Waves of Fury (Surviving Earth Chronicles)

Chapter Forty

Tyler

A week passes uneventfully, which is practically a vacation for our group. Jesse was able to join us a few days ago. He hates being made to rest and doesn’t stay down for long. Like now. His cot is empty and his shoes are gone.

“Where’s Jesse?” I ask Aaron as I settle into the chair beside him for breakfast. “He was gone when I got up.”

Aaron glances over at the clock on the wall and chuckles. “Everyone was gone when you got up.”

“Seriously, where is that kid?”

“I’m sure he’s with Hailey,” Hope says from Aaron’s other side. “We’re both supposed to check in with Dr. B today.” Hope holds up her wrapped arm. “I’ll probably be getting a hard cast put on.”

Dr. B is pretty sure Hope’s arm was fractured from when we’d all gotten sucked away in the flash flood. Without anyone qualified to work the X-ray machine, though, Dr. B wanted to keep an eye on the swelling before putting on a cast to see if surgery might be needed first.

“Tell him to rest, please,” I grumble as she stands.

“Okay, Dad,” Hope teases. She bends down to kiss Aaron on the lips and then strides away.

My brother stares after her, a stupid expression on his face.

“You’re in love,” I say, elbowing him before inhaling one of my pancakes. “So precious.”

Aaron snorts. “I can assure you there was nothing precious about what we got up to on my cot last night.”

I nearly choke on my food. “You two had sex with the rest of us sleeping right there?!”

“Like you said, we’re in love.” He grins at me and winks. “That means we take all the opportunities we can get.”

I’m amused at his words but can’t help but feel a pang when I think about Kellen. He’s been… something this week. Almost as though he’s depressed or just deeply sad. I can’t really put my finger on it. And while we’ve kissed, hugged, and held hands, we haven’t found the time or opportunity to get freaky. I’m starting to wonder if that’s by design now. Kellen’s design.

I didn’t realize this was a problem until now.

Something’s definitely going on with him.

“You going to the trial after this?” Aaron asks. “Hope and Jesse won’t be able to go. Hailey and Pretzel will be wherever Jesse is. Me and Dan will be there, though.”

“And Kellen?”

“I’m assuming so. He wants that bastard to pay every bit as much as we do.”

“Have you seen him this morning?”

“He was up early. Talking to Dan and drinking coffee before the sun ever came up. They’re around here somewhere.”

An uneasy feeling settles in my gut.

Something’s wrong. I can feel it.

“We find the defendant guilty,” a heavyset man with a mustache says, glowering at Holt. “On all charges.”

The makeshift courtroom—the high school gym—erupts with cheers. This Holt guy really terrorized the citizens here. But he stole from us. Wayne was a good man and someone who took care of Aaron when we couldn’t. We’re all going to miss the big guy.

“Quiet down,” the town’s appointed judge, Mr. Cameron, says, beating his fist on the podium. “Thank you, jury.”

Everyone goes silent as we await the sentencing. We learned they do have a small jail at the police station in town, but it’s more for small-time offenders. Big offenses like kidnapping and murder warrant a more severe sentence than time spent in jail. At least, here in Goodland, that’s how it is.

“In accordance to the Goodland Temporary Law that’s in effect until the government provides aid or takes over, Holt Mayes, you will be sentenced to death by hanging,” Mr. Cameron shouts. “Effective immediately.”

I watch in sick delight as two uniformed cops heave a handcuffed Holt up to his feet and start outside. Everyone eagerly files out to watch his punishment. At least Wayne will have some justice for his brutal murder.

Once everyone is crowded around the crudely erected wooden stage in the school courtyard, we wait for what happens next. I’d arrived early enough, on my unsuccessful hunt for Kellen, to find Dan was one of the men helping to build the structure in anticipation for this very event. A single thick noose hangs from a long beam that runs across the top of the platform, swaying above a stool just beneath it.

“Murderer!” a woman yells. “Get rid of him!”

Another policeman joins the two holding Holt. They help him onto the stool. The new officer uses his own stool to climb up so he can slip the noose around Holt’s neck. Holt whimpers and begs, but it falls on deaf ears.

The third officer steps off his stool and moves away while the other officers crane their necks up to look at the perpetrator.

Holt’s hands remain bound by the cuffs behind his back. He stands on his toes, making the stool wobble back and forth.

“Any last words?” Mr. Cameron asks as he approaches the criminal. “An apology to the friends of the man you murdered?”

Holt hisses out something rude and unintelligible. Mr. Cameron shakes his head in disgust.

“Officer Dryer. You may carry out the punishment now.”

Dryer nods and approaches the stool. Then, without fanfare, he kicks it hard, sending it hurtling across the stage. Holt drops, his booted feet kicking the air just two feet above the wooden platform. His face quickly goes from red to purple as he gurgles and gasps for air that won’t come. The crowd is silent as we watch the life drain out of him.

After a short time, he stops fighting. Then his swinging and spinning slows to a stop. I expected more of a fight, but it was a quick death. As satisfying as it was to see Holt be punished for killing Wayne and attempting to kill Jesse, it doesn’t change the fact that Wayne’s gone forever.

Fifteen more minutes pass and then Mr. Cameron motions a man over. The man drags a stool over to the body, climbs up, and then checks for a pulse. He looks at his watch and then announces the time of death. Once he’s confirmed the death, a cop replaces him with a big, serrated knife. The cop cuts through the rope and Holt’s expired body falls to the platform like a sack of potatoes.

No movement.

Still dead.

I scan the crowd, looking for Kellen, but don’t see him. Maybe he couldn’t stand to watch this public execution. I hurry back over to the church to see if he’s gone there.

Paula stops me once inside to put me on the shower list. After she scribbles my number on my hand, she lets me continue on my quest to find Kellen. Seconds later, I burst through the curtain of our area, expecting to see him sprawled out on his cot.

His cot is empty.

All his things are gone too.

My stomach twists violently. Where’s his stuff? On my cot is a folded piece of notebook paper. All the blood drains out of me as I sit down to read it.

Tyler,

I had to leave.

Tears blur my vision after reading those words. He had to leave? Is he crazy? I swipe at the wetness leaking from my eyes and go back to reading, eager for answers.

We all know I should have done this back in St. George. But I couldn’t say no to you all—because deep down I needed you all with me—and I got people killed. Killed, Ty. If it weren’t for me and my desperate need to get to Knox, Wayne would still be alive .

I snort out a sound of derision. He’s insane. Absolutely lost his marbles.

As a result of my actions, of my selfishness, we lost our vehicle, supplies, and everyone was injured. Then when I took from that building where the children were hiding out, I risked your lives once again. And, finally, when I pulled back for fear of messing things up, I again chose wrong. Wayne was shot and killed. Jesse nearly died too. If it weren’t for the miracle of Goodland and the welcoming people here, we’d have lost him. That’s on me.

That’s on him? Unbelievable. He’s delusional.

I’m sorry, but I have to go find Knox on my own. You all are safe in Goodland. There’s food, security, shelter, medical care, and good people. I can’t risk any more lives for my own personal agenda.

I know you’ll be pissed I didn’t say goodbye, but I couldn’t bear to see the hurt in your eyes. You, Tyler, have been a wonderfully bright spot in this now dark world. I cherish every moment we had together. If things were different, I’d like to think we could have made a really good life together.

A sob chokes out of me and I angrily crumple the letter in my fist. Tears streak down my cheeks as I struggle to breathe. I may as well be the man on the noose now because I can’t seem to suck in enough oxygen and I feel like I’m dying. Slowly, I urge air into my lungs and then set to straightening the letter back out so I can finish it.

Maybe once I find my brother, I can come back. It’s a big maybe, though. We both know this world is too dangerous to make long-term plans. It’d probably be better for us both if you could forget I ever existed.

I’ll never forget you, though.

Unable to read more, I crumple the letter in my fist again. Loud, terrible sobs ring out of me. I turn my head and wipe my eyes against my shoulder before desperately reopening the letter.

I loved you, Tyler. Somehow, though in a short amount of time, I fell for a brave, handsome, strong young man half my age. I had no business being with someone so out of my league. It was fantastic while it lasted. Thank you for that.

I know you’re wondering why I put “loved” in the past tense. Because after I finish this letter and abandon you without a proper goodbye, it won’t be fair to keep on loving you. The only way to get along on my journey is to push you out of my heart and mind.

Truly, I’m sorry it had to end like this. You’re a good man and don’t deserve it.

Please don’t come after me. I know you’re already assembling the team and making a plan. I beg you not to. Jesse is in no shape to travel. Neither is Hope, for that matter. Hailey and Dan need a home. They don’t belong on the road. And you, Tyler, can do so much to contribute to a community like Goodland. You were born for this.

It’s a tragedy having to leave you, but I have full confidence I’m leaving you in great hands. Goodland will take care of you. Let them.

One day in the near future, I’m going to wake up and realize I left my heart with you. I know it’s going to hurt more than I can imagine. I’ll drown in my regrets and I’ll deserve every ounce of that pain. I just hope you don’t hurt for me.

Put me out of your mind.

Forget about us.

Take care of our people.

X to Your O,

Kell

The next few minutes are a mad flash of tears, tossing things into my backpack, and cursing that stupid man. He thinks I can just sit here while he ventures out into dangerous territory all alone? Not happening. He’ll die out there by himself. This world is too messed up to go at it with no one to have your back. Anything could happen. I can’t even begin to think about it or I’ll throw up.

A firm hand grabs my shoulder and I shake it off.

“Tyler,” Aaron says. “Calm down. What’s going on?”

My bottom lip trembles wildly as I thrust the wrinkled letter at him. “He left me.”

Aaron’s brows furl together. “Kellen left?”

I shoulder the backpack and wait impatiently for him to skim through the letter. When he finishes, his teeth clench together and he frowns at me.

“I have to go after him,” I tell him in a wobbly voice.

He nods. “We all do.”

Kellen’s right. It’s not safe for Hope or Jesse to travel. But we have no other choice. He’s a part of our group and he’s gone now. All alone. No one will want to sit around wondering what happened to him—whether he’s dead or alive or injured.

I sure as hell can’t wait another second.