Nathan looked up at the sky, his sunburned face tilted at an angle to see against the sun. “I would say it’s noon but I’m just guessing.”
I wanted to laugh. He didn’t know the first thing about telling time by looking at the sun. But I stayed quiet. I didn’t laugh anymore. None of us did. Why should we? Our lives had changed in a blink of an eye. We went from a bunch of kids to four people struggling to make it from day to day.
The long road loamed in front of us, unending. I made my legs move, trying to ignore the muscles that ached from miles of walking. The mirage of heat waves grew.
And I swam against it.
~~~~
At dark we stopped at a small town. We couldn’t go any further. Our energy was gone. Our hunger was more profound. The thirst that nagged at us night and day was more intense than it had been earlier.
We kept our eyes open for trouble as we entered the outskirts, but the town was empty. No one walked around or made a sound. It was as if the occupants were either long gone, dead, or hiding in their homes.
Despite the silence, we kept our guard up as we walked down the main road. The place consisted of only a small hardware shop, an old church, and a rundown grocery store. We headed for the grocery store first.
We kicked up leaves and trash as we crossed the parking lot. Three beat-up trucks sat near the entrance, abandoned, dusty, and forgotten.
We approached the door to the store cautiously only to find it had already been pried open. I felt my hope plummet. If the store had already been looted for food, we were shit out of luck.
Nathan went in first, followed by Tate, Keely, and me. We walked over broken glass and discarded boxes. A terrible stink filled the store. It smelled like something had died ten times over.
I gagged and covered my nose. Tate spit out the awful taste the smell created then held his sleeve over his lower face. Keely held her collar over her nose, choosing to breathe in the dirt on her shirt instead of the scent. The only one that ignored it was Nathan.
“It’s coming from the refrigerated stuff,” Keely said, nodding toward the back of the store. Rows of glass doors sat against the wall, hidden behind the aisles of food.
Yes, aisles of food. My eyes went wide when I saw it all. The store hadn’t been looted. It was still full of groceries.
Tate shot past me to one of the first aisles, forgetting about the smell.
“Holy fuck, they have Cheetos,” he exclaimed. He grabbed a bag hanging from a display and tore it open. A minute later he had devoured the cheesy chips and reached for another bag.
My stomach growled. I felt happiness for the first time in weeks. It was an amazing feeling. Before the EMP, I had everything I wanted but I was miserable. Lost in grief. Now I had nothing and a damn grocery store could make me happy. Life was screwy that way, I guessed.
I rushed down one of the aisles. Oh sweet Mother of God, they had chocolate chip cookies!
I opened the bag and grabbed two. Stuffing them in my mouth, I closed my eyes. Shit, they were good.
Keely rushed past me, her tennis shoes squeaking on the cheap tile floor.
“Where are you going?” I asked around a mouthful of cookies.
“I need a Coke desperately,” she called out over her shoulder with excitement, running around the corner.
“Stay close, Keely!” Nathan yelled, going over to the cash register.
I stuffed another cookie in my mouth and watched him, wondering what the hell he was doing. Food was more important than money.
Tate was running around the store like a mad man. He rushed past me to the counter in front of Nathan and threw an armful of stuff down.
“This place is a freaking goldmine! I found candy bars, crackers, jerky, nuts, gum. We’ll fucking stuff ourselves tonight,” he said, his voice cracking with delight.
Nathan stopped rambling under the counter to look at all the stuff. “Did you find any rice? Beans? Canned goods? Anything besides junk food?”
Tate snorted. “Didn’t look. But I did find this.”
He pulled a box of condoms out from under his shirt. “Thought you might need them now that you and Keely are a thing. Wouldn’t want any little Nathans running around.” He shuddered dramatically and glanced at the box with a frown. “Except I couldn’t find the itty bitty size. Sorry, Nate.”
“You little shit. Give me that.” Nathan snatched the box out of Tate’s hand and scowled at him. “I swear you need your ass whipped,” he muttered, stuffing the box in his backpack.
Tate broke out in a laugh as he tore open a candy bar. “You fucking put them in your bag. Epic.”
Nathan blushed. “I swear, Tate…”
Leaving them to irritate each other, I tucked the package of cookies under my arm and headed to where Keely had disappeared. I was suddenly craving a Diet Coke. I hadn’t had one in weeks. My mouth watered, just thinking of the bubbly drink. I daydreamed about it and wondered just how many cans I could carry in my backpack. Tate and Nathan were still arguing but I wasn’t listening. A warm soda was calling my name.
I turned the corner onto an aisle marked ‘Drinks’ but didn’t see Keely. I glanced around, but saw nothing except shelves of food.
“Keely!” I called out, wondering where she could have disappeared. I looked down the next aisle but she wasn’t there either. Before I knew it, I was heading deeper into the store.
It became darker and smellier. I could still hear Nathan and Tate at the front, but I was too far away to understand what they were saying anymore. I covered my nose with my arm and moved silently. Every single part of me was on alert. My heart started pounding. I sat the package of cookies on a nearby shelf, careful not to make any noise. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it.
I turned the corner…
Oh. Fuck.
Keely was standing in front of a set of swinging double doors, staring at me with terror. Her glasses were on the floor by her feet, broken, the lens cracked. Her eyes were the size of saucers and her face was pasty white.
The man that stood behind her was the size of a mountain.
It was Hightower. He had an arm locked around her neck in a chokehold and a meaty hand over her mouth. He towered above her by at least three feet and looked like a giant next to Keely’s petite frame. With one snap, he could break her neck. I knew it and so did he.
Hightower stared at me with hate, his jaw grinding like giant clamps. Keely started making little mewling sounds, trying to tell me something. The muscles in Hightower’s arm tightened and flexed as he squeezed her neck more, cutting off any sound from her.
Her face turned purple and her eyes bulged out in alarm, unable to breathe. She started clawing at his arm, leaving bloody marks behind.
Hightower didn’t seem fazed. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, keeping a tight chokehold on her.
I didn’t know what to do. Make a run for it or attack him? Scream like a banshee or fight him off her? I could still hear Nathan and Tate. They had no idea what was going on. If I drew their attention, they were both as good as dead.
I could see the pistol tucked in the waistband of Hightower’s jeans. We had no weapons except for some kitchen knives. We had no advantage. No help.
We were screwed.
I took a slow step back and heard the cocking of a gun near my ear. Keely’s eyes got wider, frantically moving from me to the person who held a gun on me.
I turned my head slowly, horrified panic beating out a quick rhythm in my heart. The end of a pistol barrel met my gaze. It was pointed directly at my forehead.
The person holding it reached out and grabbed my arm, digging his fingers into me and keeping the gun trained on my head.
My blood ran cold. Terror made my world zero in on nothing but the gun and the man that held it.
Paul.
He grinned and squeezed my arm painfully. Without a word, he looked at Hightower and thrust his chin toward a set of swinging double doors. Hightower kept his chokehold on Keely and turned h
er around, walking her into the dark bowels of the store. Paul looked at me and motioned with the gun to follow them. Not on his fucking life.
He must have seen the fight building in me because he sighed dramatically. I thought I had won – maybe I had a chance – but I was wrong. I was always frickin’ wrong.
Out of nowhere he grabbed my wrist and yanked it as far up my back as he could. Agonizing pain shot through my shoulder and down into my arm. I opened my mouth to scream but he buried the end of the gun against my temple and put his mouth near my ear.
“I got two bullets with your friends’ name on them.”
I froze.
“That’s better,” Paul whispered in my ear. He gave me a good shove toward the swinging doors, keeping my arm wedged up my back.
I stumbled as he pushed me along, forcing my arm higher. It was dark on the other side of the doors but my eyes adjusted quickly. I could see Hightower and Keely up ahead. They were walking toward the back. Boxes towered against the wall and in the middle of the room. It was a storeroom of some sort.
Hightower opened the back door and I was blinded by sunlight. Paul pushed me outside after Hightower and Keely. His grip on my arm never let up and the end of the pistol moved down to jab me in the ribcage.
I kicked up dust as Paul pushed me to follow Hightower and Keely. They were heading toward a little rundown white house that sat on the street behind the grocery store. The paint was chipping off of the sides and one window screen was hanging loose. The small porch was stuffed with old chairs and refrigerators and other trash. Tall weeds took up most of the yard, some reaching the top of my head. I knew if they got Keely and me in the house, we would not walk out of it. The town was deserted and we were alone.
My arm ached as Paul kept it pushed high on my back. My hand had gone numb. But my legs worked just fine. It was time to put them to good use and fight.
I swung around and brought my knee up, Paul’s balls my target. He was faster and expecting it. He backhanded me with the gun, smacking me in the face.
I cried out and fell to the ground, scraping my hands and knees. My mouth was bleeding, my lip cracked. I heard Keely scream behind Hightower’s hand as they watched.
I raised my head and glared at Paul. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I snarled at him. I might be broken on the inside but I wasn’t weak.
I jumped up, going on the attack. He grabbed my numb arm again. It brought him close enough that I could do some real damage. I buried my nails in his cheek and dug in deep. He howled and let go of my arm but recovered quickly.
His fist met my cheekbone. It felt like my face had met a wall. I fell back to the ground with a thud but this time I didn’t get up.
“Cat!” Keely screamed.
It was the last thing I remembered.
Chapter Thirty–Two
Cat
My eyelids lifted then closed. Lifted then closed. I was being dragged across a dirty floor by one arm. My body was limp and my shoulder was on fire but my mind was slowly returning.
“Hurry. Barricade that door before their friends figure out they’re missing and come looking,” a deep voice said above me.
He dragged me to the center of the room and dumped me, leaving me in a pile. My head hit the wood floor. I lie still. Hurting. Unconsciousness playing at the corners of my mind.
My eyes drifted open to little slits when I heard heavy footsteps close by my head. I saw a pair of boots and a pair of tennis shoes, the latter struggling and kicking. I heard a cry. A slap. My brain screamed at me to get up. To run. To fight. But my body wouldn’t cooperate. I hurt and my face throbbed too bad.
I closed my eyes again, just wishing the pain would just go away. The wood felt grimy and cold beneath my cheek. I wished I could just disappear in it forever.
A boot kicked my leg out of the way. I didn’t respond. I was gone. I had had enough. I was giving up. Ready to die. I couldn’t take it anymore. The pain. The heartache. The grief that lived with me everyday. I hated myself and I hated my life.
This was the ending I deserved.
A tear fell down my cheek then another. They fell faster as someone laid down on top of me. I heard Keely cry but there was nothing I could do.
Nothing because I was nothing.
Hands tore at my clothes, disgusting words filled my ears. Fingers pinched me and ran over parts of me that Cash had last touched. I squeezed my eyes closed, hating it all. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. Keely’s cries wouldn’t stop.
My pants were tugged down. I blocked it out. I heard a zipper and heavy breathing. My fingernails dug into the hardwood floor. He twisted my braid around his fist and tugged my head up.
“Ready, little bird.”
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air but it wasn’t mine.
It was Keely’s.
I heard grunts coming from another room combined with Keely’s sobs. Oh. God. That’s when something in me suddenly snapped. Hearing her was like a bomb going off in my head. It woke me up and lit a fire inside me.
My eyes flew open. The fight came out of nowhere. I bucked my body, catching Paul off guard and throwing him off me.
“Hey!” he yelled as I scrambled back and pulled my pants up at the same time.
He came at me, crawling like a bug. I noticed he had left his gun on the floor but it was too far away for me to grab. I reached for the nearest thing instead. A dusty coffee cup.
I threw it at his head as hard as I could and scrambled backward.
He ducked and yelped when the cup grazed his head, but he didn’t stop. With his pants hanging open, he lunged at me.
I screamed and shot to my feet. He was quicker. He grabbed my ankle and yanked. I fell to the floor on my stomach, my chin hitting hard. Paul wrapped a tight hand around my braid again and crawled up my body. I kicked and screamed, trying to buck him off. Fighting with everything I had. I could still hear sobs coming from the other room.
I have to save Keely.
Paul buried his nose into the back of my neck and pushed his crotch into me. He gave my hair a good yank before reaching for my pants again.
I screamed as loud and as shrill as I could. If I couldn’t fight him, I could make enough racket to drive him insane.
“Get the fuck away from her!”
I snapped my head around, my scream dying.
Nathan was standing in the doorway, looking larger than life and ready to kill. Tate was behind him, a knife in his hand and a mixture of fear and anger on his face.
“Nathan!” I shouted, pointing to the room Keely was in. “Help Keely!” Forget about me. Forget about the sick fuck lying on me. I wanted him to save her.
Nathan hesitated only a second but it was a second too long.
Paul jumped off me and lunged for his gun.
“NO!” I screamed, watching as he swung it up and around, pointing it at Nathan.
The shot exploded, rattling the tiny house. My hearing became muffled. I saw the bullet casing drop from the gun at the same time I heard Nathan gasp.
“No! No! No!” I shrieked, scrambling to my knees.
A red plume appeared on Nathan’s chest and spread outward. He looked down at it as he dropped to his knees.
“Nathan! Oh, god! Oh god! Nathan!” I cried in alarm and terror. I started to crawl to him, but Paul swung his gun on Tate.
“Stay right there, boy,” he said when Tate started to rush toward Nathan. I kneeled on the floor, my gaze swinging from one brother to the other. Tears fell from my eyes, seeing my brother on his knees bleeding.
Just then Hightower walked into the room, leisurely zipping up his fly. “What’s going on?” he asked, sounding mildly interested and way too pleased.
Paul readjusted the grip he had on the pistol, tightening his sweaty hand around the handle. “These here boys found our little hidey hole,” he said, jerking his chin at Tate.
“So? Finish them and let’s get out of here,” Hightower said, shrugging.
Paul
glanced over at Hightower with exasperation. “But I ain’t done with her yet,” he whined, nodding toward me.
Hightower snorted. “That’s your problem. I’m not going to have Frankie breathing down my neck because you can’t get it up.”
“Hell, Hightower, it’s not that…”
I couldn’t stand listening to them anymore. Nathan was bleeding out. Tate was in Paul’s line of fire. And Keely…I didn’t even know if she was still alive.
That left me.
I had nothing to lose. I had already lost so much. It was time to fight. Time to die. Time to stand up for my brothers’ lives.
With a shriek, I bulldozed Paul from the side. He fell to the ground and the gun went flying.
Tate lunged for it like a baseball player going for the ball. Hightower shot across the room at the same time, his big body not as quick as the skinny twelve-year olds.
Tate grabbed the gun and snapped it up as I scrambled over to Nathan. The gun shook in Tate’s hand and there was fear in his eyes but he looked down the barrel with precision.
“Don’t move,” he said, pulling back the hammer.
Nathan fell back against the wall as soon as I got to his side. I pressed two hands on his wound as Paul and Hightower froze. Tate was a dirty, scrawny kid but he knew what he was doing.
He rose to his feet, keeping the gun on the two men. “Put your hands up.”
Hightower did what he said but Paul chuckled. “You’re just a damn kid.”
A shot rent the air. Paul screeched and jumped a foot, grabbing his ear.
“You fucking nicked my ear!” he screamed. “You fucking shot me!”
Tate shrugged, keeping the gun on him. “My bad. I was aiming for your forehead.”
Hightower chuckled, keeping his hands in the air.
“Shut up!” Paul shouted, turning to glare at his friend. “Just shut the fuck up!”
Nathan moaned. He was half-reclined on the wall and floor, blood pumping from his chest. I pushed down harder, causing his life’s essence to soak my hand.