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That night I dreamed about Carlsbad, and winter, and Seth.
A white blanket of snow was covering the ground, and even though I knew it couldn't be, it felt right. It was a thick blanket of snow, the kind we got when I was back in DC with my mom, but deep down I knew it never really snowed like this in Carlsbad.
I was standing on the porch, watching the fluffy white snowflakes dancing in the air. Seth stood beside me and he reached out for my hand, clasping it in his. It felt so natural. I took it in, relishing standing next to him and being able to steal a few more moments while reality was far away in the waking world.
"Take care of him, Ali," he told me, turning me toward him, and I stared up into his wonderful, beautiful blue eyes.
"I promise,” I whispered back to him softly. He brought his hands to my face, caressing my cheek and tilting my chin up so his lips could brush softly against mine for the briefest of seconds. He pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me, and I nestled my cheek against his broad chest.
In my dream, his heart was still beating strong and loud against my cheek, and I was able to relax against him. The heat of his body was warming me in the winter cold, a moment to cherish. In my mind he was still with me and I didn’t want to let him go.
The morning sunlight shattered my illusions, and I awoke to a pain I thought buried months ago. All I could do was roll over into the dusty pillows and bury my face to muffle my sobs. It was Joss's hand on my shoulder that brought me out of my lapse, easing the ache inside me slightly.
He didn't ask me what was wrong. I think he already knew.
It was inevitable that Seth would show up in my dreams again now that Joss was back with me. There were too many memories being dragged to the surface, and I wasn't able to prepare myself for the tricks my own mind could play on me.
We both spent a good majority of the morning in silence, unable to break the melancholy mood. Joss had ceased his search for information about the last residents of the house, and I wondered if that might be the last time he would try to dig up old ghosts. The effects it had on both of us lingered on painfully.
I wasn't in the mood to drive, so we stayed in the house through the mid-morning hours after breakfast. Joss whittled away at a small block of wood, and I grabbed one of my many books to read. It was a book about elves, dwarfs, and dragons in a world far different from what we lived in. It led the way to an escape I sorely needed.
"Can you read it out loud?" Joss asked as he worked.
I smiled at him and started back at chapter one, happy to share the tale with him. The story was what we needed to lift our spirits some. We lingered in that house for a few days before we decided to get back on the road in search of a settlement. If memory served, I thought we might be able to find a decent trading community outside of Lubbock.
After a short driving lesson, Joss took the wheel as we set out toward the west. It was slow going at first, but it didn't take him long to get the hang of it. Driving a real vehicle might truly become a thing of the past, and there were no laws anymore to say he couldn't. Besides, it was nice to have someone else share in this responsibility.
Joss didn't remember many songs from before the outbreak, but I had a nice collection of CDs I had found along the way. I let him choose the music. Having a working CD player in the Murano turned into a real treat.
We made it to Lubbock as dusk was starting to settle. I drove up and down the southern streets of the old city until I finally caught the glow of lights indicating people. After a quick sweep to make sure we hadn’t picked up any freaks, I kept the SUV at a slow speed and turned on the hazards while Joss and I both waved a white t-shirt out our respective windows. This was the new symbol for I come in peace, but it still wasn't one-hundred percent trusted.
As expected, we were met by the armed town guard before we even got close to the gates. Luckily, one of the men in the patrol recognized us, and waved us through.
The mayor, although she didn't like being referred to as that, was happy to see we were doing well. I graciously unloaded nearly half our supplies to buy us shelter for a while. Even though it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision that we stay, Joss didn't seem to mind that I hadn't consulted him on it.
We ended up staying there for weeks, maybe months. It was easy for me to lose track of the days. I found it curious that not one person mentioned the color of Joss's eyes during our stay. Of course, neither one of us pointed it out. These people didn't know we were different.
Being in a community again was doing me good and helped the healing process along. Both Joss and I contributed on a daily basis, making sure that we did what we could to see that the needs of the community were met. The activities kept my mind busy so I wasn't always dwelling on a past I couldn't change.
The questions in my mind never faded, though, and they continued to haunt me for answers. When I broached the subject of moving on to Joss, he was expecting it. In fact, he was surprised I had wanted to stick around for so long.
The good folks of Lubbock had a different view on our departure. It seemed no one wanted to see us go, especially not with winter coming on. Regardless, Joss and I both made our apologies and said our goodbyes to the disappointment of the town. On a cold December morning, we were back on the road.
We were traveling north this time, working our way up to Amarillo. We didn't quite make it before we got hit by a winter storm that turned the roads to ice. It was easy enough for us to find shelter in an old freak-riddled neighborhood and wait till the roads cleared. Three days in and another bout of ice and snow came blowing through.
The storm seemed abnormal for what I knew about the south, but everything was so white, pristine and beautiful. I didn't mind the delay. I was interested to see how the freaks would handle the exposure. It was certain they were moving about less, but the cold didn't seem to be killing them. That was disappointing but it didn't come as a surprise. Humanity would have already been making a comeback if it were that easy.
We used our downtime to search the nearby houses and shops to restock our trade goods. There was a place just west of Amarillo that we had stopped at last spring. The first time Joss and I passed through there, I had been in such a daze after losing Seth, I wasn't thinking right. Now it seemed I could recall there may have been some ex-military in or near the town. I wanted to pay them a visit.
Eager to get moving again, it didn't take more than a day or two for all the snow to melt off. The travel was stop and go once we got back on the road. It was impossible to say if all the downed trees were due to this latest storm, or ones prior, but we were moving a lot of debris off the road to make room for the Murano.
In the end, it took us a week to reach our destination. All things considered, I thought that was decent time. I had a good idea where the town was, and we were nearing our destination when I noticed the smoke. It was thick and black, far too much smoke to be coming from a campfire or even a house fire.
I slowed to a stop, mulling over what to do next. It was Joss that pointed out the hills along the southern edge of the town so we could get a better vantage point. Part of me wanted to bypass the town altogether, but curiosity got the better of me, and we swung to the south.
I searched for a bit until I found a place to hide the Murano. When we started our hike into the hills, a nervous buzz made its way through me. We were a couple miles out and each step closer, the buzzing grew. Something wasn't right here, and I began to question why we didn't turn around and move on. In the end, curiosity drove me forward.
The further up the hill we got, the more barren the terrain. There were no houses, cars, or even trees for us to hide behind, so we dropped down on all fours, hiding in the weeds as we crested the hill. Joss and I both gasped as the town came into view. Half of the settlement was on fire.
"God, what happened?" Joss mumbled as he stared out at the town.
I frowned, unable to answer. There were quite a few people I remembered from our
first trip through, and it had been one of the few places that had accepted me. I shook my head, hoping that there were some survivors somewhere.
I started to back up when the sound of a gun cocking made my blood run cold. Instinctively, my own hand was already on the hilt of my knife when the long barrel of a rifle tapped me on the back of my head.
"Not so fast." Came a woman's voice, hushed and full of gravel.
I froze.
~ ~ ~ ~
Sneak Peek
Within the next few pages, you will find a sneak peek for After – Part Two. These were written in Ali’s perspective and they remain accurate to the storyline. However, this is a unique viewpoint of the following events and these scenes will not appear in the second book.
Enjoy!