, clinging to each other's hands tightly.
They were standing in front of a giant solar panel, surrounded by a garden – boxes of raised beds with old, shriveled, plants wilting in them.
“This is unreal,” Jax said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. If he had glasses he would put them on right now.
“Pinch me,” Layne whispered. Jax pinched her butt and she laughed, pushing him away. “Ass.”
He grinned, turning to her, giddy with pleasure.
“This means running water. They would need a well out here. Layne, you can have this. We can keep it. You can have a home again!”
The threat of the wild dogs seemed like a distant memory. Here was the remains of somebody's dreamland. A place that was already growing its own compost. The animals got into all of the food of course, they would have to be careful, but it was a start. They embraced tightly, and Layne wept tears of joy. Jax held her tightly, kissing the top of her head. She would be safe her, and they would stick together, creating a home, somewhere stable where he could bring his brother to safety.
THE END
Love and Survival in the Time After
BOOK 2
Leela Ash
Copyright ©2016 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter 1
Jax looked at Layne lying naked in the sunlight as it streamed through the bedroom window of their homestead. He grinned as the light tickled her nose and she crinkled it, turning toward the shady wall and snuggling deeper into their blankets. It had been so long since they were on the run that domestic life seemed almost natural.
So when he heard the branch cracking outside the window, his instinct was to brush it off, assuming it was the wildlife. There were sometimes bears and deer that romped through the forest, but since the virus hit, they weren't wanting for food. They generally left the human population alone. But the next thing Jax heard made him grow rigid. He sat up quickly in bed, hoping he had heard wrong. He'd heard shuffling. A snap and a grunt. Somebody was outside in the garden.
Jax sat up slowly, careful not to wake Layne. The last thing she needed was to worry about somebody ruining the garden she had spent all her spare time focusing on. She had put her whole soul into making the garden flourish, single-handedly providing them with a steady supply of simple vegetables. She was still slaving away, collecting seeds and creating raised beds for the garden so that when the next season arrived, she would be able to plant the proper crops.
They'd been there for a good six months; just the right amount of time to allow her tomato and zucchini plants to flourish. They'd enjoyed steady meals of meat and vegetables and were able to keep barrels of boiled water on hand. They had forgotten that life could be so stable, and now that they'd managed to fall into a routine, they had forgotten that life could be so full of danger at every turn.
Jax pulled on his boxers and crept to the closet beside the front door of their cabin, grabbing his rifle and making sure it was loaded. He took a deep breath and cocked the gun as he stepped outside, closing the door with a gentle thud behind him. He began to perspire as he crept around the side of the cabin, sneaking to where Layne's garden was laying vulnerable to the elements.
Fortunately, Layne thought of everything. They had used some chemist's tricks and natural planting methods to keep pests away. That didn't stop the rabbits and deer though, so Jax had set up traps for them. Those they caught made it to the table, while the luckier, perhaps smarter ones, avoided the area altogether. It was a win-win situation.
But someone had breached the security and Jax was certain that it wasn't an animal. They hadn't expected very much human encroachment, though. They had managed to get out of the tribal territories. Suddenly, a wave of cold fear struck Jax and he paused behind an evergreen tree, clutching the rifle. What if the Jackals had found them? One of them had been left alive and knew what Jax and Layne both looked like. Did they come for revenge? Had they done anything to safeguard against that kind of breach?
They had done their best to reinforce the fence that had been constructed around the homestead before the virus had stolen away its inhabitants. Fortunately, they hadn't found any remains on the property, so whoever it had belonged to before the apocalypse had probably caught it early and died in the hospital waiting to be treated. That was a small comfort when they began to settle into their new home, knowing that the suffering and the oozing had happened elsewhere.
He was under the bedroom window now and thought of Layne, sleeping soundly inside, oblivious to the danger. The urge to protect her spurned him on and he tensed up as he ducked into the garden and raised his rifle; peering through the foliage of a large bush.
A man – skin and bones – was eagerly sinking his teeth into a tomato. His hair was thin and black and balding at the top. He looked like he might be in his late forties. It didn't look like he was armed and there was no sign that he was a Jackal. In fact, he wasn't dressed like any other tribe that Jax was familiar with, and Jax found the rest of his courage. It wasn't a trap; he wouldn't be harmed.
He stepped into the open, holding his rifle in plain sight but not necessarily aiming it at the man. The man froze, his eyes wide.
“Jon?” he asked, squinting. “How did you...?”
“Jon?” Jax asked, his heart quickening. “No, I'm Jax.”
The man's face brightened, as he squinted and came closer.
“No shit?” he exclaimed. “So you're his brother? You look just like him, I thought...I lost my glasses a while back and... Wow.”
“You know my brother? Do you know where he is?”
“I know where I saw him last,” the man said, lowering the tomato. “Look, sorry about the food. It's just been a while and…”
“Don't worry about it,” Jax said, studying the man's gaunt, tired face. He would have done the same thing in a similar situation. Compared to how he had been forced to survive on his own, Jax had it easy now that he was with Layne and they'd found the homestead. “Actually, why don't you stay for dinner. Can you wait here a minute? I'm going to go tell my w-”
Jax paused, realizing that he almost referred to Layne as his wife. He grinned to himself and shook his head. “My girlfriend will be surprised if I just drag a guy in from off the street...so to speak.”
“Wow, that sounds great,” the man said, sincerely thrilled. Suddenly, Jax felt nervous. Would this man want to stay for good now that he'd found somewhere comfortable? Would he betray Jax and Layne to take whatever he could get.
“Where are you heading anyway?” he asked the man, reluctant to leave him alone. He would feel better about showing him kindness if he knew he had somewhere to be.
“I'm on a missi
on actually. To recruit people for my...well, it's not a tribe exactly, but it's a community.”
“Is my brother part of that community?” Jax asked.
The man shook his head.
“No, he's kind of a wandering spirit,” the man said with a laugh. “But he did give us a lot of good advice.”
“All right. What's your name?”
“Al,” he said.
“Al, wait here, okay? I'd like to ask you some questions over dinner.”
Al nodded, his face bright, and Jax went inside to wake up Layne.
Chapter 2
Layne's clear, ocean-colored eyes shone in disbelief as Al stuffed his face on a small bounty of vegetables and rabbit meat. She felt a little sad that the venison wasn't ready yet. They'd hung it to cure and she had a strong desire to be a good hostess; in a way she wanted to show Jax that she was still a civilized person underneath it all. He seemed to notice; his dark eyes occasionally glimmered when she offered Al more to eat, and began packing him a basket of rations to take with him when he went back on the road, heading south.
“How do you know my brother?” Jax asked him, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer. He had done his best to wait until Al was finished eating. He could remember the days of being hungry.
Now, they were having a glass of Layne's home-brewed beer and snacking on the fresh peaches that were growing in the small orchard near the house. The season was almost over and winter was coming quickly. It wasn't a safe time to be on the road and they'd been doing their best to stock up for the winter. They were both well adept at surviving in harsh climates, but because most of the tribes had headed south believing it was much easier to survive in warmer climates, they had followed suit. It made sense; survival was hard enough without having to worry about winter.
“Jonathan spoke fondly of you. He was sure you'd make it out of the tribes. But just in case, he asked me to look for you in Hex and recruit you to our community. Thought if I knew him, you'd be more likely to come.”
“Why didn't he come back for me himself?” Jax asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
“As I said, he's a wanderer,” Al said. “He was sure there was a better place; called it a gut instinct. Never seemed to want to slow down or stop moving. We heard rumors about an area that the government was building for their own shelter; an underground city to protect them from the virus. He thought there might be supplies there and got a few guys to head out with him. We haven't seen him since then, though. One of the men with him made his way back, saying they got separated after a violent attack. He doesn't know what happened to your brother.”
“Do you know which way the underground city was?” Jax asked, standing up at the table. Layne's heart thudded. Was he thinking of going right that moment?
“Somewhere to the west of our community,” Al replied, glancing out the window. “Thank you guys for all your hospitality. I should probably get back out on the road before it gets too late. I should have made it down to the borderlines by the end of the day. I have people waiting to meet me, somewhere between the Jackals and the Klaws. They have glasses lenses there.”
“Oh, good,” Layne said, relieved. She would have worried about him otherwise.
“Hey, if you go after your brother, be careful, okay? There are a lot of difficult trails, and winter is coming. I wouldn't leave such a comfortable establishment. Someone might take it over while you're away.”
Layne sighed miserably at the thought of all her hard work going to waste. Still, she knew that there would be no stopping Jax from looking for his brother now. There was a hard gleam in his eyes, and he was fidgeting restlessly, unable to finish any more food.
“Good luck on your travels,” Layne said. “Be sure to fill your water bottle before you go.”
“Thank you,” Al said, nodding gratefully. “If you don't mind a visitor, I may stop by on the way back.”
“Sure, we'd love to see how you're doing,” Layne said.
“Yes, but if you have recruited anybody and they're joining you, maybe you shouldn't let them know about us. We want this settlement to be free of encroachment whenever possible. I'm sure you understand. You can't necessarily trust anyone from a tribe.”
“Of course,” Al said. “Hey, why don't you let me show you the way back to our community when I return?”
Jax's heart filled with excitement at the thought of being the last place his brother had been. It would take him one step closer to his only remaining family. He had to go.
“How long will it be?” he asked.
“Who knows,” Al said, shaking his head. “I have a long way to go. And I was told to make a trail so any other recruits will know which way to wander should they choose to head to a better civilization and escape the warfare between the tribes.”
“A path?” Jax asked, suddenly very interested.
“Yes,” Al replied. “I tear a piece of bark on the north side of trees in the shape of an ‘L’.”
“So that will lead to your community?" Jax asked.
“Yup,” Al replied.
“He might not be here when you get back," Layne said, laughing nervously.
Jax glanced over at her and pursed his lips but said nothing. How could he leave their homestead? And with winter coming it would be dangerous for Layne to come with him. Winter survival was hard enough for one person, although it would be nice to have the extra body heat to share. But if Jonathan was in trouble, he knew that he would have to get out there to look for him soon.
“How long has it been since you saw my brother?" Jax asked, walking Al to the door.
“Oh, it's probably been two weeks by now," Al said looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
“Only two weeks?" Jax asked, his heart thudding. This was his chance to find Jonathan, finally, after all this time. “Do you think he's in trouble or do you think he just took off on his own? You don't seem too worried."
“It doesn't do me any good to worry about anything," Al said wisely, his face serious. "Although, I have to admit that I am concerned for your brother. When he didn't come back with Roger it made me wonder. Me and everybody else. When the group was under attack, Roger just ran for his life. The other two stayed behind. It's impossible to tell what happened from there, but maybe they found the underground city after all and have come back with supplies to the community by now.”
As they say goodbye to Al, Layne put her hand on Jax's shoulder, and Jax looked down at her, his face perturbed.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
Suddenly, his love for this woman overwhelmed him. She didn't ask what he was going to do, she asked what they were going to do. If he was going to go out and look for his brother, she had every intention of going out with him. She didn't think twice; she didn't want to leave him alone in the dangerous wilderness.
But if they both went, they would be sacrificing the only security that they had ever known. At least, the only real security and freedom they'd had since the virus hit and everybody had been wiped out. The domestic life had been comfortable, almost so comfortable that neither of them seemed to be able to remember the realities of the outside world, and didn't let the memories come in and disturb them. But now that Jax had a clue about where Jonathan was, that was going to change everything.
Chapter 3
That night Jax tossed and turned. He couldn't figure out how to make it work. The best solution he could think of was to have Layne stay at their homestead and tend to the garden so that they would have food security by the time he came back. If he could bring Jonathan home with him, he wanted to have a good and solid presentable home to bring him to. He wanted his brother to be proud of him; to see that he was able to survive on his own. And not just survive, but flourish.
And he was very proud of the homestead, just as he was proud of Layne. She was unbelievably beautiful and competent and smart, too. And he was sure that Layne was proud of him. Jax was rippling with muscles and raw strength that would make sur
vival very difficult, almost impossible without it. Layne had built some muscle herself, and her lean body was tight with athletic ability all her own. He couldn't get enough of her body and she couldn't get enough of his. He couldn't possibly fathom leaving her for even a day, let alone the entire time it would take him to travel to Al's community alone and however long it might take for him to safely search for his brother. He wished that he had asked Al how far away his community was. He'd lacked the presence of mind though, and sighed loudly into the dark, quiet bedroom.
Layne was roused from her sleep and turned over onto her side, her clear, almond shaped eyes peering at him through her dark lashes. She propped her head up on her elbow and touched his cheek gently. Jax almost cried then, it would've been easy. Layne could make him feel so vulnerable. Or maybe he felt vulnerable all the time and he just felt safe showing it with her.
“I know you need to find your brother.”
“I can't possibly ask you to give up everything that you've worked so hard for. It wouldn't be fair to you. Just to find my stupid brother. That isn't right. Before we met, this is all you wanted.”
“Before we met, all you wanted was to find your brother. What kind of a horrible person would I be to hold you back from doing that? I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to stop you. In fact, I could go with you and do my best to help."
“I would never ask you to do that. It's way too dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you. It's going to be winter soon, and you know how hard it is in the wintertime. I need you to stay here and take care of things for me. It's much better for you if you were able to do this. I don't think anybody would bother you, most of them are never up this far north during the winter. I don't know why Al would bother going on a recruiting mission this late in the season. Most people would think he's crazy."