Chapter 3
BETH
W e've been traveling slowly for a couple of hours at least, judging by the way the sun is now completely overhead. It's starting to get warmer. During the year following Eruption, it was freezing. I don’t remember being warm for those twelve months. I’d worn all the clothes I could, and stayed wrapped up in blankets.
The cold was bone-deep. It wasn’t just the despair of the world turning on us.
The sun had a hard time breaking through the soot and ash that had been thrown into the air. That first year was bleak, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever see signs of life again.
But as we go along the crumpled path that had once been a major interstate, there are a few dandelions making themselves known.
The weeds are growing through the cracks, and I can’t help but smile softly as I look at them.
It’s not like they’re taking over the pavement, but they’re strong enough to try and survive when so much else has died.
Part of me wants to stop and pick one, but another part of me is worried that if I do, I’ll stop the process of the earth renewing itself.
Knox slows to a complete stop, turning his head so that he can speak to me. "Want to stop for the night once we find a decent place? The sun's overhead now, but it'll go down fast, and I don't want to be out here in the open once it's nighttime."
There are gangs that roam at night. Big groups of people who have absolutely no morals. They’ve used the lawlessness and the fall of the world to excuse their bad behavior. So far I haven’t been approached by one of those gangs, because I haven’t put myself in the position to be.
It's how I've survived by myself for so long. I travel during the day, and then at night, I hunker down and make myself as invisible as possible. "Sounds good to me."
He nods and then turns back toward the road in front of us.
There are the remnants of small towns all along this route, so hopefully there will be a safe place for us to stay.
Slowly, we cautiously make our way through the overgrown weeds that have started to take root in the crumbling asphalt, and eventually, we come upon a very faded sign that's an exit marker.
It reads Beaver Dam. After all, nature will always take back what was once hers.
"Wanna try here? Dam makes me think there was an actual dam there, which means there's a possibility of it having been a bit of a tourist area and a body of water, which could mean there are some animals for food, even though it’s been a while since I’ve seen animals in the wild."
Immediately, I understand what he's trying to say.
If it was a tourist area, then before the fall of the world as we knew it, there were possible hotels, which means shelter.
"Let's do it. Who knows if it's been ransacked or not?
We never know until we try, right?" If there's one thing I've learned since this all went to shit, it's that I can't assume situations or answers.
"Right." A small smile spreads across his face.
That smile hits me right in the gut. As a teenager, he'd been cute in the way that you giggled with your friends about. When I'd watched him play football, I'd looked at the way his uniform pants would hug his thighs and ass. It had embarrassed me slightly because I was a young girl who didn't know what to do with her feelings. Then he'd grown up, and he’d been so fucking hot that he could’ve been on the covers of romance novels. Now? He was older, and although the corners of his eyes have wrinkles and a permanent brow crease from the tension of living life on constant alert, remarkably, his long hair and beard are still the same rich, dark color they were when I fantasized about running my fingers through them. Somehow, he was hotter now than he’d been back then, and that smile? It causes an ache between my thighs I haven’t felt in way too long. Clearing my throat, I shake off my inappropriate thoughts. “Let’s go and see what we can find.”
He nods resolutely and brings his feet off the ground. We quietly accelerate to the left, taking the exit that drives down into a lower-lying area off the interstate. I’m aware of everything surrounding us as we make our way into what was the main street of town.
Unlike the bigger cities that were ravaged by looters directly after Eruption, this small town looks like it might have escaped the worst of it.
There are still buildings standing, and some even have cars parked out in front of them, like they’re waiting for the people who own them to come back.
It hits me deep in the chest that although the world isn’t what it used to be, it’s positioned for us to take back our place, if only we’d do it.
“How far do you want to go?” he raises his voice so he can be heard over the motorcycle.
"As far as we can. Who knows what we might find?
" If I weren't with him, I wouldn't be as willing to explore.
Typically, I'm more focused on keeping myself safe, and although I've only been with him for the last few hours, I'm aware that I've let portions of my guard down.
I'm looking around and taking everything in with a different gaze than I have for the last few years.
What would've caused me to cringe a few hours ago now looks intriguing.
"What about over there?" I point to what looks like it was a small country store.
"This place is weird," he muses. "It looks like time forgot it, and so did the panic before Eruption. Almost like there was a zombie apocalypse, but it was nice and orderly."
"Maybe people left because they were afraid of what was coming, and since this appears to be such a small town, people probably assumed there was nothing here."
We pull up to the side of the store, and Knox turns off the motorcycle. We glance at each other, and I'm reminded of the first time I saw him up close. He's still got the deepest green eyes I've ever seen. "You good?" The side of his mouth tips up in amusement.
"Yeah, I'm good. How do we want to do this?" I’ve been making decisions on my own, so it feels weird to ask how he wants to handle this, almost as if I’m asking for permission.
"Stay close to me. We'll go in together. I don't want you out here by yourself. That makes both of us vulnerable."
I nod in complete agreement. "I'm ready whenever you are."
He grabs his gun from his holster and holds it steady, trained in front of us.
Carefully, he presses the door open and enters the building.
As I watch him, I realize he does this like a member of law enforcement.
I guess some things never go away once they're taught. “If you’re inside, make yourself known.”
The deep timbre and commanding tone of his voice cause a visceral reaction in my body. The hair stands up on my arms, and my nipples take notice against the worn material of my bra. But I do my best to keep my attention where it needs to be, and that’s on Knox.
“Make yourself known, or I will shoot to kill,” he says, the words harsher this time.
We stay still for what feels like forever. Then we look at each other and start to relax in small increments. His shoulders drop from his ears, and the tension between us dissipates. “You think we’re good?” My voice is breathless as I whisper.
His eyes land on mine. “Yeah, I think we’re good. Let’s see what we can find.” He rounds the corner and then looks back at me, his eyes wide with surprise. “We hit the goddamn mother lode.”
Pushing him back with my arm across his stomach, I get a look at what he’s talking about, and my mouth widens. “We sure as fuck did.”
Glancing around at our loot an hour later, I wonder how we’ll transport everything we’ve found. This place is a fucking treasure trove. We found food that we can’t afford to leave, and medical supplies, along with medication.
Medication might as well be gold these days.
We even managed to find pain medication, which is unheard of and makes me scared to transport.
My stomach is uneasy as I think about the fact that people would gladly hurt us to get their hands on these pill bottles.
This will one thousand percent make us a target if anyone gets wind of what we’re carrying before we get to Nashville.
But I know if we leave it, we’ll never find it again.
We look at one another, and that’s when he claps his hands. “We’ve got to find other transportation. That’s all there is to it.”
I pull my bottom lip in between my teeth. “But I don’t want to ditch the motorcycle. It’s easier to navigate.”
“It is, but like you said, we absolutely can’t leave all of this.”
My stomach is nervous as fuck as I take in what we’ve gathered. I watch as he goes to work hiding everything, and then he looks at me.
“Let’s go search around this town and see what we can find.”
And I realize, as I go without question, just how easy it is for me to trust him.