Waves of Fury (Surviving Earth Chronicles)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Tyler

A nother full day of traveling by foot and everyone is at their wits’ end. No one speaks or jokes. We do, though, keep eyeballing our dwindling supplies. At least the sun is out today and somewhat warm as we cross over the Colorado/Kansas border some seven hours later.

The town of Kanorado—some brilliant smart-ass came up with that name—is small and doesn’t boast much aside from a boarded up gas station, an old cemetery, a park, and a dinky diner.

“Me, Jesse, and Wayne will take point this time,” Aaron says. “The rest of you can sit and take a breather. Let’s pray this diner has something to offer.”

Kellen grinds his teeth together but doesn’t argue. Ever since our last supply run that led to us being followed and robbed at gunpoint, Kellen has stepped back as our bona fide leader and Aaron has moved in his space. Though Kellen has taken us through a lot and made quick decisions that have saved us many times, I’m thankful my brother is giving him a break. Something is eating Kellen up inside and it’s clouding his every move.

In a normal world, without all this chaos, if the guy I was in a relationship with was troubled, we could sit down on the couch and talk through it. This apocalyptic world doesn’t allow for such luxuries. We have to suck up whatever we’re mentally dealing with or else we might be distracted, ultimately getting ourselves literally sucked up into the earth. Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve lost people that way.

I hope whatever’s truly bothering him fades. Everyone has made decisions—whether good or bad—in hopes of bettering our survival. Agonizing over the “what could have beens” is a slippery slope.

“Are we there yet?” Hailey asks pitifully.

Pretzel yowls his woes too, making both me and Hope crack smiles. Dan and Kellen continue to brood.

“Don’t worry, Dorothy and Toto, we’re in Kansas now,” Hope says, wincing only slightly as she adjusts her makeshift splint on her injured arm—a crude one made of a random stick we found and part of her shirt.

“Dorothy?” I ask at the same time Hailey asks, “Toto?”

This finally breaks Dan’s and Kellen’s dour moods, both of them gaping incredulously at us.

“What?” I grumble. “The woman speaks in riddles.”

Hope shakes her head in disappointment. “What do you kids learn these days anyway?”

“I still don’t get it,” Hailey says with a huff.

“ The Wizard of Oz ,” Dan replies with raised brows. “Ringing any bells?”

“I know what The Wizard of Oz is,” I mutter. “Just never watched it or anything.”

“Me neither,” Hailey adds, shrugging her shoulders. “Isn’t it, like, in black and white? Seems old and boring.”

Dan crows. “You wound me, child.”

Kellen and Hope both snigger at Hailey’s and my expense.

“Hardy har har,” I deadpan.

A twinkle in Kellen’s eyes makes my heart warm. There’s my guy. He’s been getting buried under the stress of surviving, but beneath, he’s still in there. When we finally land somewhere for good, I’ll be able to uncover each of his layers fully and appreciate the full picture of him.

As I approach him, his muscles relax and he envelops me in a much-needed embrace. I hug him tight, inhaling his musky scent I’ve grown to love. If ever we get regular showers, I may not recognize his smell.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, breath tickling my hair.

“Just thinking of how badly we reek.”

He snorts out a laugh. “I’m glad you’re amused. I sure as hell am not.”

“I like your stank,” I tease, playfully biting his shoulder.

His palms find my ass and he gives both cheeks a hard squeeze. “You’re strange, man. Really, really strange.”

“I can agree to that,” Hope mutters, having overheard our conversation. “You’re both getting soap in your stockings for Christmas.”

My chest tightens at her words. These people—these strangers—have become family in such a short amount of time. Knowing that once we’re safe, we all plan to stick around one another brings comfort to me.

We continue to play and tease until a booming gunshot echoes from the town. And then another.

All humor fades as my blood drains out of me.

My brothers.

Kellen takes off in a sprint toward the sound. I bark at Dan to watch the girls as we both run as fast as our legs can carry us. Before we reach the diner, a pickup truck appears from behind the building, tires squealing as it takes off. We have to dive behind an abandoned vehicle to escape from behind hit. Glass shatters out the windows of the car we’re hiding behind as a final parting gift from the truck driver. As soon as the rumble of the engine is farther away, I pop my head up to see where they went. Thankfully, they’re not headed in the direction of the rest of our people.

Aaron’s yelling can be heard inside the diner. Panic consumes me as I run blindly toward the sound of his wails.

Please let my brother be okay.

Please.

I push through the shattered diner door, following the sound of Aaron’s voice. I’m so focused on getting to him, I don’t notice an obstacle blocking my path. My feet become tangled in a pair of giant, booted legs and I fall face first on a big belly that jiggles from the impact.

Jerking up, I face down the person on the ground. His face is gone, blood and gore spattered all around him and puddling beneath what’s left of his head.

Wayne.

No. No. No.

Kellen grabs my arm and yanks me to my feet. He curses when he comes to the conclusion it’s Wayne.

“Come on,” he grunts. “Nothing we can do for him now.”

The world spins around me and I stagger after Kellen, fear clogging my throat, making me gag. We push our way into the kitchen, following a smear of blood as though someone’s been dragged along the greasy tiles, and discover my brothers on the floor near the walk-in freezer.

Aaron is covered in blood and sobbing uncontrollably. At first, I think he’s injured, but then I see my baby brother in his arms, blood seeping through the front of his jacket.

“Jesse,” I cry out, dropping beside them. “What happened?”

“That man shot them,” Aaron snarls. “For no reason! We were being compliant!”

Focusing on Jesse, I begin pulling open his jacket to assess his wounds. Small bleeding holes cover his chest that seems unusually pale. His eyes are closed and for a moment, I think he’s dead. When I check his pulse and still feel it, I breathe a quick sigh of relief.

Shotgun blast to the chest, but he was clearly farther away than Wayne. His shotgun blast damn near took off his head. Jesse still has a chance.

More gunshots erupt outside and I wonder if the perpetrator has come back to finish everyone off. Kellen takes off like a rocket to investigate. Aaron is useless to do anything aside from holding our little brother and sobbing into his messy hair.

“He’s going to be okay,” I lie to Aaron. “Pull it together, man. Calm yourself for him and help me.”

Aaron’s red, wet face twists into an expression of disbelief. “Help you what, Ty? He’s dead.”

“Not yet,” I snap.

“But he will be soon,” he hisses back. “In case you didn’t notice, there are no hospitals around. We’re out here all alone. No one to help. You’re not a doctor no matter how much we all wish you were.”

His words hurt, but the thought of losing Jesse hurts worse. Ignoring Aaron’s tirade, I grab some paper towels and do my best to make bandages to apply to the wounds. Maybe if I stop the bleeding, it’ll buy me some time to fish out the pellets or bullets or whatever’s inside of him. Then I’ll find something to sew him up with.

Heavy footsteps rush into the diner. I’m relieved Kellen has returned, but then I hear other voices. Not Dan’s or Hope’s or Hailey’s. Strangers.

Voices bark out commands that I’m unable to make sense of. All I can do is try my best to help my brother. When someone grabs hold of me and drags me away, I start screaming and throwing punches.

“Dude, chill,” a guy grunts against my ear. “Let Vince get your boy to Dr. B.”

Dr. B?

I fall slack in his arms, hoping against all hope that this is a friend, not an enemy. My eyes land on Kellen’s and he’s nodding emphatically. These newcomers seem prepped for such situations because they bring in a stretcher—like one you see EMTs pushing.

They expertly load Jesse onto the stretcher and then manhandle the apparatus over broken glass and debris in the diner.

“I’m Owen,” the guy behind me says. “The doc’s people will get your boy to the hospital. Dr. B is the real deal.”

Another guy with white hair and kind eyes helps Aaron to his feet. “I’m Owen’s dad, Richard. If it weren’t for you guys, we would’ve never caught that piece of shit.”

“Who?” Aaron croaks out. “The guy who shot my brother and killed Wayne?”

Richard nods. “His name’s Holt. Was with the Goodland group but then lost his damn mind. We knew he was likely hiding out here in this little town, but he was able to evade us. Well, until you guys showed up and made him blow his cover.”

“The prick kidnapped my little sister. That’s why we’ve been hunting him,” Owen growls. “And if he did more than kidnap her, he’s going to wish we’d shot him when we caught him.”

“He’s still alive?” Aaron hisses. “He killed my best friend!”

“And he will be punished severely,” Richard says, nodding emphatically. “Now come on. You guys can hitch a ride with us back to Goodland.”

Apprehension washes over me at having to be at the mercy of another group, but they have my brother with them and they have a doctor. We have no choice but to trust them.

By the time we make it outside, we find the rest of our group talking to one of the women in the Goodland group. We don’t speak much as we all find places in the various vehicles. I’m split from Kellen and end up sharing a small sedan with Aaron in the back seat and two balding guys up front. As we drive off, I see a woman helping a young, visibly shaken girl about my age into a big truck where Owen is already at the wheel.

I sure as hell hope these people are safe.

Jesse’s life is in their hands.

The trip by car to the town of Goodland goes by in a quick blur. Exhaustion and hunger take a break as despair and fear over my brother’s life take over.

I can’t lose him.

I can’t lose Jesse.

A sob chokes my throat, but I manage to swallow it down. Aaron openly cries, unashamed. His pain just pours out of him while I try desperately to keep mine from escaping.

We drive past a guarded checkpoint that reminds me of St. George. The curious guards watch us through the windows as we pass. One of them gives us a nod, but I’m unable to return the gesture.

Not long after we enter the small town and turn down a few streets, the driver of our vehicle whips into the parking lot of a medical facility. It’s not quite the hospital I imagined, but it’s something. A helluva lot more than what we had without these strangers’ help.

Before he gets the car stopped, me and Aaron are already out of it, rushing to the front doors of the building. A woman in blue scrubs stops us with raised hands.

“Hey now, slow your roll. Only authorized personnel allowed inside.”

The driver of our car plants a kiss on her face. “It’s okay, babe. They’re with the kid who was just brought in. We owe it to these people for us nabbing Holt.”

“And Deedee? Carl, where’s Deedee? She still alive?”

“Dee’s safe, Karen. She’s with her pops and brother now.”

Karen lets out a rush of breath. “Thank the Lord. Okay, come on, you two. I’ll take you to a waiting area.”

“I want to see Jesse,” I blurt out. “Please.”

Karen nods. “I know, but Dr. B is strict about her operating room. Just know your brother’s in safe, capable hands. If anyone can help him, it’s Dr. B. She’s a surgeon from Denver who happened to be here visiting her sister when all the terrible things started happening. We’re lucky to have her.”

Shocked by the news, I nod and follow the nurse into the building, Aaron hot on my heels. She leads us to a small room with a vending machine and a few chairs.

“There’s a bucket with money sitting on top of the machine,” Karen says, gesturing. “Help yourself to some food. We just ask you only take one snack and one drink per person.”

Numbly, I nod. Seeing a working vending machine that we don’t have to smash and steal from is certainly surreal at this point. Karen gives Carl another kiss before leaving us with him and the other guy.

Aaron slumps into a chair and buries his face in his hands. I go ahead and grab us some drinks and snacks. It’s surreal to be here when this time yesterday we were roughing it. Everything here, so far, feels normal—untouched by the drama destroying the rest of our world.

I manage to get Aaron to eat a little something. By the time I wolf down my package of powdered donuts, Kellen appears with the rest of our group. Hope runs over to Aaron and sits beside him, offering him soft assurances.

Kellen’s gaze lands on me, burning a hole through me. I lift my tired eyes to meet his. The darker version of Kellen’s mood is back. Guilt mars his handsome reflection, tugging the corners of his mouth downward and forming a crease between his brows.

I need his comfort right now.

Jesse almost died. He’s still not out of the woods yet.

At first, I think Kellen’s going to keep his distance, choosing to brood rather than comfort me, but at the last second, his gaze softens. In a couple of quick, long strides, he collapses into the chair beside me and pulls me against him.

I don’t cry or rage or do anything, for that matter.

All I do is inhale Kellen’s familiar scent, close my eyes, and pray to God my brother will make it through to the other side.