World Ashen

Chapter 3 - Kenneth

Thoughts of my mother kept me silent as Cayler tried distracting me. It was as if he knew Mom was going to die. I already knew trying to keep her alive was useless, but I couldn't have brought myself to let her die. I knew it wasn't my fault if Mom died because it was her choice not to eat.

Now, memories of my older sister's death played in my head. I was there when she died, so I was afraid I would be responsible for my mother's death, too. Amberlynn's was completely my fault since I was the one who begged her to drive despite there being snow on the road, and it was Christmas Eve.

That night was still fresh in my brain. A drunk driver had hit us head-on and made the steering wheel go into Amberlynn's chest. Her green eyes were open and still sparkled. Blood spilled out of her mouth, but her lips still smiled. I remembered not being able to see clearly, and the pain in my entire body was unbearable.

"Hey, Kenneth," Cayler said as he waved a hand in front of my face. "You're crying. Are you alright?"

I shook my head, "no, stupid memories."

Cayler squeezed my shoulder gently. "None of this is your fault. You were just there at the wrong time, alright?"

That seemed to be everyone's go-to thing to say when I said or implied I was thinking about Amberlynn, so I shrugged as if to say "whatever" or "that's not true". To conserve energy, we walked in silence, occasionally asking each other if we needed to rest a little.

The scenery of the landscape seemed like a winter wonderland instead of a wasteland. The ashfall had stopped a couple of weeks after the eruption, but we still had to wear makeshift masks in case we kicked up the ash.

"Do you even know where Wyatt is? I mean, he left the hospital and probably just started walking in a random direction."

"Or he could've been smart about it and started heading to August's."

I nodded. "Sure. Then why are you looking for him if that was the case?"

Cayler shook his head. "I'm worried about him. The incident injured him pretty badly."

"That makes sense. How bad are his injuries?"

"He was in a coma and he had major surgeries."

"And how long has it been?"

Signing, Cayler ran a hand through his hair. "Like three months."

I stared at him long and hard. "Wyatt was dumb enough to leave the hospital?"

"If he hadn't, he would've surely died."

After a moment of hesitation, I said sorry for asking and I was a little more eager to help him. We walked mostly in silence and hand-in-hand, arriving at a store a couple of hours later. It surprised neither of us when broken windows came into the scene, and it was dark inside.

A group of men wearing orange Detroit jumpsuits stood by the claw machines, smoking. A bald man spotted us, turned to the opening, and yelled, "yo, boss! Someone is here to see you!"

Cayler went tense beside me as he quickly released my hand. Although I was confused, I remained silent; they might answer my question without me asking. Another man with brown hair, holding a knife, came running toward Cayler and me. My boyfriend's breathing was rapid and angry. The man said something, then laughed loudly. "Say that again, and I will cut your tongue out or just slit your throat," Cayler hissed.

The man laughed and pretended to be scared. "Oh no. I guess he's afraid I'll tell everyone."

Cayler whipped out his pocket knife. So I did the same. Broken glass littered the ground because someone had busted the pharmacy's windows. The workers were dead and in a pile of blood that stained the white-tiled floor. "I'm guessing these guys broke out from the Detroit Prison and walked five-hundred miles for drugs?" I asked.

My boyfriend didn't answer me, but he growled, "Rattan Reynolds." I froze, upon hearing the name.

"It's been a while, fifteen years since I last saw you and your step-sister," Rattan said.

Cayler's breathing was remarkably steady. "You hated having a blind wife who divorced you, so you killed her in cold blood because if you couldn't have her, then no one could, right?" The old man grinned as Cayler went to hug him. But my boyfriend had hidden his knife behind his back. He stuck his blade deeper into his dad's back, who collapsed as the knife was deep into his chest. "Anyone else?" Cayler asked as blood pooled at his feet. To my surprise, everyone except for one backed up. The man dashed toward Cayler, but I was quicker and jumped in front of the attack. A few seconds later, blood came as pain seared through my chest.