The First ~10K~ (book 3)

13.) Show Me

Ashlyn POV—

All we did was walk. Walk, find a place to stop, rest up, then continue on our way. Where? No idea. I don't think my dad or Zoey had any idea either. I think we were waiting until we found the perfect spot to hold up for a while.

It had been about a week since we left that small little cabin. That place where I was...touched. I feel a cold breeze run down my spine every time I think about it. Every time I think of their hands on me. Every time I think of them pulling my clothes off while I screamed.

"Ash?" My dads voice echoed through my daze.

I shook my head and blinked away the tears that filled my eyes. I looked up at him, seeing him frown.

"You okay, honey?" He asked as we marched through an abandoned parking lot.

I nodded, too scared to speak. I was afraid of my voice breaking and letting him hear that I was hurting.

"Let's check these cars," Zoey said. "Could be something useful in them."

Scanning the parking lot, I could see a few stranded cars around the lot. They were covered in dust and grime, the tires flat and some windows broken. I couldn't see how anything could be left in them.

"You really think there'll be stuff?" I asked.

"It doesn't hurt to check," My dad replied, adjusting his back pack. "Let's make it quick. And stay in my sight, Ash."

I nodded and trudged off to the closest car next to me. The driver side window was broken. I peered inside, seeing nothing.

I pulled out my knife and tried opening the door, but it was locked. Maybe that's why the window was broken-somebody has tried to loot it but when they broke the window the car alarm went off. It probably just died within time.

I stuck my hand through the window and unlocked the door. I opened it and climbed inside, keeping it ajar with my foot.

I looked through the center console first; only finding tissues and napkins. I looked through the glove compartment and only found instruction manuals for the car. I pulled the window visors down to get nothing.

The back of the car was next. There was old bags and some moldy food that smelled like vomit.

I climbed back up in the front and popped open the trunk with a button on the side of the car. It made a 'thunk' noise.

I went to the trunk and opened it fully to see nothing.

I slammed the trunk closed and leaned against the car, sighing. Things could never be easy, could they?

My dad and Zoey came over a few minutes later. Zoey had a bottle of water in her hand.

"Did you find anything?" My dad asked.

I shook my head. "Not unless you want some moldy food."

My dad ruffled my hair before we headed off again.

10K POV—

It had been a week and Zoey was still giving me the cold shoulder. We hadn't had a normal conversation at all. We only ever talked about our plans about moving forward and what we thought was best for Ashlyn. Other than that, nothing.

I was getting sick of it. I opened up to her and this was what I get? I was going to talk to her about it tonight. I didn't care if she would fight me about it or not, I needed to understand what she was thinking.

We found a secluded area to set up camp. We pitched up our tents and settles down for the rest of the day. Ashlyn said she wasn't feeling good, so we stopped our walking for the day.