Page 106 of Waves of Fury

I hope whatever’s truly bothering him fades. Everyone has made decisions—whether good or bad—in hopes of bettering our survival. Agonizing over the “what could have beens” is a slippery slope.

“Are we there yet?” Hailey asks pitifully.

Pretzel yowls his woes too, making both me and Hope crack smiles. Dan and Kellen continue to brood.

“Don’t worry, Dorothy and Toto, we’re in Kansas now,” Hope says, wincing only slightly as she adjusts her makeshift splint on her injured arm—a crude one made of a random stick we found and part of her shirt.

“Dorothy?” I ask at the same time Hailey asks, “Toto?”

This finally breaks Dan’s and Kellen’s dour moods, both of them gaping incredulously at us.

“What?” I grumble. “The woman speaks in riddles.”

Hope shakes her head in disappointment. “What do you kids learn these days anyway?”

“I still don’t get it,” Hailey says with a huff.

“The Wizard of Oz,” Dan replies with raised brows. “Ringing any bells?”

“I know whatThe Wizard of Ozis,” I mutter. “Just never watched it or anything.”

“Me neither,” Hailey adds, shrugging her shoulders. “Isn’t it, like, in black and white? Seems old and boring.”

Dan crows. “You wound me, child.”

Kellen and Hope both snigger at Hailey’s and my expense.

“Hardy har har,” I deadpan.

A twinkle in Kellen’s eyes makes my heart warm. There’s my guy. He’s been getting buried under the stress of surviving, but beneath, he’s still in there. When we finally land somewhere for good, I’ll be able to uncover each of his layers fully and appreciate the full picture of him.

As I approach him, his muscles relax and he envelops me in a much-needed embrace. I hug him tight, inhaling his musky scent I’ve grown to love. If ever we get regular showers, I may not recognize his smell.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, breath tickling my hair.

“Just thinking of how badly we reek.”

He snorts out a laugh. “I’m glad you’re amused. I sure as hell am not.”

“I like your stank,” I tease, playfully biting his shoulder.

His palms find my ass and he gives both cheeks a hard squeeze. “You’re strange, man. Really, really strange.”

“I can agree to that,” Hope mutters, having overheard our conversation. “You’re both getting soap in your stockings for Christmas.”

My chest tightens at her words. These people—these strangers—have become family in such a short amount of time. Knowing that once we’re safe, we all plan to stick around one another brings comfort to me.

We continue to play and tease until a booming gunshot echoes from the town. And then another.

All humor fades as my blood drains out of me.

My brothers.

Kellen takes off in a sprint toward the sound. I bark at Dan to watch the girls as we both run as fast as our legs can carry us. Before we reach the diner, a pickup truck appears from behind the building, tires squealing as it takes off. We have to dive behind an abandoned vehicle to escape from behind hit. Glass shatters out the windows of the car we’re hiding behind as a final parting gift from the truck driver. As soon as the rumble of the engine is farther away, I pop my head up to see where they went. Thankfully, they’re not headed in the direction of the rest of our people.

Aaron’s yelling can be heard inside the diner. Panic consumes me as I run blindly toward the sound of his wails.

Please let my brother be okay.

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