The Purification (From the Ashes We Will Rise: Book One)

Chapter 2

 Restlessness haunts my nights, fatigue rules my days. When I need to be lucid and clear, my brain begs me for unconsciousness, just to fall asleep at any price. But come the hours of darkness in the comfort of our tent, my mind lights up with new possibilities, new sources of disasters and danger.

I want to let them go, to count the sheep and relax, but soon the sheep are telling me what can go wrong tomorrow because of some unavoidable blunder I made today. When I finally sleep, I wake up after only a few fitful hours and wake as if a whole night passed, but it hasn't.

I wish I could be one of those people who roll over and doze off, but I can't. I can either lay in the tent watching the color slowly seep back into the sky, waiting for the dawn chorus, or I can get up.

Sometimes I curl up with the only book I've found, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, other times I get dressed and make laps around the truck with my rifle. Either way, I'm too scared to sleep. If I sleep, Lincoln and I might not wake up the next morning or walkers could attack. And by the time I wake up, it would be too late.

As the night faded back into morning andLincoln woke up, we got back out on the road. We need to find somewhere safe. Somewhere I can give Lincoln as much of a life as I can. That's all I've got, me, Lincoln, and Tuck.

Softly splashing water droplets hit the truck as we drove onward. The skies are overhung with a blanket of grey, so much so that I can barely tell the difference between the sky and the clouds. Despite the truck ride feeling tedious. the rain commonly calms me. I watch raindrops race down to the windows. The occasional puddle can be exciting, but I'd rather be outside in those puddles than stuck in the truck.

As we continued to drive further into the country, the rain let up. As we drove a little further before coming across the a gate. I pulled the truck into the driveway after popping the latch and closing the gate behind me. I saw a house as I drove the truck further down the driveway. The second I put the truck in park, I knew I had made a mistake entering this property.

I was instantly flanked by two people with guns and a third on top of an RV. I looked over at Lincoln who had fallen asleep during the drive. Thank god he was sleeping right now. Tuck was in the small back seat whining. When he gets anxious, that's never good. He goes from a sweet loving family pet to wild and dangerous animal.

"Get out of the truck!" A woman with blonde hair shouted causing me to cringe.

I slowly took the keys out of the ignition and showed them to the people with the guns before setting them on the dashboard.

"Get out of the truck now!"

I sucked in a deep breath before complying. What else was I going to do? My gun was leaning against the back seat. Tuck was growling in the back

"What's your name? Who else is with you?" A shorter black guy demanded.

"My name is Liam Rhee. It's just me, my kid, and my dog," I replied shakily.

"Did you say your last name was Rhee?" The blonde woman questioned.

"Yes ma'am," I nodded.

With that, the pair slowly lowered their guns. The two exchanged a quiet conversation before the woman quickly took off towards the white house that stood behind her. When she emerged from the house, I thought I might pass out.

When Glenn walked out of the house, his hardened features suspended between grief and joy. Seconds pass, my brain taking him in, struggling to comprehend that he isn't just one of the pictures I keep in my back pack, he's real. My brain can't formulate a thought.

How the ground erased between us, I'll never recall, but one moment we were apart and the next we were morphed into a single being. One of his hands clasps around my neck, the other finds my hair. With each touch, more tears fall, tears neither of us wiped away. After so many months we were finally reunited. I thought he was dead. I really, honestly, thought he was dead.

"How?" He asked and I just shook my head.

"It was an accident. I was just trying to find a place for Lincoln and I to settle down," I explained to him.

Glenn looked at me with a confused expression. I pointed back to the younger boy who had woken up at some point during the interaction.

"Is that Tuck?" Glenn asked shocked, a small smile forming on his face.

I had had Tuck a little over a year before the outbreak and I've really been patting myself on the back for adopting him from the shelter. Glenn and I walked over to the truck where Lincoln and my dog were waiting.

"Liam, who is this?" Lincoln asked when I opened the door.

"Linc, this is my brother Glenn. Glenn, this is Lincoln," I spoke before Lincoln shot him a small smile.

"So why don't you guys come with me. You've got to meet everyone," Glenn spoke.

"Hold on," I started, "So is that it? Is your group willing to take us in? Just like that?"

I need to know before I get my hopes up about being with my older brother again...about being safe.

"If anyone's got a problem with it, they're gonna have to deal with me. I'm not losing you again little brother," Glenn promised with a comforting squeeze.

I nodded my head in response and followed him to the set of vehicles and tents that were set up in the yard. Lincoln held my hand tight, cautiously following behind me. I get why he was scared, he didn't know anyone here. I feel the same way. Glenn was the only person here that I knew, and that made me anxious. Tuck was on Lincoln's heels looking out for him as usual.