I sighed. “And if it’s a mistake?”
“I clean up my own messes.”
A laugh bubbled out of me before I could do anything to stop it. “Right. Sure you do.”
“I think that red-head likes me,” Nick said lowering his voice. “And the other one, Monica, she was eying Bronx.”
My stomach swirled, sending sourness up to the back of my throat. Things were broken between Bronx and me, but that didn’t mean I wanted to hear what Nick was saying.
Nick opened the door. “I’ll go tell them the good news.”
I shrugged knowing there wasn’t anything I could say. And it would probably be fine. After all, those of us left were all in this together. Things would be easier if we all worked as a team.
As we walked out of the bathroom, both Shannon and Monica stood. “We’re sorry we bothered you—”
“Say no more,” Nick said holding up his palm. “We’re happy to have you stay with us.”
I tried to force a smile, but it felt strange on my face. They both looked at me before turning back to Nick.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, positive,” Nick said as he beamed at them. He walked over to them and asked about their bags. Shannon and Monica happily showed him their supplies.
I swallowed my sigh and walked over to the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Bronx glance over at me, but he quickly returned his attention to the women.
I turned my back to them and wished I could cover my ears. The man and the bear still lying on the ground outside made it hard for me to focus on our surroundings.
“We’re leaving in five,” Nick announced and my spine stiffened. His voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me, and there probably wasn’t anything that could ever change that.
Jamie stepped up next to me, crossing his arms over his chest. I could feel his blue eyes penetrating into my skin.
“You don’t want them here?” Jamie asked, his voice low.
I exhaled a heavy breath. “I don’t care one way or the other.” My eyes met his. “It’s just, I guess, maybe I have trust issues after what happened.”
I had trust issues before that,” Jamie muttered. His cheeks reddened, and it looked like he wished he could take back his words. Jamie cleared his throat. “Do you think we have anything to worry about, you know, with them?”
My blink lasted several seconds longer than it should have. “Probably not.”
“Yeah, they seem pretty harmless,” Jamie said with a shrug as he looked over his shoulder at them.
“Harmless,” I repeated with a slight chuckle.
“What?” Jamie asked cocking his head to the side as a questioning grin curled onto his lips.
My eyes shifted over to Nick. “That’s the exact word Nick used… harmless.” I shook my head. “I don’t think there is anyone that is truly harmless. Not anymore anyway.”
“You’re probably right,” Jamie said following my gaze. “But,” he said stepping closer, “does that mean you can’t trust me?”
I shook my head and looked directly into his eyes. Jamie and I were in this together since it all started. If there was one person I could trust, it was him.
But I couldn’t tell him… I didn’t want to tell him. He couldn’t know how I felt. I had to keep my heart closed. I had to keep him away.
For both of us.
And for all the same reasons I needed to let Bronx go.
“Let’s go!” Nick said clapping his hands together sharply. My whole body shook with the harsh noise that rippled through the room.
In minutes we were outside the motel back on track to my grandma’s. Shannon and Monica whimpered as we walked past the man, but it was short-lived. When he was out of sight, he was apparently out of mind.
It wasn’t long before we were back walking through the water. Thick, heavy looking clouds blanketed the sky, and the water around my feet was chilly.
I swallowed hard and opened my mouth. Maybe it was time to come up with an alternate plan because I wasn’t sure how much longer I could walk through water without losing my mind. Feeling like the cold was freezing my bones, and it wouldn’t be long before I turned into an ice sculpture.
When Jamie stepped up next to me and smiled, I snapped my mouth shut. Forward was the only way we could keep going. It wasn’t just me in this. I wasn’t alone. My grandma could still be out there needing help.
I moved my feet faster walking past Nick and his team of girls. I didn’t need Nick to lead me there, I knew better than he did where my grandma’s farm was.
Chapter 9
We’d walked about five miles when Shannon, Monica, and Blair were all begging for a break. I refused to admit it, but my frozen feet needed one too.
Walking out in the middle of the country wasn’t at all how I’d imagined it. The water surrounding us was brown and grimy. There were no sounds of animals, insects, or anything at all. The eerie silence was enough to drop my body temperature another ten degrees.
There were no sounds of life except those we made while walking. None of us talked much. I was pretty sure the others were having doubts about what we were doing. They were all probably questioning why they were with me. Maybe Nick was questioning it too.
I should have told them all to go their own way. Maybe I’d even move quicker on my own.
I looked back at Danny who was trudging along without uttering a single complaint. He had no reason to be with us, other than the simple fact that he had nowhere else to go. Maybe that’s why we were all together… because none of us had anywhere else to go.
At least with my grandma’s house, we had a destination. We had a place to go even if it was just something to keep our minds off of what was really going on.
We squeezed in another half-mile before we found a place to stop. The ranch style home was at the end of a long driveway. There weren’t any trees in the muddy yard.
Puddles were scattered everywhere, but the house had been built on a slight incline which hopefully meant it would be dry inside.
As we approached, I watched the windows looking for movement. All of the curtains in every room I could see were wide open, and as far as I could tell, the building was empty.
We walked up to the door. I stood toward the back, Danny next to me shifting his weight back and forth nervously.
Nick knocked on the door. “Anyone home?”
No one answered. There were no noises of someone moving around inside.
“Guess they’re out,” Nick said over his shoulder, as he reached out wrapping his fingers around the doorknob. He pushed the door open and took a step inside. “Hello?”
There was no answer. Nick gestured for us to follow.
I covered my nose with the back of my hand as I stepped into the small home. The house was spotless, but it smelled as though something in the kitchen must have been rotting.
The living room was to my right, and to my left was a hallway with four doors. We stood in the dining room surrounding the small, scratched-up wooden table.
“I’ll check the other rooms,” Nick said as he tightened his grip on his gun. He jerked his head toward Bronx, and he stepped out to follow Nick down the hall.
Jamie stared at me as we listened to the floorboards creaking underneath their weight. Blair stood there hugging herself, and Shannon and Monica were holding hands, all three of them wearing the same blank expression.
Maybe the look on my face had been the same, but it quickly changed when Nick yelled.
“Put your hands up!” Nick’s voice echoed down the narrow hallway.
My eyes widened, and I charged down the hall stopping myself by placing my hands on Bronx’s shoulders. I expected to see them in danger, but Nick and Bronx were both fine.
Nick lowered his gun and chuckled as he cupped his hand over his nose and mouth. “He’s dead. Thought I saw him move. God damn, I was wrong.”
I looked around him at the very large man lying in the bed. His head was turned to
the side, but it didn’t take long to realize he’d suffered from the ailment caused by the red sky. The poison… the chemical… whatever it was.
The man’s head was turned toward the window. Maybe he hadn’t even tried to get out of the bed. He’d just laid there watching the sky as he suffered.
“Poor guy,” Bronx muttered.
“We’ll just, um, close the door,” Nick said with a cough as he ushered us out of the room.
“And the smell?” I asked when I realized it hadn’t been something rotting in the kitchen after all. The horrendous scent had been coming from the decaying man.
Nick shrugged. “We’ll just have to ignore it as best as we can while we’re here. Besides,” Nick said jabbing his elbow into me, “aren’t you used to it by now? I barely smell it.”
“You must be kidding. I’ll never get used to that smell,” I said shaking my head.
Bronx and I followed Nick back into the other room. It seemed as though Bronx didn’t even know I was there as he walked right by without even looking in my direction. He flopped down on the sofa and stretched his arms over his head. I tried not to notice his muscular abs peeking out from under his slightly raised shirt.
“This is going to be a quick stop, maybe fifteen minutes,” Nick announced pulling a snack out of his bag. “We should be able to get some more miles in yet today.”
“I’m going to get some air,” I said, but Nick grabbed my arm, pulling me to an abrupt stop.
“I don’t think so,” he said roughly.
My eyes didn’t blink as I stared back at him. “Just outside the door. It’s like two feet away.”
“No way,” Nick said shaking his head. I could feel that both Jamie and Bronx had their eyes on us.
My eyes were hot coals as I stared back at Nick. “I’m going outside. Nothing is going to happen. I can see in every direction.”
Nick loosened his grip not because of my words, but because of the look in my eyes.
I stepped back and moved closer to the door. “I’ll scream if I see anyone.”
I slammed the door behind me not even caring about how much noise it made. We hadn’t seen another soul in miles, and we were in the middle of nowhere. My fingers trembled as I lowered myself down onto the stoop.
I was right. Being around Nick and everyone else was going to drive me crazy. I didn’t know how I was going to manage to keep my sanity when I was constantly surrounded by people. There was no calm in which I could clear my thoughts.
Going from a life of near solitude to one with constant company was unbearable. At least for me. Nick seemed to thrive on everyone’s energy. It didn’t seem to bother Bronx, Blair, or any of the others, but it was stressing me out. It was a continuous noise I couldn’t quiet.
The door opened slowly, and I could tell by the two footsteps they’d taken exactly who was standing behind me. I crossed my arms and rubbed them with my palms, forcing my body to relax.
“Nick and Bronx are having an intense conversation,” Jamie said sitting down next to me.
“About what?”
“I’m not sure, but I couldn’t shake the feeling they didn’t want me in there,” Jamie said.
I turned to him, my forehead wrinkling as my eyes squeezed together. “I doubt that’s true.”
Jamie chuckled. “Your brother doesn’t like me.”
“Nonsense.”
“Oh no, it’s completely true.”
I shrugged and looked off at the horizon. “Well, if it’s true, you’re better off.”
There was a long pause before Jamie spoke.
“Should I ask about him? Or is it still too soon?”
“It’s too soon. It’ll probably always be too soon.” I shook my head. “It’s not like it matters.”
Jamie cocked his head to the side. “If he’s that bad, why are we still with him?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s because he’s still my brother.” A heavy sigh escaped from between my lips. “We share the same grandma. It isn’t like I can tell him he’s not allowed to go there.”
“Are you, or any of us for that matter, in danger with him around?”
I shook my head. “No. He was a good cop. Good at his job for the short amount of time he was on the force. Honestly, we’re all probably a little safer having him with us.”
“It pains you to say that?” Jamie asked bumping me lightly with his shoulder.
“Oh, yeah, it definitely does.”
“Well,” Jamie said placing his hand on my knee, “if there is anything I can do to help or whatever, just let me know.”
I smiled at him. “I appreciate that, I really do, but there isn’t anything anyone can do. What’s done is done.”
No amount of talking was going to change my mind about Nick. I would always blame him for my mother’s suicide. Nick had tried to explain, but that wasn’t enough. If he wouldn’t have spiraled out of control, she’d probably still be with us. Well, unless the poison of the red sky would have taken her away.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to him,” Jamie said.
The twitching nerves in my legs forced me to stand. I stepped over to the window and looked inside spotting Nick and Bronx deep in conversation.
“About what?” I asked unable to keep the coldness out of my tone.
“Us,” Jamie said.
“Us?” My eyes narrowed.
Jamie stood. “What I mean is, what happened between us in the grocery store.”
Shannon joined in the conversation with Nick and Bronx. Their expressions changed when she smiled at them and tossed her hair around like a flirty teenager. I swallowed my groan.
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” Jamie said. “No matter how hard I try.”
I glanced at him, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of what was going on inside. Monica was walking over to them, and she kept bumping into Bronx playfully. His back was mostly to me, but I was sure he was smiling back at her.
All Bronx and I had was a kiss. I hated that I was feeling jealous… I shouldn’t have allowed myself to feel that way. It was better for all of us if I just let go of it all, even if it was hard to watch.
“Are you even listening to me?” Jamie asked stepping between me and the window. I turned to him and raised my brows. I knew he’d been speaking, but I couldn’t remember any of his words. “God, Gwen.”
He threw his hands into the air, and I reached out for him, but he stepped out of my reach.
“Jamie, I’m sorry,” I said my words mashing together. “I was distracted.”
He pressed his lips together as he lowered his head. A small snort escaped before he looked up at me for a second before disappearing into the house.
“Jamie!” I said, but the door had already closed.
I dropped heavily to my bottom and pressed my hands to my forehead. It wasn’t just Nick that made a mess of everything… apparently, it was something that ran in the family. But I think on some level, I already knew that.
The door opened, and I quickly turned desperate to apologize to Jamie, but it wasn’t him. It was Nick. He sat down next to me and kicked at the ground as he stared at the horizon.
“Trouble in paradise?” Nick asked.
I huffed heavily. “Look around, brother. There is no paradise.”
Nick chuckled. “He seemed upset when he came inside. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Right. Is it time to play the caring brother role?” I said pushing myself to my feet. “You know what, Nick? You can just go to hell.”
Maybe I was overreacting, but it was something I’d wanted to say him to him about a thousand times before but the words hadn’t been able to find their way out of my lips.
Nick shook his head and turned away. “I’m pretty sure I’m already there.” He lowered his head and ignored what I’d said. “Let’s get out of here. This place is putting everyone on edge.”
In minutes we were back on the road, and Monica was walking with Bronx. Her giggles ma
de my stomach swirl. I turned away pretending not to notice. I didn’t want anyone to see that it bothered me.
It was around dinnertime when Nick started talking about finding a place to stay for the night. Even though he kept talking about it, he kept walking. There’d been several places we could have stopped, but we didn’t. He kept trying to eek in more and more miles before we ran out of light.
“What’s that?” Monica said pointing a shaking finger at something in the distance.
I followed her finger and squinted out in the distance. There was a thick blue fog rolling across the ground like a hungry desert dust storm.
My shoulders bobbed rapidly with each quickening breath. “Holy crap.”
Chapter 10
The tall, dark blue-gray fog stretched from the bottom of the ground all the way to the top of the sky beyond the clouds. As it moved, it swallowed everything in its path causing it to completely vanish as if it hadn’t ever existed.
The wall cloud was moving toward us like a hungry, desperate beast. A chill ran down my spine as it crawled nearer and I realized just how massive it was. Not only did it reach higher than the clouds, it stretched outside to side for as far as I could see.
It was miles and miles of what looked like a deadly storm, angrily making its way toward us. The fog-like cloud moved as if it had unfinished business.
The fog moved over the ground, and everything disappeared from view. One minute a house was there, and the next it was gone.
“What do we do?” Blair asked taking a step back as if the small amount of distance she was putting between her and the fog would somehow help.
“What is it?” Danny mumbled, scrunching up his nose as he stared at the behemoth.
Everyone was nervous and that, of course, included me. Nick looked over his shoulder at me, as if he was searching for answers, but all I could offer him was a shrug.
“We should probably get some cover,” Nick finally suggested, his eyes moving around the area directly behind us.
After a brief moment, Nick waved us all along, but it felt like the fog was moving faster than we could run. It seemed as though it had covered a fair amount of ground just in the time between that moment and when we’d first discovered it.
The Red Sky Series Box Set Books 1-4: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series Page 21