Chapter 1
BETH
F our Years After Eruption
The silence came on quickly, after the chaos of civil unrest. It was as if the world was trying to heal itself from the inside out, and that mostly meant that sounds we grew up with were completely gone.
Which is why, when I hear the crunch of glass to my left, I know that something is very, very wrong.
Immediately, I clear the gun from my thigh holster and point it in the direction of the sound.
"Don't shoot," the man says as he comes out of the hollowed out shell of what once was a convenience store with two hands up.
My gaze is on him as I grip the butt of my gun. The tension between us is palpable as I train the barrel on him. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my palms are sweating, but my hand stays steady. “Who are you?”
Nervous energy gnaws at my gut as I wait for him to answer.
But the quiet, it just gets louder in my ears, buzzing the longer I look at him. Perhaps the loudest silence I’ve ever heard.
Which is saying something since I made it through the fall of our entire world, and there really isn’t anything left that would make the type of noise I grew up with.
Technology is obsolete, and most vehicles look like the rusted-out one parked next to a gas pump that no longer works.
He doesn't say anything, so I forge on.
"Are you armed?" I spread my legs, making my stance stronger. I'm proud of the way my voice doesn't wobble. In the aftermath of Eruption, I've become much stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually. It's what's gotten me through the worst times we've had.
He nods, lips clipped together. "I have weapons, but none I'm going to pull on you unless I have to."
His voice is tinged with an accent, one that sounds much like my own. I appreciate the fact that he's being honest, so I drop my gun, but don’t holster it. Instead, I adopt a semi-relaxed stance. "What are you doing sneaking around here?"
"Probably the same as you." He slowly puts his hands down and crosses his arms over his chest. It pulls the worn material tight over his chest, and I can’t help but notice that he has the type of muscles that come from years of working hard.
"Looking to see if there are any useful supplies.
Four years on, there isn't as much as there used to be. "
Truer words have never been spoken. He tilts his head to the side, and his long brown hair moves, revealing his face.
I’m surprised that he has a neatly trimmed beard.
It's then that I see his green eyes, and I inhale deeply.
Recognition hits me square in the gut. I knew this man sounded familiar.
If I'm not mistaken, I went to high school with him.
He was a Sheriff's Deputy in our town for the better part of five years before Eruption.
"Are you Knox?" I ask both as quietly and loudly as I dare.
His head snaps up. "Where are you from?"
"Used to be Bishop's Landing, near Owensboro."
Carefully, he picks his way through the wreckage and walks slowly toward me. When he gets closer, I can see that he's definitely Knox Brown. "You look familiar. How do I know you?" he questions.
It's a little bit of a blow to my ego that he doesn't remember me. Then again I’ve grown up a lot, and there’s an age gap between us.
I had the biggest crush on him when we were younger.
I'd been an eighth grader, and he'd been the star of the football team as a junior. The entire town had looked up to him, and I'm pretty sure everyone had a crush on him. Regardless of age or gender, everyone wanted Knox Brown. We’d had a few conversations, but this is just proof I didn’t leave that much of a lasting impression. "I'm Elizabeth Harper."
Recognition flashes across his face, and he relaxes his stance. "Wow, I remember you. You've definitely grown up," he says, almost as an afterthought.
I try not to be offended. "Yeah, it's crazy what a difference fifteen years makes."
His chuckle is a strange sound. It causes my chest to tighten but, at the same time, lightens the mood. I haven’t heard a semblance of a laugh in years. "True. Have you seen anyone else from Bishop's Landing?"
I shake my head. "No, not since I left around two years ago."
"Yeah." He reaches behind his head and scratches his neck. "I haven't been back in a while myself. Not since that gang of bikers took over most of the town. That wasn't for me, and I knew that everyone wanted me to try and get law and order back. I wasn't prepared to die because they didn't care."
He's right. It had been a rough time. No one wanted to step up after the first man who did, got killed for his trouble. "You were smart to do that. It was one of the scariest times since Eruption."
"Why did you stay after Eruption?” he asks, clearing his throat. This is probably one of the longest times he's spoken in the last few years.
"My parents were still there," I admit. Although they hadn't been the best parents, I wasn't prepared to let them go at what we all thought was the end of the world.
Not to mention, I hadn't wanted to be by myself.
When both of them had passed away, I'd had to make a decision on whether to stay or go.
"You may remember that I was a nurse before Eruption.
I took care of them for as long as I could. When they died, I left."
He nods, making a noise in the back of his throat. "That was probably the best idea for you."
We stare at one another, and there's a string of silence that stretches between us. Reaching up, I rub the lobe of my ear, at the earrings I wear. The ones I haven’t removed for longer than a cleaning since I was sixteen.
I’m not sure what to say, and I get the idea he feels the same.
I can't stand the silence any longer, so I speak.
Reaching down, I pick up the backpack I carry with me everywhere. "Well, it was good to see you."
"Where are you going?" His abrupt question makes my head jerk up.
"South," I tell him, shrugging. "I've heard there's a community near where Nashville was. My thought was to head down there and see what's happening..." My voice trails off. I wish I could tell what he was thinking, but he keeps his emotions closed behind the passive mask on his face.
"I've heard that too. I've been thinking about going down there myself."
There's a part of me that wants to ask him if he wants to travel together. I've hated being alone. Hell, it’s been three months since I’ve talked to another person.
Back before Eruption, I'd thought I'd known what loneliness was.
Little did I know that I'd figure it out very quickly once I was the last remaining member of my family.
"Well, be careful," I say awkwardly because I don't want to be the person who keeps us just standing here staring at one another.
With anyone else, I'd be hesitant to give them my back, but for some reason, I trust Knox.
As I'm walking away, I feel that same despair that's been eating at me for the last few months.
I've wanted someone to travel with, someone to discuss my decisions with, but Knox is the first person I've run into in the last three months.
It's weird, but tears spring to my eyes.
That little piece of normalcy immediately makes me miss the way it used to be and dread what my next few months will look like.
Looking down at the ground so that I don't make a misstep, I concentrate on one foot in front of the other. Until I hear it...
"Elizabeth! Beth!" he yells after me.
Turning around, I glance back at Knox. "Yeah?"
"I have a proposition for you."