Desolation ✔️

Chapter 15: Night Terrors

"Bingo?" Ash repeats after me, leaning closer to me to get a better look at the radio. I still have the radio in my hands, the volume all the way up. "Is that the announcement you said you've been waiting for?"

"Yeah," I whisper, still staring in awe at the radio. "It's another safe camp. Any and all survivors are advised to go there. My group back at the flower shop was gonna go, but our plans derailed."

"I've never heard of it," he responds skeptically, his eyes trained on the radio. "My dad would have informed me to take survivors there rather than our house if it were reliable."

I turn my head to face him. His expression is solemn. "Maybe your dad couldn't receive radio broadcasts? Especially if the police station was overrun."

"I don't know..." He shakes his head slowly. "Your other group was gonna go there, too? They didn't question it?"

"Yeah. And no. Robert was the most paranoid out of all of us, and he still was willing to travel there. One of the other ladies from our group...Terri..." I lower my eyes as I say her name, "she heard about it too. Some of the officers planned to take her and other survivors there. It's safe."

Ash relaxes a little. Maybe the police officers took it into their own hands to try saving civilians. Ash's dad might not have known Ostford was an option because his main goal was quarantine. "So...I'm guessing you plan on going there?"

I hug my knees tighter to my chest and look up at Ash as my hair falls into my eyes. "Yeah. I do."

"You're really putting your trust in an announcement on the radio?"

"Well, it's just...is there really any other option?"

"You mean like the most obvious one? Like staying here, where we know it's safe? We already have food, shelter, medical kits, and weapons. Need I remind you, you're sitting in the home of a lead SWAT officer and a police chief?" Despite his hardened tone, the corner of his lip twitches up. Just barely.

"Yeah, I know." I roll my eyes with exasperation. "But those fancy titles kind of died when the rest of the world did."

"That wasn't my point. Why leave to an unknown place when you're already safe in a secured shelter?"

I get what he's saying, but a new flower of hope has bloomed in my chest. Hope that Ostford is even better. Hope that Carter might be there. "I don't want to go to Ostford because of what they offer. If I go there, there's a chance I'll—"

"Find Carter," he finishes. There's a resignation in his voice I don't quite understand. He presses his lips into a thin line. "You don't really plan on looking for him, do you? With the streets like they are and so many other unannounced shelters he could be hiding in?"

"Well...why not?" I mutter, losing my bravado. For some reason, Ash makes my whole mission sound ridiculous and stupid. I never mentioned Carter to him before because, well, it does sound a little crazy. What are the odds he'll be at Ostford? How would he have gotten there? It's not like I haven't considered these other possibilities. But when you have nothing left and you're family is dead and there's no confirmation whatsoever on your closest friend's death, what else is there left to hold on to but hope?

"I just...I want to give it a shot. Maybe they have a way of tracking people. Maybe they've recorded names of people who just passed through. Maybe they know what happened at the Safe House. Why wait in the dark when you're given a new option that might lead you to an answer? I'm sorry, but I'm not going to just sit around and accept this new reality peacefully. I want answers, and if that means I have to risk my life to get them...then I will."