The World That Remains (Evergreen Book 2)

by Matthew S. Cox

  With him clearly dead, she hurried back to the doorway and aimed out into the corridor, searching for a target like she used to do on the pop-up competition range. The woman with the M-16 lay dead halfway out of the stairwell door. No other Lawless appeared to be alive, at least anywhere in immediate sight. Cliff wagged his AR15 at a doorway two ahead from Harper, then held up one finger.

  Harper shook her head.

  He seemed to understand she doubted the remaining Lawless was a threat, and nodded.

  She slipped into the corridor, advancing toward the next room, so close to the wall her arm brushed it. When she reached the doorjamb, she paused, then whirled around to aim inside.

  The only occupant of that room had died months ago, hooked up to an army of fried medical equipment on carts. She backed out after two seconds to take in the scene, and kept moving up. At the second door where the Lawless had gone, she waited a few seconds longer, begging the universe that at least one of these idiots had the sense to surrender.

  Harper whirled around the doorway, acquiring a tuft of mouse brown hair peeking up over a mattress where the punk hid between the two beds. “Don’t move!”

  The young woman cringed, ducking a little more.

  “Do you have a gun on you?” asked Harper.

  “Yeah,” whispered the girl.

  “Slide it away as hard as you can kick it.”

  A small, silver handgun came skittering out from between the beds.

  Boom.

  The gunshot went off in the hall behind her. Harper about crapped her pants, half a millimeter of trigger pull away from blowing the girl’s head off.

  A wheeze came from a ways farther down, then the thump of a body hitting the floor.

  “Dumbass,” muttered Cliff.

  Zach rushed up beside Harper.

  The girl behind the bed grabbed the edge of the mattress and peered over it.

  Harper’s jaw fell open at the sight of Renee Nichols… a girl she’d known since fifth grade… one of her friends she hadn’t seen since the bombs fell. Holy shit… I almost blew ’Nee’s head off. She lowered her gun as fast as she could without throwing it to the floor.

  Recognition flashed in Renee’s eyes. She jumped up. “Har—”

  Crack.

  “Look out!” shouted Zach.

  Renee grabbed her chest and collapsed to her knees. She stared at Harper, gasping for air with a horrible, pleading look in her eyes, then fell over sideways.

  Harper screamed, “Renee!” and ran to her, sliding to a stop on her knees and pulling the girl flat on her back. A tiny hole and growing red stain marked her chest.

  “S-she charged at you,” said Zach, edging closer. “She has a sash on. She’s Lawless… she…”

  Harper lunged to her feet, spinning into a strike that mashed the butt of the Mossberg across Zach’s jaw, whipping his head to the side. He pirouetted around and crashed to the floor on his chest, his rifle sliding out into the corridor.

  “She’s my friend!” shrieked Harper, furious but crying. “Tegan! Help! Please!”

  “Clear,” yelled Cliff.

  Dr. Hale rushed into the room, looking at Harper in search of an injury.

  “No. Renee!” She pointed. “Please don’t let her die!”

  Tegan ducked past her and took a knee, pulling at the unconscious girl’s jacket and shirt.

  Zach moaned.

  “You…” Harper whirled, aiming the shotgun at his head. “I swear… if she dies. If you killed Renee.” She shuddered with emotion: fear, anger, sadness… wrath.

  Something pushed the Mossberg aside. It took her a few seconds to realize Cliff had one hand clamped around the barrel, holding it away from the barely-conscious Zach.

  “The girl fainted,” said Tegan. “Bullet’s probably in her lung. The wound doesn’t look too bad. We have to get her to the OR. It’s not gonna be perfectly sterile, but it’s as good as it gets now.”

  Upon realizing she’d been so close to murdering Zach, she burst into tears at what he’d done to her friend. Cliff let go of the shotgun. Harper clamped onto him, sobbing on his shoulder.

  “Easy, kiddo.” He patted her back a few times. “She’ll be fine.”

  She forced herself to stop crying and let go. They had to get Renee moved, fast. “Okay.”

  Zach moaned.

  Harper glared down at him… and noticed a pool of blood spreading out from his thigh that hadn’t been there before. “Oh, crap! Zach’s hit.”

  “Help Doc Hale with your friend. I got him,” said Cliff. “Don’t want you ‘gravity assisting’ him down the stairs.” He winked.

  A humorless laugh escaped her throat. She swung the Mossberg over her shoulder on its strap and helped Tegan pull her friend up.

  “C’mon ’Nee. You’re gonna be okay.”

  “Are you hit?” asked Tegan. “Anything hurt?”

  “My left ear is ringing like hell.”

  “Why is there blood on your face?” asked Cliff.

  “I dunno. I don’t feel anything. Is it even mine?” She helped carry Renee out into the hallway. “Where’s the OR?”

  “Ground floor… go to the stairs,” said Tegan.

  Harper nodded. “Okay. You lead, I’ll follow.”

  “Been a long time since I tangoed,” said Dr. Hale.

  “Please don’t make jokes now.” Harper cry-chuckled.

  Tegan elbowed the door open and guided Renee into the stairwell. “This isn’t that bad an injury. Don’t panic. If she didn’t faint, she could probably be walking on her own. Your friend doesn’t have much of a pain tolerance, does she?”

  “Not sure about pain, but Renee is like scared of everything. We nicknamed her Rabbit.” Harper snugged her friend’s arm tighter across her shoulders. Oh, no… What did those sons of bitches do to you…?

  31

  Motives

  Harper gnawed on her knuckle, pacing around in the hallway right outside the OR.

  The downstairs corridor had little light beyond what leaked in from the far end, and the operating suite also looked quite dark. Firelight flickered on the walls of the operating room from an improvised lantern of gauze and isopropyl alcohol that filled the air with a strong odor. At least this corridor didn’t stink like dead people.

  Zach, clutching his left leg above the knee in both hands, sat on a bench not far away, waiting his turn. He’d broken out in a cold sweat and had been mumbling about a blue sash constantly for the past half hour. After bandaging the boy’s leg, Cliff had run outside to give Rafael and Annapurna a status update.

  She couldn’t look at Zach without wanting to hit him again, so she didn’t look at him.

  The Universe is cruel. Why Renee? She’s so timid. They all used to tease her when watching scary movies together, as even the not-really-frightening ones would make Renee hide her face and scream. Sometimes, she’d even scare herself into screaming. Like, she’d hang a coat up on a door, forget it, then notice it later and yell, thinking someone had snuck into the room with her. The idea of Renee running with the Lawless was unfathomable.

  Worse, the thought of what they’d probably done to her.

  Harper’s blood boiled. She wanted to spend the rest of the day—the rest of the week—in Denver, roving around and shooting every single Lawless she could find. Those bastards had stolen Harper’s innocence, forcing her to kill. They’d stolen Madison’s innocence, murdering their parents while her kid sister watched. And now, they’d stolen Renee’s innocence in… ways Harper didn’t even want to picture. No way would her friend have willingly joined them and gone on looting/murder sprees. They would’ve abducted her, threatened her, and, no doubt, forced her to have sex.

  Annapurna emerged from the stairwell and walked over. “Hey… you okay?”

  “No.” Harper shook her head.

  “Where are you hit?” Annapurna grasped her head, tilting it to check her over.

  “It’s just a couple cinder block fragments. Tiny cuts. I’m fine. Bulle
t missed me by two inches, hit the wall.”

  Annapurna hugged her. “Cliff said you knew one of the thugs?”

  “Renee’s not a thug!” yelled Harper, then bowed her head. “Sorry… they kidnapped her. That one fat bastard threw her across the hall as a decoy. I nearly blew her head off twice today.” She sank to a seat on the bench across the hall from Zach, shaking too hard to stand. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I killed her. We met in fifth grade. Renee’s like my… it sounds crappy to say, but my second best friend. Only because I’d known Christina longer. ’Nee and I had the most in common. Both shy.”

  Zach lifted his head, giving her a ‘you shy?’ stare of disbelief.

  “Cliff told me she’ll be fine.” Anna sat beside her.

  “Where is he?”

  “Collecting guns and ammo from the dead. That big guy had a pair of Desert Eagles. Cliff thought it was hilarious. Called them ‘movie guns.’”

  Harper wiped her face. “More Lawless are going to show up soon, I bet. Hearing the shooting.”

  “Going as fast as I can,” yelled Tegan. “Almost done. And… I’m sorry.”

  “What for?” asked Harper, paralyzed by sudden dread. “What happened?”

  “I mean, for insisting we take this trip. Your friend…”

  “Would have still been held captive by those goddamned savages!” yelled Harper. “It’s not your fault. If you didn’t bring us here, we wouldn’t have found her at all.”

  “Sorry,” said Zach with barely any sound to his voice.

  Harper buried her head in her hands. “Holy shit… if he had a real gun…”

  Cliff booted the stairwell door open and walked out into the hall, heading right over to stand in front of Zach. “Okay, kid. Listen up. I’ll make you a deal. When we get back, you are going to resign from the militia… and I won’t leave you here stuffed in a morgue cooler.”

  Annapurna blinked. “You’re going to kill him? He’s only seventeen.”

  “Eighteen,” whispered Zach.

  “Who said anything about killing him first?” Cliff smiled.

  “Look. I’m sorry. I know I’m jumpy, but that girl had a blue sash on. We just had a bunch of people with blue sashes shooting at us. Yeah, I get it, I’m not a soldier. I just played hockey.”

  Harper lifted her head to stare at him. “And had a nice cushy life, got everything you ever wanted—except into my pants.”

  “Whoa, hey now…” Cliff looked back and forth between them. “Is that what this is about? You’re trying to impress her?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I hope that’s not why he joined the militia, because he’s doing the exact opposite. Did you volunteer for this thinking I’d all of a sudden start respecting you, or were you just not Mexican enough to work on a farm?”

  Cliff’s stare bored into her. “What?”

  “No, that’s not what I mean at all. Zach’s been picking on Logan for being Mexican and working on the farm. Called him a freakin’ border jumper. This guy thinks he’s like above farm work.” Harper scowled. “For your information, Logan is not Mexican. He was born in Colorado. His parents were born in Colorado.”

  Zach shot a dirty look off down the hall.

  “Kid…” Cliff folded his arms. “If you asked to be on the militia only to play big man, because you’re ‘too good’ for farm work, I am going to make your life miserable until you resign. If by some cosmic craptangle of bizarre circumstance, you actually did this for the right reasons, you need to seriously sort your shit out and realize this ain’t no damn hockey match. Someone stands down, you don’t shoot them.”

  “Unless they go for a hidden gun,” said Harper.

  Cliff gestured at her. “Yeah. What she said.”

  Zach stared at the floor.

  “You have a good long think about what the hell you’re trying to do here.” Cliff stepped closer to him, pointing at his face. “Because the next time you screw the pooch, someone who doesn’t need to die is gonna die, and I ain’t having that. You got a problem with Mexicans? You deal with that shit. There ain’t enough people left on this little blue dirt ball to give a rat’s ass about how much suntan someone has.”

  “I don’t really hate anyone,” said Zach in a somber tone. “Just thought it was some funny shit to say. My dad… they always said crap like that. Didn’t mean anything.”

  “Maybe not to you. Bet Logan took it differently.” Harper raked her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You shot my friend. There’s probably no way I’ll ever be even remotely interested in dating you. I understand she had on a blue sash, we’d been shot at, and you’re jumpy. But, if you’re looking for ways to try and salvage whatever respect I might have ever had for you, start by apologizing to Logan.”

  Tegan emerged from the operating room.

  Harper jumped to her feet.

  “She’ll be fine, but she’s a bit loopy from painkillers. Wound isn’t as bad as I initially thought. Worst danger now is infection, but I’ve given her some antibiotics. Might as well leave her in bed while we grab the meds.”

  “Umm, Doctor Hale?” Zach pointed at his leg. “I’ve been shot. Cliff bandaged it but I think…”

  “C’mon.” Tegan took his arm.

  Cliff grabbed the other, and they hauled him into the OR.

  Harper went in after them, drifting left to the table that still held Renee. Her friend lay there topless, with a large rectangle of bluish paper covering her otherwise bare chest. The shredded remains of a T-shirt lay under her. Brown iodine antiseptic smeared her skin where it peeked out from under the paper. Fingertip bruises marked Renee’s upper arm and neck. A dark spot on her left cheek appeared to be another healing bruise.

  That sight made Harper shake with anger. I’m gonna kill every damn one of… no… I can’t. Some might be like you, forced. She flashed back to Renee dashing across the hall, a one-second instant where Harper had made the choice not to shoot, a decision she would not have made if she had been lost to the blind rage of wanting to kill every Lawless she saw. Guilt at nearly killing her friend quashed the fires of vengeance burning inside her. She couldn’t be responsible for murdering some other innocent person in the same situation.

  She squeezed her friend’s limp hand. “I dunno what to say. Everything sounds lame in my head. Holy crap it’s good to see you. I’m so sorry you were…”

  “Hey,” whispered Renee. “I still have your Firefly DVDs. Gotta give them back.”

  “I don’t give a damn about DVDs right now.” Harper bowed her head, fighting tears. “I’m gonna bring you somewhere those bastards will never find you again.”

  32

  Countdown

  Tegan worked on Zach’s leg for an alarmingly long time.

  She’d given him something that knocked him straight out, and grumbled about him probably needing a transfusion… but any blood still stored here would be long spoiled. Minutes later, she complimented Cliff on his bandage, then resumed operating while complaining about the damage caused by 5.56 rounds.

  “They didn’t exactly invent those things to make fluffy bunnies,” said Cliff.

  “I know… just.” She sighed. “Sick of seeing teenagers with these kinds of wounds.”

  “Yeah.” Cliff shook his head. “But, this isn’t the same sort of situation you’re thinking of.”

  Tegan grabbed a tool from a nearby tray and stuck it into Zach’s leg. “I’m aware of that. Doesn’t mean it’s not bringing back bad memories.”

  “You’re here,” said Renee in a daze. “Am I dreaming about stuff?”

  “Nope.” Harper squeezed her hand. “I’m actually here.”

  “Cool. I got kidnapped. That’s not cool. I mean cool you’re here.”

  Harper clenched her jaw. “You’re un-kidnapped now.”

  “I’m not a virgin anymore.” Renee waved her other hand around like an airplane.

  No… Harper bowed her head, tears rolling down her face. “I’m so, so sorry…” />
  Tegan paused, staring at her with sorrow in her eyes. Cliff cringed.

  “Brian Purcell,” said Renee in a dazed voice. “I was at his house when everything blew up. We did it.”

  “Oh…” Harper stopped crying in an instant and exhaled. “Oh… Okay.”

  “He’s dead. So are his parents. I haven’t seen mine.” Renee squinted at her. “I’m high. Feels weird.”

  Tegan wrapped Zach’s leg. “This is about as good as it’s going to get. I’m not sure Zach will ever walk without a limp again, but he shouldn’t lose his leg below the knee.”

  “He’ll have to quit the militia now,” said Annapurna. “Unless he’s a good enough sniper to sit on the buses all the time.”

  “Yeah, uhh, no.” Cliff shook his head. “Guess he gets his wish. If he can’t work on his feet, they’ll probably just let him sit around doing nothing.”

  Whatever. At least he won’t hurt anyone that way.

  “Harp…” Cliff looked over at her. “You wanna stand watch over these two while we raid the pharmacy here? Shouldn’t take us too long. Just in case more of those idiots show up.”

  “I’d rather get the hell out of here before you all die and I’m stuck here with two people who can’t walk and forty-something shotgun shells, no water, no food. But… sure. I trust you.”

  He patted her on the shoulder. “Twenty minutes at most.”

  “We can pack everything in a laundry cart and wheel it up there in one shot.” Tegan peeled off her latex gloves and threw them aside. “Wow. Tossing gloves on the floor in the OR. I could get written up.”

  Harper, Cliff, and Annapurna chuckled, then followed Tegan out.

  “They’re going?” asked Renee in a dizzy voice.

  “Yeah. They’ll be back in a little while.”

  Renee went off on an incoherent ramble about meeting Brian, deciding to date him because… something about Venus and Pluto, but he had a shih tzu, which she thought adorable. Also, Mrs. Green the English teacher said something about Zac Ephron, which meant Renee had to have peanut butter with bananas. And the gummi bears wanted to steal her teeth, so she needed to take them all out and hide them.