Chapter Twenty-Two
Tyler
E lise has been passed from Kellen to Wayne to Aaron and then back to Kellen as we continue our long, cold-ass walk. I’m not sure how far we’ve traveled, but it feels like hours. Aside from Elise’s pained moans when she comes in and out of consciousness, everyone is eerily quiet.
The wind is relentless, gaining strength and dropping in temperature by the minute. My eyes won’t stop watering and I don’t know if it’s from the chilly air, pure exhaustion, or the absolute despondency of our situation. Hell, maybe it’s a little of all three.
When I hear the sound of something other than wind, I stumble to a stop and whip around to listen.
A vehicle engine.
It’s the only inorganic sound right now and sorely sticks out.
“I hear a car,” I belt out, earning a ripple of gasps of shock. “Holy shit. Maybe we can get the hell out of here.”
The sound continues to grow in volume. Everyone has stopped at this point, blocking the road and waiting to flag them down. Whoever they are, we’ll make them stop through whatever means necessary because Elise’s life is at stake. Kellen hands Elise over to Wayne while we all ready our weapons just in case they’re bad people. Headlights come into view around the bend and I shield my eyes against it. After having been in such absolute darkness now that the clouds are so thick, it’s blinding to see light.
“Are they slowing down?” Dan asks from behind me.
When they’re a hundred yards away, we all start yelling and waving frantically. The small sedan begins to slow down as though they might stop. Then, without warning, the driver cuts the wheel hard to the right and takes the basic car off-roading. Metal against rocky terrain screeches as the car flies over the rugged ground. Sparks glint out from beneath the vehicle, but whatever damage it may have received goes ignored. As soon as the car is past us, it veers back onto the road, accelerates, and barrels off into the night, the taillights disappearing around the next bend.
“Fucking assholes!” Kyle roars.
Defeat weighs down the entire group as we collectively understand no one is going to help us. Ever since we left that boat, it’s been every group for themselves. We were naive to think this would go differently.
Elise moans hoarsely, sending a quiver of fear down my spine. If we don’t get her help soon, she’ll develop an infection and die. Her fate is in our hands.
We’ve lost so many.
We can’t lose anyone else.
“Look! Tenaya Lake is in a quarter of a mile,” Jesse calls out. “I hope they have vending machines and cabins.”
Everyone picks up their speed now that there’s an end in sight for the night. Boots slapping pavement and huffing is a soothing cacophony working wonders to keep my mind clear. I’m holding onto hope that there’s more than vending machines and cabins. Maybe there’s a park ranger or nice people. Would an abandoned ambulance with the keys sitting on the dash be too much to ask for?
I find myself trotting past Kellen and the rest of the group, eager to see what’s at this lake. When I round the turn, I discover a parking lot and not much else aside from a few scattered picnic tables nearby. There’s a tiny restroom building with probably one toilet inside and a single car sitting in the lot.
In the darkness, I see two figures moving.
It’s the people who hauled ass past us.
“Hey!” I call out, running toward them. “We need help!”
As I near and swing my flashlight over their forms, I discover two women around my age, both terrified and crying.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I say as I come to a stop twenty feet away from them. “Someone in our group is badly injured. We need to get her medical attention immediately.”
The taller brunette scowls and angrily points at the tire. “Because of you people standing in the road, we got a flat tire!” Her lip trembles until she bites down on it. “Leave us alone.”
Kyle and Jesse show up next, halting next to me.
“Listen,” I say, voice calm. “I’m sure we can help each other. Maybe we can exchange fixing the tire for taking our friend to the nearest hospital.”
The short blonde crosses her arms over her chest and frowns at me. “Hospital? Have you listened to the news lately? Everything is in chaos.”
“We’ve been outrunning disaster after disaster for days now, so excuse us if we’ve missed the evening news,” Jesse deadpans, irritation in his tone.
I elbow him and shoot him a sour look. Being assholes won’t get us far.
“What do you mean?” I ask, gaze darting back and forth between the two girls. I realize they’re both shivering and severely underdressed for this weather in just their hoodies and pajama pants. “We have extra coats. Want to trade for information?”
The rest of our group approaches quietly behind us. The two girls take in our ragtag group and seem to calm a bit when they don’t sense an immediate threat. Having more women, a child, and a dog helps too.
“Coats for info,” the brunette snaps. “I’m Mallory and this is my college roommate Katie.”
I motion for Dan to hand me one of the extra coats we brought with us and then pull another one off the loop of my backpack. We’d held on to the extras in case we needed them for warmth. Once I have both the coats, I hand them over to Mallory. She and Katie quickly pull them on, zip them up, and don the hoods before revealing any information.
“My dad told us to stay in our dorm rooms. That it would be safe,” Mallory says, sniffling. “But then there were earthquakes. Bad ones. We barely made it off campus with the clothes on our backs.”
“Where are you headed?” I ask. “Are there any FEMA camps anywhere? The military?”
“Our phones stopped working,” Katie says. “So other than what we could hear on one local station on the radio, we’re not sure.”
“What did the radio station say?” Kellen asks.
“That we’re fucked,” Mallory bites out bitterly. “The whole world is crumbling and going to hell. Granny may’ve been a moonie, but she was right, God bless her soul.”
I bristle at the mention of a fellow moon maniac. Whenever I think of those crazies, I can’t help but get sucked into thoughts of my parents. Now is certainly not the time to think about them.
“Can you elaborate?” Kellen questions with impressive patience.
“Texas and Ohio are gone,” Katie croaks out. “Both the entire eastern and western seaboards are gone. They said all of Europe and South America are gone.”
“What do you mean gone?” I ask, glancing over at Kellen, whose features have tightened as though he’s in pain.
“Sunk into the earth, underwater, or a blazing inferno,” Mallory says. “That’s why we’re trying to hurry to Oklahoma where we’re from. It might be safe.”
Might.
“Where is the station broadcasting from?” Dan asks.
“Stove Pipe Wells,” Mallory replies. “It’s a tiny blip on the map from what we can see, but the man on the radio said they have shelter, medical personnel, and food. We figured we’d stop on our way to Oklahoma. Neither of us has eaten all day or even slept, for that matter.”
Kellen slowly approaches. Both girls eye him warily but don’t move away. “Let us change the tire. You can rest and eat with us and then can we please send our friend Elise with you? She’s been burned and in agony. The rest of us can catch up to you at Stove Pipe Wells, but in the meantime, she’ll have access to the medical staff.”
The two girls exchange a look and then Mallory speaks. “Okay, we’ll take your friend.”
I let out a breath of relief. Kellen shoots me a small smile before he waves Wayne over. Kellen takes Elise from Wayne, who then offers to change the tire.
“Let’s set up camp,” Kellen says to our group. “Start a fire and get some food in our bellies. The sooner we can all crash, the sooner we can then get Elise some help.”
Everyone snaps into action while Wayne tends to the car. Once Hope and Aaron manage to erect one of the tents, we get Elise settled inside. Kellen tries to make a fire after we’ve gathered enough sticks and kindling. As soon as the first flame flickers to life, I feel a thousand times better already. Minutes later, it’s roaring and everyone, including the newcomers, are standing as close as possible to the much-needed heat.
Judy and Hailey share some of the food from their backpacks with the girls while I set to putting up the tent I plan on sharing with Kellen. I’d meant it that I wanted to snuggle with him to stay warm. But now that the worst feels as though it’s behind us, I’m curious if he’d do more.
The chemistry between us, though completely inconvenient, is palpable. Having a night of privacy in our own tent sounds like bliss to me.
I don’t stick around to find out where everyone else is bedding down for the night, instead choosing to follow Kellen into the tent. It’s illuminated by the fire outside, so there’s no need for using the battery-operated lantern or flashlights. We share a quick dinner of pistachios, protein bars, and bottled water. He’s somber and quiet despite the excitement of having a ride for Elise.
“Everything okay?” I ask as I pull off one of my boots.
Kellen grunts. “My brother and dad are in Texas, you know? I don’t know their fate. Did they make it out alive? Are they looking for me?” His voice cracks at the end. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be a buzzkill.”
I wait until he stretches out on the open bedroll and then ease down next to him. He pulls the bed covering over both of us and zips it up to bundle us inside.
“You’re not being a buzzkill,” I tell him once I’m no longer shivering and inhaling his musky masculine scent that he’d been embarrassed about just yesterday. “You’re worried about your family. I get it.”
He sighs heavily. “I’m not on the best terms with my brother and refuse to speak to my father, but…”
“But you still love them.”
“Yeah. I do.”
I splay my palm over his chest. He covers it with his own hand, squeezing it.
“You know,” I say with a smile, “if they’re anything like you, they made it safely out of there. Apparently, being a badass runs in the family.”
“Hmph.”
“What? You are a badass. We wouldn’t be here without you.”
He groans. “You have it backward, man. It’s because of you we’ve made it this far.”
“Agree to disagree.”
His hand slips off mine and then finds my chin. He tilts my head up until our noses touch. With a gentle swipe of his thumb over my bottom lip, he silently asks for what he wants.
A kiss.
Hell yeah.
I part my lips and lean into him. He meets me the rest of the way, pressing his full lips to mine. The kiss is a soft peck at first, but then as though we’re both ravenous for the other, our tongues immediately go to war, thrashing and lashing. Kellen’s palm slides to my hair and he threads his fingers in the strands before pulling me closer to him. A pulse of desire shoots through me, emboldening me to take this a step further. I slide my leg over his hips and then straddle him.
Our kiss takes on a more frantic energy as we both paw at each other wherever we can get our hands. I want to memorize every hard plane of his body, every curve of his muscles, every prickly piece of stubble on his jaw. His hands grip my hips and he uses my body to grind against him.
Holy fuck.
I needed this.
I needed five minutes to forget everything around me and take a moment of pleasure.
Heat burns like lava through my veins, chasing away the rest of my chills. I shamelessly hump this man.
“Kell,” I rasp out, attempting to keep my sounds of pleasure from carrying to everyone in the camp. “Fuck, this feels so good.”
He agrees with a growl and nips at my bottom lip. “So good.”
My orgasm drops like a bomb and then sends shockwaves of ecstasy rumbling powerfully through my every nerve ending. I don’t even care that I’m making a mess of my only pair of boxers. The ragged sounds of Kellen losing it too are worth it.
“One of these days, I’m going to get a shower,” he grumbles. “I swear I’ve been dirty the entire time I’ve known you.”
I smirk against his lips. “You smelled good for like five minutes there in the beginning.”
“Just for that, you get to deal with the cleanup, smart-ass.” He unzips the bedroll and lifts a brow at me. “Now. Your tip is dwindling.”
Chuckling, I leave the warmth of our bed to hunt down my backpack. I find a package of wet wipes and then hand him a couple. It’s awkward to clean up our individual messes and make eye contact, so we grow quiet to do our best. We’re just zipping our pants back up when Elise starts wailing.
I scramble over to the tent opening and unzip it to peek out. Aaron stands by the fire with Dan, talking lowly while staring at Elise’s tent.
“There’s nothing we can do right now,” Kellen says with a sad sigh. “I feel hopeless.”
I zip the tent back up and move into my spot next to him. This time when we cuddle, our dicks don’t act up.
“Wanna play another round of tic-tac-toe?” I ask with a yawn so big my jaw pops, unable to actually keep my eyes open.
He manages a soft, “Mmhmm,” but makes no move to grab for a pen. Lazily, he draws an X on my arm with his fingertip. It sends tendrils of contentedness dancing through me.
Despite the increasing intensity of Elise’s pained moans, we both immediately fall asleep.
I wake to shouts. At first, I think it’s in my dreams, but when Kellen nudges me, I snap fully awake. What the hell?
Both me and Kellen hurry to throw on our shoes and coats before slipping out of the tent.
“Stop!” Hope screams from the parking lot. “What is wrong with you people?”
Aaron reaches her seconds before we do. “What happened? Hope, talk to me. Are you okay?”
She buries her face in her hands, letting out a pitiful cry. Hope is always tough and resilient. It’s alarming to see her so broken. Aaron pulls her to his chest, hugging her to him. With a deep breath, she swipes the tears off her cheeks and tugs out of his grasp to point at the road.
“They’re gone.”
“They already took Elise?” I ask, confusion in my tone.
“No,” Hope hisses. “They left her but took that prick with them.”
“Kyle?” Kellen asks. “Why would they do that?”
“I caught the tail end of it, but he convinced them she was going to die anyway. Offered them protection all the way to Oklahoma if they abandoned us.” Hope curses viciously and then squeezes her eyes shut as though to calm herself. “By the time I threw on my boots and went after them, they were already in the car, leaving.”
“Unbelievable,” Aaron hisses. “Un-fucking-believable.”
Dan and Wayne emerge from their tents, yawning and scanning our makeshift campground as if to see what the fuss is about. I decide to let them explain it. I’m going to need to assess Elise’s hands since it looks like we have a longer journey ahead of us than expected. After quickly grabbing my kit, I slip into the tent she shared with Aaron and Hope.
God, it smells awful.
Like burned human flesh and piss.
I unzip her bedroll where she’s been tucked inside and note that she’s indeed pissed herself. The skin on her face burns hot, which could be that she’s already brimming with infection or gone septic or whatever the hell happens when you burn your hands to bones without proper medical treatment after or any sort of pain relief.
“Fuck,” I bite out. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.”
Kyle was right. She’s going to die anyway. Not that we couldn’t have tried, but it’s inevitable. The world’s gone to shit, there’s no help anywhere, and she’s mortally injured. I pull on some rubber gloves and then start unwrapping the gauze on her hands. A putrid scent meets my nose and I barely hold back a gag.
She’s stopped crying or making pained sounds. In fact, she barely flinches when I expose one of her hands—or what’s left of it—to the air. It’s horrifying. A skeleton hand covered in bloody goo that stinks of rot and infection. The other hand must look just as bad. Rather than using up more supplies, I gently rewrap her hand and rest it on her stomach.
“We need to put her out of her misery,” Jesse whispers from the tent opening. “She’s too fucked up, Ty.”
I peel off the gloves and scramble out of the tent past him. Kellen stops me, pulling me into a fierce hug.
“She bad?” he asks, voice resigned.
I nod, unable to keep the tears from welling. Even though I’m no doctor, I felt responsible for her care. I’m helpless to do anything for her. My shoulders quake as I try to contain a sob. Kellen’s palms rub up and down my back, soothing me some but not completely.
“I’ll do it,” Jesse says to someone. “Give me a gun.”
Me and Aaron both growl out a, “No,” at the same time Dan says, “I’ll do it, son.”
Kellen releases me and I turn to Dan. He stares at the tent, frowning hard. Last week, he was a dentist. This week, he’s going to euthanize a young woman because it’s the humane thing to do. Funny how much everyone’s lives have changed in such a short period of time.
“Pack everything up and get ready to go,” Dan rasps out. “Once it’s done, none of us are going to want to stick around.”
Everyone takes their turns at the bathroom while we pack up our supplies and tents. It’s decided that we’ll leave the tent Elise is in and take the one Kyle abandoned in his haste to escape. Finally, as the gray dawn dimly illuminates the skies above us, it’s time for Dan to do the job he volunteered for.
“Take my family and go,” he chokes out to Jesse. “I’ll catch up to you all.”
The group hesitantly begins walking away. When it’s only me, Kellen, and Dan left, I nod at Dan, who disappears inside the tent. I can hear him whispering an apology. Then a sudden bang pierces the air, making me and Kellen both jolt.
She’s dead.
Elise, who hours ago was vibrant, alive, and healthy, is now gone.
Seconds later, Dan staggers out of the tent and barely makes it out before he’s puking all over his boots. Kellen approaches him, hands him a bottle of water, and then gives him a firm clutch of his shoulder—a silent offer of support.
No more words are needed.
Today really fucking sucks and it’s barely just begun.