“Look, people I care about are back there, too, but there’s nothing we can do. Throwing your life away won’t help them. Maybe if we get to the nearest town . . .”
“Just leave then! I’m going back to see what I can do,” she said and stood.
Liam grabbed her hand and held it for a moment. He knew why she wanted to go back. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to help his father and bury his mother. That wasn’t how this was going to work, though. If they didn’t move soon, the soldiers would find them, and they would be the next ones to die.
“I know how you feel, but Zoe’s right. We can’t go back. We’ll die,” Liam said.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to be a coward and run!”
“What would Mom want? Do you really think she would approve of you throwing your life away?”
“She can’t want anything now! Are you going to tell me you don’t want to go back and give everything we have to at least make sure we have one parent left after all this?”
“Your Dad’s with Max, and they were going after a vehicle. He’ll make it, no matter what,” Zoe said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve been through some pretty rough things with Max. If anyone can get him out of there, it’s him. I get what you’re going through. I lost both of my parents, and Rebecca was the closest woman to me. She’s probably dead now because I left her. I couldn’t have saved her, though. She knew that and told me to run. Not surviving would be dishonoring the last thing she wanted me to do. I know your parents would want you to be safe, too. Please, come with us.”
“Okay. Maybe you’re right. Where are we going?”
“I don’t know yet. All I can say for sure is that we need to get as far away from that camp as possible,” Zoe managed to say before they heard a noise.
They ducked behind trees and waited. The footsteps got closer. It sounded like multiple people were coming toward them.
“I was sure I heard voices around here,” a man said from right beside the tree that Zoe was hiding behind.
“It was probably just your imagination.”
As the men started to walk away, Emily let out a whimper. She hadn’t meant to, but the situation had been too much for her. Her mom had just died, and two men who would kill her were feet away. It was enough to make any teen nervous.
“I definitely heard that. I think it came from over there.”
Emily could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer until it sounded like they were right on top of her. She tried to hold it in, but another whimper came out. One of the men stepped out from behind the tree and raised his gun.
“Well, hello there,” he said and clicked the safety off.
“Please, I’ll do anything. Just don’t do this,” she said.
“I wish I didn’t have to. I’m sorry,” the soldier said and fired.
Emily hit the ground. Liam peeked out from behind his hiding spot to see his sister twitching in the leaves. There was nothing he could do, but with all of him, he wanted to jump out and kill the men responsible. Zoe motioned for him to get back. Even if Emily had been spotted, it didn’t mean that they were going to be.
“Let’s make a quick sweep of the area before we go. I don’t think anyone else is here, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” one of the men said.
They walked around the area for a brief time, but thankfully, they never came back in Zoe and Liam’s direction. After a couple of minutes, they were gone. Liam walked to his sister’s body and cried. He had held it in when he saw his mother die, but this was too much. He had lost two of the closest people to him in the span of a few minutes.
“I’m so sorry. We’ve got to go, though. They could come back at any moment,” Zoe said.
“What does it matter? My family is dead, we’re on our own, and it’s already hot as hell out here. It’s probably early in the morning, and I can barely move because of the heat. We had a temperature gauge on our car. Do you know how many degrees it was at midday when we came to this place? It was 137. How are we going to survive in that, and even if we do, we’ll die in the cold tonight!”
“First of all, lower your voice. Even if you have a death wish, that doesn’t mean I do. Secondly, I’m really sorry things are so bad for you right now. There’s a town about twenty miles up the road. We passed it on the way here. If we can move at a steady pace of three miles per hour, we can easily reach it before nightfall. We’ll be able to find shelter there, and if Max and your dad made it, I’m sure that’s where they’ll be. Now, come with me. I can’t survive this on my own, and whether you see it right now or not, there are still plenty of things to live for.”
“What about my sister? I can’t just leave her like this.”
“I know how you feel. She wouldn’t want you to die, though. If we stick around for much longer, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Let’s go,” Zoe said and reached her hand out.
He took it, and they started walking. As they walked, she tried to keep his mind occupied by talking about anything other than the disaster or what just happened.
“So before all this, who was Liam?” Zoe asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You know. What kind of kid were you? I’m guessing you were the really competitive type.”
“You would be right. I was the captain of the chess team and the leader of the debate club.”
“So you’re a nerd . . . that’s not exactly what I was expecting.”
“Yeah, I’m just joking with you. I was on the basketball team. I wasn’t the captain, though.”
“You really had me going for a second there. I knew someone like you couldn’t have just been on the debate team.”
For a second, Liam looked like he felt guilty. He had just smiled and joked with Zoe right after his sister died. What was wrong with him? How could he do that at the worst time of his life? He should be broken right then, shouldn’t he?
“Okay, you’re kind of spacing out on me. What’s going on?” Zoe asked.
“I made a joke at the worst time of my life. I’m a terrible person. I shouldn’t be able to smile at a time like this.”
“It’s okay, Liam. I know how bad you feel because I’ve felt the same pain. Sometimes all you can do is smile and joke when you’re screaming inside. If you don’t, it’ll destroy you. Why don’t you just have a meaningless conversation with me right now and not feel bad about wherever it goes?”
“Fine. Why did you think it was ridiculous that a guy like me could be on the chess or debate team?”
“I didn’t think that was really out of the realm of possibility, but you’re in good shape and you’re tall for your age. That’s why I thought you were older. I just would’ve been surprised if you weren’t a jock.”
“Okay, but what about you? Who was Zoe before the disaster? Were you a cheerleader? You certainly have that look about you.”
“In my eyes, that’s not exactly a compliment. I never really got along with the cheerleaders. As a matter of fact, I didn’t get along with the jocks either. I mainly stayed to myself.”
“So if you don’t like jocks, why are you talking to me?”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of in short supply when it comes to options of guys to talk to. Besides, you don’t seem that bad. I kind of like you.”
“Oh, really? Well, it’s a shame you weren’t more involved at your school. You’re pretty. I think you would’ve made an excellent cheerleader.”
“So that’s all it takes to be a cheerleader, huh? Just beauty?”
“And she skips right over my attempt at flirting,” Liam said before scowling.
Here he was again trying to act like things were normal when they could never be again. Talking about their old lives or flirting with Zoe wasn’t going to make him feel any better. The people he loved were dead.
“Stop for a second,” Zoe said and grabbed his arm.
“What is it? If it’s about that flirting t
hing, I’m sorry. That might have been out of line, considering the situation we’re in.”
“It wasn’t. I can see that you’re hurting. Maybe it was wrong for me to make you pretend that everything was okay. I don’t exactly mind being called pretty, though. Not many boys have ever called me that. I want you to know something. You’ve lost two people today, and there’s a chance that Max and your dad aren’t going to make it. If that’s the case, then we’ve got to stick together. You might be all I’ve got left, so I want us to be close starting now. If you’re in pain or you just need to talk things through, then I’m here for you. What do you need?” Zoe asked and wrapped one arm around him.
“A reason to keep moving,” he said and slid his arms around her. Then he kissed her.
“What was that for?” Zoe asked.
“You didn’t like it?”
“I didn’t say that. Of course I did. It’s just that it was my first kiss,” Zoe said before she heard a branch break behind them.
“We’ll talk later,” Liam whispered, and they turned to see a man walking toward them.
They just knew that the military had found them. They had come so far, but it seemed they were doomed to face the same fate as the others.
Chapter 11
Lost And Found
Liam stepped in front of Zoe and readied himself for what would likely be death. In truth, that thought was comforting on some level. If he could buy time for her to escape, he would be satisfied. Then he could join his family in the next life. As the source of the noise stepped out, he let out a sigh of relief, however.
“Max! What are you doing here? We thought you would already be halfway to the next town by now,” Zoe said.
“Rebecca told me you guys ran into the woods when it all happened. I couldn’t just leave you behind. She’s on the way to the town. She’ll find shelter, and if we move quickly, we might be able to join her before it’s too cold to move. Where’s your sister?” Max asked Liam.
He only shook his head in response. He couldn’t bring himself to say that she was dead. Max laid a hand on his shoulder and told him he was sorry. Nothing could be done to change what happened, though, so they needed to get moving. Otherwise, they would be the next ones dying. As Max started leading them away, Liam stopped.
“What’s wrong? I know things are rough right now, but we’ve got to go,” Max said.
“My dad . . . where is he?”
“I’m sorry. I did my best to keep everyone safe, but he didn’t make it,” Max said and looked down.
He didn’t know what to say. Max knew that as the adult, he needed to come up with something that would make things better for Liam, but he didn’t know if any such thing existed. What could possibly make the kid in front of him feel anything other than consuming grief?
“I’m sorry. Max is right, though. We’ve got to go. We’ll talk about everything on the way,” Zoe said and reached her hand out to him.
He took it, and they started moving again. Zoe and Liam stayed a little behind Max to talk privately, but he could hear some of what they were saying. Zoe had been through exactly what Liam was experiencing. Her words didn’t change anything, but they at least let him know he wasn’t alone. Max sensed something else there, too. As he glanced back at Zoe holding Liam’s hand, he saw two people who might just be much more than they ever intended before things were all over. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing either. Everyone’s days were numbered. Wouldn’t it be good for those final moments to be filled with friendship and maybe even love? Max pondered that thought for the next few hours and simply listened to the kids behind him. Was the relationship he was witnessing them develop something that he wanted? It was now or never, right?
As the heat grew more intense, their pace slowed until they didn’t feel like they could go any further. It was already getting late, though, and Max didn’t think they could afford to rest. It would be dark within the next three hours. He had no idea where they were, but he was hoping they were close to the town. If not, Zoe and Liam were going to collapse soon. When it felt like he couldn’t move on any longer, Max spied something a few yards away from them. There was a small creek bed through some brush.
“Are we ever going to stop?” Zoe asked while wheezing and looking noticeably pale.
Her lips were cracked, and it was obvious that she was dehydrated. It was time to rest.
“Yeah. We’re stopping here. Have a look at that,” Max said and pointed to the creek.
He had never seen two kids run so fast to water. They submerged themselves and drank until they couldn’t anymore. Max helped himself as well. He didn’t know if the water was safe, but he didn’t have time to think about that. Dying from a heatstroke or dehydration was a much more pressing issue.
“How long can we rest?” Zoe asked as she lay back in the water.
“Only for a few minutes. This place was a Godsend. I didn’t think we were going to make it for a while there. Even I was starting to feel weak,” Max said.
“It’s only over 130 now. I don’t know how anyone is surviving in this. Maybe we really were meant to find this place. It seems pretty convenient for us to find this spot right when we needed it most.”
“God didn’t help us find anything because there is no God. It was dumb luck,” Liam said as he got out of the water.
“Why do you say that?” Zoe asked.
“Think about the last few days. Our families are dead, the world is in a complete state of chaos, and I would be willing to bet that close to half the world’s population is gone already. Does that sound like the work of a merciful God? We’ve got to start facing facts. God or anyone else isn’t going to help us. The only help we’ve got are the people standing beside us, and even with perfect cooperation, it might not be enough. Our world is completely unstable, and we have no idea what could come next.”
“That’s a pretty bleak philosophy you’ve got there. What do you think, Max?”
“I don’t know, but he’s not wrong about one thing. All we’ve really got left in this world is each other, and nothing is sure anymore. That’s a good excuse to live every day like it’s your last. Once we get to the town, I’m going to make sure to start doing that again. I think we’ve all been living our lives as if the rules have changed, and they have, but not in the way we think. We thought that when Ira hit, it stopped life, and the things that mattered before were obsolete. It’s actually the opposite. Ira put a timer on all of our lives, so now more than ever we should rush to experience every human emotion possible. That even includes the illogical ones that won’t help us get through this in any way.”
Zoe really thought about what he said. Were they living in the end of days, and if so, what did she want her last days to be filled with? She had never thought of the major milestones she wanted to accomplish before her life was over. Some of the things that were so important before were impossible now, but that didn’t mean everything was over. The simple things were still a possibility. Love, friendship, and even little dreams were alive in this new world. Zoe had always wanted to climb a mountain. It seemed illogical to even think about such a dream now, but was it possible that those little dreams were more important than anything? The thought of a normal life filled with love, happiness, and the hope of accomplishing things that brought personal satisfaction to her life might have been her only reason for wanting to live in this new world.
“Not that I don’t want to stay here and talk philosophy more, but we’ve really got to get moving again. Get one last drink, and then we’ve got to find Rebecca and a shelter for the night,” Max said.
They did as he told them, and everyone headed in the direction that they hoped a town would be in. They walked for another hour, and finally, they arrived at their destination. Everyone was sore, and the sun had taken its toll on them, but they were finally safe. All that was left to do was find Rebecca and finally rest. Some food didn’t sound bad either. They just had to hope she had found a nice place that was well stock
ed. It seemed like a long shot, but at this point, Max didn’t even know how they were still alive, so anything was possible.
As they stepped into the town square, Max started to feel a hint of doubt. There was no sign of Rebecca. Had she made it? What if something had happened to her? Their Humvee was nowhere in sight. If she had to move on from the town for some reason, he was confident that she would have found a way to leave him a sign that there were problems and an idea of where to go in order to find her. There was no sign of any of that, though.
“I don’t know where your friend is, but we’ve got to find a place that’s safe. It’s going to be dark soon,” Liam said.
“We’ll get to shelter after we find Rebecca. Maybe we should spread out and . . .” Max managed to say before he saw a truck pull into the square and come toward them.
He had mixed feelings in that moment. They had no weapons, so if the people coming toward them were aggressive, they were going to be in trouble. On the flip side, these people might be able to help him locate Rebecca. By not running, the decision was ultimately made for him. The truck pulled up to them, and two men got out with rifles.
“Identify yourselves,” the first man said.
“I’m Max. This is Zoe and Liam. We’re not here to pick a fight. We’re just looking for a friend named Rebecca,” Max said with his hands raised.
“My name is Brandon, and this is Mack. We’re in charge of this town now. It’s good to know that you’re not here to pick a fight because it wouldn’t end well for you or those kids.”
“You can quit with your stupid threats because there’s nothing you could do to us that we haven’t already gone through,” Liam said.
“We could blow your head off and see what a smartass like you looks like scattered all over the pavement,” Brandon said and raised his gun.
“There won’t be any need for that,” Max said and stepped between Liam and the gun.
“Good to know. Let’s say we knew where your friend was. What would you be willing to do in order to be reunited with her?” he asked and lowered his gun.
The Divide: Origins Page 10