Chapter Two
Isat at my parents” kitchen table, home for weekly dinner, my mom inviting me over after a long day at the hospital. I had just recently started my new nursing job in the emergency department and so far, I loved it.
“I’m so proud of you, Alessia. But you look so tired,” Mom cooed as she rummaged around the kitchen, prepping sides for the meal.
Tipping back on the island stool, I smiled. “That’s to be expected, Mom. I signed up for this.”
Mom shook her head as if to argue, but said nothing. Instead, she turned toward the backyard, calling for my dad and two brothers to come inside for dinner.
I waited for the telltale sound of footsteps pounding against the wood floors, but they never came. Instead, a gunshot echoed throughout our home. And then an earth-shattering scream bled from Mom’s lips, a sound that would be imprinted on my soul for the rest of my life.
Terror coursing through my veins, I turned my head toward the yard, my dad’s lifeless body bleeding out onto the concrete patio. My brothers both stood still, wide eyes claiming their entire faces.
“Run! Get out of here!” Mom screeched, her shock wearing off as her gaze bounced between her three children.
Her words were urgent, but my body was frozen. My dad was dead. Someone had shot him. Were they going to shoot the rest of us?
Cold hands gripped my arms, Mom’s chocolate eyes spearing me, her mouth moving, but I didn’t hear a word she said.
Pulling me up by the arm and dragging me through the house, she pushed me out the front door, continuing to shove until I was on our driveway, chaos surrounding me. People were running out of their homes, barefoot and shouting, large flames licking at various houses and the endless woods behind them. What looked like an army littered the streets, armed men and women storming through our small town.
“Run, Alessia!” My mom shouted one last time and finally, in control of my body, I took off.
Even in my haze, I knew the streets weren’t safe, and I ran toward the woods, hoping to blend in with the trees. The heat of the fires surrounded me, the blaze helping me ignore the cold Montana air whipping against my bare arms.
I ran for hours, tears streaming down my face. For days, I continued to run, the noises of death and disarray fading the further into the forest I went. I only took breaks to sleep, my energy waning as each day came and I had no food.
Although I could see the tower of flames in the distance, the warmth had faded, and the March weather took effect deep in the forest, away from the sunlight. My lips were cracked, my body frigid, and my stomach cramping. And worst of all, I was lost and alone.
On day five, when my body’s self-preservation prevented me from moving any further, I figured I was going to die out here. And then two men approached me, frowns on their faces as they took me in.
My eyes were blurry, but my body jostled as one of them lifted me, holding me close to his chest as he walked. I must have passed out on our walk because the next thing I remembered was an older woman forcing me to drink water and wrapping me in a large sweatshirt.
The forest around me was burned, charred debris littering the ground, but I didn’t mind. Letting my eyes flutter closed once again, all I could think about was that my family had never followed me and what that meant.
The early morning sun was just peeking above the horizon, the forest silent. My body ached from laying on the ground and my heart throbbed from the painful memory that appeared nightly in my dreams for the past three months.
Peeling my eyes open, exhaustion settled deep in my bones. All I wanted was to sleep for more than a few hours, but that wasn’t possible out here. We woke with the sun, the bright glare waking even the deepest sleeper.
Not that many of us were sleeping throughout the night. If it wasn’t the nightmares, it was the eerie sounds of the forest. Every snap of a twig had my eyes popping open. Every rustle of the trees sent a shiver up my spine. The worst part was I didn’t know what I was more afraid of. The wild animals roaming undetected through the shadows of the trees or the idea that they would find our camp and we’d meet the same fate as my dad.
None of us spoke about what we had seen before we made it to the woods. I didn’t know if anyone else had family die before their eyes or if they were forced into the trees by the endless fires. And I wasn’t going to be the first one to ask.
Sitting up, I stretched out my limbs, trying to ease some of the tightness in my muscles. My eyes scanned our clearing, but akin to yesterday, almost everyone was gone besides Elizabeth and her kids.
The two of them were still sleeping and a pit formed in my stomach as I realized I was being treated the same as a child. Everyone else was already up for the day, doing who knows what, while I slept.
“Do you need any help?” I kneeled beside Elizabeth, watching as she roasted some deer meat over the embers of the fire.
“That’s alright. I’m just trying to get some food for everyone when they return. A few went fishing and the rest went to try to pick up a radio signal.” Elizabeth smiled warmly at me, but there was a tightness in her gaze.
I briefly wondered if she also felt that she was taking care of a third child. Shaking my head at the thought, I stood back up, pacing back and forth. I debated going to the creek where we washed dishes, bathed, and fished, but I knew nothing about fishing.
However, I knew I couldn’t sit around camp any longer. I had been sitting on my ass for three months, fiddling my thumbs while everyone worked hard to take care of us. With a quick goodbye over my shoulder, I headed off into the woods, trying to think of the path I had seen the others take before.
Phone reception had gone quickly, apparently only a few days after the first attack, not that many of us even had our phones on us. However, apparently the radios were still transmitting messages. Every few days, Murphy would take off to the nearest tower, trying to get a signal and some information on what was happening.
Heading toward the right of the clearing, remembering Mina saying that they took a trail along the creek, I jogged slightly, hoping to catch up. I didn’t want to be caught alone in the woods; I had spent enough time those first five days after I ran from home.
After what felt like a few miles, my legs were aching, not used to the exercise, but I heard quiet voices ahead of me. Picking up my pace once again, I finally spotted Mina’s vibrant red hair. Sasha stood at her right side, her dark skin contrasting Mina’s pale freckles. Murphy stood to Mina’s left, his height towering over both of them.
A breath of relief left me when I didn’t spot Rainer, realizing he was probably fishing with Emmanuel. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with his biting words, not that I ever was.
Twigs snapped under my feet as I approached them, drawing their attention. Murphy spun toward me, reaching for the gun at his hip instinctually. He and Rainer never left camp without them. I was always curious how they happened to have guns on them when everything happened, but I never asked.
When Murphy realized it was me, his shoulders relaxed and he sent a brilliant smile my way. Mina and Sasha also smiled, although I could see the confusion in all their eyes. This was the first time I had ever gone out of my way to leave the camp. It was shocking that they didn’t all resent my presence.
“Is something wrong with Elizabeth and the kids?” Murphy asked when I reached them and my shoulders slumped.
Some days I could convince myself I was berating myself too much, that we were all in a rough spot and I was allowed to fall apart. But this was a stark reminder that I wasn’t being hard enough.
“I thought I could tag along.”
I held my breath as I waited for a response, wondering if they were going to tell me to turn around, but thankfully, they all agreed.
Sasha and Murphy walked ahead, Mina falling back by my side. Giving me a shy smile, she didn’t say anything, but I wasn’t surprised. She was quieter than the others, allowing the strong personalities to lead.
We walked for a few more hours; the sun rising above the tree line before we finally reached the radio tower. Murphy slung his bag off his shoulders, grabbing the radio out of the bag that they had stolen during one of their runs into town.
Walking toward the tower, he opened a box filled with buttons and wires that I would never be smart enough to understand. Connecting a few of the wires to the radio, he fiddled with the knob.
We all waited with bated breath, hoping to hear something, but only hazy frequencies bounced back at us. We stood there for close to another hour, Murphy messing with the radio, but no voices ever came.
Disappointment traveled through me, but the others didn’t seem bothered, as if this was what they expected. I guess it was, if they had heard anything by now, I was sure we wouldn’t still be living in the middle of the woods.
“Let’s head back to camp. We don’t want to have to find our way in the dark.” Murphy stuffed the radio back into his bag and took the lead once again, the rest of us following.
“Has he ever heard anything?” I whispered to Mina about an hour into the hike back, trying to keep my voice low so the others wouldn’t hear.
“Once. The first time he came here after we got the radio. But it was just a bunch of coordinates. And that was two months ago.”
Frowning, I considered her words. And I wondered if anyone else had come to the conclusion that we weren’t going to hear anything else. That maybe we truly would be stuck out here until the food ran out and winter arrived. Once that happened, we couldn’t survive here much longer. And if I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t sure how much longer I even wanted to.