Evasion
A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller
Kellee L. Greene
Contents
Books By Kellee L. Greene
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Books By Kellee L. Greene
Mailing List
About the Author
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 Kellee L. Greene
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of the author.
First Edition January 2020
Books By Kellee L. Greene
What Remains Series
Sickness - Book 1
Outpost - Book 2
Infected - Book 3
Evasion - Book 4
Red Sky Series
Red Sky - Book 1
Blue Cloud - Book 2
Black Rain - Book 3
White Dust - Book 4
Indigo Ice - Book 5
Yellow Heat - Book 6
Ravaged Land Series (1)
Ravaged Land -Book 1
Finding Home - Book 2
Crashing Down - Book 3
Running Away - Book 4
Escaping Fear - Book 5
Fighting Back - Book 6
Ravaged Land: Divided Series (2)
The Last Disaster - Book 1
The Last Remnants - Book 2
The Last Struggle - Book 3
Ravaged Land: Eventuality Series (3)
The Wall - Book 1
The Outside - Book 2
Falling Darkness Series
Unholy - Book 1
Uprising - Book 2
Hunted - Book 3
The Island Series
The Island - Book 1
The Fight - Book 2
The Escape - Book 3
The Erased - Book 4
From Below Series
Creatures - Book 1
Desolation - Book 2
The Alien Invasion Series
The Landing - Book 1
The Aftermath - Book 2
Destined Realms Series
Destined - Book 1
Chapter One
It wasn’t a matter of if we’d die. It was a matter of when… and who would be next.
I had wanted to throw in the towel but Blake would allow it after everything we’d been through. He’d lost his brother and then Whitney to the virus. None of them should have followed me on my journey to find my sister. None of them.
We’d hidden inside a hunting cabin until the storm had passed. There was no way for us to know how far we had to go but that didn’t stop us from traveling to the base by foot.
The SUV had been destroyed when we’d plowed into a group of the sick and the only things we had, were the clothes on our backs, a bag of medicine, and a single knife that probably had seen sharper days.
We’d walked for miles and miles without finding a replacement vehicle because we were in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes I worried we’d been walking in circles. The only reason I knew we were traveling in a straight line was because of the warm sun over our heads.
The rich, musky scents of fall were thick in the chilled air. Luckily the unappetizing smell was enough to keep my hunger at bay.
When we saw an old hotel on the outskirts of a small city, we were too exhausted, hungry, and thirsty not to stop. The risks should have caused us to hesitate but they didn’t.
It was a two-story hotel that had been completely abandoned. We took room 110 as our own because we could see the parking lot out of the window and it was close to the little store that was still stocked with food and drinks.
The room didn’t feel completely safe but with the curtains closed and the deadbolt in place, it was probably better than other locations out there. In the short time we’d been at the hotel, we hadn’t seen anyone around and we hadn’t heard the cries of the sick.
We couldn’t be far from Polly but now that we were on foot, it felt like we were a lifetime apart. If she was even at the base. Our entire adventure could be for nothing.
Blake hadn’t been himself since losing Whitney. He didn’t talk much other than to tell us when he was going outside to work on the old car that was parked near the hotel entrance.
“I should go see if he needs help,” Jay muttered as he looked out of the window.
He didn’t get out of the chair at the window. Instead, he tossed a powdered cheese puff into his mouth and crunched down on it noisily as he let the curtain fall back into place.
“You can if you want,” I said. The bed squeaked as I shifted my weight. My head sank down into the thin, poorly stuffed pillow. “We’ll be fine in here.”
“He’d just yell at me to go back inside,” Jay said kicking his feet up onto the other chair at the window. “Besides, I know like nothing about cars.”
I sighed as I stared at the deep maroon fabric hanging over the window. There was a little strip of brightness that ran down the center where the curtains didn’t quite touch.
“Why did he pick that one anyway? It’s the worst looking car out there,” I asked.
It was a faded golden four-door car that was rusting around the doors and the back bumper. There was a sporty two-door car and a red SUV parked at the other side of the lot. Both of which seemed as though they would have been better choices.
“It was the only one with the keys in it,” Jay said taking another peek out the window. “He also said it had a full tank of gas when he got it started the first time.”
When Blake first started the car, it rumbled to a start only to die after twenty seconds. No matter how many times he tried, it just wouldn’t start again. It was almost as if the universe was working against us.
Fixing the car had become somewhat of an obsession to Blake or maybe it was just an excuse so he didn’t have to be near me.
Blake didn’t need to say it out loud for me to know he blamed me for what happened to Whitney. It was my fault. The one thing Whitney didn’t want to happen to her… happened.
I wouldn’t ever get out of the bed if it hadn’t been for Maddie. She was the only thing keeping me going. And of course, our desire to get to Polly.
But placing one foot in front of the other was getting harder with each passing minute. Getting sleep was getting more difficult too.
My eyes would close but they wouldn’t stay that way for long. I’d sleep for twenty minutes at a time and just as I started to dream, I’d wake.
I didn’t feel rested and it pissed me off. When would I get to sleep in a mostly comfortable bed in a locked room again? I needed to sleep but I couldn’t, no matter how
hard I tried.
Jay didn’t have trouble sleeping. And he didn’t have trouble snoring either.
Maddie would toss and turn but eventually would fall into a deep sleep.
Blake didn’t sleep long but at least it was longer than me. His internal clock would wake him after a couple hours because he told himself he was our caretaker. He wouldn’t let himself sleep for longer than he thought necessary.
I turned on my other side and closed my eyes. I waited and waited but of course, nothing happened. It was just me with my racing thoughts.
Whitney’s face just before she left us.
Dax taking the bullets so we could get away.
Maddie, when she’d been so sick, I wasn’t sure if she’d make it.
And me putting the bullet in Freddie.
I didn’t know who I was anymore. And truthfully, I never knew who’d I’d been.
“Shit,” I grumbled as I swung my legs out of the bed and pressed my feet into the rough, worn-down stained carpet. I scrubbed my face with my hands as if they were covered in a soapy exfoliant.
“You okay?” Jay asked.
Maddie shifted a bit but after a few seconds, she settled back into sleep. I exhaled as I let my arms fall heavily to my sides.
“I’m fine,” I said getting to my feet.
I combed my fingers through my snarled hair. The faucets didn’t work. I needed a shower. A warm shower.
I walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror. The person looking back at me was familiar but somehow different.
I couldn’t hold my own gaze. I stepped out and flicked a quick glance at Jay.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said taking a peek out of the peephole in the door just to make sure there weren’t any sick wandering back and forth in the hallway.
“Kit?” Jay said kicking his feet off of the chair to stand. He meant to stop me.
I held up my palm. “Just going to look for a hairbrush in the store. Be back in a minute.”
Jay crossed his arms but gave me a nod. “If you take longer than five minutes, I’ll wake her and we’ll come looking for you.”
“Five minutes,” I agreed and stepped out into the empty hallway.
My fingers dragged across the bumpy wallpaper as I quickly walked down the hall toward the store. The hallway still smelled of chlorine from the pool and stale cigarette smoke.
I hugged myself as I paced the small hotel store. There were razors, small sewing kits, toothpaste and toothbrushes, but there weren’t any hair brushes.
I grabbed a toothbrush and the toothpaste along with another bottle of water before heading back to the room. Maybe I couldn’t shower but brushing my teeth might help me to feel more… clean.
Jay had locked the door after I left. It was one of Blake’s rules and one that we had all agreed to. I knocked three times and didn’t have to wait long for the door to open.
“That’s a little small to brush your hair with,” Jay said looking down at my hand as he let me into the room. He locked the door as I slipped into the room.
“You’re funny,” I said my eyes darting toward the bed I couldn’t see behind the wall. “Is she still asleep?”
“Yes,” Jay said. “Think she’s probably still recovering from her illness.”
I swallowed hard. “You don’t think I should worry, do you?”
“I don’t,” Jay said. “She’s stronger every day. It wasn’t that long ago she was going through some kind of hell.”
My lips pressed together tightly as I offered him a nod. “You’re right. Let me brush my teeth really quick and then you can get some sleep. I’ll keep watch for a while.”
“Are you sure?” Jay asked trying to hide his yawn.
“I’m positive,” I said grabbing the bathroom door to pull it closed.
I ripped open the plastic package and cut the side of my finger. Both the small toothbrush and a drop of blood fell into the sink.
“Oww,” I said wincing as I pressed a piece of tissue against the small cut. I’d have to go back to the store to get myself a bandage if it didn’t stop bleeding.
I ignored the slight burning pain as I squeezed a dollop of striped toothpaste onto the bristles. The minty taste of the toothpaste was refreshing. My teeth felt smooth and slick inside my mouth.
I took a gulp of the water and swished it around before spitting into the sink. My teeth felt clean but I didn’t feel any better. My hair was still a mess and I still desperately needed a shower.
My finger had stopped bleeding but it still felt sore. I held a piece of tissue around it as I left the bathroom. Jay stood as I walked over to the window.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked placing a hand on my shoulder. “I could stay up a bit longer if I had to.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m not tired.”
Jay smiled, displaying his perfect set of teeth. “I don’t believe you.”
“Go on,” I said lowering myself down onto the chair at the window. I rested my chin on my fist as I peeked out of the window.
Blake still had his head down under the hood, his fingers covered in black grease. He reached his arm up and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
I knew the air was cool outside but apparently working on the car was keeping him warm. He would come inside soon. The light faded earlier each day and he needed it to see what he was doing.
Blake climbed into the front seat and turned the key. The car rumbled over and over but it didn’t start.
I watched him slam the door and walk back to the front of the car. He stared at the engine for a long moment.
There was something that caught my eye from beyond the car. Someone was out there.
Chapter Two
The chair clunked as it tipped over behind me and crashed against the ground. I’d gotten to my feet fast so I could pound on the window to get Blake’s attention. He was so focused on fixing the car that he must not have noticed the man.
“Blake!” I shouted as I slammed the side of my fist into the glass.
Jay pulled the curtain back and stared out of the window with narrowed eyes. “What’s going on?”
“There’s someone out there,” I said stabbing the window with my finger. “Over there. By the dumpster.”
“Mom?” Maddie said groaning from behind me.
“Everything’s okay, sweetie,” I said. My words puddled together.
Maddie stood but she didn’t come toward the window. “Is Blake okay?”
Blake turned toward the window and shrugged, clearly not having a clue what the fuss was about. The person at the dumpster turned and looked in Blake’s direction.
“Behind you,” I said but Blake probably couldn’t read my lips from where he was standing and he most definitely couldn’t hear me through the window.
“I’ll go get him,” Jay said rushing to the door.
The door opened and closed behind me before his words even registered in my mind. Maddie locked the door but she didn’t come to me, she stayed there… waiting.
“What’s happening out there?” Maddie asked.
“Jay’s out there now,” I said breathing as if I’d been the one that had run down the hall and out of the hotel. “They’re looking at the man.”
“They should come inside,” Maddie said nervously. “Tell them to put on their masks.”
My fingers shook as I brought them to the cold glass. “They have them on. But… but they’re not coming in. He’s talking to them. He… he looks scared.”
“Why?” Maddie asked. “Why would they try talking to the sick?”
My head moved side to side slowly. I swallowed hard, wincing at the lump that I felt sliding down my throat.
“He’s not sick,” I said. “He looks like he’s been through hell.”
“Haven’t we all?” Maddie asked sounding like herself.
The man pulled up the sleeve of his tan jumpsuit. He was showing them something on the inside of his arm. From where I was stan
ding, I couldn’t see what it was but I could see that he was just skin and bone.
When I looked at his face again, I could see that the pale skin on his face was hanging slightly and his cheeks were sunken in. The man was starving.
“He’s hungry. He’s probably asking them about food,” I said.
“Why aren’t they leaving him and coming back inside?” Maddie asked.
I shook my head. “They’re still talking to him.”
“Since when does Blake talk to people?”
“I don’t know,” I replied.
I squinted as I tried to read the patches on his jumpsuit. The patch on the right side of his chest said ‘Base Six’ and the one on his left was a short sequence of numbers… #1362.
“He’s from one of the bases,” I said unable to disguise my burst of excitement. “I should go out there and talk to him.”
“No, mom, you shouldn’t,” Maddie said crossing her arms. “It’s not safe.”
I walked over to the door and grabbed Maddie’s shoulders. I peered into her eyes.
“He could know something,” I said desperation coating each word. “What if he has the answers we need?”
“You sound crazy, mom,” Maddie said glaring at me. “You need more sleep.”
I shook my head. “I need to talk to him.”
Maddie was about to argue more when the knock at the door sealed her lips. It was a familiar knock. She turned and yanked open the door.
What Remains Series (Book 4): Evasion Page 1
