by L. T. Ryan
“Slipped my mind,” Turk said. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side.
After getting his daughter settled, the group sorted supplies and then filled their stomachs. Turk went over the list of repairs that had to be made before they could start the next leg of their journey.
“But I want to wait a few days before we pull anchor,” he said after swallowing his last bite of food.
“Why?” Elana asked.
The radio hissed static from the middle of the table. Turk stared at it.
“Just a feeling is all.”
Thirty-Four
The ATV had run out of gas. The engine choked and sputtered and went silent. Turned out one of the gas cans had been filled with water. Addison had wondered if Phil had planned it all along.
Let them leave, but strand them.
After determining their heading, she had switched off the GPS to conserve battery. There wasn’t much distance left to cover. Less than twenty miles. Once they were close, she’d turn it back on.
Addison estimated they’d traveled more than half of the way already. She kept track of the minutes in her head, figuring every twenty minutes equaled a mile. Even with a hungry, whining seven-year-old with them. She and Jenny took turns carrying Paige on their back. Emma, though distraught, was able to keep up with them.
It was tough without the ATV. The only benefit she could find to losing it was that they could walk straight through the woods. Hardly a consolation prize, considering they’d be at their destination already if they still had the vehicle.
Unless.
The possibilities were endless. Afflicted. Other survivors who came with bad intentions. An accident.
She had to believe they were walking now because they were meant to.
Continue on the path you are on.
It had become her mantra. She whispered it, an act that drew curious stares from her fellow travelers. It took four seconds to say. Every fifteen times she repeated the phrase equaled a minute. It helped her keep track of how long they had been walking.
The day dragged on, hot and humid. The forest floor was muddy in places. In other spots it seemed as though the storm hadn’t managed to penetrate the canopies. But the evidence was there in other forms. Branches and trees had been broken like matches. They littered the ground. The area had been hit hard by the storm. What other damage had the region sustained?
She wondered if, over time, storms such as this, and the cold of winter, would eventually reduce the population to nothing.
The sun dipped low and the woods darkened. Shadows melted into the evening.
“We should stop,” Jenny said.
Addison powered on the GPS. The device had managed to lose a quarter of its battery while turned off.
“We’re close,” Addison said. “I think we should keep going.”
“Can’t see anything,” Jenny said. “You want one of us to break an ankle? What’ll we do then?”
Addison stared at the GPS. They’d covered a lot of ground that day and it might only take another hour or two to get there. But Jenny was right. They’d be navigating in the pitch black soon.
She glanced around, using the final stray rays of sunlight in search of a place to sleep. Wasn’t much around to take shelter, so she led them to the closest tree.
She and Jenny discussed whether Addison would stay with Turk or attempt to travel to Charlotte. The pull to reunite with her grandparents was strong. But, as Jenny argued, without the ATV, there was little point in attempting the journey. It was too far to travel on foot. Plus, she had no idea if they had made it. She wanted to believe life continued on the farm as it always had.
But the evidence she’d seen made a sound argument against that.
Addison decided it didn’t matter what happened to everyone else. Right now, she had three others she was responsible for. She figured Jenny would argue that point as well and insist they share the responsibility over the two girls.
“I’ll take watch first,” Addison said.
Hours passed. The night was darker than she’d ever seen. Every noise sent her heart racing. Her skin tightened and pricked and felt icy cold.
At one point, something passed by close enough she could hear its heavy ragged breathing.
Wolf? Bear? Afflicted?
Could have been anything. It hung around, circling the area, leaves and twigs crunching underfoot. She searched for the telltale eyes of the damned. If she saw them, she’d aim a foot below and open fire.
But she never saw the eyes. Or a figure. It used the surrounding woods to shield itself. The new moon offered no help at all.
In time it seemed the beast grew tired of prowling the area and ran off. Heavy steps trod through the woods, cracking kindling underfoot.
Then silence until the sounds of insects and hoot owls filled the area.
When she could keep her eyes open no longer, Addison woke Jenny and left her with instructions to wake her up at sunrise.
Sleep that night was sporadic, coming in clumps of what she hoped were hours, but more likely were minutes. She drifted in and out.
When Jenny shook her awake, a broad orange sun was peeking through the trees. Looked as though the forest was on fire. She caught the smell of woodsmoke, faint, on the breeze.
“You smell that?” she asked, twisting her torso to work out the kinks left behind from a night on the hard ground.
Jenny nodded. “Noticed it an hour ago.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I planned to if I saw flames.”
“Wonder if someone’s burning down the woods. Maybe they got someone pinned down.”
“Could be some afflicted,” Jenny said. “Trapped them and now setting them on fire. That’s how we had planned on dealing with them.”
“Or it could be someone making breakfast. Whatever it is, it’s close enough we can smell it. Should probably get moving.”
Jenny nodded, then rose and stretched.
“Anything else happen while I was out?” Addison asked.
“Nah, pretty quiet.”
Emma woke while they were talking. “Are we leaving?”
“Yes,” Addison said. “You ready?”
The girl nodded and picked herself up off the ground, wiping leaves and dirt off her clothes. She clutched her stomach for a few moments. Addison knew how the girl felt. Though she’d managed to block the pains of hunger, they hit hard at times.
Addison switched on the GPS and took a moment to gather her bearings. She calculated how far they had to travel, then set a mental countdown clock as she powered the device off.
They set out. Addison led while Jenny carried Paige. An hour into their trek, Addison turned the GPS on again and left it running. Thirty minutes after that, they reached their destination.
She stood at the edge of the woods and stared out over the empty field. Scorched earth indicated there had been a fire there. She wondered if it had been started by the storm. Or had man had a hand in it.
“Where is it?” Jenny asked. “Think it burned down?”
“It’s a bunker,” Addison said. “It’s underground, I guess.”
“Think he’ll see us?”
Addison shrugged. She hadn’t thought about how Turk would know they were there until that moment. Could he run some sort of a security system? Had Sean and the man worked out a system to let Turk know Sean had arrived?
She noticed that Emma had left the group. Addison clutched a tree while she scanned the field for the girl. She spotted her several feet away.
“Get back here,” Addison called out.
The girl kept going as though she hadn’t heard Addison. A few seconds later, Emma stopped. She hunched over and stared at something on the ground.
“Come on.” Addison grabbed Jenny and the two women rushed out to where Emma stood.
“You can’t just do that,” Jenny said.
“Look.” Emma knelt and tugged on the earth. It pulled up like a
rug.
“What is that?” Addison bent over and helped lift the section of grass and dirt. She peered into a hole that glowed with faint red light. “Must be the entrance to the bunker.”
The women stared at each other. Addison saw confusion and fear in Jenny’s eyes, and she knew the look on her own face matched. But Sean had led them there. Of everyone she’d met in the post-afflicted era, he was the only one she trusted.
“It’s okay, Jenny,” Addison said. “Let’s go.”
Jenny climbed down first. Emma next. Addison lowered Paige to them. Then she stood, turned in a circle, checking the field’s perimeter. No one approached. No one watched. They were alone. She lowered herself into the hole, pulling the earthen hatch over top before finally descending to the floor.
At the bottom, the space expanded into a tunnel that had been carved into the earth and stretched as far as Addison could see in the red glow. She found a flashlight along the wall, grabbed it and turned it on. They followed the passage, plucking two more flashlights for Jenny and Emma. After a few minutes, the group halted and stared at the door a hundred feet away.
Emma broke free from the pack. Addison called after her, but the girl ran without stopping.
“Jenny,” Addison said. “Stay with Paige.”
Emma reached the end of the tunnel. She pounded her fists against the door, then picked something up off the floor. Addison saw the girl drop a piece of paper, then pull a device up to her mouth.
“Hello?” Emma said.
A burst of static came through the radio’s speaker. A deep voice silenced it.
“Who’s this?”
“Emma.” She paused, bit her lip. “Emma Ryder.”
“Sean Ryder’s daughter?”
Her voice cracked. “Yeah.”
“It’s good to hear your voice, Emma,” the guy said. “Put your dad on.”
Addison leaned against the wall next to Emma. Tears flooded the girl’s eyes. Emma extended the radio to her.
Addison stared at the device, listening to the hiss, trying to figure out how to tell the man Sean was not with them.
“Is this Turk?” she said.
“Yeah,” he said. “Who’s this now? Where’s Sean Ryder?”
“Sir, my name is Addison Bowen. Sean rescued me, and a couple others, who are with me now. But, unfortunately, he, uh, he didn’t make it all the way.”
Static filled a long pause. The radio went silent for a few moments. Then Turk spoke.
“Okay, you stay put.” He paused a few more seconds, then provided them with the lock code and instructions on how to enter the bunker. “I’m going to be there in a few hours.”
“Where are you now?” Addison asked.
“On a boat. We’re going to take it to the Bahamas. Got a place where we’re welcome. Somewhere the virus didn’t hit. Gonna take you all with us.”
Addison looked at the saddest smile she’d ever seen. Emma had found freedom at the cost of losing her father.
They were rescued.
But I’m not.
Addison decided at that moment she couldn’t leave the country without knowing her grandparents were safe. She’d make the trip to Charlotte.
Alone.
The story continues in Affliction Z Book 4. Coming soon…
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Also by L.T. Ryan
Affliction Z Series
Affliction Z: Patient Zero
Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope
Affliction Z: Descended in Blood
Affliction Z Book 4 - Coming Soon
The Jack Noble Series
The Recruit (free)
Noble Beginnings
A Deadly Distance
Ripple Effect (Bear Logan)
Thin Line
Noble Intentions
When Dead in Greece
Noble Retribution
Noble Betrayal
Never Go Home
Beyond Betrayal (Clarissa Abbot)
Noble Judgment
Never Cry Mercy
Deadline
End Game
Mitch Tanner Series
The Depth of Darkness
Into the Darkness