Hidden Flames (20 page)

Rosa was impossible to miss. Prue had stepped into the gymnasium and allowed the door to close behind her. The little three-year-old girl she remembered had grown into a beautiful, vibrant young woman. Her brown eyes, lighter in hue than Prue’s own, were seeking out answers already. Tears had welled up and Rosa was covering a shaky smile with her fingers as Prue took off her gasmask. She wasn’t sure what to do or how to act, especially since she wasn’t the affectionate kind who gave hugs to every person she met. That decision was taken out of her hands when Rosa closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Prue’s neck.

“I didn’t believe it until I saw you,” Rosa whispered, holding on to Prue tightly. She slowly brought her arms up and hesitantly patted her little sister’s back until she was holding Rosa just as forcefully. Prue buried her face in her sister’s shoulder, hiding the tears that threatened to overflow. She hated crying, but how many times had she fantasized about this moment? About not being turned away or shunned? “You’re my sister. I don’t understand it, but I am so grateful that you’re here. When I was growing up…”

Rosa kept talking and Prue just listened, each of them holding on to one another. Her little sister hadn’t changed, constantly jibber-jabbering about this and that. She’d always been a happy child and it appeared that had carried over into her adulthood. Prue was actually grateful for the man and woman who’d been able to provide for Rosa, regardless of the resentment that had festered all these years. She was also thankful that she had time to compose herself and by the time they separated, Rosa was smiling down at her. She was taller, but her facial features resembled Prue to the point that it was undeniable that they were sisters.

“Rosa, I truly wish we could stay here and tell each other everything, but Owen is waiting outside for us,” Prue relayed, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the door behind her. “We’re riding to Washington and I’d like you to go with us.”

“Washington?” Rosa asked, glancing over to an older man who was leaning against the bleachers. He was older, probably in his late fifties, with a handkerchief in his hand. Prue assumed he was the door monitor, but he appeared much more than that to Rosa. She was looking to him for guidance. “Why are you going to Washington and how can you even travel in this ash? We’ve had a lot of people come back from trying to drive out of here, only to end up walking back.”

“There’s this small town located in a valley,” Prue explained, condensing as much information as she could. She now felt as if she were on even footing, taking charge of the situation instead of dealing with emotional baggage that would take time to sort through. “My…Owen has friends up there that are waiting for us. They have the supplies, land, and security already set up. It’s a nice, safe camp for those that need shelter.”

Prue wasn’t sure what to label Owen so she just called him by his name. She also wasn’t certain if she should be relaying the details to anyone who might be listening, but these people had done well setting up their small community within this school. Owen wouldn’t turn away good people, but it was a matter of actually getting them up to Washington. Traveling anywhere with upwards of three thousand people would be completely impossible, not that she saw that many here. Prue took a look around the gymnasium and counted maybe two hundred residents.

“How are you getting there?” Rosa asked, hope lacing her voice and looking over at the older gentleman for approval. “Tom, are you listening?”

“Yes, Rosa,” Tom answered, his eyes glued to Prue and what she had to say.

“We have two motorcycles that we’ve rigged with an intake filter that can travel in the ash, although we do have to stop on occasion to clean them out. We came all the way from Florida, so another six hundred miles will be a cakewalk in comparison.”

“Wait.” Rosa’s brows furrowed and reminded Prue of their mother when she was trying to figure out how to put one of their toys together. “You came from Florida to California just to talk to me?”

Prue shifted her weight on her riding boots, being placed right back in the position to deal with things she thought she’d been ready for. She finally really looked at her baby sister and her heart ached for how much she took after their mother. It made her miss their childhood, when it had only been the three of them. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, zeroing in on Tom. He was neutral ground.

“Yes, we did.” Prue took off her riding glove and shook hands with the man, figuring out what she could say that would make Rosa leave this sanctuary. Was it even in her best interest? “All of you that are able are welcome to come, but Owen and I agreed that Washington would be the safest place for us to be. I’ve never forgotten Rosa in all these years. She’s my sister and all I want for her is to be safe. We can offer her long term shelter, food, clean water, and security.”

“Rosa, you should consider their offer,” Tom said after a moment of silence. He looked behind him to the people who had all stopped to try and hear the conversation. He sighed in resignation before turning back. “I can’t think of a way to get a large group up to Washington, but we do have a workshop here at the high school. Maybe there are ways for us to change the air filters in our vehicles and travel in groups if help doesn’t arrive, but right now you might need to go while you have this chance.”

“But what about Mom and Dad?” Rosa asked, her gaze going back and forth between Tom and Prue. She figured it was because Rosa hadn’t wanted to offend her and she hadn’t, but Prue wouldn’t deny there wasn’t a little resentment still residing within her. “There’s still a chance they could make it back.”

“Where are they?” Prue asked, clearing her throat. She concentrated on putting her riding glove on when she made an offer that she truly meant, still only wanting what was best for her sister. “Is there a way to get word to them where we’re heading so they can reach us?”

“They had driven to San Diego for a seminar my father was giving.” Rosa twisted her hands, which appeared to be manicured. Prue was glad that the gloves covered her fingers, and she tightened her grip on the gasmask. “No one has heard from them.”

“Rosa, I can tell your parents where you are if they show up here,” Tom said, taking a step forward and grabbing Rosa’s hands. He brought them up to his lips in a fatherly gesture and approval in his eyes. “Go.”

Rosa nodded slowly, looking around the gymnasium in sorrow. Prue understood how her sister felt, and she had no doubt that Tom realized that even those able to travel would not be able to make their way north in any kind of safe manner if the time came to evacuate the town’s people. She would inform Owen they might have a few people joining them later if Rosa’s parents were finally able to make their way back from San Diego and hoped there was enough room. The way he’d described the fishing lodge, there was a town close by where they could arrange to meet new arrivals. Maybe an additional small group of residents could remain there after the initial ash cloud settled, but each of them knew that was just a pipe dream and it would never happen.

“Okay,” Rosa whispered, wrapping her arms around Tom and giving him one last hug. He did the same, never taking his eyes off of Prue. She understood the warning and nodded acceptance. She’d take care of Rosa to the best of her ability. She sure as hell hadn’t traveled the country not to fulfill that obligation. Rosa finally turned toward Prue, waving a hand over her shoulder to indicate the other side of the room. “I need to go say goodbye to my friends.”

Prue then understood that the entire school must be housing the town. It wasn’t a bad place to be as long as the ash didn’t pile up too high. According to what Owen had been saying, the wooden structure had roofs that weren’t meant to take the weight from this kind of stuff. Rosa was still standing there, anticipating something when Prue realized she was waiting for her to follow behind.

“Um, Owen and I need to shift some things on the bikes so that you can ride behind me. We also need to rig something for you so that you don’t breathe in any ash,” Prue explained, getting her mask ready to put over her head to prove her point. “You go and say your goodbyes and I’ll be back in shortly.”

Prue gave a small smile of encouragement before covering her face with the mask and then turning toward the door. She was outside and walking toward Owen when she saw that someone else was with him. As she got closer, she could see that it was a man and that his back was toward her. She couldn’t make out Owen and something didn’t feel quite right about this man’s posture. He was large and intimidating, making her draw the knife out of its casing on her waist. She wrapped her fingers around the handle and brought her fist against her chest, blade sticking out so that she could strike fast. She’d just closed enough distance and could see the man taking one of their bags. She tried to hear what they were saying, but she didn’t stop advancing until Owen’s voice came through loud and clear.

“Prue, don’t!” Owen quickly pushed the man aside, holding up one hand to prevent her lunging forward. She pulled back just in time from sliding the blade through his palm. “Christ, woman! One of these days you’re really going to kill me with those things.”

“Only if you deserve it,” Prue quipped warily, feeling a hell of a lot better out here than she had inside the school dealing with personal matters she’d thought long buried. She still didn’t trust the man Owen had been speaking with and watched him carefully. She didn’t put away the knife either, especially since she couldn’t see his face behind the bandana. He was also holding one of their packs. “He was taking our things.”

“No,” Owen denied, shifting to the right so that she could see the bikes. “Charlie wasn’t taking anything, Prue. I was giving him some surplus supplies since we don’t have enough room. Put the knife away.”

Prue didn’t like the way Charlie was watching her, but she did trust Owen. She slowly encased the blade at her side, disregarding the awkward situation and studying both men as they guarded her suspiciously. She forced a smile inside of her mask, but that didn’t seem to ease their worries since they couldn’t see it. She shrugged it off and then walked to her bike to see what kind of setup Owen had constructed for them while he finished his conversation with Charlie.

“You want to tell me what that was about?” Owen said a couple of minutes later in a soft voice that wouldn’t carry. He didn’t seem angry, though he was puzzled and she didn’t have a good answer. She’d reacted without thinking and that was bound to get someone hurt. Prue glanced to her right to see that Charlie had already closed half the distance to the school with his long strides. “Prue?”

“I saw him taking our things and he’s a lot bigger than you.” Prue figured she’d clean out their filters so that they could leave promptly by the time Owen rigged a way for Rosa to ride. A smidgeon of guilt slid into her when she thought of the damage she could have done to Owen’s hand. “I wasn’t going to have us in the same situation we had with Deacon.”

Prue’s own words had surprised her, because she’d thought she’d come to terms with what had happened. Apparently not, but she wasn’t going to dwell on it—just as she wasn’t going to scrutinize the reunion with her sister. She would have thought the apocalypse would have made anything to do with relationships easier since people should be more concerned about staying alive, but that didn’t appear to be the case.

“He’s not that much bigger,” Owen muttered, throwing a look over his shoulder before placing all of his focus on her. His knowing look let Prue know he knew exactly what she was feeling and somehow that made her feel slightly better. He wasn’t judging her and in fact, he leaned over her bike and rested his mask against hers. “We’ve come a long way, sweetheart. The tough part is done and now all we have to do is reach Lost Summit.”

Prue was finally able to take a deep breath and close her eyes at his supportive approach. She’d needed a minute and he was giving it to her. He wasn’t judging her, he wasn’t pushing her to talk, and he wasn’t forcing her to be anyone but her. Her chest filled with an emotion she wasn’t ready to name yet, but she ultimately opened her eyes to see that he already knew. She did manage to convey a slice of the chaotic mess that was inside of her head.

“Out of anyone I could have been stuck with, Owen Quade…I’m glad it’s you.”

O
wen had really
thought they would make it to Lost Summit by nightfall, but they had at least another four hours to ride. It had taken him a while back at the high school to locate a painter’s mask that the janitor must have used for maintenance around the school, working on the furnace, or keeping up with certain things on school grounds. It wasn’t the best filter for the ash, but it would do in a pinch. He had replaced the worn filters with fresh ones and adjusted it to fit him. He would be the one using it since he’d given his gasmask to Rosa. He wasn’t about to take any chances that the one he’d found didn’t filter the air properly. So far, so good, but it was a small inconvenience to clean the mask out and swap in new filters as often as they flushed the oil bath intake filters.