Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

SARAH

WILLIAMS BROTHERS’ RANCH

(ONE YEAR AGO)

That last week of spring felt like everything was finally going right. We had new fences around the ranch, fresh fields ready for planting, and enough food to get us through till the end of fall.

Inside Dad’s house, soup bubbled on the wood-burning stove, and a chicken turned slowly on a spit in the fireplace. I sat next to Dad at the dining table, picking at mashed potatoes while he laughed at one of Michael’s jokes. His laugh was something special. It made him look years younger, and whenever he really got going like that, he always ended up talking about Mom.

But that night, right in the middle of a laugh, everything just… stopped.

First we heard gunfire. Then screaming.

I glanced at Michael, and he froze mid-bite. Then I turned to Dad, who was already halfway to the window. He yanked the curtain open, and I watched the color drain from his face as he stared out at our ranch under attack.

“Raiders!” Dad screamed.

I dropped my fork and knife on my plate. I had no idea what to do, but Dad did. He always had a plan.

“Michael, trapdoor!” Dad shouted, pointing to the hidden escape under the dining table, the one we’d prayed we’d never have to use.

Michael jumped up and shoved our heavy table aside. Dust flew as he ripped back the carpet and yanked open the trapdoor.

Every scream from outside sent shivers down my spine. I was frozen, paralyzed by fear, unable to even think. I didn’t even recognize myself. The version of me who joked around and always had something smart to say was very quiet then.

“Dad, I’m scared,” I whispered, my voice barely making it past the lump in my throat.

Dad squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t worry, butterfly, you’re stronger than you think.”

Outside, the night gave way to fire. The world glowed orange and yellow and red from the raiders’ firebombs until an even more terrifying sound broke through.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

I stared at the front door as it groaned with every hit, as someone tried to break it down and get to us.

Dad didn’t waste a second. He grabbed the three emergency backpacks hanging by the still-warm fireplace and rushed over. “Quick, into the basement, Sarah.”

Michael went down first, and I followed right behind him into the cramped, dark space below. It wasn’t much, but the basement felt safe, like a bunker.

Dad stayed at the top of the stairs, tossing the backpacks down to Michael. Then a heavy knock slammed against the front door, rattling it on its hinges.

Our time to escape was over.

Dad turned to us, his eyes locking with mine. I saw sadness in them. Pride, too. And something else I never forgot.

A silent goodbye.

“I love you both.”

Michael stepped forward. “Dad?”

Dad looked at him, only at him. “Protect your sister, Michael.”

That was the last thing he said before he slammed the basement trapdoor shut, locking us in.

“No, Dad, please!” Michael shouted, his voice breaking.

But there was no answer from upstairs. Maybe Dad couldn’t hear us, or maybe he didn’t want to. Either way, we were alone.

His footsteps retreated… one… two… three. I held my breath, straining to hear anything. A second later, the front door burst open with a crash so loud it made me jump.

My heart slammed into my ribs, and I staggered back instinctively, eyes locked on the stairs.

“Michael, it’s Dad! We can’t—” I started, but a gunshot from the dining room cut me off.

We knew that sound all too well.

Dad’s handgun.

He was fighting. Fighting for us.

Michael yanked me behind him as more shots tore through the floor above, like thunder shaking the whole house. Each one came with a terrible groan from the men above, until a gunshot—the last one—ended it all.

Michael and I locked eyes, both of us breathing hard.

Silence filled the basement for a long moment until something heavy slammed down right above the trapdoor.

We looked up, and slowly, a dark stain began to spread across the ceiling. The moment the first drop of blood slipped through the cracks, we both knew who took that last bullet.

Dad.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me. It was his blood. I knew it the second it touched the floor.

My chest felt tight, like the basement had suddenly run out of air. I wanted to scream, to punch the walls, to rewind time and stop it from happening, but Michael clamped a hand over my mouth, his eyes wide with panic.

“Stay quiet,” he said. “Stay hidden.”

I swallowed the scream and nodded, even though my eyes burned from holding back the tears.

All I could think about was Dad.

His dance moves that made him look so cool.

His boots by the door.

The way he always hummed while fixing the fence.

The way he whistled for the horses and how they always came.

The warmth of his jacket when he let me wear it on cold nights.

They were all gone… with him.

Dad’s blood kept dripping onto the filthy basement floor, slow, steady, and sickening, but we couldn’t do anything about it. We could hear more voices outside. More of them were coming.

Michael grabbed one backpack and tossed it over my shoulders, then slung another onto his own back. He paused at the third.

Dad’s pack.

Without Dad.

For a second, he just stood there, staring at it.

His hand shook as he unzipped it and pulled out a flashlight. He quickly checked the batteries to make sure they were in place before flipping it on. Then he zipped the backpack up again and hooked it over his arm.

He gripped my hand hard. “We gotta go.”

Getting from the house to the barn through that underground tunnel was like crawling through a chaotic maze of damp dirt walls and narrow turns. Every few steps forward felt like we were being pushed one step back. But Michael never let go of my hand, and that was enough to keep me moving.

By the time we finally reached the barn’s basement, my hair was soaked with sweat, and Michael was gasping for air. He shoved his flashlight into my hands, then threw his weight against the trapdoor above us.

It didn’t budge. Not even an inch. It felt like it was welded shut.

“Why won’t it open?” he shouted, looking at me.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Michael, what are we going to do?”

Before he could answer, we heard footsteps racing across the floor above us, fast and heavy, getting closer.

Michael stepped in front of me, raising his arm like a shield. My whole body tensed. I braced for the worst, ready to scream—

The trapdoor flew open.

James.

He came back to save us.

His blue eyes locked on mine, and even though I’d never seen the ocean before, I could swear I saw it in his eyes.

“Sarah! Michael! I can’t believe I found you guys. I’ve been looking everywhere.”

James stretched out his hand to help us climb out. Michael went up first, gun in hand, scanning the place like a hunter. I, on the other hand, clung to the ladder halfway up, too scared to move.

“I’ve got you, Sarah. I’ve got you.”

James’s voice was soft. Not just soft—it was low too, like a lullaby, but still so intense it left a quiet warmth in my chest.

He helped me up next, and as soon as his hands touched my waist, I felt safe. He lifted me out of the basement and set me down on the barn’s dirt floor beside him.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, and when our eyes met, I could tell he’d dropped all his usual walls.

He was worried. Really worried about me.

His hands lingered on me, gently moving over my arms, checking for anything wrong, but I couldn’t even answer him. I just stared back, my brain a million miles away. Then I turned my gaze to the dark tunnel and waited. Waited for Dad.

I knew better, but I still hoped.

Maybe he was just behind us.

Maybe he needed a second.

Maybe…

James shot Michael an anxious look. “Michael… Your dad?”

I looked at Michael, and the sadness in his eyes broke my heart. He shook his head, just a tiny movement, but it was enough to crush every bit of hope I’d been holding onto.

No.

This couldn’t be happening.

Dad couldn’t just… not be here anymore.

James’s eyes met mine again, and I saw he was just as broken as I was. Without saying a word, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling us closer than we’d ever been before.

I snuggled into his chest, and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calmed me.

He held me tight, like he was holding my whole world together. And I wanted him to hug me forever. He made the fear go away, just like Dad did.

For a moment, everything else just faded away.

No chaos. No danger. Just us.

But the moment didn’t last. A gunshot rang out just outside the barn, making us both jump.

“Let’s go!” he shouted.

He kicked the back door wide open, rifle already in hand. Michael was right there with him, just as alert, watching our backs so no one could follow.

The way they moved together, it was like they were born for this, like the heroes in every dystopian novel I’d ever devoured. But this wasn’t a storybook. This was our life.

“Where are the others? Bruce? Brian? Chloe?” Michael asked as we kept moving through the fields.

“I couldn’t find anyone else,” James said, sharing a loaded look with Michael.

And I knew exactly what it meant.

They didn’t make it.

I just followed them after that, my long skirt tangling around my legs. I used to dream about leaving the ranch someday, just to see the rest of the world, even if it was only the abandoned towns nearby. But right then, leaving was the last thing I wanted.

I forced my body to keep moving, but part of me had to look back one last time. And when I did, that final glance made my heart sink.

Everything I knew, everything that had been my whole world, was up in flames. Our beautiful fields, where I’d run barefoot, learned to ride a horse, and where Dad taught me how to plant seeds, were all speckled with fire. Even the chicken coop didn’t make it.

Then I heard James’s voice through the haze.

“Sarah… Sarah…”

I turned and saw him by a huge fallen tree at the edge of the woods bordering our ranch. That tree had always marked the line between everything I knew and everything beyond it.

James gently took one of my shaky hands. “Sarah… don’t be scared.”

I looked down at our joined hands, and somehow, I didn’t feel completely lost anymore.

But the second I stepped off the ranch, one thing hit me.

Nobody was coming to save us.

We were on our own.

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