It was my turn to laugh. “Oh please. I’ve been doing everyone’s dishes for years. What’s one more?”
He left the room and after I finished my meal, Whitney wasn’t in the kitchen. A sink full of dirty water was waiting for me. There was a scrub brush and a towel sitting next to the sink.
I cleaned my plate, dried it, and looked through the cabinets looking for where to put the clean plate. Blake’s cabinets were neat and perfectly organized. There were four plates, four bowls and four mugs. They all matched unlike the packed cabinets at home which were stacked with random plates with different patterns and in various sizes. He also didn’t have stacks of plastic storages containers without matching lids ready to fall down on me.
I softly closed the cabinet and made my way to the living room. Blake was staring out the window and Whitney was reading a book. Dax’s eyes were narrowed as he studied something on his phone.
“Any news?” I asked and Dax’s eyes flicked up, locking onto mine.
He shook his head. “Sites aren’t loading and the few that do are old news. Doesn’t stop me from looking though.”
“Should try a radio instead of that stupid phone,” Blake said.
“I wouldn’t know the first thing about using it,” Dax said with a shrug.
Blake exhaled. “There wasn’t anything last I checked.”
“What if we’re all that’s left?” Whitney said looking up from her book.
“It’s a big world out there,” Blake said. “There will be other survivors. Whether or not we want to run into them will be the question.”
“Helpful,” Whitney said frowning.
Blake turned back to the window. He didn’t care about sugarcoating anything. It seemed as though he was all out of sugar which was perfectly fine with me because I was too.
There had only been a few minutes of silence before a gunshot rang out. Seconds later… the screams.
Chapter Thirteen
The screams iced the blood pumping rapidly through my veins. It sounded like people were begging for their lives.
“What’s going on?” Dax asked stepping up behind his brother.
“I have no idea,” Blake said. “Nothing I can see.”
“Probably looters,” Dax said.
Whitney’s knuckles were white as she gripped the armrests. “Looters begging for their lives?”
“Maybe?” Dax said.
The sounds of gunshots didn’t ease. If anything, they increased and became louder.
Whitney stood up and started shaking her fists at her sides as she walked around the living room aimlessly. She stopped her eyes were red but it wasn’t like the redness I’d seen in the eyes of the wandering sick. She was on the verge of crying.
“This is it. This is the end,” Whitney said. “When Dax told me what was going on, I knew this moment would come.”
“Calm down,” Blake said.
“I’m not going to calm down. Listen to what’s going on out there.” Whitney pointed her fingers like they were guns. “Bang, bang, bang. Don’t you hear that?”
“Of course I do but that doesn’t mean they’re coming here.” Blake stared at her.
Whitney huffed. “Maybe not this time but maybe next time. Or when they come looking for loot in your house. Then what? How are you going to stop a gang of looters?”
“We’re armed,” Blake said dryly.
“Oh, well then I have no idea what I’m worried about,” Whitney said throwing her hands in the air.
Blake glanced at me before returning his gaze toward the window. “Kit?”
“Do you know how to shoot?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, no. I wish I did.”
When I was ten, my father had wanted to teach me but my mom wouldn’t allow it. She’d been worried I’d get hurt. Also, I hadn’t wanted to go. I wanted to go hang out with my friends. I never thought I’d regret that decision but here we were.
“It’s okay,” Blake said. “She’s just overreacting. We’re going to be fine. Even if they get inside the house, I have a place we can hide. Like a panic room but not quite as good.”
Whitney snorted as she wiped a crescent shape with her finger under her nose. “Yeah because people don’t think to check basements.”
“Jesus,” Blake groaned. “Follow me.”
He took a quick look out of the window before leading us into the kitchen. Blake stopped at the rug in front of the sink.
He kneeled down and rolled the carpet out of the way. The floor under the carpet looked a bit cleaner than the rest but other than that I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to see.
“What are we looking at?” Whitney groaned.
Blake ignored her and stuck his finger in a small crack that had been cut through the flooring. He pulled back on a piece of the linoleum and opened a small, hatch-like door in the floor.
“What the hell?” Dax asked with a laugh. “How long has this been here?”
“A couple years,” Blake said. “It’s nothing fancy. I was working on it myself.”
“Guess this is why you were always too busy to go have a drink with your brother when I was in town,” Dax said.
“Yeah, that’s it exactly,” Blake said closing the small door and covering it back up with the rug. “Hopefully we won’t need to go down there.”
Whitney blinked her eyes rapidly. “If you’re down there, how are you going to put the carpet back over the door?”
Blake rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding me?”
“No,” Whitney said placing her hands on her hips.
Blake rolled back the rug and attached the edge to a nearly invisible piece of Velcro. He opened and closed the door several times to show her how the rug would fall back into place.
“Even if they look under the rug, they won’t see the handle,” Blake said.
“What were you building this for?” Dax asked. “It’s almost like you knew this was going to happen.”
“You know how dad was always telling us to be prepared?” Blake asked as he stood.
Dax shook his head. “He never once told me that. Also, step dad.”
“He told me about the shelter he was having built in his backyard. Flew me out there to see it one summer, guess I wanted one too,” Blake said staring at the wall. “Mostly, I did it just to keep myself busy.”
“Did he know this was going to happen?” Dax asked as his eyebrows squeezed together forming a thick caterpillar shape low on his forehead.
“No,” Blake said looking down at the carpet. He adjusted it even though it was perfectly in place. “How could he know that?”
Dax shrugged before shoving his hands into his pockets. “Seems odd to me that the man working at the place that started all this was also kind of prepared for all of this to happen.”
“Hardly,” Blake said. “I told you he was there when it happened. If he had known, he would have been at home safe in his bunker.”
“I suppose,” Dax said but his suspicion didn’t seem to ease.
“Anyway, we’ll be safe,” Blake said holding his hands out at his sides as if he were a ringleader about to take a bow. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to my post.”
“Of course,” Dax said but Blake was already leaving the room. He turned to me. “Again, I’d like to apologize for my brother.”
I held up my palm. “Totally unnecessary. Nothing at all to apologize for.”
“Dax!” Blake shouted from the other room. “Leave her alone, would you? Jesus.”
Dax lowered his voice softer than a whisper. He was mostly moving his lips. “So… very… sorry.”
He left the room, leaving me alone with Whitney. She tapped her foot.
“What do you think of all this?” Whitney said.
“All of what?” I wasn’t sure if she was asking me about the underground shelter or the fact that Blake and Dax seemed to get along as well as oil and water.
She pointed her foot at the rug. “Do you think you’re safe h
ere?”
“Sure hope so,” I said chewing on my lip for a moment. “I’m probably quite a bit safer here than I was at my house which had probably been constructed with safety pins and particle board.”
“His house isn’t any better,” Whitney said with a sigh. “But neither was Dax’s.”
“Oh, you live with him?” I asked.
She placed her hand on her hip. “Don’t get any weird ideas. I was just staying with him temporarily. Until I got back on my feet. I had to sell my trailer. Hell, I was down to my last penny. It wasn’t like I wanted to live with him, it was my last option. Blake doesn’t know so if you wouldn’t mind keeping it between the three of us, I’d appreciate it.”
I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Whitney’s eyelids fluttered as she turned away from me.
“I don’t know why I’m telling you all this,” she said as she started walking away. “I just didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. Dax is like a brother to me.”
“Okay,” I said but I wasn’t sure she’d heard me. I scratched at my hairline before sighing and joining everyone again in the living room.
It wasn’t just a mess outside. It was a mess inside too.
“I have quite a bit of supplies at my house,” I said breaking the silence. “Maybe we should gather them before the looters come this way.”
“That’s not a great idea,” Blake said shaking his head. “We’re going to just have to let it all go.”
“It’s a lot of stuff,” I said twisting my fingers together.
Blake flicked a glance at me over his shoulder. “Maybe if you had said something earlier, we could have done something about it but now, with those gunshots, it’s a dangerous idea.”
“Oh,” I mumbled. “Well, I didn’t know I was really going to be staying here.”
“That was what I had offered,” Blake said.
“I know but after seeing my husband shot to death, I can’t say my mind was working properly,” I said harshly.
Dax groaned. “For the love of God, Blake, what is wrong with you?”
The muscles in Blake’s back tensed. He kept his eyes at the window. “I’m trying to do the best I can for everyone inside this house. It’s simply not safe.”
“Maybe it’s not safe at the moment but I think we should get it. It’s not going to hurt to have more stuff here,” Dax said. “You said yourself we don’t know how long we’re going to have to stay inside.”
“We can always get it later,” Blake said.
“Unless it gets taken by someone else,” Dax argued.
I swallowed, hoping to ease the dryness at the back of my throat. “It’s bad enough I’m here eating all your food. Let me contribute.”
“I have more than enough for everyone,” Blake said. “In fact, we could take in a few more people and still be okay.”
“We’re not going to though, right?” Whitney asked with wide eyes.
“Blake, just think about it. The more we have, the better it’ll be. Her house is just across the street. We can come up with a plan,” Dax said looking into Blake’s eyes as if trying to reach a different part of him somewhere deep within. “You might have enough for now, but it’s not going to last forever. And if there are people out there looting and stockpiling, there won’t be anything left when the time comes to look. It’s better that we have it then whoever is out there.”
Whitney gasped. “I just had a terrible thought.”
Blake shook his head and waited for her to elaborate.
“What if those things, the people with the sickness,” Whitney said as she started to rub her palms together. “What if they can eat to stay alive and continue to spread the disease forever and ever?”
“No,” Blake said with a smirk. “They aren’t smart enough to do that.”
“How can you be so sure?” Dax asked. “Is there something our step dad told you that he didn’t tell anyone else?”
Blake glared at him. “Of course not, it just seems a little far-fetched don’t you think?”
“It all seems far-fetched, yet it’s happening,” Dax said. Blake finally seemed to be listening… or thinking things over at least. “When it’s safe, we’ll get Kit’s supplies. There might be a little risk involved but it’s the smart thing to do and deep down you know it.”
“I don’t know that at all,” Blake said but the muscles in his face were relaxing. I could see that he was considering it.
“Come on, Blake. They aren’t going to be out there looting all day,” Dax said.
Blake groaned. “What about the sick that are still wandering about?”
“We haven’t seen any since this morning.”
“That doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.”
Dax pressed his index finger into his palm. “We can be smart about this. You know we can do it.”
“Ugh, fine,” Blake growled. “For the record, I think it’s a stupid idea.”
“It’s not,” Dax said crossing his arms.
“If we’re doing this,” Blake said. “We’re doing it my way.”
Dax grabbed his mask and took a step toward the door. “Of course.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Blake said without moving. “We’re not going now. We’ll go after a good night’s rest. When the rest of the world is likely to be asleep. Early morning.”
Chapter Fourteen
The rest of the day was awkward. Blake wanted everyone to go to bed early so that everyone was well rested for when morning came. Dax didn’t like being told what to do and Whitney still didn’t want me in what she felt was her space.
I knew I didn’t belong there but they weren’t going to let me leave. Probably because if something happened to me, they would blame themselves for not having done more.
Or maybe I was just telling myself that. Why would they care about me? I was practically a stranger to them.
Just because I lived across the street from Blake for years didn’t mean they owed me anything. The real reason I was there hit me like a ton of bricks. It was because Blake had killed my husband. He felt like he owed it to me.
Blake’s house wasn’t much bigger than mine was. There were two bedrooms at the end of a short hallway. One was Blake’s room and the other was empty except for an inflatable mattress.
I already knew which room I’d be staying in because the other had a maroon suitcase on the floor. Blake stood in the doorway. “I wish I could offer you something better.”
“I feel terrible taking your room like this. I’m fine on the couch or even a sleeping bag if you have one,” I said.
“Whitney and Dax are in my room,” Blake said. “Besides, I’m used to sleeping on the couch.
“They’re sharing a room?”
Blake’s lips curled at one end. “It’s platonic.”
“And even if it’s not, it’s none of my business,” I said holding up my palms.
“I’ve got some old t-shirts and stuff if you want to sleep in something else,” Blake offered.
“No, no, this is fine,” I said. I’d be more comfortable in my own clothes.
It wasn’t like I was going to get any sleep anyway. Even before the shit hit the fan, I had trouble sleeping anywhere other than my own home. And with Maddie out there, it would probably be impossible to get any rest.
“All right, well, let me know if you need anything or just really make yourself at home,” Blake said tapping the door frame with his knuckle. He cleared his throat. “Sorry again about earlier.”
“You saved me,” I said unable to look away from his blue eyes. “I probably should have thanked you.”
Blake stared at me as if he were trying to decide if I was being serious. “Well, good night.”
He turned and walked away, leaving me in the empty room with nothing but my thoughts. And my freshly charged phone.
I laid down on the air mattress, sinking down into the center further than I had anticipated. There was still a little touch of daylight left, giving the room an eerie na
vy blue glow.
I never liked dusk. The transition to night created too many shadows. Nothing good ever happened to me once the light was gone.
I checked my phone for messages but as I suspected there wasn’t anything. Most of the websites weren’t working and those that were didn’t have any information I wanted. It was crazy how much I’d come to rely on my phone and now it was pretty much useless.
The room got dark fast. There wasn’t a light in the room unless I turned on my phone or the flashlight.
I set my phone down next to me on the mattress and closed my eyes. My body desperately needed sleep. The last time I’d gotten a minute of rest had been sitting at my kitchen table waiting for Maddie to come home.
Sleep should have come to me easily but it didn’t. I tossed and turned for what felt like hours. The clock on my phone revealed it was only midnight.
I turned over on my other side and let out a yawn that pulled at the corners of my mouth. My body didn’t relax but I fell into a dream. I knew it was a dream because Freddie was there. And he was angry.
I kept apologizing even though I wasn’t sure what he was mad about it. Whatever it was, he was blaming me for it.
“Freddie,” I begged. “I didn’t mean it.”
He didn’t speak. He just glared at me with eyes filled with hate.
Freddie shook his head and raised a blade that’d been hiding behind his back. He sneered like a hungry fox as he charged toward me.
I woke with a sharp gasp. My heart was racing in the darkness. I reached out in front of me as if trying to feel for the knife Freddie was about to plunge into my body.
“Dammit,” I mumbled as I pressed my fingertips to my temples. A nightmare. Something I was used to but Freddie usually wasn’t in my dreams.
I awkwardly rolled out of bed and got to my feet. I turned my phone on to use the screen as my light.
The door across the hall was almost completely closed. There was a pale, flickering light coming from the living room.
I wrapped my arms around myself, pressing the phone against my bicep to hide most of the light. If it was too bright, it might wake Blake.
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