Free The Life Beyond by Susanne Winnacker Page B

too dangerous?” Mom asked.
    “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing,” Grandpa said.
    Mom didn’t look convinced but she sank down on the sofa beside Grandma, who smiled for the first time in days.
    Bobby and I sat on the ground beside Grandpa. Dad dimmed the halogen lights before pulling Mia on to his lap.
    With a whoosh the flame of the camping stove shot up and bathed the room in an orangey-red light. Grandpa handed each of us a stick with a s’more and we held it over the small fire.
    When I closed my eyes against the white walls of the bunker, I could almost imagine we were in a forest, on a camping trip with Grandpa. I missed the sound of leaves rustling in the wind and birds singing their evening song, the smell of spring, full of life and possibilities, the feel of rain on my skin.
    As the sweet scent of melting chocolate and marshmallows filled my nose, I allowed myself to pretend that we weren’t imprisoned, that we hadn’t spent the last 49 days in our shelter.
    Grandpa played his guitar and began to sing “Country Roads Take me Home”. As we all joined in, our voices filled the small space, carrying away the frustration and worry that had been hanging over us.

Chapter 6
    I was barely able to lift my feet off the ground as we trudged over what must have once been a grainfield. As we drew closer, I took in the bleached wooden panels of the buildings, and noticed that their rooves were missing several shingles. I realized with a sinking feeling that the place looked abandoned. The entrance to the farmhouse was secured with a padlock. Driven by thirst, Joshua tried to open it with his knife. When that failed he threw himself against the old wood in a fit of desperation. The door groaned and creaked but didn’t budge.
    “Damn it!” Joshua sank to the ground. He looked at Tyler, squinting against the sun’s glare. “How far is it to the lab?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s far from here. I don’t know.” Tyler’s eyes were glassy and unfocused, his tone flat. My heart sank.
    “Great. We’re lost in the middle of nowhere without water. The military is probably already searching for us.” Joshua leaned his head against the wooden panels, frustration etched upon his face.
    Suddenly something moved in the corner of my eye, a shadow slipping between the tractor and the Dodge. My hand darted to the gun at my waistband. Joshua moved fast – faster than I’d have thought possible in the state we were in. He jumped on the hood and was over the car before I could blink. I ran after him, stars dancing before my eyes.
    Joshua was kneeling over a girl around my age, holding a knife to her throat. She struggled beneath him, kicking and yelling, until eventually she calmed. Slowly, Joshua pulled back and got up, keeping the knife at the girl’s throat and gesturing for me to stay behind him. Tyler approached us silently, his eyes cautious. I was glad to see the apathy gone from his face.
    “Who are you?” Joshua asked, his voice gravelly from thirst. He removed a gun from a halter around the girl’s waist.
    “Alexis,” the girl said as she sat up, her eyes never leaving the weapon in Joshua’s hand.
    “What are you doing here?”
    “I followed you,” she said with a shrug, as if that was the most normal thing.
    I raised my eyebrows. “You’ve been watching us?”
    “I wanted to make sure you weren’t infected.”
    What the hell? Joshua and I exchanged a look. Why would she think someone on this side was infected?
    “What do you mean?” Joshua asked.
    Alexis got up and dusted herself off. “I think you know what I mean. That virus they’re testing in the lab around here.”
    Joshua’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about the lab?”
    “I could ask you the same question,” she said. The girl eyed us cautiously, but she didn’t look scared at all, despite the knife in Joshua’s hand. “You look like you could use some water. I’ll tell you where to find some if you tell me