And then it hit him.
Christ, God-Almighty. Lily.
Sickness, it rose up his throat like a weed made of horror. It took root in his gut and grew. His whole chest burned, and not just from the heat and smoke. He thought back, rummaged through memories tinged with fire. Their truck had been one of the few to survive the carnage. If his memories were correct, Knight and Lily’s was too.
He waded into the water, it splashed brown and murky at his knees. He needed to feel the relief, the caress of liquid on his skin. Stones and mud created the shore. In the ravine, they were sheltered from the worst of the smoke, but they were open to other dangers. The orange clouds overhead rumbled and rolled. If it rained, this gully could flood. He immediately turned to Nick. ‘Don’t go too deep.’
Nick nodded as he strode into the water and only then did he allow Kira to slip from his shoulders. Euan’s hand was already out, his arms open to take her into his embrace. The water splashed, ripples abound, as she waded in long strides that used all her strength to achieve. It was easy to snatch her fingers and crush her close. For a moment, he had no intention to ever let her go, even if the flames consumed them.
‘Oh heavens,’ she sobbed. ‘Euan … they’re all gone.’
Euan swallowed, loosened his jaw. Took a breath. There was part of him that wanted to rail with her, succumb to the torrent of emotion that rose inside him. But Kira needed him to be steadfast, Nick needed him to lead. Probably the remainder of the human race needed him too …
‘Take one moment at a time. We’re safe here for now. Let’s regroup. Make a plan.’ His focus moved to Nick at the shoreline. ‘Nicky, you good?’
Nick stood still. A silent sentry at the water’s edge. Liquid lapped at his ankles, his head still wrapped in one of Kira’s scarves. Golden strands peeked through the gaps in the sooty fabric. As Euan watched, he brought both hands up to his mouth and coughed. His body swayed with the effort to remain standing.
Euan called to him, gestured for him to come closer. Nick looked over his shoulder and green eyes met brown.
Hesitancy, a pause in time. Nick’s body bunched, muscles encased in dusty black fatigues tightened and his eyes blinked. The tension between them glowed, expanded, then extinguished in a rapid deceleration that made Euan shudder. A high and a low as vibrant and as effective as the rise and fall of the sun. When his focus returned to the water’s edge, his spine hunched, Euan once again shouldered the mantle of leadership between them.
The burden was heavy, but it was one he bore willingly. He kissed Kira’s forehead, clasped her hand in his and took the few steps to reach the stubborn, quiet man.
Nick’s breath was deep when Euan placed his hand on his shoulder. ‘You did good,’ he said.
Nick’s nod was sluggish. It didn’t take long before it turned into a shake of disbelief. ‘They were our last hope.’
That sickness was back. Euan had to agree.
‘There’s still the hotel. Mickey-O would have supplies, men there.’
The shake of Nick’s head continued. ‘He told me most of his best were with us.’
Bile, there in his throat. It burned. Christ, it fucking branded his insides with dread. How could this have happened? But even as the wisp of thought passed through his mind, he knew.
He fucking knew.
Treachery was easy when there was so much to gain in betrayal.
Nick shifted out of Euan’s grip with slow reluctance. His scarf was removed and used with warm water to wash the soot and dust from haggard features. Green eyes then turned to flash towards the heavens. ‘Those look like clouds. If we’re lucky, it might rain.’
Euan’s heart was heavy, his shoulders burdened with the weight of opposing decisions.
There was so much to gain in moving forward alone. But so much to lose in defeat. To risk their lives in pursuit of hope was something Euan thought he’d never have to do again. He’d tried to save mankind once before.
Look where that had got him.
They were leaderless, their numbers decimated. Those that had survived that attack were likely fugitives, running for their lives, hunted by an enemy that was more powerful than they could have ever suspected. Where Parker had amassed that type of explosive power, Euan could only guess, but it had destroyed all their efforts in one single fiery ball of flame. To find those that still lived would be monumental, to bring them back from the brink of destruction, to build them up again, to lead them? And to what? More death, more destruction? A constant battle for survival against an army far more prepared. It was suicide.
Maybe they had to search for safety elsewhere. Maybe walk their own path. He might be partially blind, his muscles wasted, but with time, his strength would return. That elusive farmhouse with a wind turbine that he had originally searched for to save Nick from himself was still a possibility …
But was it the right one?
He mimicked Nick and squinted towards the sky. Above the flying ash and the wisping smoke, yellow and grey clouds rolled towards them. Lightning flashed within their depths. If they let their
