Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 85

NADINE’S P.O.V

Rowan and I couldn’t fall asleep again so we just lay there until the run rose and continued on our journey.

Joshua trailed behind us, minding his business and not speaking to anyone. If Amy noticed, she didn’t say a thing about it. She just walked in stride with us, bringing up conversation whenever she could.

"How long do you think it’ll take before we get to the lab?" Amy asked after a few hours of walking. "A few weeks right?"

Rowan shrugged. "Maybe more. We’ve already been walking for almost two weeks."

"Shit," she mumbled. "We’ll have to go into the forest at some point, won’t we?"

Rowan didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. He just cast a wary glance in my direction.

The last time we’d pored over the map, we realized that there were three ways to get to the lab. We could either go into the forest, we could go on the train tracks or we could keep walking on the roads. Each of them had their own problems.

With the forest, there was no guarantee that we’d take the right path. It was too big and too unpredictable. The chances of meeting a monster there was astronomically high and there was also the risk of coming across another bunker. With the train tracks, it was probably the fastest but it wasn’t safe either. There’d be no more sleeping in houses and it reminded me too much of our time with Dan and Jennifer. That left the roads and that was the longest journey.

"We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it," I said finally and I heard a scoff from behind me.

I turned to find Joshua. He’d gotten closer to us now, and his hands were shoved into the pocket of his pants. "We’re already at that bridge, Nadine. We need to make a choice. I saw the maps too."

I sighed deeply. "We have one more day until we get to the train tracks. Can we talk about this later?"

"I don’t even see why it has to be a conversation. It’s the fastest way there."

"I’m confused," Amy perked up. "What’s going on?"

"Nothing," Joshua and I snapped at the same time. I turned to Joshua. "Just drop it, please. We can talk about this later."

"Whatever," he mumbled, rolling his eyes. He brushed past me, walking ahead of us.

He didn’t speak again until night time. He’d ignore us whenever we took breaks and I tried not to take it personally because I knew that this journey was hard on everyone, It was difficult to be around someone every second of the day and to know that your life was in their hands.

I didn’t blame his frustration, he wasn’t used to this kind of life, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t pissed off by his actions. It was hard enough as it was and I didn’t need him making it worse.

We found a small cabin like house and I tried to ignore the sign that pointed forward. It read: train station, five miles.

"So, is anyone going to tell me what the hell happened earlier today?" Amy asked after we got into the house. "I feel like I’m the only one who is in the dark."

"It doesn’t matter," Joshua began.

I could see that she was ready to snap back at him for that so I cut in. "Sit down and we’ll explain."

She muttered something under her breath but obliged, and Rowan pulled out the map. I just sat next to him, quiet as he explained the pros and cons of each route to everyone. By the time he was done, both Amy and Joshua were completely silent.

"What do we do now?" she asked and I shrugged.

"We vote, I guess. There’s four of us and we can’t make decisions for everyone. Which route do you think is best?"

She stared at the map for a long minute as if trying to find answers from it. When she didn’t, she looked up at us. "You both have the experience. What do you think?"

I glanced over at Rowan only to find him already looking at me. His face was carefully impassive, but his eyes were soft. He gave me a small nod, a silent confirmation that I could tell them about what happened.

I reached into our bag and pulled out the picture from where it was carefully hidden. I let my finger slide over it as a small smile tugged at my lips.

"That’s Dan," I explained as I slid it over to Amy. "He was with us when we were taking the train tracks. We were attacked by monsters and he got cut. He died."

"So the train tracks are out of it?" she asked but I shook my head.

"Not quite." I took the picture back from her and carefully returned it. "Rowan got hurt in the woods and if we hadn’t found the bunker in time, we’d have died."

"So the woods are dangerous?"

"Everywhere is dangerous." I explained. "There is a risk of dying everywhere. On the tracks, we don’t have cover. We sleep out in the open and pray not to encounter any monsters. On the road, we do have the privilege of houses, but you never know who or what you can encounter out here. We can’t tell you what to do."

She looked even more confused than she did before I started speaking I should’ve felt bad but the truth was, I felt the same way. I didn’t know which to choose, it was part of the reason Rowan and I had hesitated before bringing it up. I noticed that Joshua hadn’t spoken the entire time but he was staring at us and listening intently.

"I think I like the safety that staying in the towns brings," Amy said after a while. "I’d take the road, no matter how long it takes."

"We could still die out here," Joshua cut in. "I say we take the tracks." He turned to me. "You want to get to the lab quickly, don’t you?"

"That’s not the point."

He stood to his feet, making his way over to me. "Isn’t it? If you’re so convinced that whatever Trent is doing is terrible then you should be advocating for the fastest route to prove that you’re right."

"Stop!" Rowan’s voice was harsh and cold and it made everyone go silent. "I don’t know what the fuck your problem is but you better take a step back, now."

Joshua’s jaw clenched, but he took a step back and created some distance between us. Rowan’s hand found its way around my waist, rubbing small circles over my skin to keep me calm. I hadn’t even realized how fast my heart was beating.

"I don’t know what’s gotten you so worked up, but we’re all on the same team here," I told Joshua. "We want the same thing."

"I wanted to be safe in the bunker," he hissed. "The General watched out for all of us. He wasn’t the best person, yes, but I don’t believe that he is capable of whatever you think he did."

I was taken aback by his words. "So you think I’m lying about everything? You saw me in the forest."

"I did, and I believe you when you say you saw him before passing out, but Nadine, you didn’t see him hit you or put you outside. That could’ve been someone else."

"Who?"

At that he went silent. "I don’t know. All I know is that we need to find answers."

"And then what?" I asked. "What happens when you find out I’m right? What happens when you realize that your precious General isn’t who you thought he was."

His lips curled into a humorless smile. "It’s like you said, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it."