He ignored me, and I followed him down the steps. It was hard to move fast when trying not to breathe. Alana continued to wiggle in Clutch’s arms, but he was able to keep a hold on her. By the time we’d reached the deck, fire lapped at the deck boards all around us.

“Catch!” Clutch called out to Tyler, and then tossed the girl.

She flew several feet through the air. Her scream stopped abruptly when Tyler caught her. She sobbed in between coughing fits. He put her down next to her father on the already full platform and she clung to him. Tyler looked up. “We’ll see you on the ground.”

Tyler worked the pulley system that Wes had built, and the platform lowered. I glanced over the edge to see the hull around the aluminum ladder smoking. I bent over and touched the ladder with a gloved hand. It hissed like a hot iron, and I yanked back. “It’s too hot.”

Clutch frowned and then squeezed the pulley’s ropes used for the platform. “We’ll rappel down the ropes once Tyler’s down.”

Heat seeped through the rubber soles of my boots. I nodded quickly. “Got it.”

The wood cracked beneath my feet. I grabbed for the rail, but was too late. The floor gave away, and I found myself falling into a furnace. My hands scrambled to grab onto anything. Clutch gripped my wrists, and pulled me up. The heat sizzled straight through my clothes, and I clenched my teeth against the oven temperatures.

When he pulled me to my feet against him on the deck, my breath came out and I leaned my forehead against his hot neck. I looked up at his burned red face. “You caught me.”

His frown was overcome by his intense gaze, and he squeezed me hard against him. “I’d never let you go.”

A tear escaped my eyes and I squeezed him right back. “Good” was all I managed to get out.

Flames licked up from the hole. Clutch twisted us around and before I knew it we were sliding down the outside of the hull. I made myself as small as I could and clung to him like a koala bear. I fought to keep from coughing, trying to keep completely still so that he could more easily handle both of our weight. I didn’t know how he managed to support both of us, but he did. As soon as I felt his legs hit the wood dock, I stood but refused to let go.

“Come on, guys!” Jase yelled out.

Clutch and I looked around at the same time to see Jase standing alone on the dock. When I didn’t see the pontoon, I frowned. “Where’s the pontoon?”

“Tyler’s driving it back,” he replied. “Come on.”

Clutch grabbed my hand and we hurried behind him across the island. Zeds reached out to us, but we ran past them. The speedboat came into view behind a thick bush. The motor was already running. We tumbled onto the floor while Jase backed us away from the bank.

As Jase navigated through the debris- and zed-infested water, I looked down at Clutch. He brushed his thumb across my cheekbone as he looked into my eyes. I mean, he really looked into my eyes, as though I was the only thing in the world, and it was perfect. His warm breath tingled my lips. After a while, he smirked. “There’s not a single thing I could say right now that wouldn’t sound completely idiotic.”

I smiled, closed my eyes, and rested my head on his chest. His heart, still pounding from our narrow escape, beat strong. My head rose and fell with each breath he took. “Try it.”

He didn’t.

“Hang in there, guys,” Jase said. “We’re coming up on the dock.”

I grudgingly rolled off Clutch and sat up. Clutch pulled himself onto a seat. It took several long minutes while we waited for boats to be moved before we could get to the ramp. When we stepped onto the rocky soil, Tyler was waiting for us with a hard look. “Take ten to regroup and load into your Humvee. We’re heading out to the first house we find and staying there tonight.”

None of us replied or acknowledged. We simply trudged up the rocky bank. At the top, I turned around to see the Aurora lit up like its namesake.

After I reclaimed my rifle from Joe, I headed back to our Humvee with the Charlie Coyote on the hood. Jase already had the engine running.

Two hours later, after the sun had long since set, we lay on the living room floor of an old two-story farmhouse with nineteen seventies decor. My eyes burned from smoke, and my skin still felt hot, even in the cold house. Exhaustion forced me into a sleep that I don’t think my mind would have otherwise allowed. Not with all the fresh images of flames, lost friends, and burnt corpses filling my head.

When I awoke some time later, I found Clutch and Jase awake, one sitting on either side of me and leaning against the wall. I pulled myself up, squeezed in between them, and wrapped an arm around each of them. With my “family,” I felt safe. But the devil was in the details. Sure, I felt safe right now, but we had no home, no food, and no weapons. Nothing except for what we had on our backs, and outside it was snowing.

NEW EDEN

Chapter XXVIII

Thirty-two Fox survivors remained after the fire, but more should have survived. Most of those who died were lost below decks when they went in to grab their possessions. It was a funny thing how, even at the end of the world, people were so attached to their possessions that they risked their lives for them.

The final casualty, Don, was found dead this morning when he didn’t wake. Doc figured the man had succumbed to an internal injury since his lower back was bruised and distended. His daughter, Alana, refused to let go of him and had to be dragged away. She screamed until she fainted.

The snow covered everything in a light blanket of white, making the world look deceptively clean. The house smelled like pungent smoke since no one had washed up last night, and we only had the smoky, filthy clothes on our backs. It took nearly an hour to hook up the only surviving portable generator to the well pump, and another four hours for everyone to wash up with ice cold water.

We didn’t get on the road until noon, and we had no breakfast or lunch served. Vicki, with some help from Joe, had collected wild leaves and made tea to curb everyone’s hunger. About a dozen of us, who always wore “every day carry” packs, had protein bars and water filters. I’d given one of my bars to Benji but none to anyone else. It wasn’t because I was selfish. It was because we needed to maintain our strength so we could find food for the others. It didn’t stop people from eying me with disdain as I zipped up my backpack and slid it over my shoulders, though.

Clutch and Tyler had constantly told people to always carry emergency bags, but few actually did. I wanted to tell each and every one of them to fuck off, that I’d gladly give any one of them a bar if they were willing to go find food. Except they didn’t want to earn the bar. They just wanted the handout.

“Let’s load up,” Tyler announced to the room full of people, without making eye contact with anyone.

I frowned. Always before, Tyler had an underlying warm tone to his words. Since yesterday, everything he said was hard and to the point. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, and he didn’t even respond when Vicki hugged him. It was like he’d completely closed himself off from everyone.

“I’ll take the lead vehicle,” Tyler said. “Griz and Jase will take the scout vehicle. They will advance ahead of the convoy and recon any houses for food. Clutch and Cash will cover our flank. We’ll head north until we can safely cross the river. We’ll stop outside the first town we reach today to split up and search for food. Any questions?”

“Why don’t we stay here?” someone asked. “Have the scouts go for food like they’ve always done.”

“Since we know the area around the river has already been picked clean, we need to move on. There’s nothing here for us.”