The guy with swollen eyes turned to run, but Logan grabbed him before he could get away. Ryder stepped up in front of the guy who’d tried to shoot me and ripped the club out of his arm.
The guy howled out in pain, his eyes rolling around in their sockets. It looked as though he was going to pass out, but before he could fall, Ryder pulled back the club and aimed for his head.
I closed my eyes, but I heard the squishy thud upon impact. Shawn started to lead both Charlie and me away. Even after we were a good distance from the scene, I still didn’t want to open my eyes.
“You save bullets this way,” Shawn said as if he was trying to explain. I nodded, but that didn’t mean I’d wanted to see any of it.
Charlie was on his other side sobbing almost silently. “The fuckers deserve it. Same guys. I’m glad their dead!”
“What was that?” Shawn said jerking his head back.
Over my shoulder I saw Ryder and Logan running towards us, waving for us to keep going. I could tell something was wrong.
“Go, go, go!” Shawn said pushing at my back until I limped forward in an awkward run.
Seconds later I’d heard the distant mumbling voices. We weren’t far away. Nowhere near far enough.
“Hey! What happened here?” one of the voices said.
The sun dipped below the horizon wiping out the last bits of light. I turned back, but I couldn’t see anything. In fact, I could barely see Ryder and Logan.
Someone screamed, and another wailed loudly. They were going to catch us.
“Keep going,” Ryder said grabbing my backpack. “As fast as you can.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said between breaths. “They’ll see our tracks.”
I looked down and barely noticed the path we’d taken to find them. It was hard to see in the dark, but it was there.
“We have to switch directions. Maybe they’ll follow the wrong set,” Shawn said.
“Follow me,” Ryder said and turned off in another direction.
We didn’t stop running even when we couldn’t hear them anymore. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever stop running.
We’d probably been running at varying speeds for an hour straight when a sharp pain stabbed in my leg. A reminder of where I’d been hit by the arrow.
“My leg,” I said unable to catch my breath. “It hurts.”
“All right, we can slow down.” Ryder looked concerned even though he hadn’t seen my leg. “Hopefully, we’ll hear them coming.”
Logan muffled a cough. “Hopefully.”
Ryder glanced at my leg. “How bad is it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t really know. It kind of burns.”
“Is it bleeding?” Ryder asked.
“It was.”
I didn’t want to look because it felt like a chunk of my flesh was missing. It probably needed to be bandaged, but I didn’t want to stop and take care of it. We needed to keep moving until we were safe. If that was even a possibility.
“I wish there was a way to cover our tracks,” Shawn said as he slowed and tried to kick snow over our deep footprints. It wasn’t enough to make any real difference.
“We just have to hope they aren’t following,” Ryder said. “And if they are, we need to be moving faster than they are.”
“How many were back there,” Shawn asked.
Ryder pressed his lips together briefly. “Not sure. Ten? Twenty?”
Charlie exhaled loudly, gesturing in the direction they had been dragging her. “I think their home was back that way somewhere. One of them had said we were close. They said that soon I wouldn’t have to worry about The Evolved anymore.”
“They didn’t know you were a renegade?” I asked.
“No, and I didn’t tell them. Would it have mattered?” Charlie asked.
Ryder shook his head. “Probably not. Renegades are just The Evolved’s rejects. At least that’s what the natives think.”
“And the natives are the rejects of both,” Logan quipped.
“Shh!” Shawn said, and everyone stopped talking. The world around us was completely silent. After a few moments, he shook his head. “Sorry, I thought I heard something.”
“Well, did you?” Ryder asked.
Shawn drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “No. Nothing. I’m fairly certain.”
“We should probably stop talking anyway,” Ryder said his eyes peering into the darkness. “It’s not like we want to draw any unwanted attention to ourselves.”
Logan chuckled softly. “Is there such a thing as wanted attention anymore?”
Ryder smiled. “No, probably not. Especially when it comes to the natives or The Evolved.”
We walked in silence for a long time. No one made any noises. The only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of our clothing and our boots in the snow as we walked.
After a while, Ryder leaned in close. “That was a little scary back there… and actually quite brave.”
“Some would say it was foolish,” I whispered. “I’m lucky he had no idea how to use a gun.”
“I’d be willing to bet a lot of people don’t have experience with them. We just don’t see them around much anymore,” Ryder said.
“Do you know how?” I asked.
Ryder looked over his shoulder. “Not well.”
I shrugged as I reached back to feel my gun tucked back into my waistband. It felt good to have it back. “Well, hell of a lot of good it did me.”
“Maybe not this time, but it could.”
“That club is going to do us much better than my gun ever will.”
Ryder shook his head. “I’m not sure if that’s true. The club is useless against those arrows.”
“My leg says the gun was pretty useless too.”
“I’m just glad you’re OK. I don’t know what I would have done if—”
“Thankfully we don’t have to talk about it,” I said.
Ryder squeezed my hand and kissed the side of my head. It was almost too hard to believe that we were still together and still alive.
I was sure the others were still thinking about Eli. It was hard to keep going on without him, but what choice did we have? Eli would have wanted us to keep fighting.
We walked until the sun came up. There wasn’t anyone behind us that we could see, of course, that didn’t mean they weren’t still trying to find us. But at least we were ahead of them, and hopefully, it would stay that way.
We stopped for a short break to eat something and drink some water. I cleaned my wound as best as I could and bandaged it. It wasn’t as bad as I had thought, but it still hurt like hell. The arrow had grazed my skin and ripped off a small chunk of the upper layer of my skin. There was a big black bruise around the wound, but it would heal.
As soon as we were finished with our rations, we were back on our feet. I looked up towards the sky at the white clouds drifting by. The welcomed sunlight was warm on my skin.
The good news was that we were headed south again. Hopefully, the snow would melt, we’d replenish our supplies, and before we knew it, we’d be organizing our new home.
All we had to do to make it our reality was avoid the natives and The Evolved until we got there. How hard could that be?
THE LAST REMNANTS
ravaged land: divided
—————
BY
KELLEE L. GREENE
Chapter 1
We’d been traveling for weeks without any problems. For the most part, things had been going quite smoothly. We’d made significant progress, but we had all been functioning in some crazy state far beyond exhaustion.
The only time we stopped walking was to eat, sleep, or refill our water bottles otherwise it was full steam ahead. I had no idea where we were, or how far from home I was, but none of that really mattered. The only thing that did matter was getting as far south as I possibly could so that I could finally find my new home. To start rebuilding what I’d lost. And the only thing I was certain about was that I wasn’t
there yet.
When it had started snowing again a few days ago, we’d stopped and holed up in an abandoned church. The insides were caked in dust and dirt, but there weren’t tracks in the dust. It was empty and had been for a while. There was mold and mildew everywhere, but it was better than being outside.
“The fire is dying down,” Charlie grumbled as she rubbed her hands together near the flames.
She was sitting about four feet away from a small metal pail that held our little fire. Charlie sighed and adjusted the blanket that she had draped over her shoulders before hugging herself.
Logan dropped another small piece of wood into the fire, and it crackled as it blazed up, rising out of the pail. A trail of smoke danced up toward the ceiling and out through the large cracks. Logan glanced at Charlie, but lowered his head and stepped back.
Charlie hadn’t been the same since she’d almost been taken away from us. Most of the time, Ryder carried her club because she just didn’t have the energy. She was constantly distracted. Charlie never went off on her own unless it was because she needed to use the restroom. Not that most places even had bathrooms.
Every inch of the church was cold, except the area within a three-foot radius of the metal pail. It was a good thing we still had our jackets and blankets to help keep us warm.
I was lying on a broken, slanted pew staring at the stained-glass windows that had managed to stay mostly intact. My stomach grumbled so loud I was sure the others had heard it.
“Should we heat up some of the meat?” Ryder asked. Maybe he had heard it, or maybe the others were hungry too.
“Want help?” I asked, but Ryder held up his palm to stop me.
“I’ll get it.” Ryder turned and walked down the aisle toward the doors at the back of the building.
We’d been lucky the lock still worked, but it didn’t seem all that secure. Someone could have probably broken in with only a little effort if they wanted. Luckily, no one had been around to even try.
Ryder had taken out a small wolf less than twenty-four hours ago and packed it in a pile of snow. We’d eaten so much when he first killed it that I was surprised there was even any meat left.
I didn’t bother to turn around when Ryder made his way back inside. We all sat there watching him slice the roughly cut slab of meat into smaller chunks.
I held out my twig, and Ryder stuck on a piece of the meat at the top. My mouth watered.
“I guess I should have brought in more,” Ryder said looking up at us as the others waited for their portion.
“I don’t think there will ever be a time that I won’t be hungry,” Logan said covering a slight cough.
Shawn’s head bobbed up and down in enthusiastic understanding. “Back with The Evolved, in the beginning, we could indulge in seconds. Of course, things had changed since then.”
“My family had stored up a lot, but my dad watched it carefully,” I said smiling at the memory. God, I missed my parents so much it hurt. I cleared my throat and pushed the memories away. “No point in dwelling on the past I suppose. Things are different now that’s for sure.”
All of their eyes shifted up at me at nearly the same time as I squashed out the conversation. Maybe there would be a time to reminisce, but I for one wasn’t ready. My pain was still too raw. Maybe if we ever found a place of our own, and we were finally safe again, maybe then. Maybe.
“I wonder if there is anywhere that is completely isolated from The Evolved or the natives,” I said with a sigh. “What if we have to keep moving around forever?”
“We haven’t seen anyone in miles and miles,” Charlie said taking a small bite from her chunk of meat. Red juices dripped down her chin. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and stuck the meat back into the fire. “Maybe eventually they’ll kill each other off.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Logan said with a meat-stuffed cheek. “But seems a unlikely scenario.”
Ryder stood up and placed his hands on his hips. He looked at us one after the other, his eyes moving around the circle. “You guys still hungry? Should I get more?”
My head was already moving up and down before he’d even finished speaking. I felt like I could eat a whole wolf myself.
“Yeah,” Logan said picking between his teeth with a fingernail.
“Please,” Shawn said.
Ryder popped up to his feet, flourishing his arm as he walked backward, bending slightly at the waist. “It would be my pleasure.”
“Oh, please,” Charlie said rolling her eyes.
I couldn’t hold back the small laugh as I looked away from him. It felt like every eye in the room was on me. Surely, I couldn’t be the only one that found humor in Ryder’s silliness.
Whatever beginning to a relationship Ryder and I had, was in a strange place. We knew how we felt about one another, but we kept things quiet. He didn’t say it, but I knew it was because he didn’t want to upset Charlie.
What she’d gone through had been bad enough. It wasn’t like either Ryder, nor I wanted to rub anything in her face. If there even was anything.
It wasn’t like we had tons of time to be alone anyway. We traveled together. We were all awake and asleep at the same time. And there was always someone around.
Surely when we found a place to stay long term things would be different. For the time being, the important thing was getting there. Until then, everything else could wait.
“Hey,” Shawn said nudging me with his elbow. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “About as well as one might expect with all things considered.”
“We’ll get there,” Shawn said rocking his body into mine.
I looked into his sparkling eyes. “I sure hope so.”
“Look how far we’ve come,” Shawn said gesturing around the room.
I scrunched up my nose. The disgusting and dirty room didn’t make me feel like I’d accomplished anything.
“OK, maybe not this room exactly,” Shawn said. “But things have been good. We’re making major progress and haven’t run into any problems. I think going south was a really smart idea.”
“Until everyone else realizes it too,” Charlie muttered.
“Then we’re ahead of the game,” Shawn said.
Logan was shaking his head snickering quietly. “Progress or not, we don’t know what’s waiting for us out there. Never let your guard down. Not even for a second. We can’t assume anything is safe.”
I nodded. Logan was right of course, but what I didn’t mention to the others was that we’d never be safe. No mattered where we stopped… we wouldn’t ever be safe. We’d always have to sleep with one eye open. Then again, maybe they all already knew that.
The back door opened and Ryder seemed to blow in with the breeze. “Good news boys and girls.”
“What?” Logan grunted. It didn’t sound like he believed in good news.
“Come with me. I’ll show you,” Ryder stuck out his hand for me, and then for Charlie. I took it, but she ignored it. When I was on my feet, Ryder dropped my hand but smiled brightly. “You guys are going to love this.”
We followed Ryder down the aisle. I looked down at the club he was holding assuming it would be covered in blood and he was going to present us with another wolf. But the club didn’t have any fresh blood on it.
Ryder pushed both doors open and stepped to the side. I blinked several times before I realized what was different. It had stopped snowing.
I’d only been in the sunlight for a few seconds, and already my cheeks had felt warm. After the previous days of the heavy snowstorm, it was almost too hard to believe.
“Maybe we can head out in the morning,” I said looking out at the emptiness surrounding us.
“Could start up again by then,” Charlie said crossing her arms.
Of course she was right, but hopefully, she was wrong. I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic being stuck inside the small church.
“Guess we’ll see in th
e morning,” Ryder said holding his hands above his eyes to block out the light. “But I think this is promising. The sky is clear, and the sun is warm. Let’s stay positive.”
Ryder leaned closer to Charlie and smiled. She returned the smile, but even I could feel the emptiness in her eyes. Ryder looked away, and I instantly felt the worry radiate out from him.
“Well, we might as well, go back inside. Rest up. Could be a big day ahead of us,” Ryder said placing his hands on his hips.
“We’ll see,” Charlie muttered and walked back inside.
Logan and Shawn followed her. Ryder grabbed my hand as I was walking away.
“We should get inside,” I said, my eyes quickly darting towards the church. I worried Charlie was watching.
“Oh, yeah, of course. I just wanted a minute with you. We don’t get to—”
“I know.” I stood on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek. “But you know…,” I said swallowing down the lump at the back of my throat. “She just needs more time.”
Ryder tried to hide his frown. “She does, or you do?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Never mind.” Ryder started to walk away before I grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face me.
I narrowed my eyes at him waiting for him to explain himself. His jaw was stiff but it quickly softened when he sighed.
“It’s difficult you know?” He leaned closer. “I should get time with my girlfriend without having to worry about her running off.”
“I know.” I hesitated, chewing on my cheek. “But if she runs off again. It puts us all in danger. We can’t risk it. You know that.”
“She won’t.” Ryder’s eyes were hard as he stared directly into mine. He groaned as he looked away from me. “It’s just that I shouldn’t feel like I miss you when you’re usually less than ten feet away from me.”
I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers with his. “It’s hard for me too.”
“Is it?”
“Jesus, Ryder! It’s like you’re angry with me.”
Ravaged Land: Divided Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Books 1-3 Page 15
