Burn Our Houses Down [Book One] by Kelsey Garmendia

Author:Kelsey Garmendia [Garmendia, Kelsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction & Literature
Published: 2012-12-06T23:00:00+00:00

Murderer

I pull off at a rest stop to check Hayley’s vitals. Her heart rate is down, and it doesn’t feel like she’s gotten much hotter since last night. She’s gotten awfully thin though, and her face is so pale some days, I panic thinking that I’ve lost her.

I can’t lose her. If I do—I don’t think I’ll be able to keep going. I love her—I don’t know if I love her as much as I loved Cassie, but I do know that she’s all I’ve got left. It kills me to say that because I truly do love Hayley, and I know now that she loves me just as much.

I actually hate myself for saying that. My parents are gone, Cassie and her parents are gone, and I was lucky enough to have my best friend with me the day this all started. I do love her, but I’m so focused on keeping her alive that I can’t even think about letting my guard down.

Back at the cabin, I relaxed for just a second and look where that got us. Hayles is on her deathbed from the amount of drugs those assholes pumped into her, and I’m now a murderer. A pretty good one at that too. I can’t afford to let that happen again. I won’t let it happen again.

I cover her with a blanket and kiss her forehead. She stirs slightly and mumbles something before falling back asleep. “I’ll be back, Hayles,” I whisper in her ear. I climb over her and grab my duffle bag. I open one of the back doors and step lightly on the ground.

“Be safe.” I barely catch Hayley’s voice in the wind outside of the car. When I turn to face her, she smiles slightly.

“I’ll see you soon,” I say and close the door with as little noise as possible.

It’s been getting colder much faster lately and neither Hayley nor I are ready for that weather. I saw a sign for a shopping mall not far from this exit. A hike through the parking lot will get me there in no time. The wind has picked up significantly in the past few days which makes it difficult to hear. Today it seems like Mother Nature is having a little extra fun.

I pull my jacket closed and march head on into the wind. Besides plastic bags rolling in the parking lots, there isn’t much movement. I wonder where everyone went. Maybe there was a warning sometime when we were camping. I’ll admit, I didn’t check the radio everyday. The weather looked good on the five-day forecast, and that’s all I really cared about. But what if there wasn’t a warning at all?

Maybe everyone is roaming like Hayles and I. Maybe they weren’t even able to hear the broadcast message demanding everyone to report to Fort Ticonderoga. All I know is that there’s a silence in the air that I’ve never experienced before. Maybe they could’ve all disappeared—or turned into one of those growling things in the woods.

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