Days of Decay

Chapter Thirty Eight

Asha opened her eyes in a hurry as she was unexpectedly thrust off from where she was lying and onto the hard floor below, gasping.

As she looked around from where she'd landed, she realized quickly she was in the underbelly of a boat. The air around her tasted salty and fresh, and the sea breeze brought in a spray of water through the port-hole.

They'd made it to the boat.

Her fingers soothed her right temple where pain flourished. She then remembered what the last thing she saw was. Hurriedly, she brought her hands to her view and made sure her veins were their normal, only slightly darkened colour, unlike the abyss that seemed to engulf her right after she killed Harry.

They seemed to be average enough for her, which filled her with much needed relief. She glanced down at herself, she'd been changed into a pair of black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. She felt a lot cleaner too; it made sense that they got rid of her wine-stained clothes and fixed her blood streaked face. They didn't want her to seem as insane to Harbour as she really was, not just yet.

The space below the deck was around twelve-foot by ten-foot, and it was crammed full of different boxes, most of which Asha couldn't tell what they contained. From what she could see, some of them held water bottles and others seemed packed to brim with soft materials like towels.

Asha had been lying on one of four sofas that lined the storage cabin. On the sofas opposite her, she saw all of the groups' belongings piled high. That was when her eyes caught sight of the backpack she knew to be Max's. And that was when she remembered what Kit had told her all those nights ago, when he came back with a bullet in his helmet, and a ring of red under his chin.

She glanced up to the only door leading up to the top deck and stayed silent for a moment, judging how much of a chance she had to take what was in his bag and not get caught.

Adrenaline coursed through her as she delicately crawled over to the fated bag, her eyes constantly flitting from its zip and the door up the stairs. Her fingers fumbled slightly as she heard heavy footsteps up above her. Heart jumping, she practically flew back up onto the sofa and closed her eyes.

After listening to trudging feet overlap and cross above her head for a minute, she realised no-one was coming down anytime soon. So, she set off on her covert mission once again. This time, she undid the zip with ease and immediately found the folder Kit was talking about. It was a dark blue colour and it felt thick with papers. She held it in her hands, aching to read through whatever Max was hiding, but a sudden excited squealing from above forced her to shove it into her own bag and cover her tracks as best she could.

She used the sofas to help her to stand, and once she adjusted to the motion of the ocean, she began her walk up the white stairs. Her fingers pushed against the door that opened upwards, letting the streaming light of midday shine through. She squinted in the brightness of it all and hauled herself up and out of the cabin.

Kit was just ahead of her, leaning against the riling. At the noise of the door opening, he turned around and a smile burst across his lips. "Ash!"

"Hey stranger," she smiled at him and looked around. The sea was a brilliant blue, and right ahead of them was an island with a mammoth, white flag flapping at its dock. It had a giant 'H' painted on it in light blue. "Harbour!" Asha breathed happily.

She stumbled to the edge of the boat with Kit, grasping onto the cold metal barriers, not taking her eyes off the promised land ahead of her. She could hardly believe that they had it in their sight. All the torment and aching to get there felt worthwhile and necessary.

Though they'd lost a few along the way, some in other ways than death, she still felt like everything had led up to this exact moment.

The happiness and relief of it all flooded her every cell, and she couldn't help the huge grin that blossomed on her tired face. Kit's strong arm pulled her into an embrace as he stood next to her, looking on at where they belonged.