EMBERS (Of the Earth Series, Book Two)

Chapter 2 - Freeze Frame - (Kendall)

When dawn broke through the small window of our cabin, it found us still entwined in peaceful slumber. Amanda had awakened before me and was curled into my body, her forehead nestled under my chin.

"Morning," she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Hey." I nuzzled her hair gently. "You sleep alright?"

Amanda yawned and stretched before answering, her feline-like reflexes on full display as she arched her back in a way that made my ears burn. "Mmmm, yeah."

"Thanks for last night."

"God knows you can't take care of yourself when it comes to things like that." She hopped to the kitchen, where she put on a quick pot of coffee. The smell of the roasting beans brought their own warm comfort, and I pulled on some clothes as the drip started.

Amanda brought me a warm mug, and I grimaced as I took a sip. She laughed at the face. "What's wrong?"

"Always preferred my coffee like I like my women, a little tan." I bumped her with my hip.

"Well, ain't no milk out here, just honey, honey."

"I knowwww, it's the worst."

I stood by the window for a moment, blowing on the black brew. She joined me, resting her head on my shoulder. "Nice to have you back, Kendall."

We sipped our coffee in silence, watching the sun rise over the forest. It was peaceful here, away from the chaos of the world. It was easy to forget there was even a world out there, let alone one overrun by monsters.

A lone figure interrupted my reverie, crossing the clearing towards my - our - I reminded myself - cabin. Mathis.

I sighed and set my mug on the bedside table.

I swung the door wide just as Mathis raised a fist to knock, startling him. His eyes were bleary and bloodshot; he clearly hadn't slept.

"Stali and James got the footage all cleaned up. Some interesting shit on there, for sure," he started.

"Hi, Mathis," Mandy said, popping her head around me and waving at him, causing him to jump a little.

"Well, look at you two, all spry and sprockety," he said, eying Mandy. "You two kiss and make up?"

She giggled in response before asking, "You want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure!" Mathis brightened up, stepping across the threshold. "He done being a shithead? You fuck 'im til' whatever crawled up his ass came back out? Wait, wait, don't tell me. Did you have to reach up -"

"Yeah, no coffee for you," I said, pushing him back out of the doorway as he laughed, shutting the door in his face.

"I'll be out as soon as I have proper pants on," I yelled at him.

**************

As I stepped out into the morning light with Amanda by my side and Mathis leading the way, I felt an odd mix of dread and anticipation. The footage on that hard drive held the answers we needed.

Mathis led us into our makeshift command center — a small log building filled with scavenged electronics and various contraptions. Stali and James were already hunched over a set of screens, fingers flying over keyboards as they filtered through hours of surveillance footage.

I took a seat next to them, eyes scanning over the grainy images. The screen showed various shots of the woods around our settlement, trees swaying in time with breaths of wind. We had six angles from posted cameras and four from the team that had come in after me the previous evening.