Chloe is smiling. It's a nice change from the past few days; she didn't smile much while Erek and Wayne were gone. She’s probably been worried about the same thing I’ve been worried about...we didn't fully expect them to return. A minute later, the two men pull the truck into camp, and hop out of the cab.
"Bet you didn't 'spect to see us again," Wayne calls out with a wide grin.
Erek laughs. "They look like they've been planning our funeral, brother."
Chloe runs up and hugs first Wayne, then Erek. She smiles. "I'm so glad y'all are back. I was getting worried."
Erek reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small package, handing it to her. "Here, Princess. For you."
She takes the bag and opens it. She squeals with delight. "Real shampoo! And toothpaste!" she says, pulling a small tube of toothpaste out of the bag. She smiles at Erek, thanking him.
Erek waves off her gratitude, but I can tell he's just as happy at her reaction as I am. Happier, even.
After a quick round of handshakes, I nod toward the box truck parked beside the lean-to. "Where'd that come from?" I ask Erek.
He claps me on the back. "Let's save the stories for dinner. Wayne and I brought a gift."
Wayne nods and walks to the back of the truck. A moment later, he returns, a dead deer draped over his shoulders. "Got her a mile from camp the day we left out. Been letting her drain while we were in Asheville," he says, smiling. "We gonna be eatin' good tonight!"
We look at the deer, mouths watering. After living off canned food the past four days, a dead animal never looked so good.
* * *
Chloe
He's back.
And he thought enough of me to bring me shampoo, soap and toothpaste. I never thought those items could seem so romantic. We just finished eating the deer Wayne cooked. It was wonderful. Now, Daniel and I are sitting around the fire, waiting to hear about their trip.
The box truck.
Asheville.
Everything.
Daniel breaks the silence first. "So, we're dying to know what happened while y'all were gone."
Erek wipes his hands on his pants. "Well, it was interesting, I'll say that."
Wayne grunts in agreement.
"So first off, Asheville is a no-man's land," he says, then looks at me. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I wish I had better news."
My heart sinks. "How bad is it?" I finally ask.
He doesn't break eye contact with me. "I'm not gonna lie. It's bad."
I take a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Tell me everything."
He nods. "We went as far as the BIltmore exit. The roads are impassable. Not sure what the inner city looks like, but the spots we saw were saturated with Revs. At least a hundred or more limping up and down every one-mile stretch of highway. More than I ever thought I'd see."
"There was smoke in the distance," Wayne adds.
Erek nods again. "Looked like half the city was burning."
"Were you able to get to Marimount Avenue?" Daniel asks.
"We did."
My heart is racing. "Did you...find anything?"
Erek shakes his head. "Your parents weren't there. Looked like they hadn't been there for a while."
"We saw some suitcases in the kitchen, but that was it," Wayne adds.
"Could you tell if they had been hurt...before they left?" I ask, even though I'm terrified of the answer.
"Didn't look like it. But I did find this lying on the kitchen counter," Erek says, pulling a cell phone out of his back pocket.
I can tell it's my mom's phone by the purple case. Purple was her favorite color. Everything she bought came in some varying shade of the color. I reach out and take it from him with trembling hands. Holding it makes me feel close to her...and so far away...all at the same time.
"When I finally reached her on the telephone in May, it was on my Dad's cell," I tell the group. "I guess this explains why. She left her phone behind."
I look up to find Erek staring at me. He looks torn...like he wants to hold me, but also like he needs to deliver some terrible piece of news he knows might very well break my heart. A tear slips down my cheek. I quickly brush it away so I don't look weak in front of them. "Well, there's a chance they could still be alive. They could have escaped. Or they could have met up with a group of survivors like we did. Right?" I ask.
His expression tells me he doesn't believe that happened, but instead he says, "I guess anything is possible. But...."
"But what?"
"Chloe, I don't think it's in our best interests to try to find the shelter in Asheville. The chances of us surviving are slim to none. And that's outside the city limits. There's no telling what we'd be dealing with once we get closer to the shelter."
"But, you don't know that for certain," I point out.
"What do you need? Video proof? The city is trashed," Erek says.
I shake my head. "I can't give up. Not now. Not after coming this far. Daniel," I look at my brother, pleading with him to back me up. "They're our parents. We can't just leave them behind."
Daniel looks at me. His blue eyes harden; his mind made up. "We won't, Chloe. Even if we have to go alone," he says, looking at Erek.
Erek's jaw clenches angrily. "You can't be serious."
"I am,” Daniel says. “Listen, we can't expect y'all to risk your lives for us, but we're going to try to find our parents. We owe them that much. And that's always been the point of traveling west, anyway."
Erek spits a stream of tobacco into the dirt. "So let me see if I understand this. You're just gonna sneak into a city crawling with Revs, and then what? Rescue two people who've been dead since the beginning?"
"Erek!" I say, shocked he would say such a thing.
He looks at me. "What? You want me to lie to you? Tell you everything is gonna work out, and you and mommy and daddy all live happily ever after once you make it to Asheville!" he says angrily. He stands up. "I'm done! This is insane!"
And with that he stomps off to his tent.
"Well, that could have gone better," Wayne says, dryly.
"I'm serious, Wayne. We don't expect y'all to take on our burden," Daniel clarifies.
Wayne shrugs. "I got nowhere else to go. I'm in....for better or worse," he says, looking at me and Daniel.
I smile at him. Wayne is a good man. A loyal friend. But my heart aches, because as much as I want to believe Erek feels the same, I'm not convinced he won't abandon us to our fate.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chloe
"Are you okay?"
Erek looks at me, then turns his attention back to the cord in his hands. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be okay?"
I sit down beside him. "You seemed upset earlier," I say.
He stops fiddling with the cord and leans his head back. "Well, you know...you spend weeks trying to save someone's life, only to find out they're determined to get themselves killed." He shrugs. "Kinda frustrating."
I don't say anything, because what can I say? He’s only being honest.
"Why are you doing this, Chloe? You have to know they're dead," he says bluntly.
"But I don't know that, Erek. Not really. And neither do you."
"You're the most aggravating creature I've ever met. You know that?"
"Please don't be mad, Erek. I have to do this." I take a deep breath. "With or without your help," I add quickly, before I lose my nerve.
He rolls his eyes.
"So....will you help me?" I ask quietly.
He tosses the cord to the ground. "Look, I'll teach you everything I know about survival. But I ain't going back to Asheville." His grey eyes burn into mine. "There's nothing waiting there but death," he says.
I hold back the tears that so badly need to spill. I won't cry in front of him. If he doesn't want to help me look for my parents, that's his choice. I had hoped for something different, but this may be where our paths are destined to diverge.
He stands. "I was waiting for the right time to give this to
you," he says, pulling a small black book out of his bag. "I guess now's as good a time as any."
I take the book from him. It's a small bible...the kind they hand out at county fairs and fundraisers. It looks like my childhood and blame, bound together between two pieces of cheap leather. I look at Erek. "A Bible?" I say.
"Yeah. I found it lying on the seat of an abandoned car, just outside of Asheville." He zips his bag closed. "You know, Chloe...if you're determined to die, you might want to start looking for some of that faith you lost months ago."
Tears well up in my eyes. I look at the small book again. It suddenly feels like it weighs a hundred pounds. Or maybe that's my guilt I'm feeling. "I'll try to find it, Erek. Honestly, I will."
"Better do more than try, Princess," he says, and walks off, leaving me to wonder how we're going to do this without him.
It may be the thing that finally takes our lives.
* * *
Daniel
I'm thinking about Meredith.
Again.
With little else to do during the day, I can't stop my mind from circling back to her. Is she alright? Is she alive? I hope so. I don't want to imagine a world without Meredith. As much as I thought I hated her lies, I hate her absence more. Life without Meredith is dull and uninteresting. Not for the first time, I wish I had never asked her about that gun...but at the same time, I want to know what happened before we met her just as badly. Someone or something made her feel like the truth wasn't good enough. Or, maybe fear of punishment led her to believe she couldn't be honest about things she had done. Nevertheless, I want to know her story. Her full story. I want to be a part of that story. But this life isn't about getting what I want. It doesn't care that I want to win the affection of a girl with a sketchy past. It doesn't care that I want her to come back.
This life only knows how to take.
And I have very little left to give.
Epilogue
Chloe
September came and went.
Before I knew what happened, it was nearly the end of October, and the days were getting shorter, the nights colder. I've spent every possible second learning what I can from Erek. I still can't bring myself to kill a deer or squirrel, but I've learned how to safely trap, kill, and cook snakes and other small reptiles.
Progress, right?
I've also learned various survival hacks that might one day save my life. Erek is a patient teacher, even if he believes I'm destined to fail. And die. Still, he takes time every day to hammer his lessons into my "thick skull". His words, not mine. And although we’ve been training as usual, things are different between us now. He's distant and cold, and refuses to talk to me about anything other than survival.
I confided in Daniel about how Erek's indifference hurts my feelings. How it feels like he's always angry with me. Daniel says Erek is protecting himself because he's convinced we're already dead...maybe he's right, but it still hurts. The hardest part has been admitting to myself that I'm in love with a man I can't have. Not in this life. Not when I've decided to search for my parents at the expense of building a future with him.
Assuming he ever felt that way about me at all.
Wayne is just Wayne. He seems more at home in this life than I ever was in the old. He likes taking care of us; hunting during the day to feed his odd little family at night. Knowing he'll be by our side as we search for our parents makes me feel better, but knowing he might lose his life in the process cancels out any relief I might have felt.
Meredith is still missing; traveling alone, somewhere. I hope she's safe. Even though I don't understand her...her lies, or her past...I miss her. Daniel does, too. He doesn't say it out loud, but I know he does. Sometimes I catch him staring off into nothing, and I know he's thinking of her. Wondering about her. Whether he admits it or not, his heart is just as broken as mine.
The disease that set us on this path continues to rage, claiming more lives with each day that passes without a cure. We've noticed more and more Revs moving through the woods surrounding our camp. So much so, we've had to establish constant perimeter patrols, working in shifts to ensure nothing catches us by surprise. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. We've had three perimeter breaches in the past two weeks. Luckily, it's only been one or two Revs at a time; manageable. One day it won't be. One day, there'll be more than a few cold ones creeping across our borders. What will we do when that happens?
I don't know how I've managed to stay alive as long as I have, but I'm thankful. I often think about Mom and Dad, Scott, Jenna, and all the other people we knew and loved before everything collapsed into a modern-day horror movie. I also think about those who died too soon...Paul, Kelli, Lane, Billy and Janice.
I hope they're at peace.
I hope they're saving me a place.
Because sooner or later, we all join the dead.
Coming Soon!
The story continues with Remnants, Book 2 in the Revenants trilogy. Here’s a sneak peak!
Prologue
Meredith
I breathe deeply, drawing in the frigid morning air.
It burns my nostrils and throat, and everything else it touches as it travels through my body. My eyes sting from the cold. I need to find a hat and jacket, soon...maybe some gloves. A thicker pair of socks wouldn't be terrible, either. I miss the warmth of August only as long as it takes to remember how miserable the summer months were, and how much I hated being damp and chafed after a long day of walking. The cool temperature is just fine; it helps keep me awake during the seemingly endless September days, anyway. But it keeps me awake at night, too, which isn't ideal. Even with a fire burning, it's difficult to stay warm, which makes it difficult to stay asleep. I'm tired, but it's fine. I'll push through the fatigue. I can sleep when I'm dead. At the rate things are going, it might not be long before that happens.
I pause, allowing myself a few minutes of rest; only sixty seconds, maybe 120...just long enough to catch my breath...no harm, no foul. It's not like the Apocalypse is going anywhere.
But he might.
I can't allow too much distance between him and me. If I do, the decaying world might swallow his tracks, and I'll likely never find him again. I recall the feeling of despair when I lost him the first time...months ago. I had been following him through Holland County when his tracks suddenly disappeared, like they had evaporated into thin air. I couldn't find him anywhere, no matter how hard I tried, or where I looked. I had all but given up. After I lost sight of him on that old, narrow road in Wilco, I figured that was it. Game over. Without him, all hope was lost. So when Chloe and Daniel showed up in that dingy gas station and asked me to join them, I thought, why not?
What did I have to lose?
By the grace of God, I spotted him...finally...in Lowell. I just happened to look up, and poof! there he was, like the Lord placed him there just for me. I had no choice...I had to follow him. It was the only way to make things right. The only way to protect my friends. I had already lied to them so many times...what was one more act of deception? So, I left camp in the middle of the night, with tears in my eyes and a debilitating ache in my chest.
I didn't allow myself a backward glance.
I didn't deserve one.
I've been following him for three days now...wondering when he'll finally slip up and lead me to the place I so desperately need to find. I can't find it on my own. I was never given the location. It was always a secret...need to know, if you will. But he knows it. It's been burned into the very essence of who he was, and who he is, and who he will be.
And he will take me there.
Tracking him through these woods reminds me of the game I used to play in the house on cold, rainy days, when going outside wasn't an option. My father would hide...tucking himself away in some small space...then I would run up and down the hallways, in and out of rooms, giggling and yelling, "I'm going to find you, Daddy!" over and over again until my tiny voice was hoarse. Those were happier times...when
a simple game of hide and seek meant the world to a five year-old girl.
But, this game of hide and seek is different...deadlier.
I'm still reminiscing when I hear a quick rustle and the sound of a twig snapping in the forest. He's on the move again. Rest time is over. I grab my bag from the cold, hard earth and sling it over my shoulder. I wonder...again...how much farther I'll have to walk. How many more steps must I take before I see what salvation looks like...and if it's big or small, or altogether fabricated?
I have to believe I'll see it soon.
Acknowledgements
So many people contributed to the labor of love now known as Revenants. First and foremost, I give all the glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for equipping me with the imagination, ability, and just the right amount of crazy needed to dream up these stories.
Brinson...thank you, thank you, thank you. I could not have completed this project without your love, support, and patience. You were always willing to help with the kids when I was stuck on a chapter, or if I had a sudden burst of inspiration...and you only complained a little. I love you!
To my family: Mom; Jerica, Kari, Kendall and Rae; Billy and Sherry; Erek, Emily, Hunter and Mason.
Kendra...thank you so much for the beautiful cover, and for all your help and guidance along the way. I can’t believe this all started with a simple conversation in a hallway...just a pipe dream, we thought...but now it’s real! We are published authors!
Shaunda...thank you for being an awesome beta reader. The finished product is so much better because of your feedback.
Paula and Laura...my Amigas...you are both awesome and I love you!
Erek...thank you for letting me pick your brain about hunting, guns and tobacco.
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