Blood Stains on the Heart

Chapter Two: The Warehouse

She shouldn’t have survived.

That was Ivory’s main thought as she stared out of the window of the small wooden cabin. Her hands were cold as ice, but she made no motion to warn them.

She was alive, but Ruth was gone.

What was the point in continuing on without her?

 

~

 

Ruth was in a cold metal warehouse. The scary lady told her that she was underground, so there was no chance her sister would ever find her. Ruth cringed at the thought of her sister, Ivory, and tears welled in her eyes once more.

There was a nice man there who had let her keep her bear. That was all she had left of her family.

It was all she had left of her hope.

 

~

 

“You can’t do this, Audrey!” Bear roared, slamming his fists down on the rickety wooden table. Audrey spooned a helping of beans into her mouth and rolled her eyes.

“You’re not helping, Bear. I know she’s young, but there’s no way I’m jeopardizing the safety of your own little brother just so you can sleep better at night. I, for one, know I will sleep better with you and Jeremy safe.”

Bear paused, his golden hair sweeping over his brown eyes as he sighed. He and Audrey had been married for only a few months before the outbreak, but this was the first time they had ever actually lived together. Bear, whose real name was Austin, had been away in Florida, studying to get his degree in special education. He felt very passionate about his career choice, as his nine year old brother, Jeremy, suffered from a severe form of Autism. He was mute, but incredibly intelligent, being able to play any instrument after only hearing a recording. The only people Jeremy would listen to were Bear and Audrey, leaving him incredibly vulnerable at this point in time.

The group they had consisted of Audrey, Bear, Jeremy, Bear’s college roommate Lucas, Audrey’s best friend Eliza, and Eliza’s boyfriend Noah. With Audrey as their leader and Bear and Lucas avid survivalists, they had done pretty well for themselves.

Bolt weighed heavily on Bear’s mind. She was a neighbor of Audrey’s before the outbreak, and Lucas had managed to rescue her before they left for the warehouse. She was young, barely eighteen, and an extremely smart girl. Lucas had taken a liking to her immediately and the two were nearly inseparable for the first couple of weeks, until she said something that ultimately damned her.

Bolt had a tendency to stand up for herself, something that most likely came in handy before the outbreak, but wound up getting her killed. Audrey was a spitfire, to say the least, but Bear had always loved that about her. Hell, he loved every single part of her, down to the grittiest, darkest parts she never let anyone but him see.

What had changed Audrey’s mind was the comment Bolt made about her character. They were fighting, which was not abnormal, but when Bolt screamed that Audrey was a murderer with no remorse, Audrey had fallen silent, turning on her heel and stalking away, screaming that Bolt would regret saying that.

Bear had spent thirty solid minutes that night just holding her while she cried.

Needless to say, Audrey had decided that night that Bolt was no longer needed in their group. In fact, she went as far as to decide that she was potentially dangerous to Jeremy, which meant immediate extermination for her.

Lucas fought the decision tooth and nail but Audrey’s mind was made up from the moment those words left Bolt’s lips. Even Bear tried to sway her opinion, but she just gave him the silent treatment until he gave up.

Bear just hoped that she would change her mind about the little girl.

 

~

 

It was cold, and Ruth was hungry.

She hoped that Ivory would come back soon.

 

~

 

Audrey hadn’t wanted to kill the Bolt and the other girl, Ivory. It was what she had to do. She would go to hell and back to protect Jeremy, that sweet little boy, and protection required supplies. Protection required her trusting everybody in their ragtag group. She did not trust Bolt. She needed Ivory’s supplies, she needed that car. She needed her not to come after them. She needed to kill Bolt, and she needed to kill Ivory. But that didn’t mean she didn’t feel remorse.

Hell, she felt remorse.

 

~

 

Ivory pointed the gun at her temple as her hand shook. Tears were running down her face and sobs were catching in her throat. “I’m sorry, Ruthey,” she choked.

A single shot rang out.