“Maybe a little too feisty,” he said into my ear so that only I could hear him. “But I’ll be able to fix that.”
“Think whatever you want.” I spat the words out.
“We have all kinds of wonderful things that can tame a wild creature such as yourself,” White said placing his lips so close to my ear I could feel them. “And I’m going to enjoy every minute of taming you, my sweet.”
Bronx could tell he was saying something to me although I was nearly certain he could hear him.
“Let her go, asshole,” Bronx said between his teeth.
White chuckled. “I don’t think you’re in any position to talk to me that way.”
“I’ll talk to you any God damn way I please, and don’t think for a second your stupid gun is going to stop me,” Bronx said.
“I think you should listen to him,” Nick said cocking his head to the side as he readjusted his aim to line up to the spot right between White’s eyes.
White chuckled. “Please. You kill me, I kill you. Do you even know how to use that thing? You could have shot, Ripley in the face but instead, you choose his leg. Tsk, tsk.” His jaw stiffened as he jerked it toward the men holding Bronx. “Do it!”
The man holding Bronx pulled out a blade and held it to Bronx’s neck. I tried to move toward Bronx, but White pulled me back with a laugh.
The blood that dripped out of the small cut at Bronx’s neck sent fire through my veins. I jerked my elbow back into White’s chest. He hadn’t been expecting the hit and coughed back a breath. I flicked my wrist upward popping him in the nose.
White loosened his grip, and I broke free. I jumped onto the back of the man with the blade just as I heard a gunshot ring out.
The man with the blade and I crashed to the ground. I saw Bronx move quickly, pulling the arm of the other man behind his back. He used him as a shield.
White took a step forward with the gun. And then another, but even in the darkness, I could see the life leave his body. He pulled the trigger at the sky as he collapsed.
Molly grabbed the gun and aimed it at anyone that moved. I quickly stood up and kicked the guy on the ground at my feet. He didn’t move. He stared at me, but he didn’t try to get up.
“Okay,” Nick said breathing heavily. “We’re leaving… anyone have a problem with that?”
They all shook their heads. Ripley was staring at White’s body, looking as though he might burst into tears.
Nick grabbed Molly’s arm and pulled her back. We walked backward away from the stunned group.
Nick was ready to fire his gun again if he had to. We were several blocks away when Molly looked at the gun she was holding as if it were a week-old dead fish.
“Take this,” she said pushing it against Bronx’s chest. He took it from her, and her entire body shook. “I’m not sure we can get far enough from that place.”
“We will,” Nick said. “They won’t be coming after us. They lost their leader.”
“His acting Mama is going to be pissed,” I said mostly joking. She was too old to come after us, but then again maybe she’d ride up on a horse and shoot us in the back for taking away one of her fake sons.
Out in the middle of nowhere, I was thankful for the moonlight. We were able to see where we were going, and the quiet night helped reassure me that we weren’t being followed.
There was no way we were going to stop. We’d probably walk day and night for several days making sure to put as much distance between the horrible town and us.
What we needed was a break. A safe place with food and water where we didn’t have to worry about anything for weeks… months. But that probably didn’t exist.
If it did… I hoped we would be the ones to find it.
Bronx took my hand and smiled at me. “You were amazing back there, but it scared the shit out of me.”
“Thanks… I think,” I said. “I just couldn’t stand the idea of something happening to you.”
He squeezed my hand. “I couldn’t stand the idea of you being stuck there with that guy.”
“He was such a creep,” I said.
We kept walking knowing that each step was another step between us and them. There were no sounds of anyone chasing after us. Maybe they hadn’t cared. Maybe they were lost without their insane leader.
“So, what do we do now?” Molly asked. “You still have that map they gave you?”
“I do,” Nick said, but he shook his head. “But we’re not going there.”
“We’re not?” Molly asked. “Why not? We could be safe there.”
Nick sighed. “I’m sick of people, aren’t you? They're all just trying to fit us into their own plans for the world, and so far, they haven’t been anything I want. Let’s make our own place. Our own plan.”
It sounded good to me. Hiding far away from anyone and everything. We’d find our perfect place.
“And what if bad people find us?” Molly asked.
“They won’t find us. We’ll find a place and make sure they don’t,” Nick said. “And I’ll find more ammo from the guns.”
I couldn’t help but let out a heavy breath. I wanted everything to be okay and for nothing to ever go wrong again but it was hard to imagine a world like that after everything we’d been through.
“We’ll figure it all out,” Nick said with a slight limp he tried to hide by skipping forward a bit. “First thing we need to do is find a place. Somewhere that’s secluded but not too far from supplies.”
“Sounds good to me,” Bronx said. “I think we can do it.”
“Everyone in?” Nick asked.
Bronx and Molly agreed almost instantly, but I hesitated.
“Aw, come on, Sis,” Nick said nudging me with his elbow. “If you have a better plan, I’m all ears.”
I shook my head. “Nah… fine, I’m in.”
“It’s settled then,” Nick said. “But first let’s put a lot more distance between us and crazy town.”
After we’d agreed Nick and Bronx started discussing their plans and what we’d need to look for in finding the perfect home. Molly nodded along with all of their ideas, well, mostly with Nick’s ideas.
It didn’t matter to me where we were as long as we were safe and I was with Bronx. I would have been happy enough finding a cabin in the middle of nowhere filled with supplies hiding from the world for the rest of my life.
But we’d figure it out somehow, and we’d be together. After fighting against White and his mini-army, my confidence had been boosted. I hadn’t laid down and given up. I’d fought back.
That’s all I need to do to survive this. Fight back. And that was exactly what I was going to do.
Books By Kellee L. Greene
Red Sky Series
Red Sky - Book 1
Blue Cloud - Book 2
Black Rain - Book 3
White Dust - Book 4
Falling Darkness Series
Unholy - Book 1
Uprising - Book 2
Hunted - Book 3
Ravaged Land Series
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
The Last Disaster - Book 1
The Last Remnants - Book 2
The Last Struggle - Book 3
The Island Series
The Island - Book 1
The Fight - Book 2
The Escape - Book 3
The Erased - Book 4
The Alien Invasion Series
The Landing - Book 1
The Aftermath - Book 2
Destined Realms Series
Destined - Book 1
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www.kelleelgreene.com
Ravaged Land - Preview
The Ravaged Land Series - Book One
Ravaged Land - Chapter one
I think I took it all for granted. I had become accustomed to my daily routine and to be totally honest, I liked it. In fact, there was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting still, reading a book, soaking in the bathtub, watching a movie, or other simple things that some people think are monotonous. They are always on the go, scheduling the next event, sending text messages and taking quick showers, but I didn’t mind being slow. I relished it. I thought everyone should take a more leisurely approach to life, what was the rush anyway? Had I been able to see into the future, I may have thought differently. I might have changed how I had lived my life.
There had been something drastically different in the air that afternoon, but I couldn't quite put my finger on exactly what it was. The whole day had been hot and humid, the weatherman had predicted a thunderstorm, and we were under a tornado watch. My clothes had been soggy from dripping sweat all day in the unpleasant claustrophobic classrooms they refused to air condition. I had felt gross and was eager to change into something dry, ideally right into my pajamas. This day had been draining, and I was exhausted. Maybe I'd curl up in bed after a cool bath, read a book and listen to the storms pass by. That sounded like heaven.
I wanted to put a name to the smell floating in my nostrils. It was salty and musty, making me think of under-cooked French fries. Both the smell and the feeling in the air had been unsettling and I couldn’t wait to get home. I walked faster hoping I’d beat the rain since my clothes were already wet enough. I crossed my arms in front of me and let my backpack hang off my shoulder as I walked fast with my head down. After the bell had rang letting school out I had practically sprinted out of the building leaving a little earlier than I usually did. Since it had been the last day before summer vacation, everyone else was lingering and making plans for the summer with their friends. They had all apparently been oblivious to that unusual fragrance in the air.
“Have a great summer Roslyn!” A tall girl shouted to me from across the street, waving at me altogether too excitedly as she opened the passenger door of a beat-up blue corvette. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled awkwardly and waved at her. Then as if I felt weird about my hand up in the air, I dropped it down to gather up my dark blonde hair letting it fall down over my left shoulder.
I was probably about halfway home when I looked up from the sidewalk. Across the street was a boy in my class I didn’t really know, but I recognized him only because he was often the object of discussions I’d overheard the other girls chittering about. He was cute, dark hair, dark eyes but guys like that don’t have an interest in girls like me anyway. He wouldn’t want someone who was as boring and low-key as I was. A boy like that is only interested in the most popular, the most beautiful and the most interesting girls. In front of me was another boy from my class, Ryan I thought, kicking a stone as if it were a soccer ball. Another one of the boys all the girls went crazy over, he was absolutely gorgeous, but he didn’t know it, or at least if he did, he didn’t care.
There was another group somewhere behind me. I could hear them talking, making plans for the night, and next they’d probably plan out the whole summer. After I rolled my eyes, I was hit smack dab in the middle of my forehead by an abnormally large drop of wetness. I wiped my skin dry with the back of my hand and tilted my head upwards. The dark ominous clouds looming ahead traveled at what seemed to be an unrealistic speed. Only moments ago the sun had been shining but now a darkness akin to night was setting in, the feeling made me shiver even in this heat.
I looked to the others to see if anyone else had noticed the extreme raindrops but the boy across the street still had his head down and was even further ahead of me. The other boy, Ryan, who had been in front of me had turned off and was walking into what I assumed was his house.
The drops of water started to fall quicker, each one smacking against my face and the exposed skin of my arms with small but annoying stings. I swung my backpack in front of me to look for something I could put over my head. Before I even got a chance to unzip my pack there was a loud thunk followed by the clanging rattle of a street sign. It had made such an unusual high pitched noise that my ears started to ring.
Another chunk of hail hit the ground a foot in front of me with a thud, crashing so hard it broke into countless smaller pieces on impact. They scattered all around my feet looking like little chips of glass. This was by far the largest and most dangerous hail I’d ever seen in my entire life. Within thirty seconds of each other, another two large pieces fell only a few feet away from me, and thankfully not on my head. How many more of these large ice blocks would fall? These pieces of hail weren’t the small and smooth pebble-like hail I’d seen a hundred times before, instead they were rough and thick, jagged like chipped and broken rocks. I put my backpack over my head hoping it would at least protect me from the falling shards, but in all reality they probably weighed several pounds and the backpack wouldn’t do much of anything to soften the blow.
Down the street a car window shattered with a loud pop and crack. I hadn't been expecting it and I jumped backwards startled by the sudden noise. My house was still a fair distance away, and the hail didn’t seem to be letting up. If anything, it was getting worse. I needed to find a place to hang out temporarily until this lethal storm passed. The girl in the group behind me let out an awful howl. I whipped around to see watery blood streaming down her face. Her crystal blue eyes were wide with surprise. I guessed that she'd been hit by the small chunk of hail that rocked to a stop near her feet. Had it been one of the larger pieces she wouldn’t have been able to let out her painful cry.
The house Ryan had walked into had a covered porch. I called over to the group behind me, pointing as I ran up the walk. “Over here, come this way!” I said, and they followed. I didn’t think he’d mind... considering.
A car barreled down the street and I realized what was about to happen only seconds before it did. The driver didn't have a chance. The girl next to me with the gash in her forehead let out a scream that made my bones ache. It had been like something out of a horror movie. The boulder of hail which had been the size of a large watermelon smashed through the windshield. Copious cracks sprouted out from the hole that had been left by the chunk of hail further weakening the glass. The car slammed into a parked van, and the driver was ejected from his seat. The broken windshield had slowed the drivers exit and his body was sprawled out on the hood of the car like a rag doll. Blood pooled out from his middle and oozed out of his nose and ears. He laid there staring blankly towards me, his body motionless. Oh crap, was he dead?
The boy who had been ahead of me on the other side of the street was running towards the car, but he stopped suddenly when he saw the body spread out on the car. He put his hand on his forehead and then both hands over his eyes. I guessed it had been someone he knew. The winds picked up and the booms from the thunder and lightning shook the earth so much I worried it was an earthquake. It was terrifying.
The tall boy who was with the girl spun her around so she was facing the house and the guy with black hair stood in front of me to block my view since I had been unable to turn myself away from the gruesome scene. The front door to the house flung open, partly from the wind and partly from an aggressive push. The bang startled me and I jumped into the bigger guy grabbing his arm way too tightly.
“You guys have to come with me,” he said. “Please, follow me.” He gestured for us to follow him and it took me a few
minutes to understand as my brain hadn't worked the same way it had before seeing the crash. Ryan was trying to get us to go with him somewhere. I caught another glimpse of the guy across the street, he was looking at us, he didn’t say anything he just stood there. The others hadn’t noticed him, I was about to say something when I was jostled by the guy with the black hair whose name I couldn’t recall.
“But—” I managed to eek the word out in an attempt to alert them to the guy across the street.
“Go!” he said, his eyes begging me to make my feet move. And I did. I glanced back after a few steps and he was gone. We followed Ryan like lost puppies. The guy with black hair yelled through the howling winds, “Where are we going?”
We looped around the side of his house going into the backyard, “My grandpa has an underground shelter. We’ll be safe there!” We ran through his backyard jumping over broken tree branches and random things that had blown into his yard— trash bins, a grill, even a little pink tricycle.
“How far?” the tall boy shouted as a brick-sized piece of hail landed about a foot away from him.
“Not far,” Ryan said, “this way!” He weaved between a garage and a small shed and onto the sidewalk of the next block. “That one,” he said pointing to a green house across the street and three houses over.
We splashed through the puddles on the roadway running as fast as we could. A gust of wind almost knocked me off my feet, but somehow I managed to regain my footing without falling or blowing away. I saw a car rolling top to bottom and side to side through the air about a block away and then I noticed the twister that was propelling it. Another gust of wind came and lifted me for a full second off the ground. It happened so fast I wasn’t even sure it had been real or if I was imagining it until I felt a hand grab onto mine pulling me along.
White Dust - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Red Sky Series Book 4) Page 15
