There

  THERE

  (On the Otherside #2)

  Denise Grover Swank

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright 2012 by Denise Grover Swank

  Developmental editor: Alison Dasho

  Copy Editor: Jim Thomsen

  Cover art and design by Natatlia Suellen

  Models:Jenn Suteki,Karin (Aehireiel-stock), Mika (storms-stock)

  All rights reserved.

  TO Trisha—thanks for keeping me semi-sane

  Chapter One

  I used to think that hell was hot, full of fire and brimstone. But I was wrong. Hell is the opposite. It’s cold and stark and full of nothing.

  And I’m there now.

  The sun is bright and blinding. I cover my eyes as I scan the barren land. In my world, the area I now stand is probably a recently cut hay field with giant trees shedding their leaves. Here the fields have collapsed and sank into the earth. The trees died many years ago, toppled like scattered Legos. Everything is in shades of faded brown and gray, for as far as I can see. Everything except for the sky, a brilliant blue that almost captures the color of Evan’s eyes.

  They are more similar than I care to acknowledge. The beauty of the sky is a trap, luring me into complacency. This world is harsh and cold, nothing like the sky promises, and Evan is sicker than any of us are willing to admit.

  Reece’s voice breaks my mulling. “I’ve done another scan to be sure, but there’s no radiation ahead. At least that’s what this counter is telling me.”

  I glance over my shoulder. His hood is low over his forehead as he studies the gadget in his hand. Strands of his chestnut brown hair peek out, the ends whipping against his face in the wind. His mouth is twisted in concern as he determines whether he should trust the numbers. It goes against everything he’s been taught.

  “Maybe they were wrong,” I suggest. “Scientists are wrong all the time about things like that. Maybe they just thought the land would be radioactive.”

  Reece shakes his head, annoyed. “Not our scientists. This is too close to Springfield for them to get inaccurate readings.”

  “Maybe they lied to you. Maybe they just wanted you all to think the land was toxic to keep you all in the city limits.”

  Reece scowls as he considers the truth in my words. Truth after truth has been ripped away from him, and this one looks like it’s close to being the one that does him in. “It’s far more likely the counter is wrong. In science, we’ve studied the after effects of a nuclear war. The radiation hangs around for years.” He swipes the back of his hand across his mouth. “There’s a few anti-radiation tablets left for each of us. We should take them to be on the safe side.”

  I offer no response and Reece turns away, hesitating as he looks at the truck. Neither one of us want to confront what’s inside.

  I wrap my arms across my chest. The wind has picked up and shoots icy needles through the loose weave of my sweater. The breeze gusts and lifts up the hat on my head before I clamp it down tight. Skin exposed to sunlight for more than a few minutes will burn since the ozone layer here has been depleted.

  I’m trapped in an alternate universe where the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s ended in a nuclear war. Most of the plant life on the Northern Hemisphere was destroyed, and the majority of the population was wiped out. It’s also the universe where my alternate self died in a car accident. But as Evan explained it, the Julia of this world died, and because of a defect separating our universes—and the supreme bad luck of being in the exact place at the same time—I had an accident too. Instead of dying, I killed my best friend Monica. For six months, I lived in grief and misery until Evan, who’d loved the Julia of this world, found a portal to my universe to find me.

  And now we’re running for our lives.

  “How much farther?”

  Reece’s eyes darken. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure we’re going the right way. I think my mother and the rebels are in the west, close to the coast, but I don’t know where.”

  While this news is far from reassuring, I keep my thoughts to myself. Reece’s mother disappeared from Reece and Evan’s Springfield months ago, and Reece is certain his mother joined the rebels. Evan thinks she can help me get home, back to my universe.

  “It would help if we didn’t have to hide so often. We’ve been lucky as it is, finding places big enough to stash this truck. I’m worried we’ll have to ditch it at some point.”

  Aircraft that look like a cross between a helicopter and airplane fly overhead at regular intervals, searching for us. For two days we’ve been on the run, most of it spent in hiding, and progress is agonizingly slow.

  Reece heaves a sigh and the air in front of his face crystallizes. “I’ve been trying to avoid Kansas City, but if we can make it to the outskirts, we’re sure to ditch the government. They’d never look for us there with all that radiation.”

  “But if they’re looking for us here and there’s supposed to be radiation, what makes you think Kansas City will be any different?”

  He frowns, then squints. I prefer to think it’s from the sunlight and not his irritation with me. “Because it was one of the cities that got bombed.”

  “Oh.” I’m not sure why this catches me off guard. I’ve only been to Kansas City a couple of times, once to go to a Royals baseball game with my grandfather and once to see the Christmas lights on the Plaza. Still, it’s the first real annihilation I will see. My hometown of Springfield escaped the nuclear attack in this universe, but like most of this world, it suffered from starvation and drought. Reece and Evan’s Springfield is different than the one I lived in, but there are still people living there. Just differently. If Kansas City was actually bombed, I have no idea what we’ll find there.

  “I know we’re low on the tablets…”

  I shrug with pretend nonchalance. “So maybe we shouldn’t take them now. We should save them for when we get to Kansas City.” I hug myself tighter, wanting to go back to the shelter of the truck, but not ready to see Evan yet.

  Reece pauses. “We should ask Evan. This is his area of expertise.”

  “Ask me what?”

  My head whips around. Evan leans against the side of the truck, putting his weight on his uninjured leg. There’s a large rip in his pants and the red wound underneath is startling. I regret that we didn’t take the time to clean his wound sooner after our standoff in Springfield. Evan downplayed the injury as we escaped, saying it was only a scrape, but it turned out to be a large cut packed with dirt. By the time we cleaned it with water the next day, an infection had set in.

  “Evan, you’re supposed to be resting. You shouldn’t be on your leg.” I hurry to him and put his arm around my shoulders. His body takes away some of my chill, but his heat is unnaturally high.

  “What did the readings show?” Evan hobbles closer to Reece, resting his weight on me and I struggle to hold him up.

  “Julia’s right, Evan. You shouldn’t be out here.” Reece moves closer to help but stops when he sees Evan’s scowl.

  Standing straighter, Evan winces, but tries to sound angry. “You should have come and gotten me. Radiation poisoning is nothing to screw with. Let me see it.” Evan reaches for the counter.

  Reece hands it over, shooting me a look of concern. Evan’s in worse shape than he was this morning.

  Evan removes his arm from me and pushes buttons. His fingers shake and his face pales even more now that he’s standing on his own.

  My h
eart leaps with fear, and I start to help him, but Reece barely shakes his head. We need to let Evan think about something besides the possible outcome of his infection. He needs to feel useful.

  Evan looks up and scans the barren landscape. The way he studies it reminds me of the time I saw him in the student parking lot at school in my world, strong and in control. But it was an illusion then and even more so now. “Very low-level radiation. That just can’t be right.”

  Their insistence that their government isn’t lying about the radiation frustrates me, when the government has proven itself to be full of liars, time and time again. “But if it is right, how long will it take us to get to Kansas City? And how long do we have to stay in the city until we lose the helicopters overhead?”

  Reece takes the box and lifts Evan’s arm over his shoulders. “The surveillance is loosening up. Instead of their circling patterns occurring every two hours, they’ve cut back to every three to four.”

  What Reece doesn’t add is that the flyovers last forty-five minutes. Between hiding the truck most of the time and the fact that the fastest we can safely drive with the rough terrain is sixty kilometers, we’re barely halfway there.

  Evan’s breath sounds ragged as he inhales and blows it out, a steamy white cloud filling the air. “We have enough tablets to last four days for one person, five for the other.”

  While math isn’t my best subject, I’m smart enough to know that the nine tablets we have left don’t come to the same conclusion if you divide them between three people. My eyes widen, then burn from a sudden blast of cold wind. “What are you talking about?”

  Evan gives me a grim smile. “I’m the scientist. I should be the one to experiment to see if the counter is wrong.”

  “And if it is, you’ll get radiation poisoning?”

  A firm resolve fills his eyes.

  My stomach tightens. “What happens if you get radiation poisoning?”

  “It depends on the radiation levels and the length of exposure.”

  “Cut the crap, Evan. What happens?”

  “Mild cases include nausea and hair loss.”

  “And worse cases?”

  “Death.”

  I take a step back, my anger rising. “No. No way.”

  He gives me his lopsided smile. “You think the radiation has dissipated and that the government has lied so there’s nothing to worry about.”

  Lifting my chin, I shoot him a glare. “Then I should be the one to not take them. To prove my point.”

  He slowly shakes his head.

  And then I know what he’s really saying. That he doesn’t want to take the pills because he thinks he’s going to die. He doesn’t want his to go to waste.

  A lump burns in my throat. “Where’s the nearest civilization? Besides Springfield?”

  Reece scrunches his nose, confused. “Denver to the west. Chattanooga to the east.”

  My heart sinks. It was a three-hour drive to Kansas City in my world and we’ve been on the road for two days. Denver has to be more like twelve hours. At this pace, it will take us over a week. “Nothing closer?” My words are tinged with desperation.

  Reece groans, realizing why I ask. “It doesn’t matter whether something is closer or not, Julia. You know we can’t go to civilization.”

  “Evan needs antibiotics or he’s going to die.” I choke on the last word, but neither boy looks surprised. And neither boy corrects me.

  I shake my head and take several steps backward. “No. I refuse to accept that.” I head toward the back of the truck.

  “Where are you going?” Reece shouts as I start to climb up into the bed.

  “To look for antibiotics.”

  Reece begins to protest, then stops.

  I know it’s just as hopeless as he does. The two of us have searched every nook and cranny of the vehicle several times, but I refuse to give up. The truck has a first aid kit, but no medications stronger than ibuprofen.

  The back is full of metal boxes of weapons and excavation equipment. I shove a heavy metal box to the side and kick it in frustration. My toe throbs and I mutter a curse.

  “Julia.” Evan stands at the back of the truck and I hear the love and concern in his voice.

  Dread settles into my chest with a weight so heavy I’m not sure I can carry it. My eyes fill with tears and I blink them away.

  “Come here.”

  I can’t refuse him. This is the boy who made me feel like life is worth living again, no matter how little time I have left. The military is chasing us because of me. They are determined to make sure I’m not a threat to their world. Evan is hurt because of me.

  Sitting on the edge, I slide off the truck bed and burrow my head into his chest. His heart races in my ear as he rests his cheek on top of my head. The heat of his body scares me, but I wrap my arms around his back.

  We cling to one another until Reece clears his throat. He usually makes some snide comment, but he refrains this time, and I’m even more frightened. How much time does Evan have left?

  Chapter Two

  It’s my turn to drive so Reece sits on the passenger side, and Evan is stuffed between us. He tries to extend his leg in the cramped space, but it’s a tight fit. Evan should be lying down, but there’s no heat in the back of the truck, and I can’t go back with him to help keep him warm. We’ve decided that there should be two of us in the cab. One to drive and one to watch for aircraft.

  When I took my first turn behind the wheel yesterday I didn’t give much thought to the fact that I hadn’t driven since my accident. All those times Mom had tried to get me to run to the store for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk, and I’d dug in my heels and refused, terrified. Turns out I only needed the right motivation.

  My biggest fear the first time I shifted the truck into drive was that I’d lose control and run over something with the massive vehicle. But the fear was needless. The last fifty years haven’t been kind to the landscape of this world. The roads are either nonexistent or so damaged that all that is left are massive chunks of asphalt. The concrete streets are in only slightly better shape. We’re forced to drive on the ground, and although the truck is designed for searching the wild terrain, it’s still slow going.

  Evan’s head leans to the side and a small snore escapes. Reece turns to check on him and catches my eye. The look on his face is grim. I’m more determined than ever to get Evan some kind of help.

  We drive in silence for the next hour, and it’s not because Evan is asleep. Reece has been guarded and distant since the night on the road two days ago. Does he blame me for Evan being sick? For putting their lives in danger? Does he wish I had gone back to my own world instead of staying and trying to help them?

  I know he loved the Julia of this world too and that his feelings damaged his friendship with Evan after her death. Last night after Evan fell asleep, Reece and I stayed up longer, our ears straining for sounds of the aircraft. Parked in a filthy, partially collapsed barn, we sat in the dim light in the back of the truck, and I caught Reece staring at me with longing. The intensity of his gaze caught my breath, and I lay down and rolled over on my blanket. Reece has been even grouchier since we woke up this morning.

  I sneak a glimpse of him now. His jaw is set in steely determination, his eyes scanning the horizon.

  The truck hits a rut in the ground, shaking Evan. He jerks awake, moaning before he clamps his jaw.

  “I know it’s an all-terrain vehicle, Julia, but you can still destroy the tires and we only have one spare,” Reece barks.

  I cast a glance at Evan, who looks paler than before. “I didn’t do it on purpose, Reece, and you hit plenty of ditches when it’s your turn.”

  “Well at least I slow down when I hit them.”

  “I try not to hit them at all.”

  “Then you’re doing a piss-poor job of it.”

  I open my mouth to respond but gasp, spotting something in the distance. “What’s that?”

  While the building ahead
is still too far away to be recognizable, it’s the largest building we’ve come across since we started our excursion. I slow the truck as we approach.

  Reece stares in silence. “I don’t know. Evan, got any idea?”

  Evan shifts in his seat to lean forward and stifles a moan. “Hard to say. Where are we?”

  Reece pulls out his digital tablet. “I think what used to be Carthage.”

  “I bet it’s a store. They have malls in Julia’s world, which house lots of stores, but they used to have large free-standing stores back before the war.” His voice sounds weak.

  “Like a Walmart?” I ask, leaning closer. “Walmarts have pharmacies. What is the shelf life of antibiotics?”

  Evan shakes his head. “No. They didn’t have Walmarts before the war. I think this is what they called department stores.”

  “What the hell is a Walmart?” Reece shakes his head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. The question is, do we approach it or stay the hell away?”

  I slow the truck to a crawl. “Why would we stay away?”

  “Survivalists,” both boys murmur.

  “People really live out here? What about the radiation?” To me this is further proof that the counter readings are correct.

  “They’re living out here, but they pay the price for it.” Evan moves his leg with a grimace. “Their life expectancy is shorter and they suffer mutations.”

  Mutants. Reece had warned me about them. “What kind of mutations?”

  They remain silent.

  Does this mean they don’t know or don’t want to tell me? I find it hard to believe that Evan and his curious scientific mind wouldn’t puzzle out the truth. This is the boy who found out the history of Walmart—and much more—during his two-week stay in my world.

  “Why wouldn’t they go to Springfield? Why live out in the wild?”

  Reece shrugs. “They don’t want to live under the government’s authoritarian rule.”

  “How do they survive out here? Where do they get food? Or water?”