“Really, you should go, have that shoulder checked out and cleaned up by Marsh’s Dad. He’s a doctor, right? I’ll get you a first aid kit to take.”
Rex’s voice is full of anguish when he says my name and I can’t take it anymore.
“GO! GET OUT! I don’t want you here anymore!”
I throw the sandwiches in a plastic bag and rush around the counter to the closet as he stares in disbelief. I pull out all of their outer wear that I had washed and throw it by the exterior air lock door before I head out into the cavern to storage. I grab a pre-loaded med kit and then snag two go-bags that Dad had made up years ago. I can’t remember everything that’s in them but I know they’re filled with survival gear.
When I carry everything back into the living area, Sasha and Matty are dressed to go and Rex is struggling to get his jacket on over the towel he has wrapped around his wound. I dump the bags at his feet.
“There’s lots of survival gear in those bags and this med-kit is full so you should have everything you need.”
Rex gets his jacket on and zipped up before meeting my eyes with a hard stare.
“No, that’s not all that I need. You, Sky, you are what I need! I’ll go but I won’t leave. I’ll never leave you! You’re not a quitter Sky, you don’t give up and neither will I. I’ll be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes.”
I look into those green eyes and see love and determination. He’ll fight for me. But a quick glance over at Ben who just sits and stares at his uneaten food pushes all that away.
“AIRIA, open living quarter’s exterior air lock doors.”
One last look at what might have been and then I turn my back to him. I stand strong and rigid until I hear the door slide shut and then I let the tears flow. I go scoop up Ben and settle us both on the couch. I sit with my future cuddled against my side and let all the rest go.
To be continued…
Excerpt from Book 2 Rain & Ruin, An Endless Winter Novel
Coming Soon
Skylar
I make my way through and around the groups of huddled people.The smoke from so many fires that are keeping them alive in this cold is like a haze clinging to the ground. I keep my head down and don’t make eye contact with anyone. I’m not ready to talk to Rex yet. It’s been three days since I exiled him, Sasha and Matty.
I wouldn’t even be out here if not for Benny. It only took him a day to come back to his former self from the shock of what happened. He’s had nightmares every night but the rest of the time he seems fine. He started asking about Rex and Matty and his new friend the “super cool” Marsh right away and wouldn’t let up with the questions on where they were, when they would be back and when him and Matty could have another sleepover. I finally had to tell him the truth to get him to stop badgering me and breaking open the scar I carry from losing Rex and the future I thought we’d have. He didn’t take it very well.
At first he just kept trying to convince me to let them come back and when I wouldn’t budge he started asking AIRIA questions. When she informed him of the group sitting outside our door he got mean. That seems funny that my seven year old sweet brother could be mean to me but his words were like constant arrows to my heart. He’s smart, that kid, he gets way more than I give him credit for.
After he said I was a coward and selfish and that I was going to let all those people die, I ran. His words were like hearing a long ago echo of the things I had said to Dad. I ran to the barracks and tried to lose myself with a hard run but his words and Rex’s face wouldn’t leave my mind no matter how hard I ran. So I just stopped running and faced it all.
The plan Rex and I had to move all those people into the barracks would still work but there would need to be a few changes. They could have all of it but no one would be allowed into our area. I would authorize AIRIA to provide minimum support to them in the barracks and they could have all the supplies but I was out. I wasn’t going to be a part of anything they did over there. I won’t take another chance on Ben’s safety no matter what he says to me. Everything in the barracks was theirs except for one room, the armory. That room will stay locked down with no exceptions.
So here I am, walking through more people than I have seen in seven years and I won’t lie. My skin was crawling and the hairs on the back of my neck were lifted. I get to the end of the campfires without seeing Rex or any of the others but there are a few tents and tarps set up that they might be in. My dead forest has changed so much since I was last out here. Where it use to have trees everywhere it now has stumps surrounding the area the group was camping in.
I pick the widest stump I can find and take a deep breath and square my shoulders before stepping up onto it and turn to face the crowd. No one is looking my way and I’m not going to yell for attention so I pull my handgun and fire a shot into the air. There are a few startled screams but most people are too cold to move. Every eye turns my way and all sounds cease except the hiss and crack of wood burning in the fires.
I see movement as a few people dash out of a tent and there’s Rex and Marsh followed by Sasha, Matty and some older people I don’t recognize. Rex’s face breaks out into a huge smile when he sees me but I’m not out here for that, so I look away and focus on the air just above the crowd.
“My name is Skylar Ross. My home is behind you inside the mountain. Beside my home is a huge empty barracks. It has plenty of room for all of you with electricity, heat, hot water and all the food and supplies you need to live comfortably. It’s yours. I don’t care what you do in it or how you run it. There is only one condition. Your former leader, Ted came into my home and put a gun in my seven year old brother’s neck. He threatened us and tried to take my home from me. I killed him. The same thing will happen to anyone who tries to gain entry into my home. You stay in your side and I’ll stay in mine. Just in case you think you can overwhelm me, you should know that there is an A.I. computer that controls all the mechanics of the barracks and I won’t hesitate for an instant to order it to cut all of it off if I feel threatened.”
No one moves and no one speaks when I pause for breath. “There are doors that will open shortly just to the north of you. I suggest you gather your things and go inside them.”
That’s it. That’s all I have to say to these people. They can figure out the rest with AIRIA’s help once they’re inside. I’m about to step down from the stump when the alarm from my communicator blares out followed by AIRIA’s voice.
“Skylar Ross, meteorological anomaly detected. Seek shelter immediately.”
I look up at the sky and frown in confusion. The temperature’s not dropping, if anything it actually feels a little warmer and the sky is the same boiling grey black it’s always been. I don’t see or feel a problem until there’s a sting on my cheek. I reach my hand up to rub it away when something hits the back of my hand and it too starts to sting and then burn. I look closely at my hand but all I see is a drop of water. Then I understand, it’s raining, it’s raining for the first time in seven years!
And that’s when the screaming begins.
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Snow & Ash: Endless Winter Page 20
