Desolation ✔️

Chapter 7: Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

Everyone packs up to leave the following night. We make sure the car has enough gas, the guns are all rounded up in the bag on the table, the cans of food are loaded into the trunk of the car, and we all memorize where Ostford is. We track it on the map and highlight the path there. It's farther than expected, but it doesn't matter. Our only real concern is the amount of water we'll need on our way. There are only three water bottles, six people, and a long road ahead. With the flowers wilting, we dump out the vases and pack them in our bags.

The morning we're scheduled to leave, there are more dead on the streets than before. It's like the number multiplies with each passing day. Most days, it doesn't bother me, but today it does.

I pull up a chair in front of the window at the front of the store and watch the activity outside just like I did at the Safe House. Buildings materialize from behind a hazy, distant fog and the sky bleeds a reddish-orange. I remember seeing the sky like this once before: the morning after my neighborhood was bombed.

I suddenly feel sick.

"Scarlett, you okay?"

I look to my left and see that Keilah has joined me. Her skin glows brighter than usual.

I nod. "I'm just...I don't know...a little jittery. I hope I'm making the right choice going to Ostford. A part of me wonders if Carter really would have gone there. I mean, I didn't realize how far it was."

Keilah pulls her brown jacket tightly over her and crosses her arms. "I didn't realize how far it is, either. But where else would he have gone?"

I look back out the window. The sun begins rising and rolls shadows out along the pavement like dough. "I don't know."

"Well, don't think about it so much. Ostford is your only option as of right now, so you might as well take a chance. And if he's not there, stock up on weapons and food and try again."

She has a point. I nod slowly and exhale. "You're right. Thanks."

"Any time, sweetheart. Now you better make sure you have everything before we leave. Robert said the car leaves at noon, so be ready."

"Okay," I say. Keilah turns to leave, but I catch her before she does. "Wait!" She stops and turns around. "Does the sky look strange to you at all?"

Her eyes jump to the window and move from object to object on the outside. She shakes her head. "It's just a little foggy, that's all. Why?"

I scan the sky once more, taking in all the oranges and reds and pinks. Just because the sky looks brighter than usual and coated in fog doesn't mean I'm reliving the day my parents...died. The reminder grips my heart and squeezes tight. The difference in the sky could just be because of the seasons changing. I mean, it's January. It could be leftover smoke from the bombings that first week? It's not impossible.

I shake my head and wave Keilah away. "Never mind."

* * *

Noon.

Robert and Marvin head out to the car to load the guns up. I help Keilah search the rest of the flower shop to make sure we're not forgetting anything. After we decide we've packed all we can carry, I rush to the bathroom in the back to clean myself up.

There are no longer any working faucets, but we still have sanitary wipes on the sink. I take one from the box and look in the mirror. It's the first I've done so since being at the Safe House.