Endless: Part VI

I continued to stand there with tears rushing down my face. Kellin’s alive after all this time! I wanted to hug him, but I was afraid that if I moved, I’d collapse from shock. Suddenly his arms wrapped around me, and he slightly squeezed me. I don’t know why, but I started to cry harder. I felt relieved that he was a live and here with me.

“I was afraid you were gone, Ren…” Kellin said with a trembling voice. He got up from his hug and gripped my shoulders, and that’s when I saw the tears swelling up in his eyes. Not once had I ever seen Kellin cry… until now. Before I knew it, I had my arms wrapped around his waist, and my face pressed against his chest so I could hear his heartbeat. He rested one hand on the back of my head, and the other on my back. I felt like all the problems in the world were gone. Like the world was back to the way it used to be. But, of course, you can’t escape reality forever…

“So you’re Ren, huh?” Aiden said, getting up to his feet.

Kellin let go, and stood next to me. “Yeah,” I replied. “Why?”

“Nothing, Kellin’s just told me a lot about you. You look different from what I thought you’d looked like.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I guess so.” He chuckled, and then walked over to the guns. I stepped in front of him so I blocked his path. “What?”

“I don’t trust you enough for you to have a gun.” I picked up the two guns and slung them on my back. “Come on, follow me.” Marcy grabbed my hand, and we started back down the path.

“Wait!” Kellin called. “Where are we going?”

“My place.” I replied. “I have plenty of food and water, and a place for you -.”

“Hold on a second.” Aiden interrupted. “You don’t trust us enough to have weapons, but enough to stay at your house?”

I thought for a second. “Touché.” I said, and continued walking.

They followed Marcy and I all the way back to the house. They all sat in the living room while I was in the kitchen making food. I’ve never had so many people here before. It seemed kind of nice to have company, but I felt uneasy. Was it because of my lack of social interaction? No, that’s not it… Is it Aiden? No, definitely not… Then what is it…? Why is it so quiet?

I walked out of the kitchen, and leaned against the wall in the living room. Kellin was in a chair, Aiden was on the couch, and Marcy sat on the table across from him. Kellin’s eyes went back and forth from Marcy to Aiden. I didn’t understand what was going on. Marcy and Aiden were just staring at each other… What’s so interesting about that? Suddenly, Aiden broke out in laughter.

“You beat me!” He said. “You were right. You’re the staring game champion!”

Marcy giggled, and turned to look at me. “Did you hear that, Ren? I’m a winner!” I smiled at her, and she turned back to Aiden.

Kellin got up from his chair, and walked over to me. “Can we talk for a minute?” he asked. I nodded and followed him into the kitchen. He sat up on the counter, and then said, “What’s her story?”

“Her Dad went out looking for food or something, and he never came back. She managed to find me, and she’s been with me since then.” I looked down at the floor. I wanted to talk about him and how he made it. But I was afraid I would be asking too much too soon. Ren, ask him. He’s your brother. If he’s not comfortable with answering you, he’ll tell you. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and finally managed to say, “Kellin how did you-“

“I already know what you’re going to ask.” He interjected. “Honestly, I was terrified. I just pushed through everyday praying everyone was alive. I left Washington by car, but I had to continue by foot when I ran out of gas. I met Aiden in Albany, Oregon. He wanted to get to Elko, Utah, so he just decided to tag along with me. When I first hit California, I went to our old apartment complex… I was scared to death when I saw the building in pieces…” He rubbed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “I was about to give up looking… Then I saw our old neighbor, Rita. She said you got out and headed to San Francisco. That gave me hope and the perseverance to keep going… No matter how many times I said I would find you… I never believed myself…” He put a hand on the back of my head, and pressed his forehead against mine. “But I did it… and I’m still afraid that I’m going to wake up in the morning and it’ll all have been a dream.”

I slapped my hand on the back of his head. “Me too…” He hugged me again. I never thought I’d miss his hugs. But truth is, that was the thing I missed most. He let me go, and we walked into the living room where Marcy and Aiden were playing tag.

“You’re doing a great thing you know?” Kellin whispered. I looked up at him, and he continued. “Taking care of Marcy? Mom and Dad would be proud.”

“You think so?” I whispered back. He smiled and rubbed my head. Then he joined in the game of tag. Looking at them running around and laughing made me feel like we were kind of a family. Maybe I could have that happiness again… The happiness of having a loving and supporting family to come home to… A smile made its way to my face, and for once, I actually felt happy.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Who is that? There’s never been a knock before… Everyone else ignored it, and continued playing, but I know that it’s not a normal thing. I grabbed a knife, and walked over to the door. I looked through the peephole in the door and saw no one. Was I hearing things? Open the door and check. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Slowly, I opened the door. Still, there was no one. I looked to the left and the right. The hall was completely empty. It was just nothing. Go back in, quick, before something does happen. I turned to the left, and came face to face with the barrel of a gun. I dropped my knife, and stared at it. Have you ever had a gun held to you so it was right in your face? So close that you can see the bullet inside the gun, waiting to enter your skull? …It’s terrifying. I was paralyzed with fear. What do I do? Scream! If I do that, the wielder could shoot me right away, alerting everyone inside, then who knows what’ll happen to them… Run! If I do that, and happen to get away, who’s to say this person won’t go after everyone inside? Fight! With what? I’m defenseless… The only thing I can do right now is stare at the gun, and pray this person won’t shoot me… pray that I’ll live to see another day of playing with Marcy…. Pray that I’ll get to see Kellin again… Pray that I can somehow get out of this…. The person cocked the gun and I clenched my eyes shut. This is it... My world that I thought was turning around was about to be taken away from me... God... please let death be painless...