Shadows of Ash and Flame: Part Two

The sun starts sinking an hour later, casting the last of the sun’s rays through the holes of broken windows. I left this Xander guy downstairs, told him he isn’t to step a single foot upstairs, and took Brian to set up camp for the night. It was too late to try and find another place, and I didn’t want to risk stumbling upon a Blightkin.

I climbed the rickety stairs to the second floor of the house, into the room that had the least amount of windows. I check the boards over them, making sure they are still sturdy and not rotted.

I moved whatever broken furniture I could to act as a barricade to keep anything out. It’s not much, but it’ll do until morning.

I turned around from checking the last of my work, seeing Brian finishing off the last of the granola bars without complaint. His stomach growled from the hunger that remained. I lift my canteen, sipping water, then hand it to him for the rest.

“You hungry?” He asks, eyes searching mine.

Always.

“No,” I lie. “ I found something while I was out earlier.”

He stares at me a few minutes longer, not believing a word I said, but he doesn’t call me out on it this time either.

“Time to get some sleep while we can, we have another big day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow, and with this charity case you have invited along, I don’t want to lose any more time than we already have.”

“Give him a chance, Dani,” He says. “He doesn’t seem that bad. At least try not to be mean to him, for me?”

I stare back at my brother, who is the sweetest person I know, always wanting to see the good in everyone. It has just been the two of us for so long, making sure to protect him at all costs. I have built this internal wall to not let anyone in, not trusting anyone. It has been lonely sometimes.

“I can’t promise not to be mean to him, when it comes to you, I will rain down holy hell on anyone when it comes to your safety being compromised, but I will try not to scare him off.” I compromised.

“Thanks, Dani, you’re the best.”

“I know I am, now go to sleep,” I tell him.

We lie in silence for a while, him curled under an old quilt I had found, me near the window with my knife across my lap. I listen for footsteps, breathing, the unnatural clicks or snarls of anything not quite human. The wind picks up, rattling the boards. A distant clang echoes down the street, metal on metal. I stiffen. Then a soft voice breaks through from the other side of the door.

“You still awake?”

I rise, blade in hand, and crack the door just enough to see Xander standing there holding a battered flashlight.

“What do you want?” I whisper-yell at him.

“I left,” he says. “But I didn’t go too far, I don’t exactly have a death wish tonight.”

My jaw clenches. “Then why did you come back?” I grip my knife tightly in my hand.

Why did Brian have to ask me to try and give this complete stranger a chance?

He hesitates as he sees my movement with my knife, then lifts something, offering it to me. A can. Real food. Most likely beans, but still, actual food. I had dropped the other cans when I had heard Brian’s scream.

I stare at it, not making a move to grab it from him.

“I am fine, I don’t need your charity or your pity.” I snap. My stomach growled in the silence, objecting.

He runs his hand over his face in frustration.

“That is not what I am doing,” He barked. “ Look, I figured with how you are protective of your brother, that you likely make sure he eats without eating yourself. I made a quick run and found a few cans, thought you would like one.”

“I don’t trust you,” I admitted.

“You shouldn’t,” he says, shocking me. “If I were in your position, I wouldn’t trust some stranger because they said they weren’t dangerous.”

“Then why stick around? Why not just go your own way?” I ask.

“That was the plan, but after meeting your brother, he reminded me of my little brother.” He replied.

I soften a fraction before I can catch myself gritting my teeth. His story sounds possible, but I don’t want to believe him. But I’ve seen things too, things that don’t match the stories told. Faster, quieter, deadlier. Creatures that shouldn’t even exist, created by a government that wanted total control, but lost. If one of the Blightkin is nearby, maybe having another person might help tip the scales in our favor.

I look at him making a decision that I might regret later on.

“There’s a couch downstairs, if you move, I’ll hear it. If you think of sabotaging us, I WILL stab you.”

I see his expression flicker with something like amusement. “Fair enough.” Came his reply.

He passed me the can of food, then made his way back down the stairs.

I barely slept that night. Every creak sounds like claws, every gust of wind sounds like distant screams. Eventually, the night passes, welcoming the first rays of sunlight, starting a new day.

In the gray sliver of the morning silence, I hear something I haven’t heard in years.

A voice over the radio.

I shoot up from my spot by the window, heart hammering in my chest. I haven’t even seen a radio since the last city we left, when we thought we had found a safe place. Until it wasn’t.

I swore that I would never put us in a position like that again.

I quickly, but quietly, make my way down the stairs into what used to be the living room. I see Xander huddled over a handheld radio, whispering into it. Too quiet for me to make out what was being said.

“I knew you couldn’t be trusted, but Brian gave me the look he knows that I can’t say no to. What are you doing with that?” I demanded pointing to the receiver in his hand.

I knew it, deep down, I knew I should have gone with my instincts and sent him packing on his merry way. The story he told about Brian reminding him of his brother was total garbage.

He looks up, startled at first, but quickly composes his face into one of confusion.

“You mean this thing?” he lifted his hand, which held the radio. “It’s dead now, I just caught the end of a broadcast I have been listening to.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, I heard you talking into it. Did you tell whoever you’re with where we are? That they can come and take whatever they want?” I try not to let the fear I felt building in my chest break through my bravado.

“Is that what you think I did? I know I am no saint, but I wouldn’t do that. Besides this, this thing only works one way. I can hear and listen, but no one can hear me.” He calmly explained. “I found this thing a while back, it’s damaged, so only parts of it work still.”

He hands the radio to me so I can see myself. I can see where the back is held on with duct tape, pieces of plastic are missing, exposing electrical components within its casing.

“If you were backstabbing us, then what were you doing with it?” I question him.

“I’m not sure if it’s real, but there has been a message I have heard play, talking about a safe zone back East. It’s about four days from here.”

“I have heard about it too, posters were hanging up in the last city we were in. It’s where I planned on taking Brian.” I told him. “But I thought that it was farther away.”

I remember marking the location on a map I had and tracking how far we had to walk.

His eyes meet mine. “I heard on the radio that there is a convoy from the safe zone scouting surrounding areas looking for refugees. I wasn’t sure if it was real or not, but I figured you needed somewhere to take your brother. This might be a good place for that.”

If what he says is true, then life on the road might finally come to an end soon. It would be nice to fall asleep and not have to worry about being killed.

What if he is lying, that this is some trap? My inner consciousness chimes in. I don’t know what to believe.

“We could have a chance of finding a home,” Brian adds from behind where I stood.

I turn to look at him and see something that I haven’t seen cross his face in a very long time. Hope. Hope is a dangerous thing to have in this world. I push what little is trying to build its way into me.

“What about you?” I ask, my voice hard. I didn’t want him to think that I actually care, which I don’t.

“I go wherever the road takes me.” Came his carefree reply. Vague, not even a real answer.

“Go make sure you have your stuff packed away, and sweep the house one last time for anything that might seem useful. I don’t know when we will come across another spot like this.” I direct my brother.

He smiles and heads back up the stairs to gather everything up.

I look back at Xander and see him staring back, and something about him makes me ask what comes out of my mouth next.

“You coming east too, or not?”

A faint smile spreads on his face. “Thought you’d never ask. I knew you would get used to me.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself there, pal. The only reason I even considered tolerating you was that Brian seems to like you.” I assured him.

We leave as soon as everyone has packed up what they wanted to bring, which isn’t much.

Brian walks between us, clutching a stuffed rabbit he had found, the last remnant of a world lost and destroyed by hell. I watch Xander as he keeps his eyes focused on the rooftops, one hand always near his knife.

I may not entirely trust the guy, but he seems to have good survival skills. Still, there is something about him that I don’t fully trust, so I make sure to watch him out of the corner of my eye, waiting for the lie, for the betrayal I fear will come.

But for now, we walk this journey together. The shadows never too far behind.