Counting Down (33 page)

“How are they surviving the cold?” Jim asked.

“The red ones have their own heat source and their protecting the others from the weather, walking in a circle with the woman and her teenage son in the center. The boy is glowing orange and his mother is violet. They’re walking from the south. Should be here sometime tomorrow.”

Silence permeated the room as they all stared at him in awed silence.

Alex finally spoke up. “That’s good though, right. We could use fire starters.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Kyle looked at Abby. “Could also be a little dangerous.” He thought for a second then shook his head and held up the lifeless body of the chicken. “Who wants to do the plucking?”

* * *

Alex woke up sometime in the middle of
the night with an overly dry throat. One shake of his water bottle reminded him that it was empty. He rolled out of his bunk, grabbed a flashlight, and stepped into the main room for a fresh bottle.

He stepped up the counter, lazily stretched himself to reach the open case on the shelf above the sink then snagged his shirt on the hatch release lever.

As he pulled the fabric from the metal he realized the lever was in the wrong position. The hatch was open. He pulled it closed and went straight to wake Abby and Kyle.

The curtain to their bunk was closed as usual so Alex knocked lightly and spoke in a hushed voice. “You guys decent?”

Kyle pulled the curtain open in an instant. He was alone.

“Hey did we forget to close the hatch?” Alex asked. “Where’s Abby? Bathroom?”

Kyle narrowed his eyes, cocked his head, then jumped out of the bed with a lightening quick burst.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

Kyle was getting dressed, didn’t bother to look up. “She’s not in the god damn bunker.”

“What? What do you mean?” “I mean she’s not here Alex. I can’t see her. She’s not in the bunker and she’s nowhere on the farm.”

“Did you guys have a fight or something?”

“No. Everything was fine. I would know if she was mad at me anyway. She can’t keep her thoughts to herself when she’s angry.” He pulled his boots out from under the bunk and started shoving them on his feet. “Something’s wrong. She wouldn’t just leave without a word.”

Jake climbed out of his bunk then, obviously awakened by the voices of the two other men. He stretched, glanced up at the empty bunk above his. “Guys.”

Alex had been watching
Jake move into the alleyway. He
hit Kyle’s arm to get his attention away from the boot he was lacing up.

Jake continued. “David’s gone too.”

“What?” Kyle said, squinting at Jake.

Everyone was up now, rolling from their bunks and standing in the alley.

“You guys are being really loud,” Evie said yawning.

“What’s going on?” Jim asked.

“That son of a bitch,” Alex seethed. “He’s kidnapped her.”

“It’s almost morning,” Jake said. “He could be hours away with her by now.”

Kyle’s face looked like it had been carved in stone.
His fists clenched at his sides and he grit his teeth together with suppressed rage. “Jim, did you get that shotgun out of the other bunker?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Find some ammo for me and pack some rations into a bag.”

“Put in enough food for two Jim.” Alex turned to Kyle. “Now that she’s not my girlfriend, Abby might be the best friend I’ve ever had. If she’s in trouble you’re not going anywhere without me.”

“Obviously I’m going too.” Jim said. “My niece, remember?”

Jake stepped up. “You can count on me and Sam.”

“Why don’t we all go?” Evie asked. “Abby’s like our den mother or something. We all care about her?”

“We’ll see,” Kyle said. “We have to hurry now. He’s already got a huge lead on us. Let’s move.”

* * *

K
yle found no joy in the idea of taking
another life. In fact, until the end of the world had come to Kansas, he hadn’t even seriously considered the idea of killing another human being. But now he walked down a country road, cold, scared, and pissed off with a shot gun slung over his back. When it came to Abby, he was prepared to destroy a hundred men.

The women had stayed below ground after much argument.
Both of them had wanted desperately to help, but the four men agreed that neither of them had the kind of power that was needed and they were too valuable to risk.
And neither of them needed to be involved in what Kyle was sure was going to be a bloody standoff.

The sun was coming up as they stepped outside, though it was hard to tell with the perpetual ash cloud lingering in the sky. The temperature had gone up a touch, but the wind was still icy against Kyle’s skin.

Alex looked around, turning his head left then right. “Which way?”

Kyle reached out with his vision, pulling back to the present after a second. “I still can’t see her. But I think David is going to meet up with the other group, the red ones and the woman with the boy. He’s wanted control since the start and they might be easily coerced into joining him.”

“You said they’re coming in from the south?” Jim asked.

Kyle nodded. “South it is.”

The
y
headed out, moving away from the wind with a steady pace.

After a quarter of a mile, Kyle turned to Alex. “Thanks for coming.”

Alex smiled. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“No, just wanted to make sure you knew I appreciated it. And everything you’ve done for Abby. You were there for her when I couldn’t be.”

Alex sent him a sideways glance, nodded. “Just do me a favor?”

“Uh yeah. Of course. Whatever you need.”

“Make sure this is really forever before you make any promises.
She’s… emotionally fragile.”

Kyle couldn’t help but smile. He was glad Abby had a loyal friend in Alex. She wasn’t that close with the other women and Alex obviously understood her. He cared for her in an almost brotherly way. Well, as much as he could considering they had been lovers for over a year but that was a fact Kyle tried not to think about.

“She’s stronger than you realize.”

“Maybe so, but you didn’t see her when she thought you were dead. I was terrified she was going to do something stupid.”

Kyle looked at his feet as he walked. “I wasn’t sure what to do when I first met her. It was all a little much. Overwhelming.” He kicked a rock in the road, watched it skip along the ash. “I was completely distracted by her. Couldn’t think straight from the first moment. But now I know I can’t be without her. I won’t let her go.”

“Good. That’s all I wanted to know.”

Kyle smirked. “What is it about you? That’s more than I’ve revealed to
another man
since… well ever.”

Alex shrugged. “Guess I’m easy to talk to.”

“Yeah, well
that’s going to take some getting used to for me
.
So, let’s make sure we have plenty of talks about f
ixing stuff, or building
things
out of wood
,
and other not so deep topics
.
Deal?
”

“Deal.
Though I’m not really a fix-it kind of guy. I’m more of the can’t-a-hold-a-hammer type of guy.”

Kyle grinned and shrugged as they continued walking.

Alex looked thoughtful. “Or maybe a where’s-my-avocado-face-peal kind of guy.
”

Thursday, January 24th 2013, 6:25am

They had been walking over three hours and covered almost
eight
miles when Kyle stopped dead in the road.
“I can see her now.” “

Where is she?” Jim asked. “Is she okay?”

Kyle sent his vision further, looking more clearly until everything came into focus. He saw her in a white house, lying on an ash covered kitchen floor with her arms tied behind her back. Her hands were wrapped in layers of fabric and tape and she was blindfolded.

“Abby,” Kyle said. “Abby can you hear me?”

“What’s she saying?” Alex asked.

“She won’t answer me.” He raised his voice a notch and tried again. “Abby we’re coming to get you. Can you hear me?” When he still didn’t get a response, he returned to the other men. “I’m going to kill him. I swear to god he’s dead.”

“What happened?” Alex asked.

“She’s not conscious.” Kyle had to resist the urge to slam the shotgun into the pavement. When he spoke again his teeth were mashed so hard together that his mouth barely moved. “That fucking bastard knocked her out. He’s got her hands wrapped up and her eyes covered so she can’t use her abilities. But she can still use her vision. He doesn’t realize it, but she doesn’t need to physically use her eyes to see or hear me.”

“How much farther do we have to go?” Jim asked.

“Another mile or two. I’m not sure. I don’t have a magical measuring tape that I can take along with me.”

They began walking again and Jim shouted over the wind. “Windstone, keep an eye on her… or whatever… and try to get the lay of the land before we get there. Figure out where David’s positioned. Maybe we can sneak up on him. I wish we had more weapons. Even a knife would be useful.”

Sam and Jake simultaneously pulled out blades from their pockets. “Like these?” Sam said.

Jim smiled. “You guys don’t mess around. The Mason farm is coming up on the left. Let’s ransack it. See what else we can find. And Kyle, maybe you should give me the gun.”

Kyle’s pace was furious. “This is my fight Jim.”

“She’s my niece so I’d say it’s my fight too. And I’ve got the training.”

Kyle sighed. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Jim how long he’d grieve if Abby died, if his life would change forever without her. Kyle knew what life was like without Abby. It was lifeless, empty, painful. Even if there came a day when he couldn’t have her, just knowing she was breathing would be enough to keep him going.

Finally, Kyle responded. “If Dan Mason’s guns are still in his cabinet you can have this one.”

Fortunately the Mason farm was heavily armed. By the time they walked out of the dilapidated house each of them had at least one rifle hanging on their backs. Jim had two, including the shot gun Kyle had promised him.

An hour later they were standing a few thousand yards outside of the property where Abby was being held. Kyle had been keeping a watching Abby, walking while visioning most of the way down the road, but she hadn’t stirred once.

He leaned against a tree, clenched his eyes in concentration. “Abby. Abby please, wake up.”

He saw her tremble in his vision, heard the small gasp escape her.

“Kyle?” Her voice filled his head, laced with fear.

“I’m coming. We’re just outside.”

“No!”

“Hush. Keep your voice down. He’s close by.”

“She really needs to figure the whole telepathy thing out,” Alex muttered.

Kyle ignored him, not taking the time to explain that the silent telepathy only worked at close range, and listened to Abby’s voice bouncing in his head. She sounded completely terrified. “Turn around. Don’t come here. He’s waiting for you.”

“I know. It’s okay. We’re ready.”

“No. Kyle. He wants to kill you. The others are with him. He lied about you. Told them you’d done terrible things. They believed him and they think you deserve what’s coming.”