Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
It had to be done.
I didn’t hurt anyone aside from probably scaring the crap out of those kids I found hiding and we didn’t take more than we need. This world is on its way out the door. Surely the other survivors there would have done the same if the roles were reversed. There’s no room for the same morality and laws that existed before that wave hit.
So why does the guilt continue to rakes its claws through me?
We haven’t been walking but for a few hours when we come upon the town of Bethune. Much like the town before this one, Stratton, it’s been mostly destroyed by earthquakes. Standing, though, like a beacon among the rubble, is a post office.
Shelter.
Finally.
I herd the group to the small brick building. Unlike the other boarded up businesses along the way, this one was left abandoned. Not many people are into checking their PO boxes during the apocalypse. The front glass is splintered, most likely from the quakes, but otherwise mostly intact.
Aaron tries the front door and lets out a surprised laugh when it opens. He and Tyler go in first to scope out the place. A couple of minutes later, they return to wave the rest of us inside. Because of the many windows in the building, we’re not in complete darkness once we go in, the moonlight illuminating each room we enter.
Relief and overwhelming exhaustion chase away my earlier guilt. We scavenge the small building for anything useful. In the storage room, we find a large supply of box cutters that prove their worth when we start cutting up the large canvas bins. The material is thick and will keep us warm while our clothes dry out as we sleep. There’re also rolls and rolls of bubble wrap that will work for bedding. The best find, though, is the employee break room where there’s a stockpile of noodle cups, packets of nuts, bottled water, and a gas stove that remains usable. It feels like a miracle from God himself.
Everyone splits up to do various chores. Hope, Dan, and Hailey all work together to boil enough water to feed our starving group with the noodle cups while Aaron, Wayne, and Jesse attempt to make beds with bubble wrap. Me and Tyler do our best to tear through the canvas with our box knives. It’s no easy task. Tyler aggressively shreds through the material as though it’s personally pissed him off.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out, the tiredness in my tone making it barely audible.
He makes a scoffing sound. “For what?”
“For upsetting you. We needed the supplies.”
“I’m not upset.” He sighs and then turns to look over at me. “I’m just frustrated with…this.” He throws a hand up in the air and waves it all around as if to imply everything around us. “No matter what route we take, it’s always the wrong one. It sucks. I just wish you had said something to me while we were there.”
“So you could’ve abandoned the supplies?” I ask, my indignation causing my voice to rise. “I had to make a split-second decision.”
We wouldn’t have made it the few more hours to this little town had we not taken what we did when we did. Our group was running on fumes.
“I just…I feel bad.”
Tossing my box knife to the ground, I storm over to Tyler and grip both of his shoulders so I can glower down at him. “And you think I don’t?”
He frowns. “I know you do.”
“Good, because it’s been eating me up since I was made aware of those kids. I’m no thief, Ty, but this new world is harsh and brutal. Sometimes it means that things get a little ugly.”
He sighs again, but this time leans his head against my shoulder. “I know. I’m just crabby and so damn tired.”
My tense muscles relax as I pull him into a tight embrace. “Me too.”
Our mutual guilt dissipates as we finish our task. One day, we’ll be somewhere safe and can go back to being the men we were before all this. Until then, we have to do whatever we must in order to survive.
I wake to the distinct sound of car engines approaching. At first, I wonder if it’s a dream—a hopeful one where the authorities have come to rescue us. Tyler, who was curled against me for warmth, also startles awake, this time at the sound of breaking glass. It’s early morning and the sun is bright, pouring in through the splintered windows, blinding me.
“Someone’s here,” Aaron hisses out.
The thundering sound of many boots stomping through the building echoes around us. A shadow towers over me, blocking the light.
“That’s Jade’s sleeping bag,” a guy with a gravelly voice grits out. “These are the thieves.”
My blood turns to ice as realization sets in.
The people we stole from are here. They went looking for us and found us.