Free The Survivor Chronicles (Book 2): The Divide by Erica Stevens Page B

office and nearly fell as he tripped over his own two feet. "Graceful," Carl mumbled.
    "Possible future generations may rest on that man's shoulders," Al managed to get out.
    "That's a frightening thought," Riley told him as John panted up to them and thrust a bag out.
    "There's burn ointment, bandages, and some painkillers!" John blurted.
    Carl took the bag from him and began to dig through it as John left a puddle on the floor around him. "Shouldn't we wash it first?" Riley inquired.
    "Where?" Carl asked.
    Riley nodded behind them. Al turned to the pegboard with keys on it nailed to the wall beneath the counter. "Do you really want to open more doors?" Lee demanded.
    "We can't stay in here, and this has to be taken care of before it gets infected," she retorted. "We'll just ah…" her forehead furrowed as her nose scrunched. Then she smiled. "We'll just throw rain water at the knobs to check them first."
    "Oh dear god," Lee said as he threw up his hands and turned away. Al thought Lee was going to just walk out, but he stormed over to the water cooler in the corner and pulled some cups down. "Let's at least use clear water for this."
    "Are you going to be ok to move?" Riley asked him.
    "I'll be fine," Al assured her.
    She squeezed past him and grabbed all the keys off the pegboard. John gathered the guns. "Grab the supplies Rochelle," John told her and nodded to the bags still sitting by the front door.
    Rochelle remained mute and ashen as she hurried over to them. Carl continued to help hold his arm out as they shuffled out of the office and down the row of rooms. Lee tossed water on the first doorknob and it made a spitting noise before it began to steam. "Skip," Lee muttered.
    He didn't bother with the second door but hurried halfway down the aisle before trying another one. He tentatively tapped on the knob four times before nodding to Riley. She fumbled through the keys for number six and handed it over to him. Lee unlocked the door and jumped back as he threw it open. He then dropped his arms and leaned forward to stare into the room.
    Lee nodded to them before slipping inside. Carl hurried Al toward the sink and mirror across the way and turned the cold water on. It spit for a little bit before some murky water shot out and then finally ran clear. "I'm not so sure you should stick your hand under that," Carl said.
    "I think it was just the pipes clearing out," Al told him. Even still, he stared at the water and kept his hand clear of it.
    Carl took a deep breath and thrust his fingers under the spray. Black ran off of them, but he didn't pull his hand back. "It's cold and we have ointment. It's your decision though."
    Al took a deep breath and slid his hand under the water. His teeth clenched, a hiss escaped him at the same time a shiver of pleasure shimmered down his back. He didn't know if he hated it or enjoyed it more, as he thought he heard the water sizzle against his burnt skin. Carl released his arm and pat his shoulder before turning away.
    Riley took his place. "I'm fine," he assured her as her eyes ran over him. He felt like an idiot though. "I should have been more careful."
    "None of us are prepared for this; all of us would have grabbed that knob. You were just the first one to get there. We have to start being more alert, more prepared, but it's so easy…"
    Her voice trailed off as her eyes slid away. "It's so easy to fall into the way we've always known and done things. It will get us all killed if we don't start to change."
    "It will," she agreed.
    Carl appeared on his other side and dropped a bag on the counter. He began to pull supplies out and laid them on the counter. "Are you supposed to bandage a burn?" Riley asked.
    "Loosely, it will be fine," Carl assured her.
    "Are you sure?"
    "I worked with things that had very hot mufflers, and one accident prone kid, I know a few things about burns."
    "I only burned my hand twice," John protested from his position by the door.
    Carl didn't respond to him