Good Intentions (The Road to Hell Series, Book 1) (4 page)

“Crap,” he muttered.

Seconds later, I heard the shuffling sounds of my mother’s feet. Bailey’s smile faded away; his arms slid around my neck as he pressed closer. His warm body helped to ease the chill creeping down my spine. After all my years with our mother, I should be used to her, but I could live another fifty years and never be quite prepared for the woman who appeared in the kitchen.

Her blue eyes slid over us, but never really seemed to see us as she approached the sink. I cradled Bailey closer and stepped away from her. “We’re going to Volunteer Day,” I said to her.

She didn’t respond as she retrieved a glass and filled it with water. Her eyes flitted over me before focusing on Gage. She wasn’t overly fond of any of us, but there was no doubt I was the one she cared for the least.

“Make sure you take your brother’s diapers with you,” she told Gage.

Like we ever forget.
I held back the words. I was a guest within these walls, an interloper, and there were more than a few times when I’d been kicked out on the street. I’d spent those times with Lisa’s parents, but after a week or two, I was asked back as Gage would refuse to cook for her or do anything around the house. Unlike me, he didn’t care if she ate or not. Possible starvation, and the fact she didn’t like taking care of her children, had always allowed me back into the house.

I couldn’t risk being thrown out again. She may be a small, frail woman with stooped shoulders and bones that stuck out, but she could cause a lot of damage to my brothers without me here to take the brunt of her vile words.

Over the years, my hair had been pulled, and I’d been slapped in the face more times than I could count. I’d been beaten so badly I couldn’t sit for a week, and once kicked in the stomach, but her main weapon was her mouth, and she wielded it like a pro. I had more practice at fending her off than my brothers did and I tried to keep them from the worst of her degradation.

“We won’t forget the diapers,” Gage promised.

She opened the cooler and snickered at the fish inside. “Striper again.”

“I’ll grill them,” Gage said, his eyes flickering to me as he tried to placate her antagonism toward me. “Something different tonight.”

My mother’s eyes landed briefly on me. Her upper lip curled as she looked me up and down. Turning his head away, Bailey rested his cheek against mine. “You’re such a waste,” she sneered. “Evil. The spawn of Satan.”

I’d heard it before; I was sure I’d hear it many more times before I was able to break free of this woman. Something I hoped to be able to do one day, but though she despised me, she was my mother, and I couldn’t abandon her here to die, even if I could somehow walk out the door with Gage and Bailey. She may not love them, but she would fight me for them and possibly have me thrown in jail if I tried to take them. While my brothers were here, so was I.

“Garbage, just like your father,” she spat.

I kept my mouth closed while she shuffled back out the door. My shoulders sagged and I inhaled an unsteady breath. I hated that she still rattled me, that I hadn’t better hardened myself against her. Maybe one day.

“I’ll gather Bailey’s clothes after I take a shower,” I said to Gage.

His troubled eyes met mine before he gave a brief bow of his head. I handed him Bailey and slipped from the room.

River

The center of town was abuzz with the excitement of the day. There was little for anyone to be excited about these days, but the yearly Volunteer Day was one of those things. Mingling with the people of the town were some of the soldiers who guarded the bridge and helped to maintain order in the town. The police force had been absorbed into the Guard branch of the military that some people joined when they were eighteen. Most of those who joined the Guard remained in their towns and with their families, unlike the volunteers.

I spotted Asante amid the bustling crowd. He stood with a group of Guards who watched the crowd with blank expressions. Asante had grown up in a house down the road from us and had enlisted six years ago, the day he’d turned eighteen. He’d done his grueling, three-month training at the nearby military base that had been reopened after the war. Many who enlisted didn’t get through the training, but he had flown through it with flying colors and returned to living in the neighborhood when it was over.

Making my way through the crowd, I stopped before him.

“Santa,” Bailey, unable to pronounce Asante’s name, greeted.

Asante smiled down at him, his sable brown eyes twinkling with amusement. Beads of sweat dotted the top of his freshly shaven head as the sun played over his mocha-colored skin. Bailey stuck his hand in his mouth and grinned back at him.

“Hey, B,” Asante greeted Bailey. “River, how you been?”

“Same stuff, different day,” I told him. “You know how it goes.”

“I do. How many volunteers do you think we’ll have today?”

I frowned as I pondered his question. Normally, ten to thirty kids volunteered every year, but lately there had been more growing suspicions and horror stories about what resided on the other side of the wall. The rumors had cropped up once every few years since the war had ended, and when they did, the number of volunteers decreased.

It didn’t matter. I already had a pretty good idea of how many there would be. “Eight, what do you think?” I asked.

“I’m going with eleven.”

“You’re more optimistic than me.”

He turned his attention away from me as the large, covered truck rumbled by us. All around us, people stopped to stare at the camouflage-colored military vehicle. It was a clear sign the soldiers from the wall had arrived. Every year, on May fifteenth, the government sent back some of the soldiers who guarded the wall to every town on the Cape.

This day was the only time we saw vehicles as big as the ones that came to collect the volunteers. The Guards had some vehicles to transport them back and forth to their assignments, but they were mostly pickup trucks, some vans, and cars. For the rest of us, gas had become so sparse and regulated that feet and bicycles were the main mode of transportation.

“Our yearly visit,” Gage murmured from beside me. “One of these times, I’d like to see a volunteer we know return.”

I adjusted my hold on Bailey as the truck parked in the center of what had once been the high school football field. One year after the first bombs fell, we had returned to school. I’d stumbled through another couple of years of schooling before realizing I couldn’t keep up anymore, and there was no reason to. Many of the things we’d learned in the past weren’t as relevant anymore. People now taught medicine, gardening, sewing, fishing, construction, carpentry, and anything else necessary to survive. I missed learning and wished I had the chance to read more often, as we still did have a small library, but there just wasn’t any time for such things anymore.

Though my schooling had ended earlier than I’d hoped, at least I had learned what started the war when I’d returned to school. We’d been told Russia was behind the attack. They’d grouped together with North Korea and China to launch an invasion that had decimated our country, but ultimately failed.

There had been a similar attack in Europe and Asia that had been more successful. Many Middle Eastern countries had fallen to them before parts of Germany, France, Norway, and Sweden also succumbed. Now, like us, those countries were scattered and trying to rebuild behind a wall, but they were surviving.

We’d never seen the invaders here. They’d never come at us from the sea or across the land from the center of the country. The war that had been waged in the Midwest was something we had little idea about; the news stations hadn’t been running during the war, and the people who went to fight never returned.

When the government started recruiting people to build the wall a couple of months after the war started, people had gone, but none of them had returned either. Letters from those fighters, builders, and past volunteers made their way back every year, so we knew some of them were still alive.

Going to the wall was associated with death by some. Others believed it an adventure, a promise of better things for themselves and their families. It was usually the younger people who considered it an adventure, which was one of the reasons why I suspected the government started taking volunteers at sixteen.

I’d never considered volunteering, not with Gage and Bailey to care for. That didn’t mean I wasn’t as curious as everyone else about what went on at the wall and what became of the volunteers who left here and had yet to return. I wasn’t sure if it was the curiosity or the promises given that drove most of the volunteers to step forward.

It didn’t matter, the volunteers would keep enrolling and the government would keep coming for them. I watched as a woman with her hair pulled into a severe bun climbed down from the driver’s seat. Gray had started to streak her dark blonde hair. Lines had formed under her eyes and around her mouth. She stopped and stood at the front of the truck with her hands folded before her.

Lisa arrived beside me and handed me a caramel apple. I smiled as I took it; I hadn’t had one since last year, and they were one of my favorite treats. Somewhere in the distance, a guitar began to play and then the beat of drums sounded. It was the one day of the year when a celebratory air actually permeated the town again.

Perhaps it should be sad, some members of our town would be leaving today to never return, but it had become a day of excitement and new beginnings. The government brought in supplies, and letters from loved ones at the wall were handed out. Treats we didn’t have all year were concocted to say good-bye to the people who would be leaving us today. After the volunteers stepped forward, dancing would commence until they left at sundown.

I took a bite of the apple as Lisa walked over to kiss Asante’s cheek. They spoke in hushed whispers while I allowed Bailey to take a lick of the caramel coating. He nibbled at the apple before I took another bite and gave it to Gage.

“Mine!” Bailey shouted and grabbed for the apple. “Mine!”

“I can’t wait for him to outgrow this stage,” Gage muttered as he reluctantly handed the apple back into Bailey’s clapping hands. Bailey smiled happily and dove into the caramel once more. Sticky goo smeared his face and stuck in his hair when he finally came up for air again.

“I’m not getting it back, am I?” Lisa asked when she reappeared at my side.

“I’ll get you another one,” I told her.

She waved her hand dismissively. “I think he’s getting more joy out of it than I would. So how many volunteers are we thinking?”

“I said eight, Asante guessed eleven,” I replied.

“I’m thinking twelve,” she said.

“Nine,” Gage guessed.

Bailey rested one of his sticky hands against my cheek and giggled. “Thanks,” I said. I pulled his hand away and kissed his tiny fingers. He returned his attention to the caramel.

“I should be going. Have fun today,” Asante said. He kissed Lisa’s cheek before walking away. His shoulders were rigid in his forest green uniform shirt. Guard was spelled across the back of the shirt in gold letters.

“Let’s see what goodies we have this year!” Lisa declared.

Gage practically skipped ahead of us as we worked our way through the crowd while waiting for the volunteering to begin. The scents of frying fish, vegetables, and cooking sweets caused my stomach to rumble. The snap and crackle of the fires and the animated tones of the voices surrounding us added to the excitement of the day. The red and yellow tulips lining the outside of the field were in full bloom; their sweet aroma was barely discernible over the numerous foods filling the air.

The dunk tank in the back had become a big draw. Gage stepped forward to take his chance at knocking the kid into the water; on his second throw, he hit the bull’s-eye. The kid tumbled into the water with a big splash.

A cheer went through the crowd. A young girl stood on her toes to kiss Gage’s cheek. The fierce blush burning my brother’s face made me laugh out loud. He threw back his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stand more on end. I had to bite my cheek to stifle my laughter, but Lisa wasn’t quite so discreet.

Gage shot her a look before stepping away from the girl now digging her toe into the ground and turning the color of a lobster. Gage hurried into the crowd.

“Who was she?” I asked when we caught up to him.

“A girl.” He pretended to search the crowd as he tossed his answer back at me.

“Does this girl have a name?”

“Cherry.”

“Seriously?” Lisa blurted.

Gage glowered at her. “You’re seriously annoying.”

Lisa grinned at him. “I don’t have siblings to pick on so I get River’s.”

“Whatever,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.

“Do you like her?” I asked Gage.

He shrugged, but his skin was becoming more flushed and now his neck had begun to look like he had a sunburn. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing again. “I barely know her,” he mumbled.

I thrust Bailey into his arms. “Remember birth control.”

“I uh… I…” he sputtered.

“I know you’re only fourteen, but the time will come, and when it does, remember the diaper from this morning.”

“I stink!” Bailey declared and Gage winced.

Gage’s mouth shut when Bailey placed a sticky, caramel-coated hand against his cheek. I grabbed a napkin from a nearby table and wiped at the caramel coating he’d left on my cheek.

Then again, if Gage were anything like me, I wouldn’t have to worry about him having sex for years to come. However, I still wasn’t going to take any chances. Gage was cute and extremely responsible, but accidents could happen, and he wasn’t as tied down as I was right now.

Most guys weren’t exactly clamoring to date a girl with a deadbeat mom and two brothers to raise, but Gage could break free of that and do something more with his life. I’d never allow him to volunteer, I couldn’t handle not being able to see him again, but with his kind and prideful nature, he’d make a great Guard.

I may not have much of a dating life, but I wouldn’t have changed one thing. My brothers were my world. Besides, I’d had little time for the boys who had been interested in me and the few dates I’d been on had been awkward. I knew fishing and changing diapers; I was the least sexy conversationalist in the world.

Not to mention, I’d always kept myself at a distance from men. What if I accidentally had golden-white sparks dance over my hands, or caught his clothes on fire, or had a vision in front of him? I couldn’t risk any of those things; it would be far too dangerous if someone were to find out about me. At the end of all my first—and last—dates, I’d found myself on my doorstep watching as the boys and men all but ran away from me. I’d usually end up biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud at their hasty retreats.

Walking through the crowd, we passed the band as the open grilling pit drew us onward. “Hello!” Mrs. Loud greeted us with a smile and a wave as she lifted one of the large stripers and flipped it over. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like the one I’d brought her earlier today. Next to the fish, some mussels, crabs, and lobsters were also on the grill. “What would you kids like?”

“I’ll take some lobster,” I replied and held out one of the plates on the table.

For the past month, everyone had been gathering special supplies for this day. There was no trading for food today. People volunteered to bring the supplies, others volunteered to help cook and run the games. Mrs. Loud handed me a lobster tail before turning and dishing out food to the others. We walked over to a clear patch of grass on the football field and settled in to eat.

When we were done, I gathered the plates and brought them back to the grilling pit. Two large tubs, one of warm water and soap, and one of just warm water had been set up at the end of the table containing the plates and silverware. I washed everything, rinsed it in the tub of warm water, dried them, and stacked them neatly back on the table.

“It was delicious, Mrs. Loud,” I told her.

Preoccupied with dishing out more food, she didn’t look at me when she replied, “Thank you, dear.”

I was almost back to the others when a flyer was thrust into my hand. A hollow feeling filled my stomach, but I looked down at the paper and read the words on it.
We are looking for someone who has unusual abilities. This person may be able to see things they shouldn’t, have telekinesis, or perhaps possess other abilities beyond the normal human scope. If you know of someone like this, or possess such abilities, please come speak with us. Age does not matter. You will be rewarded. We require your help!