US (Formerly The After Effect - Book 2)

2 1 - C A M P / C H A R L E S T O N

//CANT BELIEVE IT'S ALREADY BEEN A WEEK. as always, tell me if you spot any irregularities. big chapter//

"Come on," Travis says eagerly, beckoning to me.

I turn to glance over my shoulder before giving him a skeptical look. "I don't know, Travis. It's doesn't look very safe. Read the sign. WARNING MINES. It doesn't look like anyone's been here." I pucker my lips, disappointed.

Ever since we split off into groups again, he's been talking my ear off about this "survivor's camp" he thinks he's found. As curious as I was when he told me this, him and I aren't on the best of terms so my enthusiasm isn't exactly...there.

"We'll be careful," he begs and takes my hand. I gulp, wondering if he'd still do the gesture if he knew Brink and I had kissed while we were separated. Then I think, who give a shit? Him and Jada sucked each other's faces off just fine with me gone. At least I rejected Brink's advancement.

I grunt, making it clear I have no desire to follow through with the idea to enter, but if there are survivors in there, I want to meet them. Talk with them. Bring them along. The more the merrier.

After a final roll of my eyes, I say, "Fine. Might as well take some risks while we still can."

"But let me go first, alright?"

I nod, accepting his deal, but with a hint of frustration. Once again, he thinks I can't handle my own.

His jaw hardens momentarily as he takes in the scene before us. It's midday, but the twisted branches and vines above provide a canopy, hardly letting any sunlight seep through. It's obvious there used to be a decent trail leading to the entrance, but now there's a faint dirt path, zigzagged around trunks of trees and tall, unrelenting weeds. The warning sign outside is rusted around the edges and has a line of royal blue paint diagonally sprayed across it. One dark, rocky tunnel lies ahead, the sunlight just bright enough to illuminate a few feet into it, where an off-kilter minecart resides, begging to be inspected.

"Ready?" I ask, a sudden boost of adrenaline in me causing a nervous jitter to zip through my veins.

"Are you?"

"I think so. Hopefully we'll find some survivors. Bring them with us."

Travis sighs. "Let's just see what we find. I'm hoping there's a little community down in there. Maybe staying here wouldn't be such a bad idea."

I pull away and take a step back to examine his face. "And ditch the D.C. plan? Why would we do that?" Heat flushes to the surface of my skin and I'm suddenly burning up.

He shrugs and goes quiet, like he regrets saying what he did out loud. I know deep down he doesn't really give a shit about the bigger picture, but I do. Especially since this all happened because of me. I need to try and fix this.

"Sometimes I think leaving it all behind might be a better idea than trying to save the world."

I shake my head and walk toward the cart, him trailing behind. We stop at it and peer inside to see if it holds anything at all. I wince to get a better view of the contents, unsure if my first assumption is correct. Travis reaches right in and grabs a fistful of what I thought...clothes. But not just ragged overalls or dirty moth-eaten shirts like I expected—all types. I dig through the odd collection of men and women's everyday wear as well as children's. After dropping the random garments from my fingertips, Travis and I exchange strange glances.

"Why would this be out here?" Travis mumbles to himself, and rotates his head to check further into the tunnel. "Shouldn't it be in there?"

Curious, I turn toward the darkness and step further into it. "Is it just me or do you see a..."