She was the one thing he had left to fight for.
Three
Aby
Aby held herself back from the fire, observing it for a while and trying to figure out if she should approach. Her head was still pounding and her body ached. She wasn’t ready for a fight if it came to that, but how did she know who was trustworthy in this world anymore? For all she knew, the people gathered at the fire were the same ones who left her beaten and broken in the middle of the forest.
But the alternative scared her even more. The thought of being alone and only having herself to rely on. She wasn’t used to making executive decisions, especially not since this whole thing had begun. She’d spent the past few days trying to prove herself, to show that she wasn’t just some wimpy woman who couldn’t handle herself, but now that she was on her own, the pressure of being in charge felt like a lot to deal with.
It had been a long time since she’d truly been alone. Back at home, she and Jake were inseparable, which made the fact that they were apart now even scarier. Sure, he’d left her a few times, but only ever to go and save them all, not to abandon her. But now he was nowhere to be found, and Aby had to question if for some reason, he’d left her behind after all.
But how could he, after all they’d been through together? Not just since the EMP hit, but in their entire relationship. They’d been joined at the hip for years. They loved all the same things, and they loved one another’s company, most importantly. If Aby closed her eyes, the good times came rushing at her like a dopamine hit. All the times he’d taken her to baseball games, or driven her places for romantic picnics in scenic spots. The time she’d met his parents for the first time and made a better impression than she ever thought she could. They’d been to a BBQ joint in the middle of Pittsburgh and spent hours talking and laughing. It was then that she’d realised that she belonged in Jake’s life. She slotted in so easily that everything they ever did felt so natural. When he’d asked her to be his wife, she didn’t even have to think before she answered yes. It was a day she’d been dreaming of for a long time.
She looked down at the ring on her finger. She twisted it, anxiety coiled low in her stomach. That life they’d shared seemed like so long ago. A different lifetime for a different world. The Jake she’d known then would never leave her...but what about the new Jake? She recalled with a wince the heat of the burning car that she saved him from, and how his eyes had dulled like it didn’t matter if he lived or died. Was that the man she was dealing with now? Had he found some way to get himself killed because he no longer cared about what happened to him, to her, or to anyone else?
Aby felt a tear trickle down her cheek. The possibility of him being dead somewhere, alone as his body turned cold, was too much for her to handle. She had to find him. She had to make her way back to him, no matter what the outcome was of her mission. She didn’t want to live without him.
With shaking legs, she told herself that if Jake was here, he’d at least investigate the fire. She had to be brave for herself now because he wasn’t here to do it for her. Being careful not to crunch on any fallen branches or leaves, she crept closer to the fire to try and overhear the conversation there.
Now that she was closer, she could she the hulking forms of figures that could only be men. Their voices were low and threatening and Aby forced herself to swallow back her fear to get a little closer.
She could only hear snippets of their conversation, even though she was listening hard, but she managed to pick out some of the words they were saying over the crackling of the fire.
“The world’s fucked,” one said. “Ain’t never going to be the same again.”
“It’s ours now,” another said, though whatever he said next was carried away on a passing wind. Aby crept closer, desperate to hear what they’d say next. She had to know what sort of survivors they were. Were they good people, willing to help others survive? Or were they only out for themselves as so many people they’d crossed recently seemed to be. Aby prayed that they were in the first category, but she was starting to believe that goodness was a rarity in the human race. Or at least it was when they were all scared.
“We take what we want,” one of the men growled in the darkness. Aby’s heart skipped a beat, and then another. It felt like her heart was rattling around in her chest. She was terrified of what that could possibly mean. Were they going to go on some sick rampage, killing and hurting people to take supplies from them? Would they see everything as theirs, even people? Aby could hazily remember the fight she and Megan had been in back at Derron’s cabin. Those men would’ve done bad things to them if they hadn’t killed them first. Were these men just as bad?
She realized that her plan might’ve been brave, but it was also stupid. How could she ever think that strangers would show her mercy? She knew Jake would’ve done the same, but she wasn’t him. She wasn’t able to fight the same, especially now
