Jake jumps up to his feet, extending his right arm to help me up. In the center of his forearm is a raised area of skin, covered by a dark tattoo of a tree. The trunk of the tree runs up the raised area before turning into a tall pine tree you would see in the woods. I grab his hand and allow him to raise me up with ease, back to a standing position.
"Ow," I say, putting my hand to my head. A knot is rising from the back of my skull as I tenderly touch it, trying to assess the damage.
"Sorry," Jake says to me, but it sounds more like the way a child would apologize after their mother told them to; not truly sincere, an empty gesture. "Would you like some ice?"
"I'm fine, thanks." Annoyance seeps through my words but he ignores it. Instead of responding, he steps around me towards his sister.
"I'm glad you are okay. Don't ever scare me like that again," he says pulling her into a tight hug. “And hey, I'm sorry about Anna.”
"I'm glad both of you are okay too," she replies, lightly popping Jake on the face before reaching for the other guy's hand. He swings her into his arms and kisses her on the forehead.
Jake turns his back on them towards me. It's awkward and strange. Staring at a stranger while two more kiss behind him. He looks me over before returning his gaze to my face. My cheeks flush as he stares deep into my eyes, as if he's trying to figure me out. His grey eyes are deafening, and I have to look away. Instead, my eyes trail down his face to the bob of his Adam’s apple and the small brown freckle just beside it.
"My knife," I say, pushing past him to where the knife is laying on the ground in front of the table. From here I can see boxes sitting on the kitchen floor.
"Kye, if you are done messing with my sister now, maybe the two of you can help me divide everything out." Jake says as he walks into the kitchen and lifts a box to the counter.
"Sir, yes, Sir!" Kye replies, mock saluting, smacking Jamie's butt and joining Jake at the counter.
Jamie giggles and grabs my hand, pulling me back towards her room. "Come on Jake, it's late. I'll help for a little bit, but we can finish tomorrow, you know! It’s not like any of this is going anywhere without us. Now come on, Emma, let’s get you back to sleep."
I walk into her room and plop down onto her bed as she closes the door behind us. I pull out the gold cross necklace from under my shirt and hold it tight between my fingertips.
The long chain rubs lightly on my chest. I remember giving Mom a lame excuse for why I was tucking the necklace into my shirt when I first started doing it. I told her I didn't want to lose it if it ever caught on something. In truth, I just didn't --- don't know what I believe anymore.
“They seemed lovely,” I say, putting my hand back to the tender spot on my head.
"Yeah, I'm sorry you were man handled like that. We should probably check to make sure you don't have a concussion," she adds, reaching into her top drawer and pulling out a small flashlight.
"I intended on introducing you to them when they got home, but I had no idea when that would be. In hindsight, I should have saved the shower for after that. They really are good people, though. Protective, that’s for sure."
"How did you do it? You said that your brother escaped from the Army but how did you find each other, this place?"
"My dad," she says simply. "Now, look straight ahead." She sits in front of me on the bed and shines the flashlight in my eyes, checking for dilation. Satisfied with her observation, she rises from the bed and returns the flashlight to the drawer.
"My dad and some of his buddies used to come out here on a regular basis for hunting." She grabs the hair brush off the dresser and starts brushing her hair as she talks. "They found an old tornado bunker out there, repaired it at first but then just made up a brand new one and used it to store some of their equipment and deer jerky.
“Once things got bad, his buddies moved away, so Dad bought this old trailer and put it on the land. He had Jake and I come here with him a few times to stock the bunker with food. Our last time out here, right before Jake left for the Army, Dad told us that if anything ever happened and we were separated, to come here.
"Well of course things got worse... I couldn't stay at home or in my town anymore. We were overrun by Ragers. Jake and Kye enlisted together but I hadn't heard from either of them in months. So, I ran... and I ran straight into Anna." She smiles to herself a bit. "Long story short, well, you know how it goes; she saves my ass, and I save hers. I brought her here with me and for a while we just existed day to day.
"We had enough food in the storage to last us for a while and no one ever found where we were. It's when we started running low on food that we got nervous and had no idea what to do with ourselves. Luckily, Jake and Kye ended up showing up about two months after we did, so we were able to work as a team to collect what we needed." She says, sighing through this last part.
"What about your father, how did you get separated?” I know what her answer will be. He, like my mom, must be dead. I almost wish I hadn't asked the question. Almost.
She sets her hair brush down slowly and then walks to the door with her back towards me.
"That. It's a story for a different day. Now get some rest, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow." She throws me a half smile over her shoulder before walking out and closing the door behind her.
It's not fair, I think, stretching out across the bed. What could have been if my brother had escaped the Army without being caught and executed? What could have been if Dad warned us that the government was coming to kill everyone in our town?
I feel like I have the weight of the world pressing against my chest but I'm too drained to push it off. Sleep pulls at my edges, trying to pull me in. I surrender.
Chapter 19
“Good morning, sweetheart," Dad says. I enter the kitchen stretching and yawning as the bright daylight that pours into the house clouds my eyesight.
"Morning", I reply. Dads at the island, eating a bowl of cereal and reading the newspaper. As he reads, he brushes his dark hair out of his eyes, sweeping it to the side. I can't with this guy; his black slacks rise about two inches above his ankles and his blue button-up is tucked into them and held in place with a belt. The black bowtie around his neck looks like it is trying to strangle him and, as if hearing my thoughts, he tugs at it with one hand.
"Don't give me that look," he says at the expression on my face. "We have an official from the Center for Disease Control visiting the Labs today. We've been told to be on our best behavior."
"You? Behaving?" I mock. "By the way, Dad," I tease, flicking the page of his newspaper as I walk past to the sink, "who reads the newspaper anymore? I mean you look like an old man."
"Hey now, that was a bit below the belt there. I still have at least twenty years before I turn into an old man. And even then, I'll still be one of the coolest people you know. Right, hunny?"
"Right, baby." My mom laughs, walking in the kitchen with a coffee mug in hand. She wears straight cut, high rise blue jeans, black, closed-toed heels, and a white button-up blouse with a light pink blazer on top. Some strands of hair fall out of her ponytail as she leans down and kisses Dad on the cheek. As she tries to step away, he pulls her back down into his lap, kissing her warmly.
"Get a room," Will moans coming in to raid the cabinets for breakfast. He's home from college for the summer break.
"Well, son, we would love to, but I can't seem to get the two of you out of the house and I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear the sounds coming from behind our bedroom doors."
"Mark!" My mom scolds, mock smacking my dad in the arm, grinning all the while.
"And on that highly disturbing note, I have officially lost my appetite. I'm going to go to Lauren's a bit earlier than planned. Okay? Love you, bye!" I run from the kitchen into my bedroom looking for my phone and purse, hearing my parent's muffled laughter from the kitchen. My fingers dash over my phone's keyboard as I send Lauren a text to let her know I'm on my way.
I slow down as I near t
he front door, my ears begin ringing and my heart starts pumping erratically. My clammy hand reaches for the doorknob, hesitant to turn it. I can't explain it, but I know something isn't right. I pull the door open slowly, afraid to look up until the very end.
No. This isn't how it's supposed to look. My once normal suburban neighborhood is destroyed. Houses look as though they have been abandoned for months and grass is overgrown all around. The few cars that remain are missing parts sitting in driveways and one is crashed into a house a few doors down.
The sky; it’s burning. It burns red, saturated with heavy smoke and bright burning flames. I can’t look away from it. With its whispering cries entering my head like an ear worm.
That's when I hear it. The low horrible sound of Ragers nearby, cutting through the whispering flames.
A loud piercing scream rings out, coming from behind me, inside my house.
"MOM!" I yell, turning back into the house. Dad and Will are nowhere to be seen as I burst into the kitchen, but Mom is standing in the middle of the room staring at me, her clothing torn.
She has something sharp in her right hand and blood is dripping out of the long cut on her left arm. The house dissolves into thin air. Replaced by the same back-alley way we were on the day I lost her. The sky is burning here too, with hues of red and orange, and heavy smoke.
"Emma, RUN!" Mom shouts at me. Her eyes give me the same hard blazing look she had then. "I love you. You can help stop this; fix this. It's not your time to die yet. It's your time to make a difference in the world. Find them!" She turns her head behind her shoulder, seeing something I do not. "RUN!" she yells shoving me backwards.
And I do run, I run away from her towards the chain-link fence and the river beyond it. I leap up on to the trash can and this time there is no hesitation, no last glance back at my mom. I know how her story ends. So, I jump.
****
I wake up panting, sweat soaking through my hair and shirt. Sitting straight up, I abruptly remove the hot blanket off me and try to catch my breath.
Deep breaths, Emma, deep breaths I tell myself, fighting back tears.
I have no clue what time it is, but I know it must be extremely early in the morning as no light is peeping through the curtains covering Jamie's bedroom window. Who knows, maybe I was only asleep for a few hours and it isn't even past midnight yet.
Thirst is making my throat feel like it’s filled with smoke from the fire of my nightmare. I crawl out of bed and tip toe down the cold hallway floor into the kitchen.
"You okay?" Jake asks quietly from the couch. I jump, startled by his voice, not knowing anyone would be out here. "Sorry," he says, "didn't mean to scare you."
He is laying on the couch with a blanket and a smooshed pillow, feet hanging out of the covers.
"I'm fine." I reply, harsher than necessary. "Just thirsty."
"Probably from all the screaming you were doing back there."
"Excuse me?"
Jake shakes his head and places his arm over his eyes as if to block the light. "I mean, I heard you talking and screaming in your sleep. Hence why I'm awake and why I asked if you were okay."
"Oh. I'm... sorry." I finish, looking down at my feet.
"It's okay. Cups are in the top corner cabinet next to the stove. Well water is covered in the bucket inside the fridge. Close the fridge quick, though. We turn the generator off at night to conserve gas."
"Thanks," I say, grabbing a cup out of the cabinet. We are both quiet for a moment while I pour water into my cup and gulp it down. I fill the cup a second time and drink more slowly as I lean against the old cork counter. "Why are you out here anyways, do you not have a room?"
"I do. But you were passed out and Jamie didn't want to wake you by coming in there and climbing into bed. Kye, of course, offered to let her share his bed, but I insisted she take mine." He sits up, grimacing.
"So here you are."
"So here I am," he nods, rubbing his neck.
"Do you know what time it is?"
He turns his black banded military watch on his wrist to check, "A little after 4 A.M."
I come over and sit on the couch next to him. A little to closer than intended, I scoot back more into the armrest on the other side. The couch is not very comfy, mainly due to the lumps it has from age. I can see why Jake wasn't able to sleep very well.
"You can go into Jamie's room and get some sleep for a few hours if you'd like. I'll stay out here on the couch since I've already slept for a while."
"No, don't worry about it, I'll be fine out here. You go back and get a few more hours of sleep."
"Trust me, I don't really want to go back to that... dreamland right now." I whisper. When I look up again, Jake's grey eyes are staring into mine. A tear escapes the corner of my eye as we sit there quietly. I wipe it away and let out an embarrassed sigh. "I'm sorry," I mutter.
Sensing my embarrassment, he swivels away and stands up with his blanket in hand. "Well, I guess if you insist, I'll leave you here.” He walks past me towards Jamie's bedroom as I curl my legs to my chest, shaking slightly as a chill runs down my spine.
A shadow moves in front of me and in seconds, I see a blanket coming down over me. Jake places it over my legs and stomach before draping it over my arms. "Let me know if you need anything," he says. I turn towards him and see him walking away again, rubbing his face into his hands.
Nodding to myself I curl onto the side of the old patchwork couch, letting my thoughts fill my head once more. Sleep won't find me soon, but still I rest, closing my eyes and breathing into the warmth of the blanket.
Chapter 20
Movement and voices wake me from the sleep I must have fallen back into. I shift gently on the couch, feeling yesterday’s soreness come creeping back into my back and up my spine into my head.
"Sorry to wake you," Jamie says when she notices me sitting up on the couch. "When did you come out here?"
"I was thirsty this morning so I came out here and told your brother he could go lay down for a bit in your room," I reply.
"Taking orders from a lady? Not typically his style" Kye smirks. The generator is back on. I can hear water beginning to boil on the stove.
"Shut up, Kye," Jamie retorts, putting another pot of water onto the stove and turning on the burner.
"What are you doing?" I ask ignoring them both.
"We pulled up some fresh well water, but we are boiling it to be on the safe side before we drink or cook with it... and I'm fixing oatmeal!" she squeals, bouncing up on the balls of her feet.
"Wow, where did you find oatmeal?" I ask, taken aback by the chance to eat something so normal.
"In North Riverside. There were actually a few stores that had a good amount of dry foods left."
I nod and look down at myself suddenly noticing how grungy I feel. "Do you mind if I take a shower?" I ask.
"Sure, there's a few towels under the sink. You can leave your clothes outside of the door and I'll wash and hang dry them for you. I've some extra clothing items that you can borrow. I'm sure you are about the same size."
"Okay, thanks."
The bathroom next to Jamie's room is fairly small and dingy like the rest of the trailer. It does, however, have a toilet, sink and countertop, and a tub/shower combination. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and feel unnerved. I am an absolute mess. My hair is thrown up in a messy ponytail, my porcelain skin is broken out from all of the stress, and my once beautiful green eyes, are swollen, red rimmed and glassy looking as if they could break into tears at any moment. Immediately I turn away from the mirror and set my attention to turning on the shower.
I undress in a slow and easy manner, cautious of any bumps and bruises I've acquired over the past few days. My body feels tender, fragile, and achy all over. I see scratch marks on my stomach and arms from where shards of glass cut my skin, bruises along my hips and a purple streak traveling up the right side of my spine.
Once undressed, I crack the bathroom door and
set my clothes on the ground just outside of it for Jamie to wash. How wonderous will it be to have fresh clothes once again without blood stains, or small pieces of pebbles lodged in the fabric.
The shower calls to me, drawing me towards it. I turn on the nozzle, letting the water come thundering out. Not wanting to waste anything, I clammer over the side wall. A sense of ease captures my mind, pulling me to a happy, quiet place, away from it all.
This is my favorite part of a shower. When I first step in. When the water, at just the right temperature, flows down on me. It beats heavily against my skin, pulsating warmth through me. I duck my head under and let the water fill my ears so I cannot hear anything other than the sound of my own heart beating. I feel sane again, like maybe everything will be okay after all.
The generator cannot keep up for long though, so I end my shower quicker than I would have a couple of months ago.
I towel dry myself off, folding the ragged worn areas on top of each other to soak the water away better and then wrap it around my chest.
"Hey Jamie, you said you have clean clothes in your dresser, right?" I call out the bathroom door to her.
"Yep," she replies, "and you can use my hairbrush on the dresser as well."
"Thanks." I head into her room and close her door behind me before searching her dresser for clothes to wear. It looks like she only has a few options; a pair of shorts or pajama bottoms. She has two tank tops, a t-shirt, two sports bras and a few different panties.
She must have left before the virus sped up. She may have had time to pack a few essential things. I pull out the shorts, t-shirt, bra and panties, hoping it will all fit well enough before closing the drawers.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah!" I shriek a little, whipping around to face the form rising from under the covers of Jamie's bed. "Jake! I am so sorry, I completely forgot you were in here.” I tug my towel closer to my skin.
A Whisper in the Flame (The Ragers Series Book 1) Page 11
