“What about the Bible in your bag?”
“What about it?”
“Well, do you just keep it because you like the extra weight on your back?”
My heart sinks. I don’t know what to say to that. It’s like God is using Kelli’s words to convict me of my dwindling faith.
Meredith enters the room, saving me from having to face the hard truth in Kelli’s question. “What are you two talking about?” she asks.
“Oh, you know, cures and the likelihood of mankind surviving the Apocalypse.”
Kelli sighs. “Chloe thinks we’re beyond saving, but I think someone will find a cure. That’s what I’m praying for, anyway.”
Meredith smiles. “That’s nice, Kelli.” She turns to me, and asks, “What are you praying for, Chloe?”
“An end to this conversation.”
“Mama always said you could trust God to fix anything,” Kelli says.
“How did that work out for your Mom?” I ask. I regret the words as soon as they leave my lips.
Meredith cuts her eyes to me. “I think what Chloe meant to say is that while God can fix anything, it doesn’t mean He will,” she says, trying to smooth over my heartless statement.
Kelli wipes a tear from her cheek. “Well, maybe after He’s through punishing the world, He’ll deliver those of us still left.”
Meredith raises an eyebrow. “Why do you think God is punishing us?”
Kelli shrugs. “My dad said the world had gotten rotten...rotten to the core...so God allowed all the rot to take over to teach us all a lesson.”
“God didn’t do this, Kelli. We did," Meredith says.
I look at Meredith. “How do you figure that?” I ask her.
“I...I just don’t think God would do something like this to punish us,” she stammers.
I stand up and start stuffing my bedding into my backpack, suddenly irritated for reasons I can’t fully explain. “Well, I guess we’ll be leaving soon.”
Meredith watches me for a moment. “We can tell Daniel we want to stay another night. It wouldn't be the worst thing.”
I zip the pack closed. “It doesn’t matter. Walking at least gives us something to do besides think about all we’ve lost.”
“Or had to take,” she adds softly.
I turn to ask what she meant, but she’s already gone.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chloe
The walking ...always walking. It never stops.
The sun is hot, and all I want to do is drop to my knees and surrender to my inevitable fate. I run my dry tongue across cracked lips, and think for the thousandth time how much I hate whoever or whatever is responsible for what happened to us.
To the world.
I’m tired of being strategic with every move...tired of making sure to avoid running into Revs at all costs. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to reclaim my life. Or at least regain some small measure of control. But how? I wouldn’t even know where to begin, and that makes me angry all over again. I kick the gravel on the road and watch it scatter.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
I smile at Daniel, who’s just walked up beside me. “And what good would a penny do me in this economy?” I ask him.
“Good point. So, what were you thinking about just now?”
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I was thinking about how I want my life back. My old life.”
He nods. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
We walk a few minutes in silence until a random thought pops into my mind. “Hey, what did you decide about Jenna?” I ask.
“Huh?”
“Jenna ...you know, the love of your life,” I remind him.
He rolls his eyes. “I know who Jenna is, but what made you think of her just now?”
“I don’t know. We were talking about her at the cafe that last day ...you were trying to decide whether to end it or give her another chance. What were you going to do?” I ask again.
He rubs his hand over his face, thinking. Finally, he says, “Jenna ...well, she cheated, but she had an awesome….”
I cover my ears. “Never mind. Don’t want to hear it!”
He laughs. “I was only going to say she had an awesome sense of humor.”
“Sure you were.”
He stops laughing. “No, really. She did. I kinda miss her jokes...especially now. I could really use a good laugh.”
I bump his shoulder with my own. “Oh, come on. You mean I don’t keep you in stitches out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“No, I’m usually too focused on keeping you alive to pay attention to your bad jokes.”
“Whatever. Dad always said I was hilarious.”
“Dad lied to you.”
We grow quiet, thinking about our parents, and Jenna ...and wherever they might be now. After a few minutes my thoughts circle around to Scott and his fate.
“Do you think Scott made it?” I ask.
Daniel shrugs. “Hard to say. I hope so. I always liked him.”
“I think he was going to ask me to marry him. Finally. He supposedly had this elaborate date planned for us the night everything went to pieces.”
“I’m sorry, Chloe.”
I adjust the straps of my backpack and stand a little straighter. “Just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”
He squints, looking at the road ahead of us. “No, I guess not. Still, I know it was important to you.”
“I don’t know ...I mean, was it really? For the right reasons, anyway? I had all these boards of wedding ideas saved, planning the perfect ceremony, reception, you name it. But, now that I look back, I’m not sure that I had any plans beyond that.”
“That’s probably the case for newly married couples everywhere,” he reasons.
“Maybe. But now I’m wondering if that was a good thing. I mean, what if we weren’t really compatible? What if I was just settling because it was all I knew?”
Daniel nods. “That’s always a possibility. But what do I know? I was in love with a cheater when the world ended.”
I look at the road. It seems like it goes on forever, and I’m so tired. Or maybe I’m just tired of lying to myself. I look back at Daniel. “I guess I was, too,” I say.
“What?”
My smile falters. “Oh, come on. You think I didn’t hear the rumors about him and Molly?” I sigh. “I did. I just didn’t want to believe them. Didn’t want to start over.”
“Chloe, I…”
I hold a hand up, stopping him. “Daniel, don’t apologize. I know you didn’t want to hurt me.”
“I guess now we’ve both got an opportunity to start fresh. To make sure the next time we fall in love, it’s for the right reasons. And with the right person.”
“Daniel, you’re the only male in our group. I’d say my chances of falling in love again are slim to none.”
He laughs. “You’ve got a point. I’ll just have to fall in love for the both of us.”
“Speaking of which, what’s going on with you and Meredith?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. I’m just trying to figure her out.”
“Word of advice?”
“Shoot.”
“If you find out she’s as crazy as some of the other girls you’ve dated, run the other way.”
He doesn’t answer, which tells me everything I need to know.
He’s already falling for her.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daniel
I'm thinking. I have to make this one count. I only get one question per day, and if I'm not careful I'll never solve the mystery that is Meredith.
"Well? Have you decided?"
I look at her and nod. "Yes. How old are you?"
A pale blush creeps across her cheeks. "That wasn't an appropriate question even before the world ended."
I smile. "You didn't say there were limitations. And I believe you promised to answer anything I asked with the truth."
She looks at me for a moment, then s
ays, "Thirty-one."
"I thought you were older than you led us to believe."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asks, offended.
"A boyfriend at UNCA?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"He could have been a grad student!"
"Yeah, if he existed, I guess he could have been a lot of things."
"Whatever, fine. There was no boyfriend."
A large smile spreads across my face.
"What are you grinning about?" she asks defensively.
"I believe you answered two questions today, milady."
She huffs, frustrated, and speeds up, leaving me to walk by myself. I'm pretty sure I hear her say something like, "It won't happen again," under her breath, but I guess it could have been anything.
I just smile and keep walking.
* * *
Chloe
"I'm sorry for what I said...about your mom."
That sounded a lot more heartfelt and genuine when I rehearsed it in my head.
Kelli shrugs and says, "It's okay."
And her reaction is a lot more subdued than I imagined it would be.
I look at the young girl, with her slumped shoulders and red-rimmed eyes, and I feel terrible all over again. I'm a jerk...worse than that, I'm mean. "Yeah, but it's not okay, Kelli," I say. "It was a jerk move, and I feel really bad about it."
"I guess I understand why you said it."
"Well, can you enlighten me? Because I can't think of one good reason why I said it."
"You were hurting...so you lashed out." She tucks a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "Mama used to do the same thing. Paul...or some other guy...would make her mad or hurt her feelings, and next thing I know, she'd say something really awful to me. It cut the pain a little, I guess."
"I suppose that makes sense. But still, I apologize. Okay?"
"I'm sorry, too," Kelli says quietly.
My eyes widen in surprise. "What do you have to be sorry about?"
"I shouldn't have been so pushy about your prayers or your Bible," she says.
"Oh, that."
She nods.
I let out a deep sigh. "Kelli, the thing is, I feel like there has to be something or someone out there, watching all of this unfold...I just can't figure out where I fit into the equation." I pull the straps of my pack. "I just...I don't feel like my prayers are going any higher than that tree limb over there," I say, pointing to a tree in front of us.
"Well, what have you been praying for?"
I shrug. "I don't know. To survive. For this nightmare to end. To find my parents."
"Well, it seems like they haven't all gone unanswered," she says, smiling.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. You're still alive, right?"
"Yes, that's true. But it could just be luck, right?"
She rolls her eyes. "I doubt it."
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you still pray." Sadness and guilt shoot through my chest, and tears gather in my eyes, but I don't want to cry, so I change the subject. "So...how did your dad feel about you calling him by his first name?"
"Yeah, about that," she says, smiling. "Paul wasn't my real dad. Mama dated him the longest out of all her boyfriends. He just kinda took to taking care of me when she wasn't around. Even after they broke up. He always said, 'you break up with people, but you don't break up with kids'" she says in a deep voice.
"Okay, I did not see that coming. Where's your real dad?"
"Who knows?" She shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not even sure Mama knew who he was."
"Was your mom absent a lot?"
"Yeah, until she got cancer. After that, she had to...adjust her lifestyle."
I'm about to respond to that when Meredith and Daniel stop up ahead. I hear Daniel say, "What?" and Meredith answer, "Hang on a second."
"Let's go see what's happening," I say, glancing at Kelli.
She nods and we pick up the pace until we're standing beside Daniel and Meredith.
"...we need to leave the highway and take the feeder road toward Haney," Meredith says as we approach.
"Why?" Daniel asks.
"Haney is small in population. Means less Revs," she says by way of explanation.
"And Asheville?"
"I know the way to Asheville, Daniel. Going through Haney will get us there. Safely."
"Why are you just now mentioning it, then?" Daniel asks.
She rolls her eyes, and points to the exit ahead. "Because we just got to the exit for Haney."
Daniel turns to me and asks, "Are you okay with leaving the main road?"
"Are you sure you know the way?" I ask Meredith.
She nods.
"I'm okay, then," I say, looking at Daniel.
The exit to Haney leads us down a long stretch of road named Alpaca Honey. Alpaca Honey ends up being a long and boring three mile stretch of road that takes us to Upper Hound Road, where Meredith turns right; none of us argue, we just faithfully follow her down the new road. She seems to have an impeccable sense of direction. Each time I'm certain we're lost, we come across a sign pointing us toward Asheville; and each time, the distance is less than before.
Meredith seems to be good at a lot of things. There's a wisdom about her I hadn't noticed before...wisdom like abruptly suggesting we leave the main road for the roads less traveled to avoid unwanted attention. It seems to be working; we haven't seen a Rev in almost 6 hours, so I count it a success.
I wish I could be more like Meredith; strong, confident, self-reliant. She's ahead of us now, looking right, then left, constantly on the alert for trouble. She stops, and peers through the woods, as if something caught her attention. I catch up to her.
"What is it?" I whisper.
She shakes her head. "I thought I saw something, but it was nothing."
"Are you sure?"
She looks at me and winks. "Pretty sure. Come on, let's keep moving. Gonna be dark soon."
Daniel walks up behind us, and asks, "Everything okay?"
"Meredith thought she saw something in the woods."
"But, I was wrong," she adds quickly.
He looks at her for a moment, and she returns his stare without blinking, until he finally says, "Alright, let's keep moving, then. We need to find shelter before it gets dark."
"I agree. Let's go."
And with that, she turns and begins walking again.
"Come on. We can't stand here forever," Daniel says.
Kelli and I fall into line behind him.
An hour later, we come up behind a woman in the middle of the road. At first, I mistake her for a Rev by the way she's staggering, but upon closer inspection I see she's just dehydrated and disoriented.
We draw closer, trying to get her attention without startling her in the process.
Daniel calls out to her, saying, "Miss?"
She doesn't turn around, or give any indication she hears him at all. She just keeps shuffling along the road, seemingly oblivious to our presence. Daniel reaches out to touch her, and she collapses into his arms....too exhausted to take another step.
Meredith takes a quick look at her, then motions to Daniel, saying, "Pick her up. We need to get her in the shade, and give her some water."
He pauses, then gently lifts the woman and carries her to the edge of the woods while Kelli and I watch. I feel a tickle of fear at the base of my neck; we're completely exposed on this road.
"Chloe, get over here."
Meredith's voice cuts through my thoughts. I walk over and help Daniel ease the woman down onto the grass, while Meredith starts loosening the lid on her water bottle. "Here," she says softly, speaking directly to the woman. "Let's get some water in you, okay?"
The woman nods absently. I'm not sure she understands what Meredith is saying to her, but she allows her to lift the bottle to her lips. After a few sips of warm water, she throws it back up. Immediately after, she passes out, and Meredith lays her back onto the ground.
Meredith looks at Daniel. "We're going to hav
e to find shelter earlier than usual tonight. She's not well enough to travel."
He checks his watch then looks at me. "Chloe, can you stay here with her, while Meredith and I go scout out a place to stay tonight?"
Meredith and I both raise an eyebrow, each surprised he's leaving me behind and taking her instead. Daniel continues, oblivious to our reaction, saying, "Kelli, you keep an eye out for Revs while Chloe takes care of the woman."
I motion for Daniel and Meredith to go. "We'll be okay here, just hurry."
As they walk away, I look back at the woman. She's very pretty, if you ignore all the dirt and mud and the fact she doesn't appear to have bathed recently. I find myself wondering what nationality she is. American? Spanish? Her jet-black hair and bronze complexion makes me think it's the latter, but without asking her (and I can't), it's hard to tell. She doesn't look well, but for now, she's safe. I hope. I look around, making sure we're still alone. My heart continues pounding, like a rogue kick-drum.
"Hurry up, Daniel," I whisper to myself, and anyone else who might be listening or care.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Daniel
"Why me?"
I look at Meredith. "Why not you?"
She shrugs. "I don't know....you just always take Chloe. I figure you don't like her to be out of your sight for long."
She's right. I don't like Chloe being out of sight. A brief swell of panic rises up in my chest. What if I made the wrong choice? What if me being caught up in this game of questions with Meredith gets my sister killed? My hands are clammy, and my heart is pounding. I take a deep breath, and own my decision...however misguided it may have been. I can't change it now; we've walked too far. I try to push the worry down as far as I can, and say, "I needed Chloe to stay with the woman."
She nods. "Okay, fair enough."
We continue on in silence. I'll let her think it was because I trust Chloe more than her to keep the woman safe, but the truth is, I'm growing attached to Meredith. She's interesting. A real-life, walking, talking, mystery. Something I might actually be able to solve....unlike the mystery of the Revs. I doubt there's anyone still alive who could solve that problem.
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