by Leela Ash
***
“Welcome," the man said. Jax studied him skeptically, worried that he had stumbled upon another cult. He had followed a path lined by brier bushes, and been pleased when it opened up into raspberries. He groaned when he heard a man step behind him, knowing that he no longer had the advantage. Fortunately, when he turned around, the man was smiling warmly. He didn't trust him, but he was too cold to complain when the man heaved a huge, heavy coat around him and pulled him further down the path and into a warm shelter.
“How did you find this place?" the man asked, looking at Jax with a small smile.
It reminded him of being quizzed after using a business service. How had he found their business? Was it online or maybe through a friend? Perhaps the advertising they had done on the subway finally did the trick. He tried to shake off the cynicism and told him about meeting with Al, and immediately asked if they had heard from Jonathan.
The man's eyes widened and he took a step back, looking behind him at the small group of people that were in the shelter with them. It was a relatively nice community, most of them living in teepee like tents with a fire burning inside. The smoke escaped through a ventilation hole at the top and they were free to warm themselves by the fire and cook as they pleased.
“Are you his brother? The one from Hex?”
“I haven't been with Hex in a long time," Jax said. “Don't worry.”
“Oh, I'm not worried. They teach pretty great survival skills in that tribe, there are a couple people here who made it out a while ago. Maybe you will know them."
“Maybe," Jack said impatiently, thinking of Layne alone at home. “But I'd really rather find my brother before I talk to anybody. He hasn't come back here?"
“No, they went east from here looking for the underground city that people used to whisper about. They claim the government knew that something bad was going to happen and tried to cover their asses after Grow Inc. got some test results back. They were prepared for the worst case in any event. They didn't expect it to go so viral.”
“I remember," Jax said bleakly. “Would you mind showing me the way to Roger? I hear he was with my brother last and I'd really like to speak with him.”
“Oh, Roger! Of course, that's a great idea. I'm sure he could help you.”
The man offered his thick hand and smiled. He was in his late middle ages and was strong and meaty. His sandy brown hair was cropped short to his head, and his wide face was littered with stubble. He was a little overweight, wearing a pair of overalls and a red collared shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves, despite the temperature. He saw Jax looking and grinned.
“Never minded the cold much,” he said. He seemed rugged and experienced, and Jax didn't have any trouble picturing how he had survived through all of this.
“My name is Blake by the way," the man said. “I can show you around to get you some food and then maybe you can head out. How does that sound? If you'd like to stay the night and camp out here that would probably be for the best. It's pretty dangerous out here at night. We found a way to safeguard against the animals and the elements, but out on your own, it's definitely a lot harder. And the snow is falling now, it might be a better idea to stay inside for the night and take the weather as it comes in the morning.”
Jax was silent, and walked quietly behind Blake as he led him to another teepee. He glanced around, taking in the large bonfires and the rows of greenhouses that had been constructed to protect their food sources from the elements. They had found saran wrap and created the greenhouses out of the stretched plastic and bendable branches, which was fairly clever.
“Have you ever been out in the winter before? If you're looking out for your brother, that shows me that you've mostly been in the South.”
“I was in the Boy Scouts once," Jax said vaguely. “But honestly most of it didn't stick. I'd be willing to listen if you had any advice for me."
“Don't try to drink snow," Blake said, scratching at his stubble with a dried crunching sound. “And if you do, melt it first between layers of your clothing or filtered near a fire. If you use your body's energy to melt the snow, you're going to be more at risk for hypothermia and other crappy winter stuff.”
“All right, thanks,” Jax said.
“Sure, but it you should probably remember that snow doesn't give you anywhere near as much water as ice does. In a pinch, you should always melt ice first.”
“Oh, I didn't know that."
“Yup, the water content is way higher. Do you have a tarp?”
“No, not really,” Jax said. All he had was the worn cloth he had always used for his tent.
“Well, we will get you one. You can use them for shelter.”
“Thank you,” he said, wondering what was in it for Blake.
“Why are you trying to get people up here anyway?” Jax asked him as they paused outside one teepee and grabbed a large, neatly folded blue tarp. Blake handed it to Jax, who tucked it inside his bag.
“You ever tried settling in a commune with only a handful of people? It's not easy. There's a lot of work to be done. But it is safer, and we do all right. It's especially nice during the spring and summer. And we all get along, and none of us are angry and violent. It's a safe place. Everybody deserves a safe place.”
Jax considered this and nodded, and they finally reached the opening of Roger's teepee. They ducked inside and Roger greeted them warmly.
“Is this a new recruit?" he asked.
“No," Blake said. "This is Jonathan's brother, Jax. The one he spoke about so often."
Roger's face fell and he shirked away from Jax and Jax understood immediately that he felt guilty for abandoning his brother in the elements during the attack. He wanted to be angry at Roger, but looking at him, he could only feel a pang of pity. He had a small child in his lap, smiling up at him, and a beautiful woman behind him at the fire, stirring a small pot of soup. Roger had a family; he had a family like Jax had Layne. He would've done the same thing if he found himself in danger. He couldn't leave Layne on her own to fend for herself in a world like this. Even if there was safety at their homestead.
“Look, Al told me what happened and I'm not mad at you. I just need to know where you last saw my brother and I was wondering if you could take me. I know it's probably scary and dangerous, but I would really appreciate it. I need to understand what happened.”
The woman stopped stirring the pot and looked suddenly and intensely at Roger. The child stopped cooing and noticed the tension in the room. She looked between all of the people there and tilted her head in confusion. She reached her hand up to Roger, combing her fingers through his little beard, and Roger gripped her tiny hand in his own and pulled it away from his face.
“I'd be happy to show you where I saw him last. But we might be ambushed there. I'll take you most of the way, but I'll have to come back for my family. They are my only reason for living, and I have to be there for them.”
“I understand," Jack said with a nod. “It's a deal.”
Chapter 7
They set off early in the morning, and Jax noticed with interest that the small snowfall had turned into a large one, blanketing the world around them in icy white flakes.
Roger led him for a day and a half, marking a trail by breaking evergreen branches, and stopped finally in a clearing.
“This is where they got us," Roger said sadly. “I don't know what happened, I just panicked and did the only thing I knew how to do. I escaped with my life. I feel terrible about it, but maybe in a way bringing you here was my opportunity to try and make it up to your brother. I don't know if he got killed because of me, but if he did I'm really sorry.”
He didn't give Jax an opportunity to reply before he turned his back and walked away from him, heading back to the settlement with his warm teepee and little family. Jax watched him go for a moment before approaching the clearing. His feet crunched loudly in the snow, and he shivered as his face splintered with the cold. So his brother had been he
re. It had been a couple of weeks. Well, more like a month now, but he had been here.
Jax didn't know what to do from there except to give himself the allotted time frame that he and Layne had agreed upon to look for any sign of Jonathan. If he couldn't find him within two weeks and everything looked hopeless, he had to go back.
And so Jax began wandering in the cool countryside. It didn't take long for him to discover a cave in a cliff face. He poked his head in with interest, cautious of animals who may already be inside the dwelling. He let his eyes adjust for a moment and saw that nothing else was living inside before ducking in to explore. Maybe Jonathan had been there. His heart was brimming with the possibility of seeing his brother again. He couldn't wait to finally embrace him and apologize for all the years of being without him. He felt so close he could touch it.
Jax made his way carefully down the cave, and suddenly found his foot caught on something. He nearly tripped over it and cursed, lowering himself into a crouch and examining the contents on the floor. Suddenly, his heart started to pound painfully. His food had wound around the strap of a bag.
It was a bag that he recognized.
A bag that belonged to his brother.
It had everything in there. His essentials. They were things that he would never have left behind, even if he was just going out to take a piss. He would've taken them wherever he went, which meant that something must have happened to him. Something terrible.
Jax burned with grief as his shaking hands sifted through his brother's belongings. Everything was hopeless now. He would never see his brother again. They had left everything in shambles, their relationship broken and cold, and there was no way that he would ever be able to apologize for it.
The sudden realization brought Jax to the floor. Everything was meaningless now without his brother. Nobody would ever be able to make him feel better. Everything was miserable and unfair. The virus; the circumstances of his brother's parting. He didn't even care that Layne was in their homestead, waiting for him to come back. She would never be able to understand his grief. He was completely alone.
He suddenly got to his feet and ran out of the cave as fast as he could. His only living family member was gone. Layne's had been gone for a long time already, he knew, she was used to having nobody. But this was a new feeling for him. He had never felt more alone and hopeless.
He pulled one of the bottles of beer from his sack and chugged it down as quickly as he could, glancing at Layne's note and crumpling it up before reading it. Somehow, he blamed her for this. If he hadn't gotten involved with her, he might have found his brother by now. He could have saved him.
He left the note, allowing it to grow soggy on the wet, icy ground as he began staggering around in the snow and crying loudly. He was drunk and full of agony, and he stumbled, falling face first onto the ground. The coldness bit his face, and it almost felt good. He would give up. He passed out in the snow, waiting to die and join his brother.
***
Layne tossed and turned. She was used to sleeping on her stomach, but ever since she had gotten sick, she had felt sensitive everywhere. She had taken to keeping a bucket near her bed in case she needed to throw up again. The illness was persistent, although it didn't seem to drain her of any energy. That was fortunate, and she continued to use her daily routine to give her the motivation that she needed to continue cultivating food and water for the homestead.
She tried to count her blessings instead of focusing on all of the ways that she was sad and miserable. Being alone made her more likely to remember all of the pain that she suffered when she lost her family to the virus. Her friends and everybody else that she had loved before the virus hit were gone. She had been left to fend for herself and deal with the aftermath, feeling very guilty that somehow she had been able to survive at all without any problems.
She found herself falling into a deep depression, but she did her best to avoid her troubling thoughts and worked harder and harder in the garden. The activity seemed to help and alleviated some of her nausea. She enjoyed the fresh air, even though it was beginning to grow crisp with the frost.
One evening, she heard the sound of breaking branches, and nearly hyperventilated. She didn't know who it was, but she hoped that it was Al, bringing some new recruits through the forest. Still, she didn't know who it was and she was vulnerable and alone, so she crept as quietly as she could inside the cabin and shut and locked the door. She situated herself at the window, loading the rifle and cocking it in case she saw anybody encroaching. She wouldn't be as kind as Jax. If anybody came and saw her homestead, she planned to shoot. There was no telling who might be infected, and the carriers tended to travel in groups. Most of them were so angry and bitter and guilty that they were addicts who traded whatever they could find for drugs that would help them drown away their sorrows. That meant that they were a danger to her and to everyone else - whether they could be infected by them still or not. It was hard to tell whether or not the carrier's virus had lain dormant. Nobody had tested them and everybody who was still alive was immune.
Fortunately, a large deer emerged from the foliage and she lowered the gun, sighing in relief. She had been worried that it was a group of carriers, but it was just a flock of deer who had smelled her delicious vegetables. She hoped that they would leave it alone, but she was in such a good mood after the flood of relief that she would have gladly shared with them.
Thinking of the carriers ignited her anxiety. What would happen to humanity next? She was concerned that the new population may or may not be able to thrive and flourish. Children who were exposed to the virus probably wouldn't live very long. However, it was possible that with two parents who carried strong genes, they would be able to survive. She felt a twinge of nausea as she thought about the infants who were both vulnerable and innocent. She was glad that she and Jax wouldn't have to worry about that yet. All she had to do was focus on surviving until he came back.
***
Jax woke up from a frenzied dream, groaning in appreciation as Layne's mouth nibbled him and stroked his groin. He found himself burning with longing, a nice distraction from the hole in his heart, but pushed her off of him in confusion as he opened his eyes. It wasn't Layne, and it wasn't totally a dream. There was a woman there and he was inside a strange room that was dim and smelled like the earth.
She looked at him, her ruby red lips smiling seductively. He scowled at her and backed away, his heart thudding. Although she was beautiful, she had startled him and he felt invaded. Still, he had to admit that he was painfully aroused and his body was begging for more of her touch.
“So you're alive then," she grinned, peering down at his groin. “I see the blood is pumping after all.” He glowered at her and covered himself with his hand. Fortunately, he was still dressed, but she had peeled off his wet outer layers and laid the clothes in front of a fireplace to dry.
“Where am I?" he asked.
“You're in Tel Alur,” she said with a grin. “We inhabit the underground city and I brought you there. Did you have a death wish or something? You know it's easy enough to die without stupidity on your side."
“What does it matter? It's none of your business. I just so happen to have lost somebody very special to me."
“Who, Jonathan?” she asked, her lips stretching into another sultry smile. His heart thudded at the mention of his brother's name.
“Actually, he's fine. He was in to see you before you woke up, but he had to leave again.”
“Are you kidding me?" he growled, gripping her wrists in his strong hands.
“Oh, I like it when men are feisty with me," she said with a wink. Her dark brown eyes twinkled and she ran her hand through her jet black hair. He felt another pulse of longing in his groin, and felt tempted to give in to it. He was still irrationally angry at Layne. Regardless, he forced himself to look away from the woman. If Jonathan was alive, there was hope. But if she had only heard his name while he was in a fevered dream state,
then she was simply trying to fuck with him. He had to find out which one it was.
“Where did he go? If that's even true," Jax said, fixing a dark glare on the woman.
“Well, we are preparing for war after all, so it makes sense that he would have plenty to keep him busy.”
“War? Jonathan isn't into war," Jax said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Maybe not, but he needs to save his friend. They were both abducted not too long ago by a really mean group who call themselves the Phantoms. They think they are sooo badass because they can survive in the snow. They only do it because they eat anything, even people. They're trying to fatten up your brother's friend right now. Fortunately, Jonathan was smart enough to escape. His friend wasn't so lucky, so we're all going to retaliate and get rid of the problem once and for all. We want to keep things peaceful up here in the North. Believe it or not. It's all rather exciting,” she said, moving close to Jonathan and pulling a blanket around his shoulders.
She touched his cheek, her beautiful face sparkling with excitement. She was toying with him, testing her power. He wished it wasn't working, but he could feel the yearning in his body, strong and prominent. It had been nearly a month since he'd had any kind of release, and this woman was dangerously close to opening a floodgate he would rather keep closed.
“Please, go get my brother,” he said sternly, turning away from her.
She seemed surprised, but somehow pleased at his rejection, and nodded, pulling her hand away and turning on her heel. He purposely avoided looking at her swaying hips and sultry, curvy body, and instead pouted at the wall.
And then he was being pulled into a bear hug and the spicy scent of his brother was filling his nostrils. Jax opened and closed his mouth, almost ready to vomit from the emotional toll of what he'd just experienced.
“I thought I'd never see you again,” he breathed.
