World Ashen

Chapter 6 - Jensen

Jadance died last night from whooping cough. Ash had it too, but I didn't know how long he'd survive it. "Jensen," August yelled, shaking me. I moaned, rolling over, but something hit me.

"Ow," I said, sitting up with my eyes closed, rubbing my head. "Morning, August."

The woman tossed me my clothes, which she did every morning. Then I changed after she left. After realizing this was the shirt I wore on the day of the eruption, I started shivering; this shirt was apparently now associated with death. The eruption of the supervolcano had killed millions of people, including my parents, cousin, sister, and now it was killing my little brother.

Ash's harsh cough interrupted my thoughts. My brain snapped back to now. Ash is dying. August tried everything, but he would surely die if I didn't try helping him. "There's one thing you can do." August's words bounced inside my head. "You can go look for the medicine or the herbs needed to save him." I'd tried saving my youngest brother's life. August told me turmeric could help, but neither she nor the store had any, so I'd go to the next town and glance there. If they didn't have any, then I'd go to the next and repeat. All this traveling might mean death, or being close to it. I didn't hesitate to walk any distance to save Ash.

"Be careful, Jensen." Jace, Amy, Piper, and August said as I stood in the doorway. The snow was a good foot deep but stopped falling, and the wind wasn't blowing. I wore good, warm clothes and Dead Man's backpack. A pistol and knife were both there. The knife was for when I ran out of ammo or needed to be silent. Another cough came from Ash, reminding me of the task at hand. I said goodbye, then headed out into the ashen, snowy world.

My feet sunk into the snow the second I stepped off the porch. Scowling, walking in the snow without getting my shoes, socks, and feet soaked was impossible. Remembering the plastic bags in my pockets, I took them out and put them over my shoes. Standing there, I questioned what way to go, and I figured it out a few minutes later. The right was the more taken path, so I'd take it too. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out into the snow and began walking down the path. There was no sense in turning back once I started going. Feeling the weight of the backpack reminded me of meeting the previous owner, and killing the poor man. I shook my head, trying to throw the scene away and think of something happier, but nothing came. Suddenly, someone tackled me to the ground and pinned my body against the hard, packed snow and ice.

"We got 'em, boys. Load 'em up and go home," a bossy teen voice said as I winced when something hit me in the back of my head. I awoke hours later on a hard stone floor; the atmosphere was cold and musty. I coughed, using the wall to sit up, scraping my shoulder. When I opened my eyes, darkness masked my vision. Someone had tied my hands behind my back, so I wasn't able to stand. My stomach screamed for food, while my mouth wanted water, but my brain told me there was no use in screaming for help. As I started closing my eyes, the hinges of the door shrieked, so I turned my head toward the noise. Hearing heavy footsteps walking toward me made me panic. The person began pulling me behind them. Sounds of more people being dragged filled the room, so I wasn't alone. Everyone was silent, so I was stupid. "You! Where—" I screamed as someone plunged a knife deep into my shoulder.

"Shut up," a voice hissed, "or I'll have to kill you." Then I shut up. If I died, Ash would die too. They dragged me for several more feet until we stopped. The blood from my wound rushed down like a waterfall.

"Sir, everyone's here," a female's soft voice said as someone lugged me up some stairs and threw me into a chair. The smell of burning flesh reached my nose, sending nausea to my stomach and mouth. Smelling blood, sweat, burning flesh, and vomiting made everything spin. I caught a man saying, "Roger," I didn't know who he was talking to.

"Jensen," a different man yelled, correcting the first man, then the man who said my name screamed in pain.

"What?" I yelled as another knife was dug into my shoulder. I was gasping now. Why in the world didn't they gag us if they don't want us to talk? "Let me go!" I began rocking back and forth until someone grabbed me by my shoulder and carried me back to the room I was in before. My eyes were closed, but I opened them when they put me down. Having my eyes closed and opening them again caused the brightness to sting my eyes. The first thing I saw was a man with black hair and a woman with blonde hair and brown eyes. "Aunt Katrina. Uncle Shane, how did you—"

They cut me off. "Jensen, why are you here?" I looked side to side frantically. We were in a small bare room with a candle and a metal door, much like a prison.

"Ash is sick, and I was trying to get turmeric, but they had kidnapped me. Where's Thomas, Haley, Angel, and the kids?"

"We think Angel's in the smoke room and that's all we know. There was a huge fire in the middle," they informed me. Just as I opened my mouth, Aunt Katrina shushed us. With little warning, Uncle Shane pulled the blindfold back over my eyes.

I picked up the same voice from earlier. "Has Roger learned his lesson?" Snake hissed. Being called Roger made me almost shriek, "my name isn't Roger, you snake," but I remained silent for Ash's and my sake. They dragged me to a different place. This time, the stench of burning flesh was much stronger. I also mixed the scent of turmeric in. Wait, turmeric. I can save Ash now if I don't die first. The person let me go, making me fall onto my back, and with my hands tied behind my back, I had to get up the hard way. After rocking and forth repeatedly, I sat up. I put my legs through the hole caused by my hands, so they were in front of me. Although I was blind, I untied my hands with my mouth, and with my hands now free, I removed the blindfold. I didn't know what I was expecting, but what I saw made me fall to my knees and throw up stomach acid. What I saw was a pile of dead and living people being put into a huge fire. Angel was shoveling them into it. I noticed she looked dazed and tired. Walking over to her, I indeed saw my cousin's wife. Angel was stunned to see me there, but eventually, she followed me. That was after I took several minutes to soothe the thirty-nine-year-old woman. After being here for several months, the thoughts probably scarred her for a while.

"Where's the turmeric?" I asked as I scanned the room, then a different door came into view. They made it out of wood, unlike the others. We ran toward it and I tripped but got up, then we continued running just to find it locked. Sighing, I waited for someone to unlock it for us. I surveyed the area once more. A man started heading in our direction, so Angel and I dove behind a barrel of oil. I motioned for Angel to stay put, then I tackled and pinned the man down.

"Where are the—" I began before a knife whipped the side of my face. A scream escaped my lips as the blade sliced through my eye. After I became blind with anger, I disarmed him and placed his weapon against his throat. "Where are the keys?" I asked, pressing the knife against his throat hard enough that a little blood trickled. The man didn't answer. He reached for his back pocket. As a result, I went to stab him with the blade, but he fired a shot into my upper arm.

My vision swam, and Angel yelled in a fake British accent, "Oi! Pea Brain!" The man turned toward the now frightened woman and nearly hit her. Her husband flew into the room yelling, "not my wife, you jerk!" The two men began fighting, and after a while, the man who attacked me fell to the floor unconscious. Angel turned to my cousin. "I'll see what I can do about Jensen's wounds. Look for Haley, the kids, and your parents. We'll get out of here. I swear."

Thomas nodded and went to leave. "Sarah and Jackson, too?"

Angel said, "yeah. Grab them too." She turned back to me and pressed her shirt against my gunshot wound. "Jensen, stay with me. You can't die now. The girls and I believe you'll be a dad soon. Your child and girlfriend need you the most, but we all do." Her tears landed on my face.

I closed my eyes as footsteps ran in our direction. "It's getting worse, but I think we can make it if we leave now," Aunt Katrina said as her voice wavered. Someone picked me up and started walking out, with the others following. I went limp and unconscious because of the overwhelming pain.