As soon as I hear it slide close I yell for all lights on. It takes my eyes a moment to adjust again and when they do I let out a scream of defeat. Sasha and Matty are cowering on the floor beside me but Rex and Ben aren’t here. What causes my heart to almost stop is the fine spray of red droplets that are on the floor between me and the door.
I gotta think, because that’s blood. I’ve got to do something…BEN!
I scramble to the door on my knees and rest my palms and forehead on it. What now, what do I do now?
“AIRIA, how are the vital signs for Rex and Ben?”
“Skylar Ross, Rex Larson’s vital signs indicate that he is in distress. Benjamin Ross has an increased heart rate but all other signs are within normal range.”
Ok, ok Ben’s fine so that’s Rex’s blood but how bad is it and what can I do?
“AIRIA, can you tell how bad Rex is hurt?”
“Skylar Ross, Rex Larson’s vital signs indicate he is in distress but are not life threatening at the moment.”
I take a deep breath. Ok, he’s ok for now but what will Ted do?
“AIRIA, patch me through to the living quarter’s speakers.”
“Skylar Ross, channel open.”
I can hear them. I can hear Ted ranting and swearing and glass breaking. Underneath that, I can hear Ben’s muffled crying and what I think is Rex moaning.
“Ted, TED! Can you hear me? Shut up and listen to me!” When I can’t hear him anymore I continue. “Same deal applies except now it includes Rex. If you hurt either of them or Rex dies from his wounds, I’ll gas you! So you better give him a towel to stop the bleeding. Now, I’m going to put you together one hell of a care package and you’re going to take it and leave.”
I wait for a reply and it comes quickly. “Why the hell should I believe you after that stunt you just pulled? You list off everything I’m getting and I’ll let you know if it’s good enough!”
I wrack my brain for the magic item that’s going to make him happy. Food, water, guns, comfort items all that’s easy but what will make it irresistible to him? I’m trying to think of something, anything when a hand clutches at my arm making me flinch. It’s Sasha, her face is smeared with snot and tears.
“Just give him everything. Get Rex out of there and let him have it all!”
I growl at her and shove her back to the floor. I practically spit at her.
“Shut up! You shut up. This is all your fault, all of it! You get no say in anything! That’s my brother in there and this is MY home so you SHUT THE FRACK UP!!!”
She pushes herself back away from me with a white face and gathers Matty up against her like a shield so I turn back to the door. I open my mouth to speak and then close it. Frack! The speaker was still on so that means Ted heard all that. Well, he’s dead wrong if he thinks I’m giving him everything. When this is all done they’re all out, all of them! It’s been just three days since I let outsiders into my home and my trust and look what happened. No, it’s going to go back to the way it was before and I’m going to forget there is an outside.
“Ted, are you listening? Here’s your list. Food, water, guns, blankets, booze and survival gear. That’s what I’m offering.”
I hear Ted bellow out a laugh. “Are you nuts? You think I’m going to take the few bags of goodies that I can carry and leave all this?”
My mouth hardens and I lean my head against the door.
“No Ted, you’re going to take as much as a pickup truck can carry and drive it out of here.”
There’s silence coming through the speakers for what seems like a thousand heartbeats before he finally responds.
“DONE! But Skylar, the boy stays with me until I’m in that truck!”
I let out the breath I was holding and sag against the door.
“I’m going to need time to fill the truck so make sure Rex’s bleeding is under control. He dies, you die.”
I hear him say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah” through the speakers so I have AIRIA disconnect. I pull myself to my feet and slowly turn around. With the deal made all the rage drains out of me and I’m left tired and feeling beaten down. I look down on Sasha dispassionately but frown at Matty’s scared tear covered face.
“Matty, I’m going to get Rex out of there. He’ll be fine.”
He looks up at me with big sad green eyes that perfectly match his brothers and asks, “And Ben too? Ben’s going to be ok too, right?”
I give him a reassuring nod but my voice is weary.
“You bet, buddy. Rex and Ben will be just fine.”
Sasha watches me warily, waiting to see what I do next. I can’t wait to never see her face again, but first, there’s work to do.
“Get up. Get up and help me load the truck so we can end this.” There’s no bite to my words but they’re firm.
She pushes Matty away and gets to her feet, a spark of anger coming into her eyes.
“Why should I help you? Do it yourself!” I just stare her down and wait. Sure enough, she’s got more to say. Her face takes on an ugly sneer. “Like you said, this is your house. Skylar Ross, perfect girl in her perfect home. Not so perfect anymore, is it? How’s it feel to have to deal with reality, cuz this is the kind of stuff the rest of us have had to deal with since the world changed. You think you’re so special? You think you can just swoop in and take my family, take Rex?”
Ahhhh, there it is. The real reason all of this has happened. The envy and jealousy of a fifteen-year-old girl. I really, really want to just punch her in the face but it’s just not worth it so instead I try and put it in perspective for her.
“Yup, that’s me living the dream! It was a perfect life while I watched my mom bleed out in front of me the first day. I was ten. It was even more perfect when one of the people from your town shot my dad in the back, for his boots. I was thirteen and all alone with a two-year-old. Yup, perfect. It was so perfect that I decided to risk my life and my brother’s and my home to help your people.
“Sasha, I never did anything to you but try and help. You came into my home and acted like a spoiled child. You were so jealous and petty over a BOY that you brought a dangerous man here and put two little kids and the rest of us in danger. For what? For revenge? To get your mom back? How’d that work out for you?” I shake my head at her in exasperation. “You will help me get that truck loaded because I’m done with your sick, sad, pathetic drama or I’ll just sweeten the deal with Ted by including YOU.” At her horrified look, I give her a cold smile. “After everything you’ve done, I wouldn’t even feel bad about it. Now let’s go!”
I turn and start walking away, I would never actually turn her over to Ted but she needs a wakeup call because this IS reality and I’m living it.
The first thing I do is go to the gun safe in the shooting room and arm myself with a handgun and rifle that I sling over my back. I don’t plan on going back on the deal but I won’t be double-crossed either. Sasha doesn’t speak to me again as we start loading supplies into my Dad’s old pickup but the misery on her face the whole time makes me hope that my words have gotten through to her. The truck’s been covered by a tarp for years but I always started it every month like he used to do. There are double wide doors at the back of the cavern with the same rock façade covering them on the outside as well as a smaller man door. Last time I was around back on the outside was over a year ago but I could still make out the faint track Dad used to drive in. With nothing growing it should still be manageable, just covered in snow and ash.
I don’t care about most of the supplies we’re loading up. There’s so much in storage that this small amount won’t be missed, but the guns are another matter. I hate the idea of arming this guy and any like-minded people he has. It’s not right to give him the means to prey on other people, so I take the time to pull the firing pins on the five rifles I’m giving him and then empty the bullets from all the ammunition boxes and refill them with empty casings. I figure his greed will make him careless and he won’t discover what I’
ve done until he’s long gone.
The truck is loaded as full as we can get it. I look around the cavern and sigh. I’ll have to let Ted come through here to get to the truck and that may be too much for his greed to handle. I dig around and find the small cages Dad used to bring the chickens here back on the first day and wrangle three of the laying hens. It’s the last thing I can think to do to satisfy him and get him out of my home. Once they’re loaded in the back seat of the truck I pull my gun and start walking back to the living quarter’s door. It’s time to end this. I send Matty and Sasha into one of the storage rooms to keep them safe and out of the way before getting AIRIA to patch me through. AIRIA has been giving me updates on Rex and Ben’s vital signs every ten minutes so I know they’re both unharmed but I won’t feel a hundred percent until I see them with my own eyes.
“TED! The truck is ready to go. The door will open in a minute. Are you ready?”
His response is immediate.
“Well, it’s about time, sweetheart! Now, we ain't gonna have any more funny business! I’ve got my gun planted in your little brat’s neck so watch yourself!”
I push away the instant terror that floods me at his words. He wants what I’ve got to give so hopefully he won’t do anything stupid.
“AIRIA, open the living quarter’s cavern door.”
I’m a good twenty feet back from the door with my gun firmly in my hand. The door slides open and a second later Rex stumbles out. He’s clutching a towel against the top of his left shoulder and it’s stained with blood but he’s on his feet and moving so I look past him as he moves out of the way. Next Ben comes with one of Ted’s hands gripping his shoulder and the other pressing his gun against his little neck. Ben’s eyes almost bring me to my knees. They’re completely blank. My baby brother has checked out and gone somewhere else. He’s been so protected his entire life that this must have been too much for his young mind to handle.
Ted pushes Ben ahead of him into the cavern but comes to a stop and pushes the gun harder against Ben’s neck when he sees me with the gun I’m holding. I steel myself not to react when Ben doesn’t even flinch at what must be the painful pressure of the gun.
I nod at Ted and motion him forward with my gun.
“Just to keep you honest, I thought I should level the playing field.”
He smirks at my words and starts Ben moving again. His eyes take in every inch of the cavern and he’s shaking his head in wonder. I keep backing up and we make it over the foot bridge before he stops again. His eyes are on the animal pens and they gleam with calculation. I try and beat him to it.
“I’ve put three laying hens in the truck already so as long as you don’t decide to have a chicken dinner you’ll have eggs for as long as you keep them healthy.”
He purses his lips in consideration.
“Hmm, look at all of this. It just doesn’t seem right that you’ve been keeping all this for yourself and the brat while the rest of us live in the filth outside.” His eyes leave the pens and flash back to me filled with sick amusement. “I took a look around your place while I was waiting and what a surprise to see someone I recognise. That must be your dad in all those pictures you got framed up in there.” He shakes his head with fake sadness. “It’s really too bad. If I had of know he was sitting on this sweet setup I might have let him live long enough to get us in here. Oh well, his boots and rifle came in handy for a few years until they wore out.”
Time freezes. I’m thirteen and Benny’s just a baby crying for his daddy again. I’m all alone and I don’t know what to do. I just keep stacking those rocks over his body because I’m not strong enough to dig a proper grave.
Rex’s roar of anger snaps me out of it and makes Ted swing the gun away from Ben’s neck to point it at him. My hand moves before my brain is even working. My gun’s up and level without the slightest tremble. Ted’s eyes dart to me and they have time to flare wide before I pull the trigger and a small neat hole appears in the middle of his forehead.
My brain catches up just as he falls to the rock floor and that’s when the trembling starts. I killed him, not a target shaped like a person but a real living person. No matter how horrible that man was, he was still a person and I just killed him. I sink to my knees and the gun clatters to the rock floor. My eyes are locked on to Ben who just stands there. His eyes are still blank and he makes no move to come to me.
It’s Rex who breaks the moment by scooping him up and carrying him with his one good arm the ten feet to me. He sets Ben down in between us and wraps both his arms around us and just holds on.
We stay like that with Ben’s head tucked under my chin and my tears wetting his hair until Matty shouts his brother’s name. Rex kisses the top of Ben’s head and looks questioningly into my eyes but I’ve got nothing for him right now. I just lower my head down onto Ben’s so he lets go of us and goes to his brother and Sasha who have come out of the storage room.
I rock Benny back and forth on the floor and whisper my love to him until I feel him move. I pull back and look down at him. A wave of relief washes through me when I see life behind his eyes and a small smile cracks my face when he says in a small voice that he’s hungry. That’s good, that’s normal, that I can handle. I pull him up with me as I get to my feet and heft him into my arms. His skinny legs wrap around my waist before he lays his head against my shoulder. As I walk past Ted’s body and Rex and the others I flash back to Ben being a baby and how I used to walk the cavern with him in a sling against me. I want to go back. I want us to go back to how it was because if this is the living I thought I wanted, I was wrong.
Rex, Matty and Sasha follow us back into the living quarters where I sit Ben down at the table and head to the kitchen. I pull out food from the fridge and start making sandwiches. I can see Rex staring at me with concern but I don’t care. I’ve been pushed and stretched beyond anything else right now. My brother’s hungry so I’m making sandwiches.
Rex steps towards me and reaches out his hand.
“Skylar…”
Before he can say more, AIRIA interrupts him.
“Skylar Ross, multiple perimeter breaches detected.”
I just keep making sandwiches. Maybe I should add some cut up veggies to his plate but he doesn’t like them raw so no, not today.
Rex is trying to ask AIRIA questions but she won’t answer him because he has no authorization. I add a few oatmeal cookies to the plate and set it in front of Ben before going back to make more when Rex grabs me by the arm.
“Sky, snap out of it! We need to know who’s out there!”
I look at him with no expression at all. I don’t care who’s out there but he’s in my way so I ask in a dead voice.
“AIRIA, how many?”
“Skylar Ross, sensors indicate one hundred and eighteen life forms within the perimeter.”
Rex sucks in a surprised breath at such a huge number before a grin tugs at his lips.
“Marsh, Marsh brought everyone up!”
I shrug my shoulders and shake off his hand on my arm before sliding past him back into the kitchen. Rex follows me and keeps on talking.
“This is great! He wouldn’t have come up here unless he had Ethan or Lance with him so they’re probably all here.”
Sasha pipes up. “Do you think they have my mom with them? Ted left her down on the road with Mickey. They would have rescued her, right?”
Their voices are like a drill in my ear as I make more sandwiches. I just want them to stop. Stop talking, stop being in my way, just stop and leave me with Benny in peace.
“You should go see. Here, I’ll make these sandwiches to go. You can take them with you.”
Rex and Sasha stop talking and just stare at me. Sasha looks guilty and Rex has hurt confusion on his face.
“Sky, Skylar? Don’t you want to come? You could meet the rest of our people. Help get things organized, for our plan?”
I start wrapping up the food I’ve made in plastic wrap and keep my eyes down
.
“You should go. They’re probably worried about you.”
He shakes his head.
“Skylar, I’m so sorry for what happened here but Ted was a bad man! The rest aren’t like that. They’re good people!”
My eyes flash up at him in a brief moment of anger.
“You mean like Sasha?”
I lower my eyes just as quickly. I’m not doing this. I’m not going to argue with him. I have nothing left inside for him or anyone else except Ben.
“Really, you should go, have that shoulder checked out and cleaned up by Marsh’s Dad. He’s a doctor, right? I’ll get you a first aid kit to take.”
Rex’s voice is full of anguish when he says my name and I can’t take it anymore.
“GO! GET OUT! I don’t want you here anymore!”
I throw the sandwiches in a plastic bag and rush around the counter to the closet as he stares in disbelief. I pull out all of their outerwear that I had washed and throw it by the exterior airlock door before I head out into the cavern to storage. I grab a pre-loaded med kit and then snag two go-bags that Dad had made up years ago. I can’t remember everything that’s in them but I know they’re filled with survival gear.
When I carry everything back into the living area, Sasha and Matty are dressed to go and Rex is struggling to get his jacket on over the towel he has wrapped around his wound. I dump the bags at his feet.
“There’s lots of survival gear in those bags and this med-kit is full so you should have everything you need.”
Rex gets his jacket on and zipped up before meeting my eyes with a hard stare.
“No, that’s not all that I need. You, Sky, you are what I need! I’ll go but I won’t leave. I’ll never leave you! You’re not a quitter Sky, you don’t give up and neither will I. I’ll be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes.”
I look into those green eyes and see love and determination. He’ll fight for me. But a quick glance over at Ben who just sits and stares at his uneaten food pushes all that away.
“AIRIA, open living quarter’s exterior airlock doors.”
One last look at what might have been and then I turn my back to him. I stand strong and rigid until I hear the door slide shut and then I let the tears flow. I go scoop up Ben and settle us both on the couch. I sit with my future cuddled against my side and let all the rest go.
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 19
