Running Away - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Ravaged Land Series Book 4)

T
his is a work of fiction
. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

C
opyright © 2016
Kellee L. Greene

A
ll rights reserved
.

N
o part
of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of the author.

F
irst Edition September 2016

* * *

* * *

I
would never feel
safe again. Not in the way I once had… before my life had been turned upside-down. It wouldn’t matter where I was or who I was with, there would always be danger lurking around every corner.

Each and every mile we put between us, the resistance camp and the HOME army, help me feel a teeny bit better. But not much.

It was like I didn’t recognize myself anymore. Even when I caught my reflection in the side mirror I didn’t know who that girl was looking back at me. I wondered if the others felt the same.

This world had changed me, and I wondered if they had felt the same changes within themselves. It felt strange how we were all so close, yet at times I felt as though we were miles apart. Stuck deep within our own thoughts, struggling to make sense of this world.

Maybe we felt so far away from each other because we were trying to make ourselves forget about all the bad things that had happened. I knew I wanted to forget. In fact, forgetting was the only way to move forward.

Of the two resistance camps I was aware of, both were destroyed, but that didn’t mean a whole hell of a lot. I knew there were more of them out there. But what I didn’t know was exactly how many of them were scattered around or where they were. They could be anywhere.

The same was true for HOME. They had their main base in Alaska, of course, and maybe other large bases, and they also had their army camps spread all over. Not to mention the spies they employed to wander around looking for recruits.

HOME had invaded the resistance camp we were in and took out everyone and everything that was inside. I was positive they would make sure to eliminate anything they deemed a threat to them and their cause. They would obliterate those that were against them, until they were the ultimate power.

“You OK?” Penn asked keeping his eyes focused on the road.

“Mmm hmm,” I said with a small nod. I pulled at my seatbelt as if I was suddenly uncomfortable.

“Seems like you are on another planet,” he said letting the corners of his mouth curl upwards.

“Ha! I wish,” I said looking up at the sky. Was it better out there? It had to be.

I stared at the sky thinking that we’d been lucky so far. Sort of. We had narrowly escaped HOME’s clutches, and only because I had done something I wished I wouldn’t have to carry with me the rest of my life. Something I wouldn’t ever truly forget, but for now, I’d shove it deep down inside me like I sometimes had to do. I tried not to think about it, and it was something I hoped I’d never have to talk about again.

What I had done to Ryan was hidden away right next to everything else I had seen or done that I wished I wouldn’t have. It was locked up in a closet surrounded by all the good memories that would warm my heart. Those thoughts kept me going. Love. Dreams. Fun.

If it hadn’t been for Penn’s quick thinking, we would have been without our guns after the confrontation with Ryan. I dropped mine after pulling the trigger and Dean had lost his. But at some point, Penn had given me my gun back, and he gave one to Dean as well.

I was pretty sure the gun he gave to Dean wasn’t the same one he originally had, but I guess in the end that doesn’t really matter. The few times I’d see him pull it out, I looked at it wondering if it had been Ryan’s. But mostly I forced the thought away. It was just a gun. And having a gun was more important that not having one.

As we drove down the lonely highway, I couldn’t help but imagine each turn we took would take us to one of the HOME camps or one of the resistance camps. We knew there were more of them but since we didn’t know where they were it felt like it would be impossible to avoid them. But I guess on the bright side, at least we were aware of their existence. We could be cautious.

Penn had even speculated at one point that he believed there were other HOME bases out there, like the one that they had in Alaska. Similar to the one I had spent some time inside of. There could be even more of those huge campuses full of people falling in line with HOME’s plans. Never questioning them or their motives… just happy to have somewhere safe to be.

Ever since we found the camp in Seattle, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were out there constructing more and more of them. One day their bases would be like cities, strategically placed over the whole Earth. They would control the world.

Dominick had thought they had every intention of taking over the world and he had probably been right. It was the only thing I think I agreed with Dominick on. But Dominick wasn’t alive anymore to spread his message. Maybe the rest of the resistance could get the word out, but for some reason I didn’t think so. It wasn’t like having the resistance in charge would have been any better. Things would never be how I would want them. The way they should be.

What we needed to do was continue to travel east until we could find somewhere we could call our home. Somewhere we could stay safe and hidden from all the camps and bases and crazy people trying to stake their claim and lead what was left of the Earth’s population.

“Michigan,” I said breaking the silence. I turned to look at Penn, but he didn’t return the look. He narrowed his eyes at my words but kept his focus on the road ahead. I knew he had heard me but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

I shifted my eyes back towards Dean who was rubbing his injured arm. The arm that had taken a bullet from Ryan’s gun. He rubbed and poked it so much it was almost like he enjoyed feeling the sting of the pain. Maybe it reminded him he was still alive.

Dean had been only inches away from death when Ryan had that gun pointed at him. He would have done it too. It was a miracle that he missed and it only badly grazed Dean’s arm.

“Maybe,” Dean said shrugging his good shoulder.

“Why Michigan?” Sienna asked, leaning forward slightly taking an interest in the conversation.

“Seems like there should be a lot of water up that way, and maybe some farmland we could use too,” I said not exactly sure why I picked Michigan. Mostly it felt like a random pick, but it would have water and fishing. It seemed like a good choice even though other states probably would have fit the bill as well. It also seemed like it may be secluded, or isolated from what was going on, but that was merely a guess.

Anyone that had survived this long was probably out there looking for others. Not running from them, as we were.

Further east I guessed there might be more camps and bases. Places that had larger populations were probably at the top of HOME’s list for growing their numbers. At least that’s what I imagined. Those were the places I wanted to avoid. As long as we could stay out of trouble along the way and got to northern Michigan, I figured we could be safe for a very long time. Well that was my hope anyway.

Somewhere completely isolated from the world before everything had happened would probably be best. Like somewhere up in the Canadian wilderness, or maybe even a deserted island. But Canada would be cold and snowy in winter and how would we even get to an island? Not that I even knew how to go about finding an island we could live on. Hawaii? The Bahamas? Cuba? Clearly my knowledge of islands was pretty limited.

Michigan would be cold and snowy in winter too, but it wouldn’t be bad if we were ready for it. If we could stock up supplies and have wood for a fireplace. And if I was wrong, we could worry about the alternatives later.

“Are there any objections to Michigan?” Penn asked.

“Not a single one I can think of,” Dean said smiling at me. I couldn’t help but smile back. We had been through so much together and now, maybe, we’d finally be able to find somewhere we could just stop and take a break from all the horrible stuff. We could just be together.

“Fine with me,” Sienna said, flashing me a bright smile. A smile that was so similar to Dean’s even though nothing else about them was. The brother-sister love they had for one another was forever. He would take care of her no matter what and she would let him.

Sienna gripped my arm and started shaking it excitedly. Even without Penn’s vote, it was decided. We were going to Michigan to find our home.

“All right, here we come Michigan,” Penn said, keeping his face neutral. “Let’s just hope there are no HOME bases or resistance camps there. If there are, I don’t know what we’ll do. How long will it be until HOME is everywhere?”

“No kidding. We can’t get involved with either of them. HOME is probably still out there looking for us. And let’s not forget how we met the resistance… they kidnapped us and practically forced us to join at gunpoint,” Dean said squeezing his eyebrows together. The only good thing about the resistance was that they weren’t searching for us. If we ran into them again, they likely wouldn’t kill us on the spot.

“If I’m wrong about Michigan, then somewhere else… there has to be something. We’ll figure it out,” I said sounding somewhat optimistic.

I felt unusually comfortable. Maybe even too comfortable. We had tons of supplies packed in the back, a destination in mind… the only thing we had to worry about was finding gas along the way.

We had our cut-up hose for siphoning, but the cars we’d found so far had mostly already been emptied. Gas was a precious commodity. And all the empty tanks were an indication that it wasn’t just us out here looking for gas along the roadways.

So far we’d managed to find enough, but I wondered how long it was going to last. Eventually the gas would run out for everyone, but the goal was to be in Michigan in our new home by the time that happened. Once we were there, we wouldn’t need gas.

Sometimes I wondered if we left Utah too soon. We only stayed about a day before packing up the car and heading out east to get as far away as we could. The house we had been staying in was well stocked, but it was too close to the HOME army. Then again, everywhere felt too close to the HOME army.

I leaned back and allowed myself to daydream about how perfect life could be once we found our new home in Michigan. Of course, deep down I was also being realistic, but it helped the time go faster if I was imagining about how nice it was going to be.

We could build ourselves a fortress, and if anyone came wandering around… well, we’d still have our guns just in case. Maybe we could set up traps or something to keep ourselves safer. We could build a fence and line the top with barbed wire.

If we ever managed to get ourselves safe, I’d probably sleep for twenty-four hours straight. Maybe even longer. I had a lot of sleep to catch up on. We all did.

We could even try to build ourselves an underground shelter. If HOME ever decided to let their deadly storms loose again, we’d have somewhere we could hide from them. It probably wouldn’t be anywhere near as safe and secure as Ryan’s grandpa’s shelter had been, but it would be better than nothing at all.

“Oh crap,” I said when I noticed movement in the ditch up ahead of us. We were still far enough away that I couldn’t tell exactly what was going on, and I was pretty sure they hadn’t seen us either. At least not yet.

It was a small group of people and it didn’t seem as though they were getting along. The last thing any of us wanted to run into right now was more people. And these people didn’t seem friendly.

“Slow down,” Dean said pulling on the back of Penn’s seat. Penn let off the accelerator and let the car quietly roll to a stop

We were still a good distance back, and the group hadn’t seemed to notice us. Penn didn’t have to say anything for me to know he didn’t want to get involved, or be seen for that matter. None of us wanted that.

“What’s going on?” Sienna asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She likely already knew none of us had any better idea what was happening than she did.

“Not sure,” Penn said, squinting at them while his hand gripped the shifter. He was probably considering putting the car in reverse and finding an alternate route.

We had taken a map from a gas station miles and miles ago, so I was pretty sure we could find another way. But it was far easier and much faster to stay on the highways.

One of the biggest reasons we took the interstates and highways was because the path was always clear whereas back roads weren’t always as easy to navigate. Not to leave out the fact that the quality of the roads was deteriorating… more bumps, dips and pot holes. That could all lead to more risks to the car, like flat tires. The back roads also provided fewer opportunities to stop and look for gas and supplies.

“Are they hurting them?” I said as I squeezed my eyelids closer together so I could focus on the group of people. The group seemed to be trying to pull two of them back into a patch of trees off to the side of the road.

The two that were getting pulled were putting up one hell of a fight not to go with them. I figured it was only a matter of time before someone pulled a gun and ordered the two of them to go peacefully… or took care of them both once and for all.

“It looks like they’re disagreeing about something. Whatever it is, it’s not our problem,” Penn said shifting the car into reverse and putting his hands on the steering wheel. I could tell he was getting ready to do something, like drive away.

“Wait,” I said putting my hand on top of his forearm. “What if they are in trouble? What if they need help?”

“Not. Our. Problem,” Penn repeated the words slowly.

I watched the group, trying to figure out what was going on. It looked like two of the eight, a boy and a girl probably around our age, were trying to get away. They were arguing and I could tell by how wide the girl was opening her mouth that she was shouting at the group of men. The boy stood close to her in a protective stance. It looked as though the group was trying to get the two to go back with them.

“This isn’t a kidnapping,” I mumbled as I kept my eyes on the girl. Her face was so red from all her screaming it almost seemed like she was going to pop. A couple of the others backed away from her looking nervous. Maybe they thought all her screaming was going to draw unwanted attention. Like from other people or maybe from the dog-beasts.