“Yes,” Tom said quickly. I was surprised he’d been honest. There hadn’t even been a second hesitation where he’d considered lying.
“Why did you swipe it without telling anyone?” Nick asked.
“I didn’t want there to be a big fight about it, you know, like what’s happening right now,” Tom said with a grin.
Nick chuckled as he leaned forward slightly. “Please. This is not a fight. I could show you a fight, but I’m not going to.”
“We all want the same thing,” Tom said. “To be safe. I can protect us.”
“I was a police officer before all of this happened. If there is anyone here that should have that gun to keep everyone safe it should be me,” Nick said jamming his thumb into his chest. “I’ve been trained. I was the most accurate shot on the force and in the academy.”
“Congratulations,” Tom said. “But this shit is different from what you were trained for.”
“Please,” Nick said throwing his hand into the air.
He turned around and looked around the room. His eyes landed on mine, and for a second, it seemed as though flames raged inside of his pupils as if he was seeing grandma’s house.
Nick lowered his head as he inched closer. His eyes seemed to be on Tom’s hip. “This isn’t over.”
We didn’t spend much longer inside the home before Tom wanted to get moving. Before we left, he invited Molly to join us.
She took several minutes looking back and forth between Nick and Tom before agreeing to come along. I was pretty sure the only reason she’d agreed was because her stomach had forced her to.
“Where are we going?” Molly asked as we walked down the road that led away from her parent’s home.
“Long journey ahead,” Tom said picking up his pace.
When he was far enough away, I nudged Molly. “We’re going to his wife’s parent’s home I guess.”
“You guess?” she asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Well, that’s what he said.” I shrugged.
“You don’t trust him?” Molly asked her mouth hanging open slightly.
I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. She definitely should be wary of Tom, but I didn’t want her to go running back to her closet.
“I don’t know. The only people I can fully trust are my brother, Bronx, and Blair. We’ve all been together since the beginning,” I said.
“Your brother?” Molly asked gesturing at Nick.
“Yeah, my brother. He was a police officer before all this,” I said.
Molly chewed her lip for a second. “I heard.”
She’d been listening when Tom and Nick had been having their discussion about the gun.
“He should have my dad’s gun,” Molly said as she bumped her arm into mine.
I followed her gaze down to her hand. She pulled it slightly out of her pocket revealing extra bullets.
“Shh!” she said placing her skinny finger to her lips.
I nodded, and she smiled.
“You’re lucky to have your brother with you,” Molly said. “I was lucky too until….”
“Yeah,” I said not wanting her to have to say the words.
“You know, I can’t say I really blame them,” Molly said.
I chewed my fingernail. I wanted to tell her that I didn’t either.
“Anyway,” Molly said with a small shrug as she shifted her gaze straight ahead. “It’d be nice to have a brother looking out for you.”
I could have complained about how Nick hadn’t ever cared about anyone except for himself, but the truth was since all this happened… he had watched my back. Truthfully, I was lucky to have him. Even though I hated to admit it, even to myself.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” I said.
“And one that is so damn hot at that,” Molly said licking her lower lip.
“Ew,” I said with a soft chuckle.
Molly laughed softly. “Well, he is. But don’t worry, I’m sure he’s not into walking skeletons.”
“How did that happen?” I asked looking at the bones in her arms. Her skin was so thin I could see her veins.
“I was quite thin before it all happened,” Molly said. “When we ran out of food, everything just accelerated, but hey, at least I’m used to being hungry.”
Nick slowed down and walked next to Molly. He looked at her for a long moment before he spoke.
“So, you know this area pretty well?” he asked.
“Not really,” Molly said. “I lived in Cali for the last three years. My parents moved out here shortly after that. They wanted to live in the country because it would be cheaper. I didn’t visit as often as I should have.”
We only took about six more steps before Molly hopped up in front of us. She walked backward as she looked back and forth between Nick and me.
“You guys, there is a store… like a general store,” Molly said scratching her head before pointing over her shoulder. “That way. I bet there is stuff there.”
Nick smiled at Molly holding her gaze. He flicked his eyebrows up quickly. “Then that’s where we’ll go.”
Nick walked up to the front next to Tom. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, and I didn’t want to.
It made my nerves twitch that Nick had to even go talk to Tom. We should be able to just go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted, without having to feel like we need to check in with the now armed Tom.
He must have agreed because we changed our direction ever so slightly and it wasn’t long before we saw a small town come into view. If it could even be called a town.
Molly clapped her hands. “Yeah, this is it!”
Five
There were five houses, each a different color, but all of them had similar faded siding. A gas station sat at the edge of a four-way stop, and based on the two semi trucks that looked to have been abandoned, it was probably a common spot for truckers to stop and refuel.
The last building near the gas station was rather small, and while it resembled one of the houses, there was a sign indicating that it was the market. My stomach rumbled, and my mouth felt dryer at the sight.
“We should be able to find something here,” Tom said, his hand hovering just above his hip. He gave a quick glance to Molly. “Good job, Molly.”
She offered him a tight-lipped smile. Molly tried not to let it show, but I saw her spine straighten.
Tom pulled the gun out as we stepped up to the front of the market. A small bell at the top of the door rang and pulled on my every nerve. It was strange how such a small noise had sounded like a tornado siren going off, alerting the whole area to our presence.
I hadn’t even realized that I had shivered until Bronx put his hand on my shoulder and I jerked away from him, balling my hands into tight fists.
“Whoa,” he said with a soft chuckle.
“Sorry,” I said lowering my hands. “I was expecting something to go wrong.”
“Inside the town or with Tom?” Bronx asked in my ear.
I blew out a sharp breath before meeting his eyes. “Either. I don’t know, maybe both.”
The small store was mostly untouched. There was a small amount of fruit that had turned disgusting shades of green and white. They were all lumpy and shriveled up, in other words, completely inedible.
“It stinks in here,” Blair said scrunching up her nose.
“There are lots that have gone bad, but there’s even more than hasn’t,” Tom said picking up a package of pesto-flavored noodles. “Now we just need a pot, a fire, and some water.”
“We have gallons of water,” Nina said smiling as she held up two jugs.
Tom placed his hands on his hips as he looked around the room. “Looks like we found a place to stay.”
“For how long?” I asked. Not that it mattered, I was going to leave whenever the hell I felt like it… that was as long as the now-armed Tom would let me.
“Until we’re ready.” Tom stared at me. “Maybe we can find some backpacks, take some of this with us. We’ll h
ave to loot the houses.”
I actually felt the strain in my eye sockets from stopping them from rolling. If I didn’t relax the muscles in my face, I was going to have a massive headache.
Whatever.
For the time being, I’d sit back and let Tom be in charge. At least it was a weight off of my shoulders. It was unlikely he’d let anything happen to any of us when Milo was in his care.
I didn’t trust him. God no, but letting him lead for a while might make things a little easier… temporarily.
Although, it wasn’t like I could let my guard down. But maybe the four of us could rotate easier keeping our eye on Tom.
“All right,” Tom said clapping his hands together. “Here’s what we’re going to do. For now, we stay in here.” Tom pointed at Nina. “Find a notebook and a pen and take an inventory of everything inside this building that we can use.”
“On it,” Nina said.
“Blair and Molly take aisle one, Nick two, Gwen, check the third aisle and Bronx the back wall. When everyone finishes, we’ll check the storage room.” Tom pulled up a noisy metal chair to the front window. “I’ll keep watch.”
Milo marched in front of his dad and stood tall. “What about me, dad?”
“All you have to do is play,” Tom said grinning at his son.
“Aw, come on dad! I want to help.” Milo frowned.
“Okay, okay. Go see if you can help out your mom with taking inventory,” Tom said. “Keep your writing and counting skills sharp.”
Milo grinned. He looked an inch taller. “Thanks, dad!”
We spent the next several hours counting boxes and snacking on the food Tom designated as the ones to eat first. I was pretty sure I could eat for a full twenty-four hours before I’d even come close to feeling full.
After we finished, Molly sat down on the floor with a box of sugary cereal. She popped pieces into her mouth, savoring them as if they were expensive caviar.
Bronx sat down next to me on the floor, our backs pressed against the wall at the back of the room. Blair and Nick were several feet away. He was staring at his fingers while she rested her head on his shoulder.
“I guess we’re stuck with Tom a little longer,” Bronx said keeping his voice low.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“We can’t leave this,” Bronx gestured at the nearby shelf stocked full of food.
I chewed my cheek. “We could.”
“But that wouldn’t be smart.”
“No, no it wouldn’t. But staying with Tom isn’t very smart either,” I said.
Bronx placed his hand on my thigh. The warmth from it radiated through my entire body sending electric tingles through every nerve.
“Try not to worry. We’ll figure it all out,” Bronx said his voice creamy as whipped butter.
I wanted to tell him that whoever was doing this to us wasn’t going to stop until each one of us was dead. But I didn’t see any reason to spoil the mood. He was smiling and seemed hopeful. Who was I to take that away from him?
“What do you think of her?” Bronx asked jerking his chin toward Molly.
“She seems fine,” I said with a shrug.
“Trust her?” he asked.
I hesitated but then surprised myself when I started nodding. “Yeah, I guess I do. I mean, as much as one can under the circumstances.”
Bronx watched her pop the bits of cereal into her mouth. She closed her eyes with each one as if experiencing little moments of ecstasy.
“You saw her when we found her,” I said. “If we needed to worry, she wouldn’t have looked the way she did.”
“Yeah, and she probably wouldn’t have been hiding in the closet,” Bronx said. He looked down at his hand still on my leg. Bronx chuckled. “But I can’t stop thinking, what if she wasn’t their daughter at all?”
“What do you mean?” I narrowed my eyes.
Bronx shook his head. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, what exactly are you saying?” I asked turning slightly to look at him. His hand fell away, or maybe he’d pulled it back.
“I’m being overly suspicious. It’s just that what if she’s wandering around, looking for help? What if she set that all up? Maybe those people weren’t even her parents,” Bronx said his eyes wide.
“Maybe,” I said cocking my head slightly as I looked at her. “But she seemed a bit broken up about what had happened.”
Bronx’s eyes widened more. “Wouldn’t you be if you’d just killed a couple of people?”
“I guess,” I said my eyes uncontrollably shifting to Tom. Would I? Although it wasn’t like Tom was innocent like the old couple probably had been.
“She doesn’t really seem like a killer though, does she?” Bronx asked.
I shook my head. “Not really but then again what do killers look like?”
Bronx shrugged. He rested his hands on his bent-up knees and looked back at Molly. She smiled at us before digging back into the box.
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Bronx said biting back a laugh.
“We’ll all keep an eye on her.” I didn’t want to completely rule out the possibility even though the thought hadn’t even occurred to me. Maybe in this new world of ours, it should have.
I lost my train of thought when I spotted Nina and Tom whispering. They were looking around the room as they discussed something. After several minutes Tom stood.
“Since we’ll be staying awhile, we’ll all have to do our part keeping the group safe,” Tom said folding his hands in front of his stomach. The gun at his hip bulged out under his shirt. “So, we’ll all take turns keeping watch. Since there is a fair number of us, we’ll all get a good amount of rest.”
I looked over at Nick and met his eyes. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing I was… that someone would need to keep watch during Tom’s turn.
Tom announced the schedule as he looked at the notebook Nina was holding. It appeared as though she was scheduling our work shifts.
“If anyone has any questions, please let me or Nina know,” Tom said with a smug, tight-lipped smile.
My body stiffened and Bronx patted my thigh as if he’d noticed. “Temporary. Just remember it’s all temporary.”
“Nick,” Tom said taking a step toward the middle of the room, “before it gets dark out there, I was wondering if you might come and help me see if we can figure out building a fire pit out back?”
“Um,” Nick said glancing at me before answering, “sure.”
“Perfect,” Tom said. “Bronx you’re in charge while we’re out.”
I wasn’t even a little surprised he hadn’t put Blair or me in charge, but I was surprised he hadn’t put Nina in charge.
Bronx nodded, and Tom gestured to the chair at the window. “Just sit there and let us know if you see anything. Anything.”
“Yeah, I know how keeping watch works,” Bronx muttered not even attempting to keep the attitude from his tone.
I hated watching Nick walk out the back door with Tom, but I had to believe he’d be okay. Nick could take care of himself because not only was he trained with a weapon he was trained to defend himself in other ways.
But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t stare at the back door anxiously waiting for his return.
Six
I sat at the window staring into the darkness. Nick and Blair were lying on the floor next to each other, and Molly wasn’t far from them. She tossed and turned a lot, her eyes glowing in the dark room when she opened them.
Nina, Tom, and Milo were all sound asleep lying next to one another like a can of sardines. Tom had the gun practically underneath him with his hand on top. Even in his sleep, he knew to protect it.
If I would have gotten an opportunity, I would have tried to snatch it away. But with it under him, it would just end up with me getting shot, or maybe someone else.
Nick had argued with him to let whoever was on watch to hold the gun, but Tom refused. I could still remember the way h
e looked at me when Nick suggested it. It was as if he didn’t trust me. He was probably right not to.
Bronx groaned and stretched his hands over his head. He rolled onto his side, his eyes narrow slits.
“Is it my turn?” he asked pushing himself up slightly.
“If I had a watch I’d know for sure,” I whispered. “Probably close enough.”
Bronx stood and stretched his arms over his head. “Well, I’m up anyway. I could sit with you while you finish your shift.”
“Sure,” I said.
Sometimes sitting alone at night was peaceful, and it gave me a break from feeling like there was always someone around. But other times, it was stressful. Lonely. Scary. Being alone and not knowing what was out there sucked.
I shivered as Bronx stepped up behind me. Even though I could feel his warmth with how close he was to me, the air had a chill to it.
“Cold?” Bronx asked.
“Yeah, how did you know?” I asked.
Bronx shrugged. “Because I’m cold too.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of weird, right?”
“I don’t know. Seems like every day has been getting colder,” Bronx said moving closer. “When we find our place, let’s make sure it has a fireplace.”
“Our place?” I asked without looking at him.
He shifted side to side. “Yeah, you know for Nick, Blair, you and me.”
“Right,” I said thankful it was dark because then he couldn’t see the pinkness that I knew had found its way to my cheeks based on the sudden heat in them.
Bronx cleared his throat and let out a slow breath. I could feel it gently brushing against the side of my neck making my insides swirl.
I didn’t know how he did this to me. If it was some kind of magical power, he had over every woman. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced before. It was powerful. Unexplainable. Just being next to him made my palms sweat and my heart race.
But I couldn’t let myself get carried away with any of it no matter how much I wanted to. The distraction would be more than welcome. It was just far too soon after what had happened. My heart still ached. Then again, my heart would ache forever.
White Dust - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Red Sky Series Book 4) Page 3
