Page 15 of Shadow

I didn’t need to look out from behind the curtain to know who was responsible.

It was him.

The devil himself.

King.

His presence was like an internal rash I couldn’t scratch, prickling under my skin.

I listened as he moved around the room, placing something on the counter. The door closed with a soft thud, and the air settled again.

Peeking out, I spotted a bottle of water on the counter. Without hesitation, I unscrewed the cap and downed it in one go.

The pressure in my bladder reminded me I wasn’t dying after all. Small victories.

The thought crossed my mind to pee in King’s shower, just to make a point.

If I had a spray bottle, I’d have filled it with my urine and misted his entire bathroom with disdain.

The man was an arrogant prick, and I wasn’t above petty revenge.

I shook off the impulse and grabbed the pleasant-smelling bar of soap, scrubbing my skin and hair as I continued my running list of reasons to hate King.

By the time my skin wrinkled, my mood had lifted a fraction. Not enough to forgive the hotbox ordeal, but enough to keep me from plotting actual crimes.

I stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself, and let my mind wander.

What had I expected when I arrived here?

Campfires and makeshift tents?

Steel underground bunkers like those back in the U.S.?

So far, the citadel and surrounding areas were surprisingly intact.

From what I’d seen, Cuba had fared better than anyone could have imagined.

I replayed what little I had witnessed on the drive here.

There had been damage, sure, but it didn’t compare to the devastation we had endured back home.

Europe’s ruins were even worse, driving survivors to risk crossing the Atlantic.

Japan and Australia? Gone, or so we suspected.

And Cuba?

Written off years ago.

Yet here I was, standing in a functioning bathroom, contemplating the resilience of this island.

Had King and his warriors known what they were getting when they took the treaty?

Or was this a calculated stroke of luck?

Endless questions swirled in my mind, but I forced myself to let them go.

For now, survival took precedence.

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