Page 42 of Waves of Fury

Too many what-ifs for my comfort.

“No sense in thinking about the terrible things that could have happened,” I rasp out. “All we can do is move forward with our ragtag group here.”

Aaron follows my gaze, both of us glancing over each person. “Who are they anyway?”

“Kellen here was my customer. We got in an argument over my being late, which ended up saving me in the end. He’s a cool guy.”

My brother grins at my downplay of just how cool I think this guy is. “Sometimes your bullshit attitude works inyourfavor too.”

I can’t argue that one.

“The older guy there is Gerry and the younger one is Kyle.” I then motion to where Hope has Elise tucked into her side. “The blonde is Hope and the brunette is Elise. The unconscious woman is Barb. Banged up her head pretty badly and hasn’t recovered.”

“Too bad Dan is a dentist and not a medical doctor,” Aaron mutters.

“When we reach the shore, we’ll get her to a hospital. They’ll fix her.”

Aaron’s eyebrows bunch together and he gets that sad look on his face when he’s about to break bad news to me. My stomach twists in anticipation.

“What?” I croak out. “Don’t tell me the whole damn planet is flooded.”

Aaron shakes his head and motions to the helm. “I’ve been listening to transmissions. They’re spotty because of the distance, but I was getting multiple reports of catastrophes happening all over the globe. It’s not just here.”

For some reason, I hear Dad’s mocking voice in my head. “I told you so. I told you the world was ending. You could have had the easy way out like me and Mom.”

“What kind of catastrophes?”

“Sinkholes all over the damn place. Entire cities wiped out—big ones too. Seismic activity, fires, volcanoes…” he trails off and scrubs a palm over his scruffy face. “Honestly, we don’t know what to expect when we reach land.”

“There has to be aid, though, right? The National Guard? FEMA? American Red Cross?”

“I heard there are some refugee camps in the Great Plains, which seems to be less affected thus far. Maybe we’ll head there.”

We both grow quiet as we contemplate what our future may be. I’m not sure it’s going to be great, but it’s a lot better than our recent past. I’d rather take my chances on dry land, that’s for damn sure.

“How much fuel do we have?” I ask, though I’m not sure I want to know the answer.

“Not enough.” Aaron grunts and then stands. “I’d hoped to use the storm to steer us to land because I know we’ll need the last of the fuel to actually make it ashore. As soon as we make visual contact with anything besides more water, I’ll do what I can to get us there.”

He dips inside the helm to pore over a map, effectively ending the conversation. Knowing my brother is capable of handling things, I finally allow myself to crash. Within seconds, I’m fast asleep.

A sharp whistle jolts me awake. It’s dark on the vessel and Kellen is no longer sleeping on my leg. I scramble to my feet, slightly disoriented. The lights of the Angler-traz illuminate the way ahead of us as Aaron steers the boat. I follow Aaron’s gesturing.

Land.

In the darkness beyond the Angler-traz’s lights, trees can be seen. Kellen appears from out of nowhere, a firm hand landing on my shoulder.

“Aaron told me about the radio transmissions,” Kellen says with a heavy sigh. “Texas has fallen.”

I turn my head to study him in the dark. His face is slick from rain and pale. I notice his plump parted lips, wondering, though briefly, what they’d taste like.

“My brother,” Kellen chokes out. “He and my dad are there.”

“I’m sure they got out,” I murmur. “If you got out of your predicament, they will have too.”

His shoulders relax at my words. “Knox is quite capable. So is Dad, for that matter. Dad may be an asshole, but he can handle himself.”

“You’ll be with them soon,” I assure him. “We’ll find them.”

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