Silo

Chapter 6

Keith was still in the supply room, cataloging what we'd brought back while playing with his new toy. I needed confirmation that what Evan was suggesting was right, that we hadn't come across a girl our own age in over a year.  

"When was the last time we saw a girl?" I asked, and he turned in my direction, snorted something inaudible. "No seriously, Keith. When was the last time you came across a girl?" 

He smirked then aimed his new crossbow at an imaginary target. "We just saw one, dumb-ass. Remember all the we don't take from the living bullshit you dumped on us when you saw her? Or have you already forgotten that you sentenced us to another night of granola and expired fruit for dinner?" 

I shook my head and shot him a warning glare. "I mean before today, Keith. How long has it been since we saw a girl? Any girl?"  

Keith exhaled loudly, tossed the crossbow aside and reached for the rifle I hadn't seen him heist. He kicked off his mud-caked boots and sank down to the floor, intent on cleaning the rusted-out weapon. "Why the hell does it matter? Weeks? Months? Jesus, Jake, what's wrong with you?" 

My eyes found Evan's as I waited for him to answer, to solidify what I feared was the truth. "I don't remember seeing one after the first two months," Evan said as he tugged at the ragged edges of his sweatshirt, his systematic brain working to piece together a rational explanation. "My guess is once supplies and food started getting scarce, only the strongest managed to survive."  

"Hmm ... maybe," I mumbled, wondering what that meant for our mothers. Our sisters. Our girlfriends.  

"The girls are gone, Jake." Keith said as he stretched out the full length of my mattress. "They're probably all dead or worse, they're sitting in their own piss like she was and wishing they were." 

"Not helping Keith," Evan said.  

"I wasn't trying to help," Keith fired back. "I was telling the truth. I don't give a crap where all the girls are right now because the truth is, they're better off dead." He snatched his boots from the floor and walked toward the door. "And if you're half as smart as I think you are, Jake, you'll get a grip on yourself. Fast."  

Keith walked out, and I stood there, my fists clenched at my sides as I attempted to stay calm. Shit, Keith was right. Winter was coming, our supplies were getting low, and the temperatures were dropping, making our silo all but unbearable at night. I didn't have time for this kind of distraction. I didn't have time for any kind of distraction! 

"It's okay that you're still thinking about her. I can't get her out of my mind either," Evan said, his tone irritatingly soft. He was trying to calm me down, and it wasn't going to work.  

"I just left her there. She was sitting there, shaking, scared out of her mind, and I just left her there, knowing full well that those assholes would come back. It's not ..." I trailed off, unable to put my darkest fears into words. It didn't take much to guess where that girl had gotten the bruises, or that there'd be more to come. 

"What are you saying?" 

"I don't know, Evan. I mean, what if that were Beth? What if it were your sister? Would you want somebody to just leave them there, let them beat her, use her for whatever they wanted?"  

He shook his head; the same menacing thoughts that plagued me were taking root in his own mind. "What's your plan?" 

"I want to go back and get her. I need to go back and get her."  

It probably wasn't right. It was risky, and stupid, and insane, but I couldn't help it. She was the first beautiful thing I'd seen in this whole pile of shit world we'd been forced into, and I couldn't just leave her there.