World Ashen

Chapter 10 - Kenneth

"Kenneth," Cayler said. "Shiloh and the others left. There's a gigantic box of food by the front door."

I cursed under my breath. "I'm not surprised. What time is it?"

"Around three."

They left about three hours ago, and it made perfect sense because Shiloh was restless when something needed to get done. "No, I won't chase them down. Shiloh said they'd be okay, so it's her fault if they die."

Cayler stared at me. "That was harsh."

"True though."

"The eruption has totally changed you. A year ago, you probably would've chased them and tried saving every soul in need."

I didn't answer right away. "We saved Mary-Anne."

My husband nodded, "sure."

"Mary-Anne started staying with August and Wyatt before her parents died. Do you know why?"

"Well, she told Wyatt she didn't feel safe because she felt like she, Maggie, and William were being watched ever since Roger had disappeared."

"I guess Mary-Anne was right about being watched, which saddens me."

Cayler placed a hand on my shoulder. "At least she's safe here." I nodded. "I feel like a demon by harming everyone I'm around."

Grinning, I yelled to Jensen and Jace, "Dean! Sam! Get the salt. We've got a demon in the living room!"

Cayler glared at me as the twins marched over to us. "Kenneth, it's three in the morning."

"But no one's asleep."

"No one but Jenna," Amy said, annoyed and carrying her daughter. Jace took Jenna and bounced her up and down, making her calm once more. I apologized and told them about Shiloh and the box of food.

"Do you know what's in there?" Jensen asked.

I shook my head. "Should we go look?"

"Of course. Take it into the living room first."

Turning to Cayler, I sighed, "may I have a hand?"

Cayler nodded, so we both walked to the front door where a box sat. Another one was behind it, twice the size of the first one. "This one has a note." He grabbed the note off the taller one. "'Dear Ken, thank you for trying to help Mom. Inside this box, you'll find bottles of multivitamins. Love Shy.' Where in the world did she get all this?"

"From Dad's basement. Yes, he died before I was born, and I don't know why he had so many."

"Maybe he was a prepper? That's the only reasonable exclamation."

"He had enough here to last for two years... whatever, the others are waiting." Grunting, Cayler lifted the box full of multivitamins while I grabbed the box of food.

Everyone sat in the living room, including Jenna. "August, you and only you have the permission to distribute these," Cayler said as he slid the multivitamin box toward her. He turned to the others. "We've all known each other for about a year now. I trust we won't fight over food?"

They all nodded. "I think Jensen, Piper, Jace, Amy, and Jenna deserve to have more," Thomas said, glancing at his cousin. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement. With the food now taken care of, we all went back to our rooms. I fell asleep, waking to the sounds of pounding on the front door and muffled screams.

I bolted upright, tossed on warm clothes, and flew to the front door. "What's going on?"

Three men stared at me. "The girls are sick and—"

I held up my hand to stop them. "The Doctor is in a wheelchair. There isn't any way to get her there in time." They looked at me, desperate. "Great," I said. "How am I supposed to help these men? Wait! I got it!" Turning back to the men, I told them to tell August what those girls were sick with, then I'd go with them to help treat their family. Together, the four of us walked to August, and the guys told her about the symptoms. One guy, the smallest, walked over to me. "Name's Ashton."

I offered my hand, "Kenneth."

"Listen, I just wanted to thank you."

"No problem. You just reminded me of someone I used to know. His name was Ash. Sorry, I don't think you want to hear me rant."

"Continue, if you please."

Sighing, I continued. "He died about a month ago from a whooping cough at nine."

Ashton nodded. "Sorry for your loss."

I smiled, "thanks. He was the little brother to my friends, Jace and Jensen."

"We should probably get going, Ashton. Otherwise, we might be too late," the oldest said. He turned to me, "thanks a lot for your help."

I nodded as we all walked in silence to save our energy. Everything around us was this whitish-gray color, and the silence was eerie. The sound of snow crunching was the only thing heard besides the hard breathing from the middle person who tried jogging. "Cade, running will just make you tired faster and get you nowhere," the oldest deadpanned.

"If we continue at this rate, then Lily and Jasper die, it'll be all your fault!"

"Cade, Justin, shut up and keep walking," Ashton said.

Cade and Justin both shut up that second. Again, snow crunching was the only thing I heard. Justin turned into the driveway of an old abandoned house. "Lily and Jasper should be upstairs by the fire."

Nodding, I followed the men upstairs. Inside the room were two young girls laying on a mattress with another girl who was trying to get them to eat some soup. "Hey, Kairi," Cade said gently. "This is Kenneth. He's going to help Lily and Jasper, okay?"

Kairi nodded, tired, but smiled anyway. How in the world is an eight-year-old helping two sick girls by herself? "Why don't you go rest, okay?" Kairi nodded once more and lay on the couch nearby. Lily was the one who wore pink and had blonde hair, while Jasper wore dark blue and had brown hair. I knelt beside Lily. "Hey, Lily. Can you stand up for me? I'm here to help you."

Lily nodded and stood up. "Thank you, sir."

"Take a few deep breaths and walk around some, okay? Also, have some warm water."

"Okay," Lily said as she started taking deep breaths and walking. Helping Lily overcome pneumonia seemed way easier than helping Jasper. Maybe because Lily was around Kairi's age and not a toddler. Despite doing all I could do for a good two weeks, Jasper died while Lily recovered.