Ravaged Land: Divided Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Books 1-3

by Kellee L. Greene

  “I’ve fallen hard for you,” Shawn said, touching my chin with his fingertips. “Really hard.”

  “I feel the same,” I said, my words unable to express what my heart had actually felt for him.

  I cared immensely for everyone in our group. I’d be torn into pieces if anything happened to any of them, but especially Shawn. If anything, ever happened to him, I wouldn’t be able to go on.

  Shawn put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “Get some sleep.”

  “I will, once I catch my breath,” I said, and Shawn grinned. “Although, I’m still worried about Charlie. She didn’t look good.”

  “No, she didn’t. I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Shawn said. “Good night. For real this time.”

  I chuckled as I placed my hand on his solid chest and closed my eyes. In the morning Charlie would probably be back to giggling with Abby and making annoying remarks. In a way, I almost looked forward to it because at least then she’d be feeling better and we could all stop worrying.

  Feisty Charlie was annoying, but sick Charlie made me nervous. Really nervous.

  Chapter 8

  Shawn wasn’t in the bed when I woke up. I could hear someone moving around in the kitchen, but I didn’t hear any voices.

  When the ceiling creaked with the same sounds of someone pacing I’d heard last night, I knew Charlie was still upstairs. I pushed myself out of bed and looked out the window. The yard was flooded, but the rain had stopped for the time being.

  Worry and anxiety hung heavily in the air as I made my way down the hallway. Logan was standing at the window while Shawn was filling a bowl with rice in the kitchen.

  “Want some?” he asked.

  “Maybe later,” I said glancing back toward the room Abby had stayed in. She wasn’t in there. She must have been upstairs with Charlie.

  I took small steps as I made my way over to Logan. He looked as though he was lost in his thoughts. When his eyes met mine, he blinked several times as if bringing himself back to the present.

  “How is she?” I asked, my brows squeezing together.

  Logan shook his head. “Not good. She just puking up thick green liquid now. Her stomach is empty. Hopefully, she’ll turn the corner soon.”

  “Is Ryder up there with her?”

  “Yeah, Abby too.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Logan looked down at his feet. “Think all we can do is wait.”

  I placed my hand on his shoulder, and his head bobbed up and down slowly. The right words hadn’t found the way out of my mouth, but the gesture had been enough.

  I walked into the kitchen and noticed the bag of rice Shawn had brought up was almost empty. Good thing there was plenty more downstairs.

  “I’ll get more rice,” I said softly before pushing the table out of the way and pulling open the door in the floor.

  “Thanks,” Shawn said carrying a pot into the other room and setting it down next to the fire.

  I made my way down into the cool basement, drawing in a deep breath as if the air below had somehow been easier to breathe. It was more likely the distance from the tension in the other room was what had made breathing easier.

  As I bent down to pick up a bag of rice, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye that caught a glint of light. Sitting on the shelf to my left was a rusted can opener.

  I squinted at it, not sure I’d noticed it there before. The metal felt cool in my hand when I picked it up.

  I shrugged as if the can opener was asking why I was staring at it as I set it back down on the shelf. When I bent over to pick up the bag of rice, I saw two cans out of place at the back of one of the shelves.

  My stomach twisted as I took a step toward the hidden cans. Somehow, I already knew what I was about to find.

  With the back of my hand, I shoved the full, unopened cans out of the way and grabbed one of the out of place cans. The lid had been cut off, and every tiny morsel of canned sweet corn had been devoured.

  I dropped the can, and it clanked against the concrete floor. I took a quick step away from it. Had that been like that when we arrived? No. It would have been moldy or smelly. The almost completely cleaned out can hadn’t been sitting on the shelf for long.

  “Everything all right down there?” Shawn asked. When I didn’t respond, he hastily came down the stairs, his eyes as wide as mine although he didn’t yet know what I’d discovered. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

  I shook my head and pointed at the empty can on the floor. Shawn narrowed his eyes at the can and then looked at me as if I’d been the one to open the can.

  “What’s going on?” his voice thick with confusion. “You didn’t—”

  “Of course not!” I swallowed hard. “But I think I know who did.”

  “Shit,” Shawn said taking a step back as the pieces fell into place.

  My finger shook as I pointed to the spot on the shelf where the second can sat. “There are two that are empty.”

  “Maybe they were like that before we got here,” Shawn said. I was shaking my head before he was halfway finished with his sentence.

  “I wondered that too, but there isn’t any mold, and the smell isn’t bad,” I said chewing on my fingernail. “My God, what am I going to tell Ryder?”

  Shawn’s fingers trembled as he ran them through his hair. “We’ll just tell him what you found.”

  “She had to have known better… why did she do it?” I said sucking in a sharp breath to stop the tear that was threatening to roll down my cheek.

  “I don’t know,” Shawn said gesturing toward the stairs. “Let’s get this over with. I have an idea.”

  “And idea?”

  Shawn placed his foot on the first step. “Maybe. But no one is going to like it.”

  We were all in Charlie’s room standing in silence. Ryder was still letting everything we’d told him sink in.

  Charlie looked as though she was at death’s door, but thankfully she hadn’t yet knocked. Her complexion was gray, and the skin on her face appeared thin. She laid absolutely still except for the slight rise in her chest when she’d draw in a weak breath.

  Logan plopped down in a chair and slouched forward, resting his forehead on his fist. Abby started to pace.

  “Charlie,” Ryder said, and her finger twitched. “Did you eat the canned food?”

  She didn’t respond. She didn’t move. Not because she didn't want to but because she couldn't.

  “God dammit, why, Charlie?” Ryder asked as he slammed his fist into the wall. He turned sharply, locking his eyes with Logan, and then shifting them briefly toward Abby. “Did either of you know about this?”

  They looked at one another, and it was all Ryder needed to confirm that they’d both known about the canned food.

  “And you didn’t tell me?” Ryder shouted.

  Logan looked down at his feet. “I thought it was food poisoning. I figured it would pass.”

  “Does it look like it’s passing?” Ryder said between his teeth.

  “I’m sorry,” Logan said standing up quickly. He weaved to the side but quickly steadied himself. “I fucked up, OK?”

  It was at that moment I noticed green-tinged pallor of Logan’s complexion. Charlie hadn’t been alone in the basement. She’d had company.

  “Were you down there too?” I asked turning to Abby.

  Ryder narrowed his eyes at me as if he didn’t understand my question. He hadn’t noticed the difference in Logan because he’d been too focused on Charlie.

  Abby slowly nodded. “I didn’t eat any!”

  The moment she finished her sentence, Ryder’s expression changed. He blinked several times before fixing his gaze on Logan. He suddenly noticed the difference.

  “You too?” Ryder stammered.

  “Fuck,” Logan said. “We weren’t thinking.”

  Ryder held up his index finger, jerking it into Logan's face before throwing his hand into the air in frustration and storming out
of the room. His footsteps moved down the stairs quickly, and we all jumped when the front door slammed shut.

  “You should lie down,” I said glancing at Logan briefly.

  “I’m fine,” he said crossing his arms.

  I could tell he wasn’t fine. He wasn’t as bad as Charlie, but he was clearly not well. Abby looked at me briefly and sighed. She placed her hand lightly on Logan’s bicep.

  “Would you help me with something?” Abby asked, blinking her eyes.

  “Anything to get out of this room,” Logan said. He acted as if he was angry with Shawn and me, but I knew he wasn’t, he was angry at himself.

  They left the room without another word, slowly making their way down the stairs. Shawn sat down in a chair and placed his palm on his forehead.

  “Jesus,” he said, his leg bouncing up and down. His voice was softer than a whisper. “She’s in rough shape.”

  I nodded afraid that maybe she could hear him through the haze of her illness. If there was any lingering hope inside of her, I wanted to make sure she would grab hold and never let go.

  “Charlie,” I said taking her hand into mine. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but don’t give up. Keep fighting against this and come back to us. We need you here.”

  Even in sickness, I was probably the last person she’d want to hear from, but I wanted to say it. I wanted her to fight her way through.

  “The Evolved had medicine,” Shawn said clasping his hands together. “If we could find some, maybe it would help.”

  “That’s a great idea, but where are we going to find anything? It’s not like we can find one of The Evolved bases and just go ask for some.”

  “That city,” Shawn said looking at the door as if he could see through the walls and had spotted the distant city. “It’s not that far. I’ll be back in a few days.”

  My head was shaking back and forth before he’d even finished his sentence. “You’re not going out there alone.”

  “What choice do we really have?” Shawn stood up abruptly. “We have two sick… what if the only way,” he said swallowing down some of his words before finishing, “is with medicine?”

  “Then I’m coming with you.” I straightened my spine. Shawn opened his mouth to protest. “I’m the one with the gun.”

  He snapped it shut as if he didn’t know how to shut down my argument. Although, given a little more time I was sure he’d have come up with something.

  Shawn gestured for me to follow him out into the hallway. He glanced at Charlie and then fixed his gaze on me.

  “The odds of anything being there are slim,” he said.

  “I know,” I said.

  “We should go soon. I don’t know how much time she has left,” Shawn said.

  I swallowed hard. “You think it’s that bad?”

  His head moved downward, but he kept his eyes on me. “I do. Let’s go find Ryder.”

  “Should we leave her?” I said looking back into the room. Her chest rose up slightly and then lowered back down. Her body was still, and I was nervous she wasn’t going to take another breath. “I’ll wait here.”

  He started to walk away, but I caught his arm tightly before he’d taken more than two steps away. “Don’t leave without me.”

  “I won’t.”

  I didn’t let go. “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  My eyes were glued to Shawn as he made his way down the stairs. Once the front door closed, I went back into the room to sit with Charlie.

  Her chest moved up again. It seemed as though too much time was elapsing between breaths.

  I leaned forward and took her hand in mine. I wanted to tell her to hang on, but my tongue felt like it had turned into sandpaper.

  Charlie was tough. She’d hang on. She had to.

  Chapter 9

  The farm got smaller and smaller as Shawn and I walked away making our way toward to the city we’d avoided before we’d found the farm. We hadn’t bothered to take anything with us because we didn’t want to end up being forced to leave any of it behind. They would need it more than us should something happen. Shawn and I both filled up on as much rice and water as we could before we’d left the farm.

  I was still surprised that Ryder had let us leave. It hadn’t even been much of a fight.

  Shawn had told him how slim the odds were of even finding anything. And even if we did find something, we had no idea if it would even work for whatever ailed Charlie.

  Ryder said it was worth a shot. He’d been fighting back tears when he’d mumbled that she was like a little sister to him and that he couldn’t lose her. We all agreed that we had to try.

  Logan had been in bed when we left. I wasn’t even sure if he knew we were leaving, but if he had, I didn’t doubt he would have been on board. In the short hours between when Logan had felt ill and when Shawn and I departed, Abby hadn’t left Logan’s side, other than to get him the occasional refill of water.

  “I reminded Ryder to keep watch in case the drunk guy comes back,” Shawn said. “Although, I’m sure it was already in the back of his mind. He just seems… distracted.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he is, but he’s not careless.”

  “I think if we really move, we can make it there before nightfall,” Shawn said.

  My eyes narrowed at him. “I thought you said it was going to take a few days.”

  “It’s just the two of us. I think we can move pretty fast. Anyway, it’s just an estimate.”

  “How far away do you think it is?” I asked.

  Shawn stared out into the distance. “Ten miles give or take.”

  “I don’t know if—”

  “For her, we can.”

  I pressed my lips together to stop myself from uttering another word. Shawn wanted to remain optimistic. Even if it seemed hard, maybe even impossible under the circumstances, I had to try. For Charlie.

  We walked in silence for a long while before either of us spoke. I was staring up at the broken gray clouds when Shawn broke the silence.

  “So… about last night.”

  “Oh, God,” I said clenching my hands into tight fists. He was about to tell me what a mistake it had been. He’d probably crept out of the bedroom the second I’d fallen asleep.

  Shawn scratched the side of his head nervously. “I just hoped that I didn’t scare you off with that whole falling for you stuff. It was probably far too soon to say something like that, right?”

  I let out a quick breath that pinched my throat. A wave of relief washed over my entire body.

  “Are you kidding?” I blushed. “I liked hearing it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I mean, I guess I already knew how you felt but who wouldn’t like hearing that?”

  Shawn grinned, and his eyes twinkled when he looked at me. “In that case, maybe I should just come out and say what I really wanted to say.”

  “What did you really want to say?”

  “Aw put me on the spot,” Shawn teased.

  I laughed. “You put yourself on the spot. Come on, out with it.”

  “You sure you’re ready for this? It’s kind of big.”

  “Hit me with it.”

  “Well, I wanted to mention the love word, but it’s definitely too soon for that, right?”

  I swallowed hard. Maybe it was, but maybe in the world we lived in, it would be OK to say it sooner rather than later. Who knew if we’d have a later? I’d never even thought I’d hear the words at all, except from my parents, but that wasn’t the same.

  “I don’t think it’s too soon.” My heart fluttered with anticipation.

  “OK,” Shawn said taking a breath as he grabbed my hand. “In that case, I think I love you. Wait, no, that came out wrong… I do love you. I know I love you. Holy fuck, I cannot believe I just said that out loud.”

  I chuckled and squeezed his hand. I thought I’d find the words easy to say because I felt the same, but my stomach bubbled. Sure, the feelings were mutual but actuall
y saying the words out loud was something completely different.

  “I love you too,” I said, but my voice hadn’t sounded like my own.

  Shawn hadn’t seemed to notice. He stopped walking to pick me up off of the ground and spin me in a circle. His eyes sparkled brighter than the sky on a clear day.

  As he lowered me back down, he stopped when our lips were inches apart. I wrapped my hands around his neck and kissed him.

  It was a short kiss, but it was filled with everything we felt for one another. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to spare. We couldn’t stand out in the open making out all day even if that was what I would have preferred.

  We were both smiling when we pulled ourselves away from one another. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in so he could place a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

  “Who would have thought?” Shawn asked with a half-smile. “The Evolved with a native.”

  I shook my head. “I’m just me. And you’re just you. We have no labels.”

  The sun popped out for a split second before the clouds hid it from view again. I looked behind us, unable to see anything that had looked familiar. The farmhouse wasn’t there, it felt like it was just Shawn and me, and that everything else had vanished.

  Of course, that wasn’t true. Charlie was back at the house struggling to fight whatever poison was inside her body. Logan had been able to talk, but he too was falling quickly.

  “How are your legs feeling?” Shawn asked looking at my feet.

  “Fine.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Perfect. Then let’s kick it into high gear.”

  I raised an eyebrow but forced my legs to move faster. “I thought we already were.”

  Even though we’d put in all we could, we hadn’t made it to the city before the sky grew dark. The cloudy skies made everything darker sooner, and even though we considered continuing in the darkness, in the end, we decided to rest for the night.

  We’d had our fill of rice before leaving the farm, but that didn’t stop my stomach from rumbling loudly. Apparently, I’d gotten accustomed to eating a bit more regularly even though it had only been over a very short amount of time.