Broken Ties: A Tale of Survival in a Powerless World (Broken Lines Book 3) (8 page)

***

              The room was spinning. Kalen’s vision was blurred. The concrete floor felt cool against her skin. She lay there, motionless, trying to get up, but any movement froze her in pain.

              Kalen gently lifted her shirt up. Black and blue bruises were blotched along her rib cage. She managed to roll onto her back. Her hands found her face and she ran her fingertips across the lumps and welts, wincing with each touch.

              The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was a fist slamming into her cheek and her body hitting the ground. She lasted a long time, and she didn’t break. She didn’t give them anything.

              It was hard though. The hardest thing she’d ever done. There were times where she wanted to give them all the answers to the questions they were asking.

              When she raised her head from the ground to get a better look at her surroundings, she saw the door to the interrogation room was open and the room empty. The only thing in there was her blood staining the floor.

              Kalen flipped to her belly and crawled to the front of the cell. Her neck strained as she looked down the halls, trying to see where they took Mary.

              “Mary?” Kalen said.

              Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. The exertion of speaking was painful. Her ribs felt razor sharp, stabbing her insides with each breath, word, and movement. She squinted her eyes shut, trying to block the it out.

              Kalen focused on figuring out where she saw Mary last. Did she see her when she came out? No. Her last memories before her blackout were still in the room.

              The hardware store?
No, they were dragged to the sheriff’s office together. The cells. She remembered Mary being thrown into one of the cells as she was taken to the interrogation room.

              “Mary?” Kalen repeated.

              Another shot of pain went through Kalen’s stomach; guilt. She was the one who convinced Mary to come. She was the one who gave her the gun. Whatever fate Mary had run into was because of her actions.

              Kalen rested her back against the wall. She placed her right hand on the cell bars and gripped the metal tight. Her arm started to shake.

              Don’t break. Don’t give in. Fight it. Fight it!

              She held the tears back. She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t going to show weakness. If the bikers came back in they wouldn’t find a self-pitying girl wallowing in tears. All they would see was her resolve and the lumps across her face.

              Nelson pulled the sheets over Sean. He bent down to kiss his forehead, brushing the hair out of his eyes. He dimmed the candlelight in the lantern and shut the door.

              He walked down the hall quietly. When he reached the living room, Ray was on the couch, his leg propped up on a few pillows as he flipped through the pages of a hunting magazine Freddy had brought up for him from the basement.

              Nelson leaned back in the armchair across from the couch slowly and let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and rested his head back on the cushion behind him.

              “Crazy day,” Ray said.

              “Yeah,” Nelson answered.

              “Any reason you didn’t go with Mike?”

              Nelson opened his eyes. Ray had set the magazine down and was looking at him.

              “What are you getting at?” Nelson asked.

              “Well, I know why I didn’t go,” Ray said, gesturing to his leg.

              “We couldn’t send everyone,” Nelson answered.

              Ray turned back to his magazine.

              “I’m not a coward, Ray.”

              The magazine fell to Ray’s lap. He turned on his side, making sure he was looking Nelson full in the face.

              “No, I know you’re not a coward, Nelson. But you’re also not a man of action. You let things happen to you. You let things happen to your family. You’re no better than the people who burned down Mike’s house in our neighborhood.”
              Nelson shot up out of his chair. He marched over to Ray, his temper rising.

              “I don’t know where you were when Mike’s house was getting burned to the ground, but I’m the one who pulled him out of the fire. If I hadn’t been there to pull him out, he would have died.”

              The words came out in stinging, harsh whispers. Nelson was right in Ray’s face, and Ray grabbed hold of his collar.

              “The only reason you were able to pull him out was because you were tucked away in your house. I saw you out there on the lawn. I saw you walk away,” Ray said.

              Nelson grabbed hold of Ray’s shirt. The two men locked together. Ray’s body hit the floor as Nelson pulled him from the couch. The commotion caused Anne to run from the hall into the living room.

              “Enough! Stop it, you two!” Anne said.

              She peeled them off each other. Ray sat propped up against the couch, his leg lying at an awkward angle.

              “Now is not the time to start this. Am I clear?” Anne said.

              The two men nodded, looking at one another, each breathing heavily.

              “Sorry,” Ray said.

              “It’s all right,” Nelson answered.

              Then when the door to the cabin opened and Nelson looked up, he didn’t think it was real.

              Katie’s face was smeared with dirt, and her tattered business clothes were filthy. She almost looked like a stranger, but her green eyes staring back at him were familiar territory.

              “Katie?” Nelson asked.

              Her name left his lips like a whisper. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there before he jumped to his feet and rushed to her. He held her, kissed her, afraid letting go would stop making the moment real, as if she would dissipate into the night air like she had in so many of his dreams.

              “Sean? Is he okay?” Katie asked.

              “Yes, he’s fine. I just put him to bed.”

              Nelson noticed Sam standing there in the doorway behind her, looking unsure of whether he should say anything.

              “Sam?” Nelson asked.

              “Hi, Nelson,” Sam answered.

              “He helped get me out. I wouldn’t have made it without him,” Katie said.

              Sam extended his hand, but Nelson embraced him in a hug.

              “Thank you,” Nelson said.

              Sam patted him on the back.

              “Can I see him?” Katie asked.

              “Of course.”

              Nelson led her to the bedroom where Sean was sleeping. When he opened the door to let her in, she took a moment just watching him sleep. He was still, peaceful.

              She walked to him and knelt down by his side. She ran her hands softly along the length of his small arms and legs—a feather’s touch.

              Nelson saw the smile spread across his face when he opened his eyes. Sean jumped up and threw his arms around Katie.

              “Mom!”

              “Hey, baby,” Katie said.

              Nelson left them alone. There would be time for words later. For now, seeing his wife with his son was all that he needed.

***

              Sean fell asleep in Katie’s lap in the living room. She didn’t want to move him; she just let him sleep and brushed his hair with her fingers.

              Jung had joined Anne, Ray, Sam, Nelson, and Katie in the living room. The six of them were sitting around, trying not to speak too loudly to wake Sean.

              “We thought the relief center would be safe, but it didn’t last very long. All of the hospitals, Red Cross locations, or public welfare stations giving out food rations were looted. It was chaos everywhere,” Sam said.

              “Did you guys hear anything about the rest of the country? Is there any spot that’s safe?” Anne asked.

              “No, none of the authorities we spoke with had any information,” Katie answered.

              “Nobody mentioned anything about Cincinnati?” Jung asked.

              “Cincinnati?” Katie asked.

              “We have a radio. It works and we heard a broadcast come through,” Anne said.

              “It said that Cincinnati was the rallying point for the power coming back on in Ohio. A woman’s voice came through and said that there was food, shelter, protection,” Nelson said.

              “Sounds too good to be true,” Sam said.

              “That’s what I said,” Ray said.

              “I don’t think they’d be able to set something up that fast. And even if they did, there’s no way of knowing if the place is already overrun. I’m sure whatever was set up had good intentions, but people are desperate now. Good intentions will get you killed,” Sam said.

              “Where’s Mike? What did he say about all this?” Katie asked.

              Katie watched everyone’s eyes shift around awkwardly. Everyone seemed to look at Anne, but Anne focused on Katie.

              “Kalen disappeared this morning. Mike went to go find her,” Anne said.

              “Oh my God. Anne, I’m sorry,” Katie said.

              “Mike wanted us to stay put. We have enough supplies to last us a while, and we just set up an agreement with a local hunter for fresh game. Leaving now would be too much of a risk. We’d lose more than we’d gain,” Anne said.

              Jung stormed out of the living room, heading to his room at the end of the hallway.

              “It’s a bit of a sore subject with him,” Ray said.

              “His wife was shot on the way here. The antibiotics we have aren’t helping with her infection. She’s not doing very well,” Anne explained.

              Anne got up from the chair she brought in from the kitchen.

              “I’ll sleep in Kalen’s room. You and Nelson should take my and Mike’s room,” Anne said.

              “No, Anne, we can’t do that,” Katie said.

              “It’s fine. It’s going to be a long night for me anyway, and I probably won’t get much sleep. You two take it. You need the time alone,” Anne said.

              “Thanks, Anne,” Nelson said.

              The rest of the group headed to bed as Katie scooped Sean up in her arms and let him down in Freddy’s room. She kissed him on the forehead and slowly shut the door behind her.

              Nelson took Katie’s hand and they walked side by side down the hall into Mike and Anne’s room.

              There was a small glow of a candle lighting the bedroom. Katie walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. Nelson hung back at the door.

              “I missed you,” Nelson said.

              “I missed you too.”

              Nelson walked to her. Each step slow, savoring the anticipation of being with her again.

              “I thought I’d lost you,” Nelson said.

              “I tried getting out sooner, but by the time we realized what was going on, the city was locked down. Sam tried getting a group of us out, but we were picked up by an army reserve patrol. We went with them, but after six days at the relief center, everything just collapsed. There wasn’t enough food for the number of people who were there. People just… turned on each other.”

              “That’s what happened to the neighborhood.”

              “I saw the two grave markers at the Beachums’. Is that what happened to them?”

              “Bessie was the one who started it.”

              “What?”

              “She organized half the neighborhood to turn on Mike and his family.”

              “Mike killed them?”
              “No, Ray killed Bessie and—”

              Nelson cut himself short. He hadn’t spoken out loud about what happened that day, what he did. He found himself ashamed to tell his wife, afraid of what she’d think. Would she judge him? Would she think less of him knowing that he took someone’s life?

              “What is it?” Katie asked.

              “I killed Ted.”

              Nelson wasn’t sure how long the silence between them lasted. Each second that ticked by sent a stab into his stomach, which turned over and over again.

              Then Katie took his hand and brought it to her lips. She pressed it to the side of her face, her cheek running along the back of his hand.

              “You kept our family safe. You did what you had to do. There’s no shame in that,” Katie said.

              Nelson exhaled. Of all the answers he thought he’d hear, that was the one he wanted most. He sought affirmation, and she gave it to him. Nelson reached for the candle on the nightstand and pinched the wick, extinguishing the light, letting the room fall into darkness.

***

              Jenna’s breathing was labored. Her face was dripping with sweat. Jung placed the cloth into the bowl of water, rewetting it, and padded her forehead. She was whispering nonsense, delirious from the fever.