What Little Remains (The Fallout Trilogy Book 1) (8 page)

My vision clears, and both of the men have their guns
pointed at me. The first guy, the whiney one, looks very surprised. The second
one, the older one, looks very suspicious.

“Who are you?” the second one asks.

I don’t answer, my mind still swirling. Pain is starting to
flare up my back and continues all the way to my fingertips.

He repeats the question, his tone sharpening.

“I haven’t seen someone this pretty in a while,” the first
guy says, lowering his gun.

“Don’t be stupid, Jackson,” the second guy snaps.

Jackson doesn’t raise his weapon back up; instead he takes a
step closer to
me and squats
down to my level, only a
foot from me.

“Aren’t you a pretty thing? What’s your name?”

I manage, with a lot of pain, to bring my legs up to my
chest and slip my hand under my pants, my fingers grasping the hilt of my
knife. I imagine the gesture looks like one of fear.

“Who are you?” I shoot back, keeping my voice from showing
fear.

Jackson cracks a smile revealing crooked but white teeth. I
imagined scavengers having yellowed teeth, maybe a few missing. Then again, I
imagined that when I met a scavenger, I wouldn’t have fallen out of a tree on
my ass.

“He asked you a question,” Jackson says, nodding his head
towards the other guy. “I’m curious, too. What’s a pretty girl doing out here
all alone?”

“I thought it was a great day to take a walk,” I say, my
hand starting to sweat against the blade. Looking between the two, I weigh my
odds. Even if I could get the jump on one of them, the other one would shoot
me.

I think of Nicole over my head but don’t dare glance up at
her. I won’t risk her life for mine.

“A walk from where?” the second one asks.

I pull out my best dumb blonde act. “You know, I can’t
remember. Maybe it was north, or was it west?”

Jackson gives me a chilling smile. He holsters his gun. I
don’t know what he is going to do, but I don’t plan to find out. I pull the
knife out with my right hand when he glances at the other guy. Before I can
even bring my arm down he grabs my wrist and squeezes. I scream at the
pressure, I shove at him with my free hand.

He jerks me towards him; a feeling of sharp needles goes up
my right arm. Balling my left hand into a fist, I jam it across his face. He
tries to dodge, but my fist hits the side of his head. Pain shoots up my
knuckles, and a crunching sound fills the air. His free hand goes to his head,
his other one not letting go of me.

He backhands me across the face. Blackness clouds my vision,
and he lets me fall to the ground. I clench my right hand and realize that the
blade is no longer in it. I try to find it, but my vision is blurry from my
tears. The knife is by his knees. I reach for it, but the second guy brings his
boot down on my hand.

Branches snap from above us. All of us look up as Nicole
drops to the ground. She lands roughly on her feet, her knife already in her
hand. Nicole looks like an avenging goddess coming down from heaven, and the
scavengers are momentarily stunned by her appearance. The second guy lunges at
her, reaching for the knife. I try to grab the knife, but my hand won’t grip
it. Jackson sees what I’m trying to do, stands up, and kicks the knife out of
my reach. He pulls out his gun.

“Stop, or I’ll shoot her,” he says, his voice calm.

Nicole glances at me, having an obvious advantage in her
fight. Her guy is on the ground bleeding from the leg. I shake my head, trying
to tell her to keep fighting. Jackson’s boot flies out, nailing me in the
stomach. I muffle my scream in the grass, tears blinding my vision.

“Drop the knife,” he says, his gun still pointed at me.

Nicole gives me an apologetic smile and tosses the knife
away from her. I let my head fall to the grass, shame filling me. I got Nicole
into this mess. We should have run.

The second guy gets off the ground, using the tree to help
him.

“That bitch stabbed me,” he growls.

“Quit your moaning,” Jackson barks. “Or I’ll shoot you, and
we can see how long it’ll take for you to bleed out.”

The second guy looks stunned but doesn’t say anything else.
Whoever Jackson is, he isn’t the whiny baby that I immediately thought he was.
Jackson looks back at me, smiling like a shark would before it eats its prey.

Jackson’s eyes move to Nicole and narrow.

“I’ll be damned,” he says, looking her over. “Red. Long time
no see.”

Nicole’s face changed. She recognizes him. Her eyes are
wide, her mouth open.

“I thought we left you for dead,” Jackson says, as the
second guy struggles to his feet. He looks between Jackson and Nicole,
confused.

“You know her?” he asks.

“You don’t recognize Red?” Jackson asks. “A little over two
months ago, the last time we saw her, we left her bleeding. Guess she’s
stronger than I thought.”

“Didn’t Brian mention that McQueen was shacking up with a
pretty, little blond?” the second guy asks. He takes a step closer to me. “We
should bring her back to Razor. I’m guessing she’s from McQueen’s group.”

“What’s the rush?” Jackson asks. “We have time for some fun.
Razor never lets me
—
”

Pink mist fills the air after a distinct thump sound.
Jackson falls forward, his face slamming against the ground. There is a giant
bloody hole in the back of his head. I scream, crawling away from him. Behind
me, the other guy swears.

“Oh my God,” I say, panicking.

Nicole crawls over to me, putting her hand on my forehead
and pushing the hair out of my face. She crouches over me, looking in the
direction that the shot came from. I get up to my knees, resting against her.
She hugs me, and I can feel her body shaking.

I glance behind me, looking around for the other guy. “Where
is the other one?”

“He took off,” Nicole answers, her attention on who is
coming towards us through the woods.

My vision goes blurry for a moment, and I see dark shapes
coming towards me. What if there are more of them? What if he just was running
towards the rest of his group? I tense up, wanting to run, but Nicole stops me.

“I don’t know if this is going to be better or worse,” she
whispers under her breath.

My vision clears, and I recognize the figure walking towards
me. I’ve never seen him in action before. His gun
drawn,
his movements calculating and precise. He signals Alec and Junior to go after
the other guy and Pete to scan the area for more.

He holsters his gun as I manage to stand with Nicole’s help.
Ricky comes to my other side, his arm slipping around my waist.

“I’ve got her,” he tells Nicole.

Nicole lets me go after a moment’s hesitation. I look back
at Jackson and feel pressure at the back of my throat. I know that Ricky is a
good shot, but it is something else to see his work first hand. He fired only
once.
A perfect kill.
Ice runs through my veins at the
deadliness of the shot.

I push away from Ricky to vomit over that damn tree branch
that caused this problem. My stomach heaves, making sure that nothing stays
down.

“This area isn’t safe,” Ricky says after a few moments.
“Come on.”

He half carries me, and Nicole follows as he leads us back
the way he came from. My face, mainly my jaw, is starting to ache. Vomiting
didn’t help. I bend my wrist backwards and clench my teeth as pain shoots up my
arm.

Ricky stops us after about ten minutes. I lean back against
a tree before sinking to the ground.

Ricky kneels in front of me, taking my face in his hands. He
turns it, looking at the mark on my face. His eyes tighten, and the vein in his
forehead begins to pulsate.

“Ricky,” I say, and his eyes meet mine. “It’s over.”

“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice soft.

“I’ve had better days,” I answer. I blink, the tiredness in
my body wanting my eyes to stay shut, but I open them again to look at Ricky.
“How did you find us?”

Ricky sits back on his heels, watching me. “We saw signs of
scavenger activity and decided it was too close for comfort. We came back. I
wanted to talk to you. It didn’t take long to figure out that you weren’t
there. No one saw you leave, but I was confident that you’d have gone the
opposite direction of me. Daren found your trail, and I followed it. We lost
it, I don’t know how. Then we heard the scream.”

I nod my head and look down at my hands. I don’t think
either is broken, but John needs to look at them.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Ricky asks again.

“I’m fine,” I say automatically. My wrist is starting to
throb, but as long as I don’t move my other hand, it doesn’t hurt. My side
where he kicked me is tight, but it doesn’t hurt enough to make me think I have
a broken rib. Ricky has gotten enough of those, so I feel confident that I know
the difference.

I look up at Nicole, who is watching us closely.
More specifically Ricky.

“Thanks
Nic
,” I say with a small
smile. “I don’t know what I’d have done if you weren’t there.”

She nods her head, her eyes shooting to Ricky. She’ll talk
to me about it later. Ricky doesn’t look at Nicole, but when I say her name,
his back straightens.

“So whose idea was this?” he asks.

I watch his face and see the fire he is trying to hide
behind his eyes. Nicole opens her mouth, but I cut her off.

“It was my idea,” I say, raising my chin.

He looks doubtful and pissed at the same time. “Really? This
stupid move was your idea?”

“Yes,” I answer.

“Why the hell would you be so stupid?” he asks, his voice
getting louder.

“I just needed a break. We were fighting, and the walls were
closing in on me. It was starting to feel like a prison,” I say, trying to talk
cautiously. His carefully controlled anger is boiling under the surface.

“Really? You see the home I’ve created for you as a prison?
All the hard work, sweat, and blood I’ve shed for you, and you see it as a
prison?”

“It’s hard not to,” I mutter.

Ricky gets to his feet in a fluid motion. “What?”

I look up at him. His posture is defensive, and I see the
anger he’s controlling in every fiber of his being.

“You barely let me out of your sight, and when you aren’t
there, a babysitter watches me.”

“Obviously I need to get a better sitter,” Ricky says, the
threat in his words obvious.

There is nothing I can say to that. I want him to trust me,
but I just broke any chance of that happening for the next couple of
years.
 
I close my eyes and rest my
head back against the tree.

“Are you done with this conversation?” Ricky asks, sarcasm
in his voice.

“No, Ricky, I’m just done with you.”

“I’m sick and tired of this. You’re acting like a child.”

I open my eyes. His face is blood red, and his hands are
clenched at his sides. I deem it best not to point out who is really acting
like the child.

“God, Charlie,” Ricky says. “What more do you want from me?
I bent over backwards to make a better life for you, for us, and here you are,
trampling over all of it. You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed for you. No
idea. Maybe I should just lock you in the cabin. If you’re going to act like
child, maybe I should treat you like one.”

As he continues, his men come back. They say nothing,
watching him. Alec moves over by Nicole, but she doesn’t seem to realize he’s
there yet.

“Don’t yell at her like that,” Nicole says, taking a step
forward. “You have no right.”

Ricky turns to face her. “Don’t even start. You’ve caused
nothing but trouble since you got here. Charlie might’ve taken the blame for
you, but we both know this was your idea.”

“Leave her alone,” I say, getting to my feet. The pain in
even that simple gesture is unbearable, but I put myself between Nicole and
Ricky. “Thanks
Nic
, but this isn’t your problem.”

Alec comes behind Nicole, whispering in her ear. Ricky is
still looking past me at her, his eyes fiery. Slowly his eyes move towards me.
We hold eye contact, and slowly the fire dies from his eyes.

“We’ll discuss this more when we get home,” Ricky says, and
I’m not sure if that is a threat or a promise.

“I have no doubt that we will,” I mutter, looking away.

Maybe I should have let the guy kill me. It would be less
painful than this.

Our arrival back at the camp was quiet. Everyone was at
dinner, so Ricky was able to get Nicole and me back in without drawing
attention. Daren meets us, looking relieved.

“Everything okay?” he asks, looking between Ricky and me.
His expression turns to concern as he takes in my injuries and the fact that
Ricky won’t look at me.

“She needs to go see John,” Ricky says. “You bring her back
to me after.”

Daren nods, and Ricky walks away. Nicole gives me a hug.

“Find me after, if you can,” she whispers in my ear.

I nod my head, and Alec walks away with her.
 
He kisses the top of her head, squeezing
her to him. He doesn’t seem mad at her, just relieved that she is okay.

“I feel like I should yell at you,” Daren says, dropping a
heavy arm over my shoulder. “But I also realize that Ricky has done that. So
instead, I’m going to tell you that I’m proud that you were able to sneak out.
Not a lot of people could sneak out without someone seeing them. I’m pissed
that you did it, but I’m relieved that you are okay.”

I smile at the ground as he leads me to John’s cabin. Daren
knocks on the door, pushing it open. John walks out from his room, pulling a
shirt on over his head.

“Charlie?” he asks coming closer. “What happened to your
face?”

“I’m more worried about my hands,” I say. “My left hand, the
knuckles hurt to extend my fingers. The pain in my right hand goes up to my
wrist.”

John nods his head and starts lighting the lanterns in the
cabin. Daren shuts the door, leaning back against it. John lets me sit on one
of the beds, bringing his medical bag with him.

“I’m guessing that this didn’t happen here,” John asks.

He takes my right hand in his, bending the wrist back and
forth. I clench my teeth, and bite back the pain. He presses down on the palm
of my hand in several places. I let out a yelp when he finds the correct spot.

 
“I had an
adventure today. I met my very first scavenger. Well, I met two.”

John’s jaw drops, and his hands freeze over my wrist.
“What?”

“Charlie snuck out,” Daren says, a warning note in his tone.

I look up at him, surprised by the tone. Daren and John
aren’t buddies, but they respect each other. That warning sounded like a
reminder.

John’s mouth tightens into a line, so I continue, looking
between them both.

“I’m just a little sore,” I say, cutting through the
tension.

“I can get you something for that,” John says
,
about to stand.

“No,” I say. “I don’t want anything. Save it for something
more important.”

John raises his eyebrows but sits back down. “Do you know
who they were or why they were this close to base?”

“They mentioned Razor, they said that Brain told them to
look around here for us.”

Memories flood back to me, and I remember their
conversation.

“Why would they be looking for Ricky?” I ask, glancing
between him and Daren.

Daren is second only to Ricky in controlling his facial
expressions, but he tenses. John is a terrible liar. He looks through his
medicine bag, refusing to make eye contact with me.

“John, they were saying stuff about Ricky burning down an
entire village with people still in it,” I say, but he keeps his face hidden
from me.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Daren says, walking
towards us. “It isn’t true.”

“But why would they think it was?” I ask, looking at Daren
as John starts to bandage my hand.

“I don’t know,” Daren says, sitting down on the bed behind
me, turning his body towards mine. “But don’t worry yourself about it.”

I look at John who still won’t meet my eyes. He finishes
wrapping my wrist and my hand, saying that it is a sprain in my wrist. My
knuckles might be broken, but there isn’t anything he can do about it except
wrap it.

“John, it hurts,” I say, gritting my teeth together.
“Distract me.”

“How?” John asks, a half smile appearing on his face. He
knows I’m going to use this as an excuse to get some answers.

“Why did you join the army?” I ask, trying to keep
my mind off the pain.

“Haven’t we talked about this before?” John says,
sounding tired.

“I’ve brought it up several times, and you blow it
off,” I remind him. “It’s a long story. It’s complicated,” I mock, mimicking
his voice.

His mouth goes up in amusement, and he shakes his
head at the bad impression. “It is a long story.”

“I’m in pain, and you are going to tell me this.
The longer the story, the more time until I have before I have to face Ricky,”
I say. Behind me, Daren shifts. I expect him to say that we don’t have time for
this, but instead he appears to be interested. I guess John hasn’t shared this
story with many people.
 

“Did I tell you that I grew up in Chicago?” John
asks, not looking up from his work.

“No,” I answer, though it would explain why he
talks funny sometimes.

“I did. My mom was a single mother of five kids. I
was the oldest. I had three brothers. The youngest member of my family was my
baby sister. We lived in the bad end of town, and my mom worked around the
clock to keep food on the table. I was a good student, got good grades and
could have done something great with my life.”

He pauses for a minute before continuing. “When I
was fifteen, I realized how bad off we were, and I was approached by a member
of the local gang. He told me that if I joined, I’d be able to provide for my
family and keep them safe. So I joined. Everything was going great; I was bringing
home three times what my mother made every week. I was young and didn’t have a
record at that point; they used me to traffic drugs into my high school. High
risk meant high reward. My mother took the first vacation she had since my dad
split. I think she knew what was going on, but, at that point, there wasn’t
anything she could do. I was in and getting out would have meant a bullet,”
John says, pausing for a moment, caught up in his memories and regrets.

Trying to picture John in a gang is impossible. He’s
the most straight-laced guy I know. The only thing unusual about him is his
hair, which needs to be cut.

“When I was seventeen I got in trouble, serious
trouble. I was given an option: be tried as an adult or do something more with
my life. With my mom crying in the seat next to me, I didn’t have much of a
choice. I enlisted. When I turned eighteen, I went through Recruitment
training. I applied for the Marines because I thought I was a badass. When I
got to training, they kicked that attitude right out of me. I went in an
arrogant ex-gang member and came out a man. I had something in my life to be
proud of, and I was able to send my mother money to help keep my siblings out
of trouble,” John says, his voice trailing off. He doesn’t know if his family made
it or not.

Very few people talk about the family they have
lost. It’s something most of us have buried deep within ourselves, and some
days it hurts worse than others. John and I never talk about why he didn’t go
back. He had his reasons, and he owes me no explanation.

I stay quiet for a few minutes, processing what
John just shared with me. He sounds a lot like Ricky did before the storms.

“Why are you so hard on Ricky? It seems like you
two have more in common than people would think,” I ask, quietly looking at
John to see his reaction.

“The answer to that is very complicated,” John
says, his whole body tensing at the comparison. “One of these days you will be
able to answer your own question,” he adds.

I wonder what he means by that, but I don’t push. After
making sure that I don’t have a concussion, he excuses himself, and goes back
to his room. I lie back on the bed, trying to get comfortable when Daren clears
his throat.

“Charlie, I’m sorry, but Ricky wants me to bring you home,”
he says.

After what happened earlier today, I don’t think he’ll be
willing to let me out of his sight anytime soon. He helps me off the bed.

I lead the way back to the house, Daren walking next to me.
For a big guy he is light on his feet.

“I don’t want you to worry, but if he gets out of hand, I’ll
step in,” Daren promises.

“Do you expect him to?”

“Do you not?”

I keep my mouth closed and open the door to the cabin. Ricky
sits at the table, his head down. He looks up when we walk in. He’s exhausted,
his green eyes glazed, his shoulders hunched inward.

“Daren,” Ricky says, moving his eyes off me and getting out
of his seat. “I already sent Jack to get her some food. She eats, and then she
needs to rest. Nothing else.”

Daren nods as Ricky walks out, not looking at me again or
acknowledging me. I watch the door close behind him, unsure of what to do.

“I’m not hungry,” I say, walking towards my bedroom.

“You should still eat. The adrenaline and shock is messing
with your system. You probably are hungry and don’t know it,” Daren says.

“Just have Jack leave the food on the table. I’ll eat if I
get hungry,” I say, opening the door to my room.

I close it to Daren’s protests and lean back against it. I
take a second to breathe. Shit hit the fan today, and it’s still coming back
down. I close my eyes, picturing the field with the sunshine warming my face. I
can almost smell the clean air, air that isn’t polluted by people or animals.
Despite everything I went through today, I would make the choice to leave
again.

It was worth seeing that field. I had convinced myself that
everything beautiful had been destroyed with the rest of the world. Seeing
those flowers, a piece of beautiful life in this dark world, was incredible. It
was breathtaking. In all the ugliness going on in the world, those flowers had
bloomed and kept living.

I am alive. I am living, and I get to choose how I spend
this time. For some reason, I am still on this planet. Maybe it is divine or
maybe it is just dumb luck. But I am here. I am not going to waste this time
anymore. I am not going to be scared anymore.

I am going to ask him point blank about what the scavengers
said. When that gets sorted out, then we are going to deal with his control
issues.