Children of the After: The Complete Series: A Young Adult Postapocalyptic Action and Adventure series (10 page)

With a lump in his throat, Jack’s stomach twisted within him. It was the same man on the horse. Even from this distance he knew it, and the man had seen them. There was only one thing they could do. Turning, Jack grabbed Will’s wrist as Sam’s panic-stricken face resolved and she turned to follow his lead, as she took Will’s free hand. Together they turned east upon the interstate and began running. Even from so far away, the rider would be able to see which way they were going. He could move five times faster on the horse than they could on foot. He would catch them in an hour, give or take. Jack was counting on it.

Weaving in between fallen signs and destroyed cars, Will led his siblings as fast as he could, guiding them on, looking over his left shoulder again and again to mark the rider’s progress. Down the far slope of the overpass they ran, scattering dust and glass as they went. When they reached the divided lanes of the interstate only a hundred yards further he led them into the grass of the median, before dragging them to a halt between the two opposing lanes of traffic.

“Now you listen and listen good,” Jack said, the sternness in his own voice sounding in his ears the same as his father had that last day. “Follow the grass back towards the overpass. Stay off the glass and ash on the road. Go under the overpass, but be careful he doesn’t see you. You’ll have to be fast and hide up near the top, where the bridge crosses over. Hide and I’ll come back.”

“You can’t just leave us,” Sam pleaded, tears already beginning from her eyes. “Not like Dad.”

“I’m not, just trust me, there is no time. Now go!” Jack shouted, shoving Sam and Will away from himself as he turned and began sprinting away.

Measuring his every breath he stretched out his strides, feeling the air pass over his face and through his hair. Running was freedom. Here in this moment, he could get away from anything. In the past he had used it to get away from Mom and Dad’s nagging about his grades or preparing for college. He had even used it to get over his grandfather’s passing, but he couldn’t use it now. Couldn’t enjoy it. Leaving Sam and Will behind felt like a betrayal, even if he knew it was the only way. Glancing back, just once, he saw their fleeing backs. They had done as he had told them.

Stretching each stride to the last inch he pushed his sore muscles and veered off course, listening to his boots upon the pavement before moving back into the grass. Ahead, maybe two miles, was a rise and then sight ahead was lost. Two miles. Twelve minutes, maybe more if he was slower now than he had been months ago. He had to keep up pace.

Again he swerved onto the concrete, leaving tracks in the ash on its surface. They were probably useless, but if the rider had companions who were following, they would follow the tracks. At least that’s what Jack hoped. One mile down.

On and on he ran, feeling his pulse level out at its normal running pace and he matched his breathing to the perfect clock of his heart. With every beat he took a stride, and with every stride he watched the ground sweep beneath his feet. Minutes slowed as the world seemed to stretch out to infinity in front of him but on Jack raced, refusing to give up. Another half a mile down.

Faster and faster he pushed himself, feeling his lungs tightening from the strain as his body threatened him with cramps, but there was no time to slow, he just knew he had to keep going. Leaning forward he pumped his legs harder and harder, driving them down into the soft grassy ground and he plunged onward, topping the rise that was his goal. Digging his heels into the soil, he slid to an abrupt stop and turned to witness exactly what he had bet their lives against.

* * * * *

She couldn’t believe he was doing this. Not now. Not like Dad had done. Could he be serious? But then she realized that this wasn’t like Dad. He wasn’t stuffing them in a box saying
stay inside as long as you can.
No. He said
hide and I’ll be back
.
I’ll be back
. That was different. Blinking the tears from her eyes, Sam gritted her teeth and pushed away her pain and hurt and grabbed Will’s hand, as Jack turned and did what he was born to do. Away from them, as fast as his legs would carry him, Jack sprinted as if trying to outrun death himself. And perhaps he was.

Turning, Sam looked into the eyes of her little brother knowing it was not fair to him to say what she had to, but knew that it might be their only chance.

“Hurry, Will. We have to do what Jack said and let the rider chase Jack, or else he might get us.”

“But, Jack…”

“No buts, little man. Let’s go!”

Jerking her little brother nearly off his feet she tried to mimic her older brother and run, but Will’s little legs couldn’t keep pace. Like Jack had warned, they followed the grass, moving as fast as they could, back in the direction they had come. Already she could hear the rhythmic falls of the horse’s shod feet upon the asphalt of the city streets and with every sound it grew louder. They weren’t going to make it.

Turning, she spared a look back over her shoulder to see Jack already an incredible distance away. He was
so
fast. On and on the sounds of the horse came as Sam began to think that they would reach the overpass in time. But her hope was suddenly torn away from her as her hand yanked back driving her to the ground.

Rolling upon the grass, she spun to look upon Will who had gotten his leg entangled in the tall grass and tripped, pulling her with him. It wasn’t Will’s fault, but his fall had ruined their chances of making it to the underpass and Sam knew it. On and on the horse came, its hoof falls now echoing out from the very underpass they were supposed to hide in.

Dragging Will back to his feet, Sam pulled him through the grass, her heart pounding in her ears as a scream threatened to spring from her lips. They couldn’t go to the underpass. She knew that without a doubt, and then it struck her.

All about her, on both sides of the median, charred vehicles sat abandoned and destroyed as if the event had happened sometime around rush hour. Though far from whole and even further from ideal, they provided for her and Will a place to hide, allowing Jack to carry out his plan of leading the rider away. Ahead the hoof beats began to slow.

Turning abruptly, Sam pulled her younger brother with her as she neared the pavement. Again her arm tugged. As she looked back to her little brother, he swung his head wildly from side to side, reminding her of Jack’s warning.
Stay off the road. Good call.
Turning again she pulled him another dozen feet nearer to the underpass, dropping to the ground and pointing under a large SUV.

Watching as Will vanished under the hulking piece of charred metal, Sam dropped her pack and kicked it under before dropping to her belly and pulling her body beneath it too. It was slow going, and with all the rubber melted from the tires the clearance was barely enough to permit her.

Cursing her bubble butt, as Mom had called it on more than one shopping trip, she nudged Will farther beneath the metallic mammoth and together they hid in silence. She hoped for all of them that Jack’s plan worked. She could not and would not tell Will that Jack was gone too. She couldn’t break his heart like that. Not again.

* * * * *

Will slid over, crushing the thick grass beneath him as he struggled for a more comfortable spot and vantage to see the road beyond. He could hear the horse approaching and the sound sent shivers down his spine, causing his leg to jerk, accidentally kicking his sister. Fortunately, she didn’t yell at him. She didn’t even look in his direction. Instead, they both watched on towards the underpass, staring intently across their narrow field of view as the horse’s steps slowed to a crawl somewhere just out of sight. Will wondered what the man was doing out there on his horse. Why was he chasing them? What did he want? He knew people could be mean. Mrs. Dervish, his first grade teacher had been mean, but she’d never tried to hurt him. This was different.

Flattening down the grass in front of his face, Will dug his toes down into the ground and pushed himself forward for a better view. Apparently Sam had another idea, and grabbing the back of his pants she pulled him back under the truck again. Still the horse moved slow, but Will realized that it was now moving in a different direction. Not only that, but it was getting close. Really close.

Turning slowly, he watched Sam’s head slowly swiveling to follow the sound and he did the same, listening to every fall of every hoof as they grew ever nearer. Holding his breath for fear that the man would hear him, Will watched as the horse’s hooves came into sight just a short distance away, riding the edge of the road. Then, at his absolute closest to their hiding place, the rider stopped his mount. They had been discovered. Will knew the man had found them. Panic surged within him and when he moved to crawl out of hiding and make a run for it, Samantha’s reassuring hand reached out to him and touched his arm. The rider yelled and his horse leapt forward again.

Off down the pavement the rider raced, his horse’s hooves pounding out a steady rhythm that grew farther and farther away with every passing second. After a few minutes of listening to the retreating sounds, Sam released his arm and she began to move. Will didn’t know what the plan was now, but instead of asking, which is exactly what he wanted to do, he simply followed her and extracted himself from beneath the SUV. Seconds later they were on the move towards the overpass, just as Jack had told them to do.

Climbing up the sloped wall beneath the overpass just moments later, Will found that there were several great places to hide, and quickly picked one in the deepest shadow where he could see out and down the road a long way in the direction Jack had run. Jack said he would be back and Will knew he would be. They just had to wait until he got back. Will hoped it was soon. He was hungry again.

* * * * *

Standing atop the small rise just two miles from the overpass where he hoped Sam and Will had found a safe hiding place, Jack watched as the rider emerged from under the overpass. Still atop his steed, the man did not notice him at first, but Jack had a plan. Turning, he faced away from the rider, and took a deep breath.

“Run!” he yelled waving his arms like a stark mad, raving lunatic.

Then, looking over his shoulder as the rider began to move towards him, Jack leaned forward and began pumping his legs again. His ploy had worked, the rider thought them still running. All of them. Racing down into the ravine between two hills, Jack took to the grass to eliminate leaving tracks for the rider to follow. It was a simple plan, really, and looking around, he spotted the perfect location to complete it. With the thundering hooves growing louder and louder, Jack reached the small car and heaved up on its partially closed trunk lid.

Inside the trunk were bits and pieces of blackened clothing and a melted tire that smelled worse than death, but there was no time now to find an alternative. More or less rolling into the trunk, Jack reached up to grasp the underside of its lid and pulled it down until it was nearly sealed. All that was left to do no was wait and listen as the rider thundered nearer.

Laying in the trunk of the small car with something pressing uncomfortably into his ribs, Jack listened as the thrumming beats of the horse’s shoed feet grew near. By sound alone he knew when the rider reached the crest of the ravine and slowed as he guided his beast down the slope. Jack listened intently as his heart hammered in his chest to match the beat of the horse’s hooves. Down the rider came. Nearer and nearer. The horse left the road as its steps became muffled in the grass. In the darkness of the trunk, Jack shook his head. The rider must have noticed that the trunk wasn’t closed.

Feeling sick to his stomach, remembering the rider’s steely eyes, Jack braced himself to kick out at the rider as soon as the trunk came open. And then the horse was on the road again, its hooves pounding away from him, continuing on in the direction he had led the man. His plan had worked. Sighing in relief, he waited several moments to let his heart slow and the adrenaline fade from his blood. Now, he just needed to get back to Sam and Will.

Counting the seconds in whispered breaths, for nearly twenty minutes Jack listened as the rider thundered away until he was certain it was safe to leave his hiding place. Twenty minutes, and it would only take about twelve to get back to his brother and sister. Cautiously, he pushed the trunk lid open.

Looking about he was surprised to find that evening was already upon him, the sunlight in the sky fading more rapidly than he would have imagined. The day was nearly gone and they were still in the city. There was no way he would stay here another night. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jack sprang forward into a dead run.

Keeping completely to the grass this time, in order to leave no trail that gave away his deceit, he pressed himself just as hard as he had earlier, stretching his stride and pushing every step to the limit. It was only moments until he reached the top of the ravine and looking back he could see no sign of the rider. Assured, he continued on as fast as his body would carry him all the way back to the overpass where his siblings should be hiding in wait.

Slowing to a jog as he approached the ever darkening underpass, he focused on lowering his heart rate and leveling his breathing. It was not until he walked nearly half way through the concrete structure when he heard a familiar gasp and looked up, to be greeted by familiar faces.

* * * * *

Sam could hear Jack running in her and Will’s direction and found herself focusing on his muffled footfalls. She had seen him run enough over the last few years to know his stride and pacing, though until now never thought she would recognize it by sound. Listening to him slow as he came nearer she found herself relieved, knowing he wouldn’t slow if he was being followed.

Peering out of her darkened hiding spot among what she could only call the rafters of the overpass, she glimpsed over to see Will’s smiling face. Looking down, Jack came into sight, huffing and puffing as he fought to breathe normally. He looked up then, his eyes connecting with her own for a moment in a look that said
I told you so
. And indeed he had. He had said he would return and he had come back. Sam wouldn’t have to tell Will that Jack was gone. A weight lifted off of her shoulders that she hadn’t even realized had been there. She felt lighter, happier, and more secure. She couldn’t help but smile in reply as Jack turned his attention to Will, who was already scrambling from his hiding place to rush down the concrete wall.

Down their younger brother half slid to the outstretched arms of Jack, who caught him up like a scene from a movie where a veteran of a war was reunited with his family after years of hardship. But wasn’t this the same? It certainly felt the same. Watching as Jack leaned back, catching Will midflight in his arms, the two hugged each other tightly and Sam found her eyes becoming moist. Again. She was so tired of tears.

She had been worried when he left but never believed for a moment that he wouldn’t come back. Or had she? Sure she was relieved, and happy beyond measure that Jack was here, as was Will, but had she thought about losing him? Though her mind said the answer was an obvious
no
, her heart screamed
yes
within her. In that moment she realized that Jack could have been gone forever, taken from her and Will in an instant and they would have never gotten a chance to tell him goodbye. They would have been alone and lost without him in a world where nothing was left but desolation and loneliness. She wanted to hug the breath out of him too.

Pressing her body up from the concrete shelf, she began to slide forward as a flicker of movement caught out of the corner of her eye made her freeze and turn in its direction. There, in the darkness upon the opposite shelf as she, something moved in the shadows. She saw the glint of eyes, and watched as shadows moved within the darkness, hinting at its size and shape. There was something there, and it was watching them. She wanted to scream but couldn’t find the air. She wanted to climb down the wall but found herself frozen, her body unwilling to cooperate. For that instant she could do nothing but watch as it moved awkwardly through the darkness towards the opposite end of the cement structure.

Again and again she tried to make out its shape, watching as it appeared that it was leaving. Down to the end of the shelf it maneuvered amongst the darkness. But it didn’t leave. Instead, reaching the farthest corner from her it turned and backed into the corner, its reflective eyes peering back at her across the darkened distance. There it waited. Unmoving. Unblinking. It stared. Sam willed her own body to move.

Never taking her eyes off the creature she rolled over the edge of the shelf and slid down upon her back to the roadway below. Instantly Jack and Will were upon her, pulling her up and off the ground and into their arms but it brought no comfort. Not now.

Raising her arm, she thrust out a finger towards the thing that still watched, and finally managed to stammer.

“There. There in the dark. Something is there, Jack. It’s watching us.”

“What?” Jack asked, as he spun to peer in the direction of her finger.

Though she still felt stiff as the effects of fear held her in place, Jack released her and lowered Will to the ground before turning to have a closer look. She wanted to warn him against it, but couldn’t manage the words. Something within her warred with her impulse to scream and vent the fear out, telling her to let Jack go and things would be fine, but she didn’t trust it. On Jack walked, slowly towards the concealed eyes.

Darkness outside the underpass grew thicker by the moment and here, under the road above, was becoming nearly impenetrable. But still Jack moved for a better look. Watching as he neared the end of the tunnel, Sam saw him pick something off of the ground before leaning forward as if to try and peer into the blackness. Then, as the scream broke from both her and Will’s lungs, the watcher lunged from its concealment to kick off of one of the great cement girders above, before launching out into the blackness of the night and vanishing.

Startled beyond anything she could ever recall, Sam felt her heart trying to hammer its way out of her chest as she reached up to cover her mouth that, though soundless, still remained open. Will trembled, clutching to her leg, just as startled as she. Away went her fear, and in its place an odd calm washed over her as she looked down to the boy who clutched at her.

“It’s OK now, baby. Whatever it was, it’s gone. Jack chased it away.”

Though Will didn’t reply, he was breathing heavily but fine, and Sam brushed her fingers through his hair to calm him as Jack retraced his steps towards them.

“What the heck was that?” her older brother asked.

Sam shook her head in reply. Her mind couldn’t make sense of what she had seen. At least, what she thought she had seen.

* * * * *

Will had to pee again. But not now, not with
that
thing out there. Nope. He was gonna wait and hold it as long as he could. Maybe forever. It didn’t matter now.

Wanting to know what
they
thought about it, he began listening to Jack and Sam’s conversation.

“I think it was a monkey or something,” Jack said, already leading them away from the underpass.

“A monkey? Like a chimp or something? Cause that thing was bigger than a monkey,” Sam replied after a moment.

They walked as they talked, though slower than they had done over the previous days, and Will wondered what kind of monkey looked like that. He’d been to the zoo lots of times and never seen a monkey like that, even if he couldn’t tell exactly what it had looked like. But, instead of interrupting, he kept his opinions to himself.

“Maybe a baboon or chimp, I dunno. It moved like a monkey anyway, but I didn’t see any fur. Did you?” Jack asked.

“I don’t think so, but it was so fast and it’s dark.”

“Yeah I know, but I was pretty close and it looked weird, like skin but different. You know?”

“Maybe it got burned or something or maybe radiation made it lose all its hair?” Sam offered.

“Just more questions, I guess,” said Jack. “But we need to move. You guys screamed really loud. The rider might have heard you, and who knows what or who else might have heard?”

And with that Will gave his hand to Sam, and through the darkness they took to the median of the interstate and turned west away from the city and the rider.

Though he didn’t want another run in with the monkey thing or the rider, it was only about an hour later when Will just couldn’t go any further. Shaking his hand free from Sam’s, he dropped his book bag and began running towards the nearest abandoned car. He heard Sam giggle while he peed but it didn’t matter. At least it didn’t feel like his tummy was going to explode anymore. But the problem with peeing was that now that his bladder wasn’t full, he was hungry again. He knew they needed to keep going. Jack kept on saying it. But they had been moving all day and now it was night and they hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and Will was certain if he didn’t eat soon his stomach would swallow another one of his organs.

“Guys?” Will asked.

“Yeah, buddy?” Jack replied.

“I’m hungry.”

“I know, little man. Me too. But we need to keep going a little longer. Eat your Skittles while we walk and when we find a safe place I’ll cook us something.”

That was good enough for Will. Candy now and hot food later? Yup. That would do it. He thrust his hand into this pocket, pulling out the twisted red, plastic bag and untwisting it carefully he tipped his head back and poured a mouthful of candies into his already watering mouth. Whoever invented candy was a genius and Will hoped one day he could thank that person face to face. If he or she hadn’t died in the event.

Tramping along through the grass for several more hours, it had to be sometime near midnight when Jack approached the remains of some sort of delivery truck on the shoulder of the road. It was a tall thing as Will approached it with his siblings, and he looked up at it, wondering what it had been used for. An air conditioner-looking box protruded from part of the back of the truck that was separate from the cab. It reminded Will of a moving truck, except for the air conditioner.

Rounding the back of the truck they found it closed, and Will watched as Jack reached up and worked the handle, thrusting the wide door upwards. Looking inside they found the truck nearly empty, containing a wooden pallet and a cart used for moving boxes.

“Looks like we found ourselves a room for the night,” Sam said.

Before he even knew what was happening, Sam lifted him up and placed him in the back of the truck before she used her hands on the floor and hopped up, pulling herself over the edge too. Seconds later Jack was inside, and handing Sam his pack, he turned and pulled the door down behind them. Fortunately there was a handle on the inside too, because Will heard the door click when it closed.

After a moment to move the pallet, Will helped Jack and Sam pull out their cooking supplies and the jar of spaghetti sauce along with a couple other cans of goods they had managed to scavenge along the way, and Jack went to work opening cans as Sam set up their small camp burner and pot. That done, they allowed Will to pour in the sauce and vegetables and he watched as they were all mixed together and the smell of it all began to fill the air as his tummy growled over and over and over.

It could have been because of all the walking, or because he was starving, but he barely tasted his food as he ate from one of the emptied cans with a spoon from the security vault. It wasn’t anything special. Just some veggies and some sauce, but it tasted like heaven, and Will finished all that was left while Sam began painting her face.

As Sam and Jack worked to put their supplies away and wipe off their dishes as best they were able, Will laid down on the metal floor of the truck’s box and wondered about the monkey creature they had seen. It had long legs for a monkey, and he hadn’t seen a tail either. He would have to remember to ask Sam and Jack about it when they weren’t busy.