Running Away - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Ravaged Land Series Book 4) (19 page)

The ground around us was saturated. There were pools of standing water scattered all around us. We were surrounded by a thick fog that started at the ground and reached up towards the gray clouds.

“Should we go?” Penn said wiping at the window. I knew he was getting anxious to start moving again, which made me nervous he’d never be able to stay in one place.

“Sienna’s still sleeping,” I said looking over my shoulder. “Carter too.”

“Dean was too,” Dean grumbled and stretched out his long legs until they pressed against the tilted flooring. “Rain stopped?”

“It’s definitely slowed down,” I said grabbing the jug of water off of the console. I started chugging it without thinking.

“Take it easy on that,” Penn said looking over his shoulder at me. “Not sure how much more I’ll be able to collect before it stops.”

“Oh right… sorry.” I replaced the cap and made sure it was on tight. “Are we going to try to carry everything with us?”

Penn shook his head, “I don’t think we can. The lighter we are, the faster we’ll move and the less energy we’ll exert. We’ll take one bag… I’ll carry it.”

We probably didn’t even have that many cans of food left. If we all ate one before we left maybe they’d be gone. The most important thing to take with was the jug of water.

Something pressed against the back of my seat and I turned to see Carter trying to stretch out. He blinked a few times and then looked at Sienna. His movements must have woken her. She tried to sit up but needed Carter to help her because she didn’t have the energy. I was beyond worried. What were we going to do for her? What could we do for her? I had no idea how she was going to be able to walk anywhere.

I had hoped that with rest she would get better, but she wasn’t. She was getting worse, and it was happening fast. Sienna looked at me and scrunched up her face, annoyed that I was looking at her.

“I’m fine,” she said between her clenched teeth. Then she coughed several times before turning to Carter, “Could I get some water?”

He reached down and pulled up her cup. It still had water in it from the last time I had filled it.

“Bring that with,” Penn said as he opened his door. “Alright, let’s get going.”

“Hold on a second. Let’s eat anything we aren’t going to take with us,” I suggested. There was no point in letting anything go to waste if we didn’t have to. He nodded once, stepped out of the van, opened the hatch and started sorting through the items.

I couldn’t see what he was putting into the bag he was going to take with us. He started passing cans over the back seat to Carter to split up between the five of us.

“One can left… I’ll take it with. And the rice, tea kettle, bandages. Think I could make rice in the tea kettle? I’ll put it all in the pail,” he said with a smile as he lifted up the can opener and dropped it inside with everything else.

Once we were finished eating our cold, overly salty soup, we were off. We walked down the wet, muddy and mucky road. I was about ninety percent sure we were going in the right direction.

We hadn’t walked for long before we were at the top of a low hill looking down at what had once been a small town. The whole place was flooded under varying amounts of water.

“Should we try to go around?” I asked looking to see if I could find higher ground. The fog all around us limited my ability to see, but it looked as though we were standing on a peninsula, and the only thing around us was the dirty pool of water.

“It doesn’t look too bad,” Penn said looking down at our feet. The water levels seemed to be increasing as we stood there and, before long, we’d be standing in the water even if we stayed here.

The cold water started to seep into my shoes making my feet feel numb. My clothes were already damp from walking in the drizzle and fog. I shivered and hugged my body.

I looked out at the city streets trying to see if I could guess at how deep the water was, but it seemed to vary wildly depending on where I looked. It appeared to me as though the city was being sucked up into the earth. I let out a long breath, “If only we had a boat.”

Penn took about four steps and the water was already up to his ankles. He turned around, “We can do this. Let’s just be sure not to go that way.”

He pointed downhill about a block away where the water was almost halfway up the still-standing stop sign post. I sloshed through the water behind him. Carter was helping Sienna along, practically carrying her.

I didn’t even think about turning back until we were about four blocks away from where we had stood and the water seemed to be rising up around me. It was like I was standing in a bathtub as it was being filled, and before I knew it, the water was up to my calves. And then up to my knees.

T
he water was pooling
up around us so fast I was sure I’d have to start swimming. I didn’t know, though, if I had enough energy to actually swim. It was probably just my imagination, but it felt as though the brown, dirty water was thicker than regular, clean water.

Dean grabbed my hand. He looked as though he was afraid of losing me to a current, like what had happened to Sienna back at the river.

“This way,” Penn shouted waving his hand to our right, but it didn’t matter which way we went. We weren’t going to be able to escape the water. It just kept getting deeper and deeper, making it harder to walk.

I looked behind to make sure Carter and Sienna were still with us. Carter was stomping through the water carrying Sienna in his arms. He looked like some kind of superhero that had just finished a battle, whereas she looked like a floppy, rag doll.

“There,” Penn said and pointed to an area that seemed to be on higher ground. At least for now anyway. There was a fence with a rusting, broken swing-set surrounded by some trees.

I let go of Dean’s hand so I could move faster through the water. It was almost up to my waist and I wanted to be able to use my arms to help me wade through the water. The sooner I could get to that fenced-in area, the better I’d feel.

I took a step to the side, and the earth shifted below my foot. My body fell as if I weighed a ton and, before I could say anything, I was under the water.

It felt as though something was pulling me downward. I tried to swim against it, but it wasn’t working. My body felt too heavy and I struggled to break through the surface.

I moved my arms and kicked as hard as I could. My head popped through the water and I gasped for air. Whatever was below was trying to bring me back down again, but I fought against it as hard as I could.

I tried to find Dean or Penn but I must have been turned around the other way because I didn’t see anything but water and debris. I tried to shout for them, but no one answered.

“Where—” I started, but I was cut off when I was pulled back under. I hadn’t even been able to take in a good breath.

My arms and legs moved frantically and I couldn’t get myself up. I started to panic and almost opened my mouth to scream. No matter how hard I swam I couldn’t make my body go up. I wasn’t even sure I knew which way up was.

Then something happened. A thought occurred to me. Maybe it was just my time. Life above the surface had been hard, and now it would be so easy to just… let go.

My arms were tired and my legs were getting sore. It felt like I was swimming in gallons of thick maple syrup.

“Ros!” I thought I could hear someone calling out for me through the water, but I was probably only imagining it. I was so tired… I just wanted to stop. Dean would keep fighting. And so would Sienna. We’d made a deal. They’d miss me but they’d just have to keep going, same as I would do if I ever lost either one of them.

My eyes were closed but the darkness only seemed to get darker. Maybe I was going deeper, or maybe I was close to death. It felt as though something was pulling at my arm. I must have gotten flipped upside down and whatever it was that used to be pulling at my legs, was now pulling at my arms. Maybe it was time for me to leave my body.

I reached out my hand to whatever it was that was taking me away, to let them know I was ready. It felt like fingers wrapping around my wrist and pulling hard for me to come along. I kicked my legs with my last bit of energy and went with whatever was guiding me away.

When my head broke through the water’s surface my mouth opened automatically and oxygen was being pushed into my lungs. It felt like my chest was burning. I looked around blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

Penn was in the water holding me up. He grabbed me tightly and swam me over towards the others who were standing near the fenced-in area we’d spotted before.

I started to cry when I saw Dean. Or maybe it was from the pressure I felt in my chest. I was gasping for air and choking on water that must have somehow gotten into my lungs. It felt as though there wasn’t enough air in the world to satisfy my need for oxygen.

“Are you OK? Is she OK?” Dean said pulling me closer to him.

I nodded, but my eyes were wide and filled with fear. My body was shaking uncontrollably but somehow I was still alive. At least I was pretty sure I was.

“The ground was under me but then it was gone. Just like that,” I said between each breath. “Did I die?”

Dean shook his head, “Still alive. Thank God.”

“I think I almost died.”

Dean hugged me, “I saw you go under. Looked like something pulled you down. I wasn’t sure if anyone would get to you in time. Then we lost sight of you.”

“OK,” I said not really understanding what any of his words meant.

“Let’s get out of here before the whole area is sucked away,” Carter said pointing towards a road that went up a hill. “That way!”

Even though I had no energy, I ran for the road holding on to Dean’s hand far too tightly. He didn’t complain, and I never wanted to let go of him ever again.

I noticed that no one was carrying our pail of supplies, or the jug of water.

“Where’s all our stuff?” I said looking at what seemed to be a lake behind me. If we saw them floating maybe we could just swim back for them, but all I saw when I looked back was the brown, mucky water that had tried to swallow me alive.

The water flowed as if it had somewhere to go. I watched the debris moving chaotically around as it was pulled in different directions.

“It’s gone,” Penn said, and I wondered if he had dropped it so that he could rescue me. I didn’t want to be the reason we didn’t have any of our supplies. “It’s OK. We’ll find more.”

Once we were at the top of the hill, I knew we were going to be all right. The drizzle had stopped and the only flowing water I could see was the water behind us. The area to the front and sides was saturated from the rains, but at least it wasn’t flooded.

I wrapped my arms around my shivering body. Dean put his arm around me, trying to provide warmth, as we walked on the squishy ground.

We were walking through some kind of field, and with each step the earth held onto my foot. My legs were already tired from kicking, but I had to force them to keep going. I didn’t have a choice, there wasn’t a house in sight.

Even though the rain had stopped, the fog was still relatively thick. There could have been a house in walking distance and we just weren’t able to see it.

Sienna started coughing and fell to her knees. Dean ran to her and Carter crouched down putting his hand on her shoulder. He was obviously concerned, but at the same time I knew he had seen this all before with his sister.

“You OK?” Dean said tilting her face up towards his once she stopped coughing.

She stared into his eyes and then her lip started to quiver. “NO!” she cried out. Sienna was done pretending, and I didn’t blame her. She was tough, but she was also human, “I’m cold, I’m tired and I’m sick!”

Dean looked at Carter as if he wanted to be told how to make her better, but Carter looked away from him. If he had the answer to that question surely he would have done whatever it was for his sister.

Carter couldn’t bear to see the look in Dean’s eyes. He recognized the pain, worry and helplessness, as he had once had the same look too.

“We have to find someplace to go,” Dean said looking as though he was begging Penn to find something.

Penn nodded, “We will. First place we find we’ll stay. No matter what.”

And I knew that meant he’d kill if he had to. Penn would do whatever it took to secure the next place we came across.

* * *

W
hen I saw
the little house with a small barn off to the side, I was sure it couldn’t be real. But when the others noticed it too, I realized it must have been. There wasn’t a single one of us that wasn’t ready for a break.

Not only did I want to find somewhere for Sienna to rest and get well, I wanted to dry off and maybe find a change of clothes. A shower would be a dream come true, but I knew that wasn’t a possibility.

Dean and I didn’t even bother holding our unloaded guns as we approached. Carter and Penn checked it out and quickly made sure the house was empty.

I wasn’t surprised that houses were empty. It would have been impossible to stay somewhere that didn’t have some kind of source for water and food. And even places that did have stocked supplies would run out eventually, unless someone kept working on replenishing them.

Most people probably went out right away looking for help, or others, just like we had when we left the shelter. Those that stayed in their homes probably abandoned them once the food and water were gone.

Eventually those people would find HOME, a different group trying to survive like the resistance, or they would die. There were probably very few people still wandering around like we were. The people that were left in the world were grouped together, hiding or dead. The last being the same fate we’d most likely suffer.

“No one is here,” Carter said waving us inside. He helped Sienna to the sofa and Dean followed behind them.

I closed and locked the door once we were all safely inside. The living room was a mess. I didn’t know if it was from the storms that had blown through or if the house had belonged to a family that had just been messy.

There were kids’ toys strewn about, dirty dishes still in the sink and what I hoped was fruit juice stains all over the carpet.

“Fireplace,” I said looking at it as if I could tell if it would be usable or not.

“Yeah,” Penn said sweeping his arms outward, “and fire hazards.”

There were three bedrooms and all of them had mountains of laundry stacked and piled in them. It looked as though one of the parents had to stop in the middle of folding the laundry.

I went through the things that had belonged to the mother and found a change of clothing. They didn’t fit right… the sweatpants were too baggy, but I was able to tighten the drawstring enough to keep them up. The t-shirt I’d found hung off of me like I was a hanger.

There was a thick coating of dust on the full-length mirror. I picked up a random piece of clothing and wiped it clean. The person staring back at me was almost unrecognizable. My cheeks were sunken in and I was drastically underweight. The girl looking back at me was just a skeleton, and she didn’t look happy about it.

It wouldn’t even matter if I caught Sienna’s cold or not, if we didn’t find more food and water soon, it would be too late for all of us.

When I came back out, Penn was digging through the kitchen cabinets. He’d set out several things on the table, but just as with everything else we’d found, it wouldn’t be enough. Maybe enough that we could tack on just one more day to whatever our short life expectancy had dwindled down to.

My legs were about to give out, so I went into the living room. I couldn’t believe how sore my arms were from having to fight against the waters. I didn’t want to know what my burn looked like after the bandage had been soaked in that scummy water.

Dean was sitting on a wobbly chair he’d taken from the dining room. He’d pulled it right up to the sofa so he could be close to Sienna if she needed anything. He was leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees and his forehead down against his fists. I wanted to be there for him, but I didn’t know what to do or say that could make him feel better. I put my hand on his shoulder and held it there for a moment before sitting down in a squeaky recliner.

Carter had his back pressed against the sofa. His knees were bent and his feet flat against the floor. He stared at his hands as he passed a tiny red ball back and forth from one hand to the other.

“Can I get her anything?” I asked, even though I had no idea what I could get her. What she really needed was a doctor, and I definitely couldn’t get her one of those. All we could really do for her was let her rest, try to find her some food and water, and hope she could quickly fight off the nasty illness.

Dean shook his head. I didn’t know if that meant there wasn’t anything, or if he didn’t know what she needed. Maybe it meant both.

I rocked the noisy recliner back and forth and let my eyes close. Every so often I’d open them and everyone would be in a different position. Everyone except for Sienna.

She was laying on her back with her eyes closed. I couldn’t tell if she was sleeping, but I hoped that she was.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke to something warming my body. The heat made my arm tingle, but it warmed my chilled bones. There was a fire glowing and crackling in the fireplace, that I assumed Penn had started.

Sometime after my body warmed I must have fallen asleep again, because I was being woken by someone pushing a bowl of what looked like plain boiled noodles against my stomach.

I squinted at them as if I couldn’t tell if I was in a dream, “Noodles? How do we have noodles?”

“There’s a big pond out back,” Penn said with a quick smile. “Technically I don’t think it’s supposed to be there, but it is… from all the rain. I boiled the water, then boiled the noodles. I added some salt, pepper, and voila! Pond noodles!”