Death's Awakening

Chapter Thirty-One: Parrish

Parrish brewed a pot of coffee and waited.

He couldn't stay down in that basement forever.

She didn't even bother sitting down at the table. She just poured herself a cup, fixed it up with cream and sugar, and planted herself at the island in the middle of the kitchen staring straight at the locked basement door.

Noah had been acting strange ever since they first got here. Sneaking down to the basement at all hours. Always locking the door behind him. And when she'd asked him what he was doing down there, he'd fumbled over his words, saying he just needed some time to himself.

Parrish wasn't buying it. Seriously, who had a security system with a key code on their basement door? It was all very Batman. Or evil villain. She wanted to know which.

So she waited.

The evacuation notice was lying on the countertop. Why hadn't he come to her with this? She'd been upstairs sleeping, but this was too important to ignore. They only had a handful of days to come up with a plan.

And what about her sister? She still hadn't given up on her. If she'd kept her door locked, there was a chance she was still alive. But for how long?

More than half an hour and two cups of coffee later, the basement door finally opened. At first Noah didn't notice her. He locked the door and pulled it closed, then turned to the key pad to the left of the door.

"Wait," she said.

His fingers froze over the lighted keys. He didn't turn toward her, but she could tell by his tense shoulders that he wasn't exactly happy to hear her voice.

Parrish left her spot behind the island and came over to stand behind him. "I want to know what you've got hidden down in that basement."

Noah's shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath. His fingers dropped from the keys and he turned. "I told you," he said. "It's just a bunch of family stuff like photo albums and stuff of my mom's. I just like to go down there and be by myself for a while. Get my head on straight."

"Bullshit." Parrish took a step closer to him. No one kept photo albums and old sweaters behind locked doors. "What's really down there?"

He swallowed hard, his eyes tensed. He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

She raised an eyebrow. Her heart beat loud in her eardrums. "You have to. If I'm going to stay here with you, I have a right to know what's in the basement," she said. Her cheeks flushed. She was pushing him, but she needed to know.

He looked away and her heart raced faster.

"Noah?"

He closed his eyes and turned back to the door. He balled his hand into a fist and pressed it against his forehead as if he'd suddenly gotten a terrible headache.

"I can't," he said, his voice a whisper this time.

Parrish leaned back against the island. Was she doing the right thing? Whatever was down there had him all turned around. Should she just let it go?

She shook her head. She needed to know, even if it was hard for him to tell her. If they were going to make decisions as a group, they needed to be honest with each other.

She stepped toward him, hesitating briefly before she wrapped her palm around his wrist and pulled his hand away from his face.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. The tears in his eyes sent a jolt of fear through her veins. This was serious.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know it's really none of my business. You saved my life by letting me into your house, and I owe you big for that. But at the same time, the world around us is completely messed up. We've all lost everyone and everything we ever cared about in this world. Right now, all we have is each other, and if we can't be honest with each other, then we might as well be alone."

She glanced toward the basement door.

"Whatever it is, you might feel better if you show me." She still hadn't loosened her grip on Noah's wrist and he hadn't tried to move away. "I need to know what's down there."

He stared at her, his eyes moving over her face, searching. Finally, he pulled his wrist away from her and turned around, entering the password into the keypad.

With a click, the basement door opened.

This is the final chapter of Part II: The Awakening. On Friday, we'll begin Part III: The Fifth, where you'll get to meet a new character! One of my absolute faves! Can't wait for you to read it!

Thanks so much for reading along! Please vote, comment, and add to your library!