Surviving The Grid (Survival Series Book 1) Page 12

  Brent seemed happier for having shared what had happened to him, and he went off to play with Michelle. While Darren watched his kids play together, he could almost forget that the world had ended.

  Some time passed, and night began setting in. Due to the day’s exertion, Darren felt himself getting sleepy, and it was clear that the kids were getting that way too. He encouraged them to stay up and wished he had brought games with him to keep their minds occupied. Being nocturnal was going to be more difficult than it seemed. Darren sighed, and then he heard a cough from outside.

  His eyes darted to the mouth of the cave. Quickly, he took the lantern even deeper into the cave so that it wouldn’t be so obvious that there was anyone inside. He ushered Brent and Michelle toward the rear of the cave as well, while he gripped his machete and his gun and sidled along the cave wall until he reached a point where he could look out into the darkness.

  Whoever it was had come here to harm them, of that he was sure.

  They would have to die.

  Chapter 15

  Darren filled his head with thoughts about what was going to happen next. It was quite likely this man would be armed, for Darren couldn’t imagine that anyone would come around here if they didn’t have the ability to defend themselves. They may well try getting Darren out of the way first, depending on what they wanted. If he wanted Darren to do tasks for them, then he may well try harming the kids. As much as he loved Michelle, she wasn’t much use yet in a world like this. There was a lot she still had to learn. What would a stranger make of her? Perhaps he would think her too much of a burden and just would put her out of her misery like a stray cat.

  Bile rose in his throat.

  Could Darren kill a man?

  He’d often had violent thoughts, especially when the stresses of life took hold of him. Protecting his kids was important, but he’d have to find a way to kill the man, if that became necessary, where they couldn’t see. He wasn’t ready for Michelle to be exposed to something like that yet. Of course, in the chaos there was no telling what could happen. He might be forced to do things he didn’t want to do.

  He’d already seen one dead body today, and to his surprise he hadn’t completely lost his mind. Perhaps it was just because he had to hold it together for the sake of his kids, but he didn’t want to empty his stomach at the thought of it.

  He was aware of his heart pounding in his chest, of the weight of the machete and the gun. His throat ran dry. Strangely, the worst thought wasn’t that he would kill someone; but that he wouldn’t be able to if it was needed. The worst thought wasn’t being unable to protect his kids, but freezing through fear.

  Peering into the darkness, he searched for the source of the cough. The sun had set and a blanket of darkness quickly had shrouded the world, just as it had done the previous night. The change in illumination was drastic, and once again the woods became alive with mystery. Anything could have been lurking in the darkness, or anyone.

  Perhaps it was even the family who Brent had seen by the stream. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that the girl who had seen Brent admitted it to her parents, and they had searched the area until they found them. It could have been someone else entirely, someone unknown.

  Darren’s mind was alive with fear. Brent seemed to think the family was harmless, but Darren knew better. The only thing he discounted was that it was the animal that had hounded Brent. The sound was definitely a human cough.

  Darren twisted his neck around to make sure Brent and Michelle were staying near the rear of the cave. Brent had his knife. Darren hoped he wouldn’t have to use it. Brent started to move toward Darren, but Darren held up his hand and waved him back, urging him to stay with his sister. Brent was the last line of defense protecting Michelle.

  His hand tightened around the handle of the machete. He almost called out. It would be a risk, but if he acted confidently, perhaps he would be able to scare the other person off. Of course, if the person was stronger, that wouldn’t work, and Darren might as well grab the lantern and swing it in front of his face. There was no telling who this other person was or what their capabilities were. It could be someone harmless, but it equally could be a random killer.

  It also could be Stacie.

  Darren didn’t know why, but ever since this happened, he’d feared that Stacie somehow would track them down, that she’d say she couldn’t make it through this world without him and wanted to be a family again. It would be just like her to choose the worst moment to reappear. It was impossible, of course. There was no way Stacie would be able to track them to this cave. It wasn’t as though she had paid much attention to the place when Darren had bought her down here for the romantic getaway.

  He almost could see her now, dressed in one of the silk robes that left little of her lithe body to his imagination, her sultry Italian tones filling the cave, her sweet perfume…

  Darren felt a familiar stirring in his loins but shook his head. He didn’t need those intrusive thoughts. Not now, not ever. It hadn’t been easy to move on from Stacie. In some ways he didn’t think he ever would move on from her. The feelings for her ran so deep, were so entrenched in his soul, that he couldn’t simply rip them out. They were a part of him, and that was something he had to make peace with.

  Over the course of the year he had hardened his heart to his feelings for her, tried to keep the past where it belonged. If she reappeared now, it would open old wounds and a tumultuous flood of emotions would pour out of him, which he wasn’t sure he could contain.

  She could be out there now, in the darkness, ready to torment him again. She’d probably breeze back into his life in that effervescent way of hers, brushing off the past year as a mistake, expecting to pick up from where she had left off.

  No, that was stupid. Stacie wasn’t there. She wasn’t coming back. She was out of their lives forever and Darren did himself a disservice by giving her any space in his head.

  Darren waited with bated breath. Waiting and waiting for whoever it was to reveal themselves. He kept his ears peeled for another cough, another sound, another breath. The world was silent, aside from the beating of his heart. It was so loud that, in his mind, he was sure it was audible to whoever was out there.

  His brow creased in confusion. Why wasn’t anyone presenting themselves? How long had it been since he’d heard the cough? There had been no other sounds, no rustling of leaves or grunts as the person tried making it over the fallen tree. Whoever it was must have been standing incredibly still to remain hidden. Darren’s skin suddenly crawled with the thought that somebody was staring at him right now, somebody who Darren couldn’t see.

  He’d just about had enough of this, enough of waiting, enough of being at the mercy of the Follower.

  Darren went back into the cave.

  “Who is it?” Brent asked in a quiet whisper. Darren glared at him, urging him to remain quiet. He picked up the lantern and carried it out with him. If there was anyone out there, Darren was going to find them and warn them away.

  “Dad, wait!” Brent said. Darren turned to look back at his son.

  “If you don’t hear anything from me in the next five minutes, stay in here and huddle down for the night. Remember what I taught you. I love you both,” he said.

  Michelle was nestled against Brent’s body, sucking on her thumb, Applejack dangling from her hand. The hardest thing Darren ever had to do was wrench himself away from his kids, and now he was doing the same, going to work. It was a hard life being a single parent. He wondered how many of them were outside now, struggling, alone, with the same challenges.

  Darren took a deep breath as he marched out of the cave and pushed aside the bramble, making a haphazard attempt at creating a path, as he didn’t want to leave an easy opening for the person watching them. The glow from the lantern illuminated the area around him, making a golden sphere. He held the lantern out in one hand and the machete in the other. The gun was against the small of his back.

  He wa
lked out to the path and turned from side to side. The light from the lantern reached the fallen tree, and revealed nobody. Darren clenched his jaw. There was no doubt that if anyone was out here they would have seen him. The fact they hadn’t made a move could mean he had been wrong about their intentions, or they were waiting to see what he did.

  Still, there was no movement in the darkness. Occasionally he thought he saw something move, but upon closer inspection it was just a tree. His hackles rose and his entire body tingled with fear.

  “Hello?” he said eventually, making his voice as forceful as possible in the still night. The single word broke the silent air, and it hung like a soaring gull. There was no response. Darren spoke again a few moments later, but still there was nothing.

  He moved to the other side of the path. The tips of his boots met the leaves that led deeper into the woods. He almost was tempted to follow the mystery and find the source of this cough, but then he looked back at the mouth of the cave. He couldn’t leave his kids.

  He examined the ground, crouching to take a better look at it. His brow furrowed deeper when he didn’t see any tracks.

  Was he going mad?

  It only had been one night. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t be losing his mind already. He stood back up and looked at the world around him, wondering if there actually had been a cough. The more he thought about it, the more he began thinking it had been his imagination. Had Brent heard it? The thought was troubling, but from what he could tell there was nobody out here.

  He walked back through the bramble and arranged it into its usual shape. Brent and Michelle were huddled toward the back of the cave. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw their father enter. He walked toward them and set down the lantern.

  “Who was it?” Brent asked.

  “There was nobody out there,” Darren replied. “Can I ask you a question, Brent? Did you hear the cough?”

  Brent’s eyes darted away. “I didn’t,” he said.

  Darren pursed his lips. The past couple of days had had more of an effect on him than he had imagined. He had to keep things together. He prepared some food for the three of them and tried to get them to stay up as late as possible, but Michelle hadn’t had a nap all day, so she fell asleep pretty quickly. Darren didn’t have the heart to keep her awake, which was quite ironic as she never used to settle when she was a baby.

  “So, what was the girl like?” Darren asked.

  “What girl?” Brent replied, somewhat taken aback by the question.

  “You know what girl. The one by the stream, the one who noticed you.”

  “Oh, her,” Brent smiled sheepishly, and Darren suspected that he was blushing. “She was nice, I guess.”

  “You’ll have to work on your compliments if you’re going to get a girlfriend. Girls like something more than being told they’re nice.”

  “I don’t really think I’m going to be getting a girlfriend anytime soon.”

  “You never know,” Darren said. “Tell me, what was she like?”

  “She was pretty, she had blonde hair, a nice smile. I guess I would have liked to have spoken to her.”

  “I’m sorry,” Darren said, a pang of guilt striking at his heart. “I know this isn’t easy for you, and it might seem that I’m being paranoid. I just want to make sure we have a good foundation of safety. I promise it won’t always be like this.”

  “I know. Dad. I guess it’s just a shock for me to not speak to anyone else. What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “A girlfriend.”

  Laughter shot out of Darren’s mouth. “I’ve had my chance at romance. I don’t think I have it in me to try again.”

  “Maybe you should, one day. Like you said, this is a new beginning for us. And you don’t have to work two jobs any more. If you met someone, I mean, I don’t think me and Michelle would mind if you wanted to, you know…”

  “Thank you for the endorsement, but I don’t think it’s anything we have to worry about anytime soon. Let’s just focus on getting this place ready,” Darren said, wanting to end the topic of this conversation as quickly as possible. He didn’t like talking about his private life at the best of times, certainly not with his son.

  “Hunter, says that it’s better to start dating again sooner rather than later.”

  “Oh, does he?” Darren said.

  “Yeah, even if it’s not anything serious. It’s just good to get used to remembering what it’s like to be with other people.”

  “Well, I’m sure Hunter is a font of wisdom, but I’d really rather you didn’t talk about my personal life with a bunch of strangers.”

  “They’re not strangers to me, though, Dad. They’re my friends, and I’m probably never going to talk to them again.”

  Brent’s voice cracked as he said this. Darren’s frustration dissipated instantly. Brent had held himself up well so far, but he was still just a kid, and sometimes he needed an embrace from his father. Darren opened his arms and enveloped his son in affection and warmth.

  Physical comfort like this had been withheld from Darren by his own father, and it had been something he wanted to change when he had kids. He always made sure that Brent was comfortable with being physically affectionate with his father, and Michelle too. It strengthened their bond.

  Darren stroked Brent’s back. Brent wasn’t crying as such, but he was struggling with emotion, and fatigue. His body trembled, and his eyes were clamped shut as he tried to hold in the sadness. Darren didn’t say anything, merely held him and comforted him. Somehow there didn’t seem to be any words that were suitable for the moment. It was a time for quietude to reign.

  Darren didn’t know how long he and Brent held each other, but it was nice. Eventually, they let go of each other and slunk away to their separate sleeping quarters. Darren’s muscles ached as he lay down, tense from a hard day’s work. It only was going to get harder from here.

  As he lay there he thought about what Brent had suggested. Darren had thought about dating a few times over the course of the year. He hated feeling lonely, and the emptiness that had been left in Stacie’s absence was almost untenable. The bed was cold, his heart silent. The path of his life wasn’t meant to be walked alone.

  He loved his kids, of course, but there was something different about romantic connection. There had been women who had caught his eye, and a few passengers he’d driven through town who had been flirting with him. If he had been so inclined, he easily could have collected their numbers and seen them again. Even his boss had tried setting Darren up with his wife’s sister, but Darren always had put off the date, always saying he wasn’t ready.

  But when would he be ready? Nobody really ever truly was ready for anything, whether it was a new romance, a birth, or the apocalypse. You simply had to deal with it as best you could.

  And now the thought of romance was the furthest thing from Darren’s mind. It wasn’t as though he just was going to meet the woman of his dreams out here in isolation anyway, and trust was a big factor. After Stacie it was going to take him a long time to trust anyone with his heart and emotions, and the end of the world only made it harder. How could he open himself up to someone that readily when they could well have an agenda of their own?

  He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts from his mind. He positioned himself so he could look beyond the mouth of the cave, into the world outside. He was so sure he had heard a cough, and yet there had been nothing else to indicate the presence of another person. It must just have been the wind. That was the only explanation.

  Chapter 16

  Darren kicked out and shifted his position, turning around over and over again. Wherever he lay there seemed to be a rock jutting uncomfortably into his body. Scattered thoughts drifted through his mind, determined to not let him settle. He tried to lay still, with his hands under his head, but his muscles twitched and no matter how he stretched them they wouldn’t calm down. He rose and walked to the wall of the cave, leane
d against it to stretch out his calves and his back, then went to lie down again.

  Nothing worked.

  Being unable to sleep, even though he was tired, was the worst thing. Darren had been plagued by insomnia after Stacie had left and his world had fallen apart. There were always questions, questions that were unable to be answered. It wasn’t the same sharing a bed alone either. He had come to terms with it eventually. Working two jobs tired him out anyway. He’d wanted to speak to someone, but the fees for a therapist were just too much.

  His body yearned for sleep, yet his mind would not submit. There were too many things to think about, too many problems to deal with, and there was still the issue of the cough he had heard. Darren just couldn’t shake the thought from his mind that somebody was out there lurking, watching them, waiting to strike.

  He was reminded of his youth, of the frequent nights when he feared a monster standing at his door. He used to curl himself up in bed as tightly as possible, wrap the covers over him, and face the wall. He used to tell himself that as long as he didn’t make a move no monster would be able to detect him.

  It was funny the things that seemed to make sense when he was a kid, yet now seemed nonsensical. A monster would have seen through such a ruse easily.

  But now he was afraid to go to sleep in case anyone took the opportunity to enter the cave and threaten them. He tried telling himself that it was okay, that nobody was going to enter, that he just was being paranoid, yet his mind would not relent.

  Then the image of the dead man in the truck came into his mind. The blood-stained faced stared at him with those glazed, lifeless eyes. Darren felt nausea sweep through his stomach. Death always had been an abstract concept to him. His grandparents had died before he had been born, and his parents still were alive in Florida, although they may as well have been dead for all the contact Darren had had with them.

  He knew people who had died, acquaintances, nobody he really was close to. It was a matter of personal pride that he never had been to a funeral. He imagined having someone you know die was like going through a divorce, totally heart-wrenching and life-changing.