Waves of Fury (Surviving Earth Chronicles)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Tyler

I wake to someone shaking me. Aaron is squatted beside me with the map. Dim light shines in through the few windows of the rest stop. We made it to morning.

Well, some of us did.

Gerry’s gone. This new life of ours just takes and takes and takes. It’s maddening and miserable. If I didn’t have my family and Kellen with me to endure this hell, I’d have given up long ago.

“We have to go to Vegas,” Aaron says with a sigh. “It’s the most populated city closest to us. There’s a significant chance we’ll find aid there.”

“Or more assholes,” Kellen grumbles. “Our luck with people is shitty at best.”

He’s not lying.

“What if it’s more of the same?” I ask my brother. “What if we have power-hungry militias just waiting for the vulnerable and unsuspecting?”

“We have to take the chance,” Aaron states firmly. “Hope agrees.”

I roll my eyes. When Aaron is getting laid, it’s amazing how much the woman sharing his bed influences him. Admittedly, Hope’s a good one. A helluva lot better than any other woman Aaron has stuck his dick into.

“And if Vegas is a bust?” I ask with a yawn so wide my jaw pops. “Then what? We can’t run forever.”

Kellen is silent for a beat and then stiffens. “Any word on Kansas?”

Aaron lifts an eyebrow at him. “Kansas? That’s halfway across the damn country.”

Kellen raises a palm but now nods vigorously as an idea takes root. A spark of anticipation races down my spine.

“I was thinking last night while everyone slept. Sure, we’ve heard no news, but I have family there. Ransom, specifically.” Kellen drags the map out of Aaron’s grasp and slides a finger from Vegas on a route northwest to the Utah border. “We head up this way toward Denver—another big city that might have survived.”

Without seeing a map of Utah or Colorado for that matter, I’m confused on how he knows all this.

“Someone should brush up on their basic US geography,” Kellen says with a smirk. “Trust me. I can get us there. And we’ll raid convenience stores or rest stops along the way for an Atlas.”

“Family in Kansas?” I say slowly. “Would they be welcoming to our group?”

“It’s my uncle,” Kellen rushes out. “Not a dick like my dad. And if there’s any hope my brother and father survived all the shit going on in Texas, it’s likely they’ll head that way too.” He practically thrums with excitement now. “My uncle’s a prepper. He’ll have stocks of food, water, supplies. Plus, we’ll have shelter and a place to finally rest.”

“What if Kansas is gone?” Aaron asks in a solemn tone.

Kellen flinches and sighs. “Then there’s always plan B.”

He shifts his gaze to the rifle sitting next to him. Suicide? Yeah, I’m not a fan of plan B.

“We’ll find them there,” I assure them both. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

The part of Nevada we’re traveling through is remote, scarce of people and resources, and now, because of the weather phenomenon, cold as fuck. We’re on day two of traveling with too many people crammed into one vehicle and it sucks. It really sucks.

But hey, no one’s died since we left the rest stop, so there’s that.

We are, however, dangerously low on water and food.

When it starts to snow, I’m about to lose my shit.

“We’ll reach the outskirts of Vegas by nightfall,” Kellen says, grasping for my hand. “Hang in there.”

Our group has fallen silent in the car aside from Kellen’s encouragement. This morning, after we said a few words for Gerry, we took a few hours to take stock of our supplies and check on the vehicle. While the SUV sustained damage, it’s nothing to keep us from driving it until it runs out of gas.

That’s our biggest problem at the moment.

Vegas is about a two to three hour “normal” drive from our location according to Kellen’s understanding of the mileage we need to cover. However, we’re running low on gas and without any way to siphon any fuel from an abandoned vehicle should we run into one, we’re basically screwed.

We’ll be back to hiking in no time.

The SUV starts to sputter and slightly jerk. Jesse curses and Wayne groans. It’s time. He coasts as long as he can until the vehicle slows to a stop. We’re out of gas. Officially.

“Let’s take a quick moment to eat and relieve ourselves,” Kellen says to the group. “Then we’ll continue on foot. We should start seeing signs of civilization soon.”

A statement that should bring hope brings dread instead.

No one voices it and we all do as instructed, munching on our meager rations that do nothing to quell the loud protests of our empty bellies. Normally, I could subsist on junk food for days without any real nutrients. However, out here where every minute is one of survival, I’m burning through the few calories I manage to ingest, which is leaving me lightheaded and weak. I know everyone else feels the same.

As we all do our business in the frigid cold air, snowflakes dotting our hair and faces, I silently dread the road ahead. We have no idea what to expect, which has everyone anxious and on edge.

“So, um, guys,” Dan says slowly, voice gruff. “Judy’s ankle is flared back up after the run last night. I rewrapped it for her, but she’s in pain.”

I glance over at Judy’s pinched face and notice she’s keeping her weight off her injured ankle.

“I have some pain relievers in my pack,” I offer, starting to pull my bag off my back.

Judy waves me off, shaking her head. “No. We all know the injuries out here can be far worse than a sore ankle. I’d rather conserve them for someone who may need it more.”

I think of Elise and her ruined hands.

Ibuprofen is probably better suited for Judy’s problems than someone like Elise’s, but I keep my mouth shut and shoulder my bag.

Aaron and Hope take off ahead of everyone else with Dan and Judy pulling up the rear. Wayne offers to carry her, but she says she’ll go as long as she can before she’ll take him up on that.

An hour later, all we encounter is heavier snow and harsh winds. I almost wish we could have stayed at the rest stop a day longer, but without adequate supplies, we’d trade one problem for another.

As darkness ascends, I smell the distinct scent of smoke. It could mean people nearby and a fire. Fire could mean food. I try not to let excitement course through me, though. Another half hour of traveling and Aaron stops, map in hand as Hope points ahead. Me and Kellen exchange a look and trot over to them. I follow where Hope’s pointing at and see an endless, gridlocked line of abandoned cars.

Where are all the people?

I shudder as I recall every zombie movie and show I’ve ever watched. A place like this should be crawling with the undead. Thankfully, God or the universe or whoever’s in charge of this fucked-up game we’re playing decides to give us a break. Zombies would end us.

“See that orange glow?” Kellen says, nudging me. “I think that’s fire. More than a campfire.”

It’s as though the empty vehicles are all pointing toward the source. Las Vegas. The lightning storm came from Vegas’s direction. With all the high buildings, I can only imagine the damage the city’s received. If it caused fires, it wouldn’t take long with the wind to raze the entire damn place.

“Start checking the vehicles for supplies,” Aaron instructs. “And see if any of them still have gas or keys left in them. I’m assuming they’re all useless or the people who had them wouldn’t have left them here. We’d be stupid not to check, though.”

Everyone breaks up into their usual teams. However, Wayne sticks with Jesse this time since Gerry is gone. There’s no rhyme or reason, but we start ransacking unlocked vehicles. The people who left them took whatever supplies they had left. I’m assuming they went out on foot toward Vegas.

We must go a mile or two, only finding a random bottle of water or two or a pack of gum. Wayne finds some cigarettes and chain-smokes through the entire pack in record speed.

No people, dead or alive.

It’s creepy.

Still better than zombies.

As the road continues, it gets more and more treacherous. Sinkholes have capsized the road, taking cars and semis along with it into their cavernous maws that stretch sometimes two hundred feet down. We keep having to trek around them, steering clear from the edge to avoid sliding down along with them. The scent of decay—human flesh decomposing—assaults my nostrils. The people who met their demise in those sinkholes didn’t appear to survive and I’m not about to try to rummage through the remains of both the dead and the vehicles for a leftover water bottle or a candy bar.

Kellen is rounding a scraggly bush when I see movement. Beyond the wind, I hear the distinct sound of a rattle.

No!

Before I can cry out a warning, I watch in horror as a rattlesnake strikes at Kellen, sinking its teeth into his ankle. He roars with terror, trying like hell to kick the thing off. The venomous reptile is flung about eight feet from him and before it can do any more damage, I aim the shotgun at it and fire.

Ka-boom!

Light blinds me from the muzzle flash, but I put another round into where I saw the snake last. Several people rush over to us and I can hear Wayne grunting. By the time I blink away the light spots, I can see Wayne has finished off the snake with his ax.

Kellen.

He stands there stunned, gaping at the snake.

It bit him. The snake fucking bit him. Without anti-venom, he’s toast. I can’t lose him over a damn snake bite.

Rushing over to him, I nearly tackle him in my effort to get him to sit so I can look at his wound. He starts trying to unlace his boot, but I swat his hand away to do it faster, yanking at the strings so hard I’m surprised they didn’t snap. Venom leaks from two distinct holes in the leather of his boot. Bile rises in my throat. Once I yank off his boot, I draw down his sock, searching for the wound.

Everyone crowds around us, quiet and waiting to see the damage.

“Does it hurt?” I croak out.

“My legs are numb from the cold,” Kellen grunts. “I feel nothing.”

Hope squats beside me, offering me her flashlight. I grip his foot, twisting it to the left and then to the right, searching for the holes in his flesh.

Nothing.

My heart does a flip.

It pierced his boot, but not his skin.

“You’re not bitten,” I choke out. “Kell, you’re okay.”

Wayne hoots with happiness and Hope hugs Kellen. Once she stands and Kellen gets his boot back on, I pull him to me for a hug of my own. We cling to each other for a long moment. Then I step back, cupping his face in both of my palms.

“You scared the shit out of me.”

Kellen grunts but offers me a crooked smile. “You and me both.”

“Don’t do it again,” I grumble before crashing my lips to his.

I’m sure my breath smells terrible and I know we have an audience, but I don’t care. The man I’m seriously falling for is safe. For once on this godforsaken journey, we skated death rather than running right smack into it.

I just hope our luck holds out.