Yellow Heat - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Red Sky Series Book 6)

by Kellee L. Greene

  “Someone’s been hurt,” the young woman said walking up to me.

  “Rumors spread quickly around here, huh?”

  She shrugged. “I guess. Someone heard the shouting. They were calling for the doctor.”

  “But the doctor isn’t here,” I said.

  “I know. Poor guy,” she said. “There are others who’ve been helping the doctor.”

  “Oh,” I said making my feet move as the group came closer. I wanted a look at the man they were carrying. Just a small look so I could know it wasn’t him.

  There were four people on one side and three on the other. They worked together carrying him quickly.

  “Stay back!” Nolan shouted. “Give us some room.”

  I tried to take a peek around them but they moved so fast I couldn’t see anything between their quickly moving bodies. Their movements were so perfectly coordinated that they must have done this before.

  I wanted to offer my help but I didn’t know anything about first aid. Hell, I didn’t even know what was wrong with the man.

  The group ducked into one of the larger tents. It wasn’t long before everyone came back out of the tent, everyone except for Nolan.

  I walked over to the group standing outside. They were talking in hushed, somber voices while they looked into the tent. I could tell by their movements and the looks on their faces that the man wasn’t in good shape.

  My heart pounded inside my chest as I quietly approached the group. I thought when they saw me coming, they would scold me for being nosy but they didn’t. One of the women I didn’t know frowned and blew out a puff of air.

  “The poor guy,” she said shaking her head.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked ducking slightly to see if I could see anything. Nolan and two other women zipped around the tent.

  “He was barely breathing. Thin as a pretzel stick. Think he was dehydrated,” the woman said her head still shaking.

  My frown matched hers. “Will they be able to help him?”

  “I hope so,” she said.

  It was like something had taken over my body. My feet kept moving closer to the tent. I wasn’t going to get in their way but I had to see. I had to know.

  It seemed impossible.

  There was no way it could be.

  I touched the plasticy edge of the tent fabric as I took a small step inside. Nolan or the other women working didn’t even notice I was there.

  One of the women stepped away from the cot the man was lying on at the same moment Nolan stepped to the side. I saw the man’s face.

  My knees gave out and I dropped to the ground. My fingers dug into the dead grass and dry, crusty earth. I pulled the earth into my fists. “Oh my God.”

  Thirty

  It was Bronx.

  He had a long beard and he was incredibly thin… so terribly thin but there was no doubt in my mind that it was him.

  Nolan whipped his head around. He was at my side trying to help me to my feet. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

  “I know him. I know him!” I said looking at him with an intensity I could feel in my pounding heart. “Bronx! Bronx, it’s me!”

  Nolan held me back. He wasn’t trying to do anything but protect both me and Bronx but I needed to see him. I needed him to know I was there.

  “Let us help him,” Nolan said.

  “What’s wrong? What happened to him?” I asked.

  Nolan’s head sympathetically moved side to side. “Starvation. Dehydration.”

  “Save him. Can you save him?” My question sounded like a demand. It was a demand.

  “We’re trying,” Nolan said his voice calm like an ocean before the storm. He pointed to the side of the cot. “We’ve got him hooked up to an IV. It’s going to take time.”

  “I want to talk to him,” I begged.

  “His blood pressure is low,” one of the women said removing a cuff.

  I looked at Nolan. “Please. Let me talk to him.”

  “I’m not even sure he can hear you,” Nolan said his eyebrows sagging at the ends. He stepped to the side allowing me to pass.

  My hands were shaking as I approached the bed. The closer I got the worse he looked. His eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving. He looked like he hadn’t made it.

  “Bronx,” I said my voice cracking. “Bronx, it’s me. Gwen.”

  “We’re doing what we can to replace his fluids. There is medicine in here,” the woman said pointing to the fluid that was dripping down the tube. “They’re going to get the generator going so we can put a fan on him.”

  She had just finished her sentence when I heard the motor. I brought his weak hand up to my mouth. The sounds that bubbled out of me were heart-wrenching.

  “I’m so sorry,” the woman said. “We’re doing everything we can.”

  I nodded, wishing I could thank her but I couldn’t find a way to say the words. There was only one word that I could say and that was his name.

  They continued to work and watch him while I stood there helpless. When things calmed down, Nolan brought in a folding chair and set it down next to the cot. I offered him a thankful nod.

  “You should try to get some sleep,” Nolan said. I turned to him noticing the world outside the room had turned black.

  “I’ll lay on the ground if I get tired,” I said lowering my head.

  “If he stabilizes, we can take him north. Maybe there is something the doctor can do for him,” Nolan said.

  I nodded, but I couldn’t think about that. What if he didn’t stabilize? What would happen then?

  “Need anything? I have to turn in for the night,” Nolan said jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “The nurse, Yolanda, is in the tent next to this one if you should need her.”

  “No, I’m fine. Thanks,” I said turning back to Bronx. Seeing his sunken in cheeks made me want to burst into tears.

  Nolan left and all I could hear was the humming and grinding of the generator. The fan spun keeping the room cool. Bronx was attached to a machine that I could only hope would alert the nurses if something changed. The little beep every few seconds made my heart jump along with the rhythm.

  I sat there for hours listing to the beeping and staring at the lights on the monitor. There were dreams that felt so real but when I woke, I knew they hadn’t been. My exhaustion was massive, but my need to stay at Bronx’s side was colossal. There wasn’t anything that would make me leave his side.

  It was still dark outside when he groaned. His finger twitched and I placed my hand excitedly on his chest.

  “Bronx!” I said my eyes wide as I stared at his eyelids waiting for them to open. “It’s me, Gwen. Please wake up.”

  He groaned again but he didn’t answer. I felt a faint movement of Bronx’s finger against mine. It was probably involuntary but I tried nonetheless.

  “Can you hear me?” I asked.

  Had I felt the movement again?

  “Bronx?”

  This time I’d been sure I’d felt something. A cool tear trickled down my cheek as my body inflated with hope.

  “Please open your eyes,” I begged. I shook my head and lowered my voice placing my lips near his ear. “You have to fight, Bronx. I need you. We need you. They’re giving you medicine. All you have to do is lie there and get better.”

  “I will,” Bronx said. His lips had barely moved and it had only been air that escaped but the words were unmistakable.

  The tears flowed faster and harder. His finger twitched again. It was like he was trying to comfort me even though he was the one fighting for his life.

  I didn’t know if I should wake the nurse or just let him rest. If something was wrong, the beeping would change, somehow alerting her. But him moving his mouth wasn’t a bad change, it was good. It meant there really was hope and I didn’t want to but I let it in. I allowed myself to have hope that Bronx was going to be okay.

  By the time morning light seeped in through the tent opening, Bronx had opened his eyes and he’d asked me to stop cry
ing. I told him I’d try before stepping out to get the nurse.

  “That’s fantastic,” she’d said as we walked to the tent together. She changed out his IV bag and talked to him for a few minutes as if he were hard of hearing.

  With each passing hour, Bronx improved. His cheeks filled out a bit and his color returned. Nolan stopped by to introduce himself and welcome him to Winnipeg. He’d brought a six-pack of some cloudy, blue sports drink and told him about the place up north.

  After he left, Bronx asked me where Nick was. I told him everything that had happened since we’d lost him. He listened intently and didn’t speak until I finished telling him everything.

  “So, we’re going to travel north, right?” Bronx asked.

  “Whatever you want to do, I’ll be at your side,” I said and it was the honest to God truth. There wasn’t anything that could pull me away from him. Nothing.

  “We’ll go,” Bronx said.

  I smiled and squeezed his hand. “Nick will be so happy to see you.”

  “I can’t wait to see him either,” Bronx said taking a sip of the sports drink from the plastic straw.

  Two days later Bronx was almost back to his old self although he was at least twenty pounds lighter. He was up and about helping as best as he could.

  Every time I looked at him, I couldn’t help but think how close I’d been to losing him. Now I didn’t want to be more than ten steps away.

  He’d told me about his struggles to get to Winnipeg. It had been hard for him to find food and water and what he did find hadn’t been enough. The only thing that got him to Winnipeg was the idea he had in his mind that he would see me again.

  After we finished helping, we went back to our little house. We pushed two of the beds together, so we didn’t have to be far apart.

  I stroked the long, thick whiskers on his chin while I stared into his eyes. “I can’t believe this is real.”

  “Is it?” Bronx asked with a half-grin. “I’m not even sure I’m ready to believe that it is. I probably died out there somewhere and this is my heaven.”

  “Your heaven is Winnipeg?”

  “No,” Bronx said kissing my forehead. “My heaven is you.”

  My heart swelled and warmth rushed through my veins. I rolled over halfway on top of him and pressed my lips to his. He grabbed my waist and held me close.

  “I was stupid to go with Nick,” Bronx said. “I shouldn’t have left you. Will you ever be able to forgive me?”

  “Of course,” I said. “None of that matters anymore.”

  “If I ever cross paths with that Kellan guy you told me about, I might kill him,” Bronx said with nothing but seriousness to his tone.

  “It wouldn’t be worth it.” I kissed Bronx again. Harder. I tried to send every bit of love I felt for him from my mouth to his. I raised my brow and lightly let my tongue glide across my lower lip. “Do you really want to talk about Kellan right now?”

  Bronx shook his head and pressed his hands on my hips holding my bottom closer to him. I could feel he didn’t want to talk about anything.

  His hands glided up and down my body. I let every single thought leave my mind. All I wanted was to feel him. Touch him. Love him.

  We spent most of the next few days locked inside of the house enjoying both the privacy and the safety. No one bothered us and the only time we left was to get food and that was only because Bronx needed it.

  Days later when the trucks came down the road, it was time to pack up and leave. Bronx was looking healthy again. I wasn’t even the slightest bit worried about him making the journey.

  We climbed into the truck holding hands. Everything was going to be better from that moment on… I could feel it. Soon we’d see Nick and Molly again. We’d have a safe place to stay with a doctor, abundant food and unlimited water.

  As long as the attacks stayed away, we would rebuild what we could. We’d be a community. Sure, we wouldn’t have the luxuries we once had but things would be good again. Generations down, they’d have wonderful things again. Maybe even phones and the internet would come back or new inventions I couldn’t even imagine. People would rebuild cars and life would eventually get back to what it was.

  It would take time, of course, but it could happen. I believed that. Bronx believed that. Everyone in the town believed that.

  We smiled at each other as the truck’s engine roared and we started bouncing down the road into the sunlight. I wasn’t afraid. There wasn’t anything that I couldn’t face. And with Bronx at my side, I was even stronger.

  I closed my eyes and let the breeze from the open window blow and twist my hair behind me. It felt good. It felt amazing. It felt like I had won.

  Books By Kellee L. Greene

  Red Sky Series

  Red Sky - Book 1

  Blue Cloud - Book 2

  Black Rain - Book 3

  White Dust - Book 4

  Indigo Ice - Book 5

  Yellow Heat - Book 6

  Ravaged Land Series

  Ravaged Land -Book 1

  Finding Home - Book 2

  Crashing Down - Book 3

  Running Away - Book 4

  Escaping Fear - Book 5

  Fighting Back - Book 6

  Ravaged Land: Divided Series

  The Last Disaster - Book 1

  The Last Remnants - Book 2

  The Last Struggle - Book 3

  Falling Darkness Series

  Unholy - Book 1

  Uprising - Book 2

  Hunted - Book 3

  The Island Series

  The Island - Book 1

  The Fight - Book 2

  The Escape - Book 3

  The Erased - Book 4

  The Alien Invasion Series

  The Landing - Book 1

  The Aftermath - Book 2

  Destined Realms Series

  Destined - Book 1

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  What to Read Next

  Thank you so much for reading the Red Sky Series. Ready for more fast-paced apocalyptic adventures? Give my Ravaged Land series a try. Grab the first book, Ravaged Land today.

  I really hope you enjoyed the Red Sky Series. If you did, please consider leaving a review. Reviews can help in so many ways. It helps me know which characters, books, and series you are loving and it helps other readers find books they might like too!

  Click HERE to leave a review.

  And lastly, I’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to send me an email anytime! kelleelgree@gmail.com

  I hope you join me again with my next series. Details coming soon! To find out when it will be released, please subscribe to my mailing list.

  About the Author

  Kellee L. Greene is a stay-at-home-mom to two super awesome and wonderfully sassy children. She loves to read, draw and spend time with her family when she’s not writing. Writing and having people read her books has been a long time dream of hers and she’s excited to write more. Her favorites genres are Fantasy and Sci-fi. Kellee lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two kids and two cats.

  For more information:

  www.kelleelgreene.com