I chewed on the inside of my already raw cheek. “I’m not sure. They’re taking him somewhere.”
I took a step away from the window but Caleb grabbed me. He shook his head from side to side.
“Uh-uh,” he said. “Can’t let you do that.”
“Do what?” I asked innocently.
“Go after him.”
I exhaled.
Caleb stared out the window as he held me in place. “Besides, it’s not Robby you need to worry about.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Caleb turned. “I don’t think they’re just going to let their prisoner go.”
Just as the words left Caleb’s lips, they pushed the man down to the ground. An officer with a thick piece of rope wrapped it around the prisoner’s neck.
I covered my mouth as they continued to drag him down the street. I was almost certain I could hear his cries for help.
2
Adam
Life at the resort wasn’t anything like I’d imagined. I’d traveled from California to be reunited with my parents but only my dad had survived. I was stuck inside the cabin and sometimes I wasn’t sure if the life I had was any kind of living at all.
The outside world was wet, treacherous, and at times, dangerous. But it was all those things inside of the resort too.
Leah and I stayed inside our cabin as much as possible to keep out of trouble. Which meant keeping our distance from Eva.
We only left when necessary and almost always together. Leaving alone was a risk and not usually one we were willing to take.
Even though I was reunited with my dad, everything between us was weird. Eva had corrupted him. The death of my mom had changed him into someone I barely recognized.
He looked like my dad and sounded like my dad but his shoulders were slumped. All of the things that had made my dad strong must have stayed with my mom because they weren’t with him any longer.
It was hard to admit but it was almost as though my dad had died in the earthquakes. Of course, there was a chance he thought the same thing about me because I was probably different too.
There were things that were good about being at the resort. We had unlimited food and water. We had a roof over our heads. A generator. Entertainment. And for the most part, we were safe… except for whatever Eva had in store for us.
It was just too bad that Eva wanted us gone. She was sitting back for the time being but there was no way she was done torturing me. Eva was waiting for the right moment to make her move.
The news of Eva’s affair or whatever it was had come out and my dad ignored it. He didn’t want to hear it. They still lived together. She’d probably begged him for forgiveness and because of his loneliness, he’d probably gave in. No one knew the type of person Eva was… no one except me.
Eva needed him. If she didn’t marry my father, she wouldn’t have the power that came with his role at the resort. He was one of the men in charge because he knew the owner. Eva, of course, knew that.
The whole thing made me sick. My dad should have kicked her out. He shouldn’t have ever allowed her inside his room.
Eva was pure evil. She disgusted me. I wanted to call her out for the murderer she was but I couldn’t because I wasn’t any better. I’d killed. I had blood on my hands too.
But I’d done it because there was no other choice. It hadn’t been for selfish reasons. Although I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe all killing was for selfish reasons.
I pushed the memory away. It made me sick to think that I was capable of killing another human being.
I wasn’t the type of guy who’d ever head off to war. Not that there was anything wrong with that but it just wasn’t me. But since the flash of light that started everything, I had no idea what type of guy I was anymore.
Leah and I had been mostly holed up in our cabin for the last several weeks. I’d lost track of time, which was easy to do when all we did was watch movies, eat, and sleep.
Leah could spend hours writing but I was just waiting for the next disaster. I wanted to be prepared but without knowing what was coming, it was impossible to be ready.
“When do you think your dad will stop by again?” Leah asked looking up from her notebook.
“Not sure,” I said. “Do you need something?”
“No,” Leah said. “He usually comes once or twice a week.”
I exhaled. “That seems to be changing.”
“Right. Eva’s not allowing him out as much,” Leah said.
“She probably figured out he was coming here,” I added.
Leah groaned. “Probably. She could have easily followed him or even had one of her boyfriends do the job for her.”
“I’m sorry that I got you involved in all this,” I said.
“Nonsense,” Leah said with a smile. “What choice did I have? I don’t think I’d be alive if I wouldn’t have found you.”
I huffed. “Of course you would. You’re tough. Much tougher than me. That’s one thing Eva was right about.”
“What?” Leah said setting her pen down to look me in the eyes.
“That it was you that got us here,” I said.
“Oh, shut up, Adam,” Leah said shaking her head. “Maybe we just make a good team.”
I smiled. “Maybe.”
“I’m going to make some coffee. Would you like some?” Leah asked.
“I thought you’d never ask,” I said.
Leah shook her head.
