The Brightest Darkness

by Kate L. Mary

  While Harper added, “He released the zombies.”

  “Which he had to have known wouldn’t have gotten to us in time,” I pointed out. “And he only fired once. His men had to be armed, too, but they never shot at us. Why?”

  “Because he’s going to be waiting for us at the shelter.” Kellan’s shoulders drooped as his head flopped against the headrest, and he blew out a long breath. “Shit. I was so focused on getting back here I didn’t let myself think any further, but you’re right. He probably left the second we were out of sight and is already at the shelter waiting for us to drive up.”

  “Then we’re going back for sure.” I jerked back from the force of Cade’s words. “Emma is there.” Almost as an afterthought he said, “And Blake.”

  “They’re in the shelter,” I said, keeping my voice even and calm. “They’re fine. Andrew and his men can’t get in.”

  Cade blinked three times like he was having a difficult time registering what I was talking about, while at his side, Harper sat quietly, her round eyes brimming with fear.

  “I. Don’t. Care,” Cade finally said. “If that asshole is going there, I want to be there, too. I need to know she’s okay.”

  “No.” Kellan finally lifted his head.

  Although he was the youngest of the three guys, he’d always tended to take the role of leader. Usually, Cade went along with it—he was more of a good time type of guy—but I wasn’t sure if he’d be willing to let it go this time, not when he thought Emma might be in trouble.

  “What then? We never go back?” Cade snorted. “You think Andrew will get tired of waiting for us?”

  “I don’t know,” Kellan said, and like me, he was trying to keep his words soothing. “But right now I know we aren’t ready to go up against them. Regan and I both lost our guns back there, and Harper isn’t armed. We can’t run in there unprepared and with no plan. I’m sorry, but that’s how it has to be.”

  Cade’s blue eyes flashed with anger, but he didn’t argue.

  Getting no resistance this time, Kellan exhaled. “Okay. So where do we go?”

  “Quartz Mountain or Altus,” I said. “We can do some trading and get supplies.”

  Kellan was nodding, his lips pressed together as he thought it through. “Quartz Mountain is closer, but I have more connections in Altus. Even if we don’t have enough to trade right now, Simon will make us a deal. He knows us. He knows we’re good for it.”

  “Will he?” I thought about the grumpy man Kellan usually traded bullets with in the market and frowned.

  He turned to face me. “He will when he finds out this asshole killed Jasper.”

  I closed my eyes as a sudden wave of grief swept over me. Kellan was right, as usual. Simon was going to be furious when he found out Andrew had murdered Jasper.

  “Altus it is,” Kellan said when no one else spoke.

  My eyes were still closed when the truck’s engine turned over. It sputtered and hesitated like an arthritic man first thing in the morning but gave in. Branches scraped against the sides of the truck as we backed out like they were trying to hold onto us, but by the time I finally opened my eyes, Kellan was turning onto the main road.

  The rain had slowed, but once we started driving it was difficult to tell with the way it pounded into the truck, nearly blinding me and forcing Kellan to drive slower than usual. Even in good conditions it took over an hour to get to Altus, and at this rate, it was going to be dark by the time we got there.

  If nothing else, I was at least thankful it wasn’t hailing.

  My body couldn’t decide if it was warm or cold. On one hand, I’d been soaked for hours and couldn’t help shivering, but on the other hand, the incoming storm hadn’t cooled things off that much. The downpour had rinsed away the sweat, but I cringed at the gritty layer it had left on my skin, and I couldn’t wait to shower.

  Too bad that was a luxury we wouldn’t find in Altus.

  We got lucky and the rain finally let up after about an hour of driving. Kellan had to be even more relieved than I was since it had been pummeling him in the face while he tried to keep us on the road, but he said nothing. He wore the same serious expression he got whenever we were out. It had always amused me, but now that I was allowed to embrace my feelings, I had to admit I found it downright sexy, too. When he was a goofball, his dimples could make me swoon, but there was something about this brooding expression that appealed to me as well. Like he was the bad boy hero in one of the romance novels Emma had loaned me, and I was looking forward to letting him corrupt me. Which was ridiculous, because between the two of us, he was definitely the more responsible one.

  Everything was going pretty well until the moment disaster struck. We had a plan, we had a way to stock up on supplies, and then we were going to head back to the shelter and send Andrew to hell where he belonged.

  Nature, however, had other ideas.

  After nine years without the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the roads were already cracked and covered in potholes, making any drive bumpy, but the hole that opened up in front of us was different. It seemed to materialize out of thin air, the road falling away right before our very eyes, almost like hell was sucking the asphalt into its depths.

  Kellan swore and turned the wheel hard to the right, but he was driving too fast and the hole was right in front of us, making escape impossible. The front tires went in, and a thud vibrated through the cab, and I could have sworn my ass left the seat. Thankfully, the seatbelt did its job, and I didn’t go flying through the missing windshield. Behind me, Harper screamed, and I reached out with both hands, one on the roof and the other on the dashboard, trying to steady myself as I hung, kept in place only by the strap that was now pulled tight across my chest and lap.

  The truck tilted forward even more, and I tightened my grip. What seemed like dozens of shouts rose around me even though there were only four of us, and I couldn’t focus on who said what as we fell forward. I had the sudden manic worry that the earth was going to swallow us up just like it had with the road only a moment earlier, but after what felt like an eternity, the front of the truck hit the bottom of the hole, and we came to a sudden and painful stop.

  “Holy shit,” Cade said.

  “Is everyone okay?” Kellan asked.

  When I nodded, a tight pain shot down my neck, adding to the dozens of other throbs. Whiplash. I remembered hearing about it when I was a kid. My friend’s mom had been in a car accident and had gotten whiplash from the impact. She’d had to wear a neck brace for weeks after.

  “What was that?” Harper asked in a shaky voice.

  “A sinkhole, I think.” Kellan turned toward me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” My own voice was as unsteady as Harper’s.

  “I can’t believe that happened,” Cade said.

  “Me neither. The road just opened up out of nowhere.” Kellan lifted his legs and planted his feet on the dashboard to brace himself before undoing his seatbelt. Tentatively, he moved so he was sticking his head through the opening that had once been the windshield. “Looks like it’s about six feet deep. We should be able to climb out pretty easily, at least.”

  Suddenly, I was very grateful for the missing windshield.

  Kellan waved for us to move. “I don’t know how stable these things are or if it will open up more. We should go. Now.”

  I didn’t argue.

  I copied what he’d done, bracing my feet against the dashboard before releasing my seatbelt, and once it was undone, I took the hand Kellan held out and allowed him to help me up. The truck was at a forty-five-degree angle, so it wasn’t too hard to pull myself out and onto the roof. From there, I turned and helped Harper up, and together we made our way to the back of the truck.

  The rain had washed away most of the zombie guts from earlier, thank God, but the truck’s bed was still slick and difficult to climb. I had to grab hold of the side and pull myself up, ignoring the protests from my bruised body. Once I was on the street
, Cade gave Harper a boost, and I helped her up as well, and then the guys pulled themselves up one at a time.

  We took a breather once we were all out of the hole, as well as a moment to look over the massive crater that had swallowed our vehicle. It was fifteen feet wide at least and had engulfed almost the entire front half of the truck, which meant we were walking from here.

  “How far are we from Altus?” I asked Kellan.

  “Ten miles.” He looked around as if searching for a landmark that would tell him exactly where we were and how long it would take us to reach our destination. “Maybe less, but I doubt it.”

  I flopped onto my back, not caring that the road was muddy or that my body screamed in protest when it made impact with the hard ground. “I think someone up there is conspiring against us.”

  “You’ll have to talk to Emma about that,” Kellan said.

  She was the only one of us who still clung to her faith. Hell, with the way The Church was taking over, she might have been the only person left in the world who believed in that old religion. Almost everyone out east was now wrapped up in praying to Angus James, the first immune man to make it to Atlanta. He was the reason there were working vaccines, not that it did us a lot of good here since the new government hadn’t sanctioned any of the settlements out this way. We were outlaws, not even part of the same country, as far as I knew.

  Cade was the first to stand. “We need to get moving.”

  I wanted to argue, but he was right. Ten miles was a long way to go on a normal day, and with very little ammo and only one gun, we needed to get someplace with walls before it got dark. The last thing I wanted was to bump into a horde when it was pitch black.

  Kellan stood and brushed his pants off, and when he offered me his hand, I took it. I practically had to peel myself up off the ground. My entire back was muddy on top of being wet, which was going to make for a fun ten-mile hike.

  I wiped my filthy hands off as best as I could before offering Harper one.

  “Thanks,” she said when she slipped her hand into mine.

  I pulled her up, which took almost no effort because she was so tiny. “You’re welcome.”

  We started walking, making a wide arc around the hole in case more of the ground decided to cave in. Kellan held my hand while Cade trudged on ahead, determined to get back to Emma, no doubt, and Harper walked at my other side in silence.

  Between our mad dash to get out of the Holy City, the hike through the rain, and the long car ride, the teen had said very little, but it seemed like something more than just a someone being overwhelmed by the events of the day, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what had almost happened to me. Andrew had used the threat of rape to get what he wanted, meaning he wasn’t above violating a woman. And Harper had been his captive for nearly an entire day.

  “You doing okay?” I asked as we walked.

  She tugged on her messy braid, which looked crunchy and in desperate need of a good wash. “I think I’m in shock. I didn’t expect you to come for me.”

  She was answering my question but looking at Kellan.

  He hadn’t been thrilled when we let her into the shelter and even less enthusiastic when I decided she could move into the spare room in my condo, which was why he’d started sleeping in my bed—at least that was what he’d said at the time. Harper probably still thought he didn’t like her and that was why he’d turned her over to Andrew, and as much as I didn’t want to relive the horrible events of the day before, I needed to set her straight about what had happened. Even if I wasn’t in love with Kellan, I knew how good he was. How sweet and caring, and desperately protective of his family, and I didn’t want Harper to think he was anything else. I’d spent a lot time with her over the last few weeks, teaching her how to tend to the hydrogarden and how to make soap, and I knew they’d get along if they’d at least try.

  “You have to know we didn’t want to hand you over to Andrew. We really didn’t.” I swallowed when the memory of Andrew’s calloused hands came rushing back, along with the panic of knowing what was about to happen to me.

  It wasn’t just how close I’d come to being raped, though. If Kellan hadn’t spoken up, that would have happened for sure, but it would have been followed by the discovery that I was immune. Andrew might have decided he didn’t need Harper after all. He could have killed Kellan and Blake and hauled me off to Atlanta without ever trying to find out where Harper was.

  Not that I could tell her all that. I’d made a promise to Jasper, and I would keep it. Forever, if I had to.

  But I could tell her part of the truth.

  I let go of Kellan’s hand and stopped walking, grabbing Harper’s arm so she’d stop as well. Behind me, Kellan was silent, but he was listening.

  “Kellan and I tried to hold out. We tried not to tell Andrew anything, but he threatened me. You understand, right?” I held her gaze, and her big eyes seemed to see right through me. “Andrew threatened to let his men rape me. That’s why Kellan made that deal. Not because he wanted to and not because he doesn’t like you, but because it was the only thing he could do to keep me safe.”

  Harper looked toward Kellan, as did I. He was standing behind us, listening, his brown eyes glistening like the memory was enough to make him start bawling again. I thought about how hard he’d cried. How transfixed I’d been by those tears. I’d never seen Kellan cry like that. Never.

  “I’m so sorry.” He swallowed like getting words out was difficult. “I didn’t want to do it. I really didn’t.”

  “It’s okay,” Harper said. “I understand.”

  Kellan squeezed his eyes shut like it would help block out the memories. It wouldn’t, but I could comfort him.

  I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him to me, and he balled his hands in my filthy shirt. His body was like stone, tense and strained, and I couldn’t figure out how he could breathe, let alone move.

  “I want to kill him,” he whispered in my ear.

  “We will. I promise.”

  My arms were still around him when the roar of an engine echoed through the air.

  7

  Kellan pulled away, and we both spun toward the sound. Now that it was no longer raining, the clouds had eased, giving way to rays of sunshine, and I had to squint into the distance to see the vehicle. It was coming from the direction of Altus, barreling down the road like it was going to plow us over, and I recognized it the second I laid eyes on the it.

  The thing was old, rusty, and yellow, with massive tires that towered over me, and four lights lined up on the top of the cab. A soft glow came from the one on the far right, but the second one was black, as if the bulb had burst and burned the wires, while the two others looked like someone had shot them out.

  “Bill,” Kellan said before I’d had a chance.

  “Who’s Bill?” Cade called over his shoulder.

  As the only one with a gun, he had it up and ready. Not that it would matter, because even though I’d only had a brief encounter with Bill, I was fairly certain he wasn’t a threat.

  “We met him the other day,” Kellan called out. “On the way back from the farmhouse.”

  “Before Andrew’s goons chased us,” I added.

  “He’s okay?” Cade asked.

  The truck screeched to a halt ten feet away from us.

  “I guess we’re going to find out,” Kellan replied.

  The driver’s side door swung open, and Bill hopped down, grinning from ear to ear. “We going to play cowboys again?”

  Cade shot us a questioning look but didn’t ask.

  “Bill.” Kellan gave him a nod. “Good seeing you.”

  “You too, Kellan.” His gaze moved to me, and his grin widened. “Regan.” He looked past us, back to our truck, and let out a low whistle. “Car trouble?”

  “Something like that,” Kellan replied. “Sinkhole. Opened up right in front of us.”

  “I’ve come across a few in the area,” Bill said. “It’s all the sudden rain.”
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  “Maybe it’s the end of the world,” Harper mumbled.

  “That happened about nine years back.” Bill scratched his bald head, still smiling. “Surprised you missed it.”

  I let out a stifled laugh. I couldn’t help it. There was something genuinely nice about this man.

  “You guys are a long way from where I saw you last. You a long way from home now, or were you then?”

  Kellan let out a long sigh as he shoved his hair back out of his face. He wasn’t facing me, but I could picture his expression. The purse his lips got when he was thinking something through, and the way his brows would furrow. He was trying to decide what to do and how much he could tell Bill, and if this man might be able to help us.

  “We could use some help,” he finally said.

  “Must be bad. Last time I offered to help, you pulled a gun on me.”

  “I have trust issues, what can I say?” Kellan gave him a half grin.

  “This world will do that to you.” Bill looked Harper over, his mouth turning down, and then Cade. “This your pilot friend?”

  “No,” I said. “He’s back home. Hurt. This is Cade.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Bill said.

  “And Harper.” I jerked my thumb toward the teenager at my side.

  “You hear about the group going around looking for immune people?” Kellan asked.

  “Heard rumors,” Bill said, his grin pulling down into a frown. “Wasn’t sure if it was true.”

  “It’s true,” Kellan replied. “We rescued Harper from them.”

  Bill’s eyebrows lifted, but his expression said he wasn’t sure if he believed us. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? I have a feeling it’s going to be a good story.”

  Without going into detail about where we lived, Kellan told Bill about the day Harper showed up at our door and how she’d escaped from Andrew.

  According to her, the men had held her for days, and she’d only managed to get away by making a run for it when they took her out for a bathroom break. From there, she’d traveled at night to avoid being caught again, hiding during the day.