Finding Home - A Post Apocalyptic Novel (The Ravaged Land Series Book 2) by Kellee L. Greene

time as Dean, Owen, Sienna and Slade. But it wasn’t until the third day that Dean looked at me and then whispered something to Owen and Sienna before Slade joined them. Their expressions were odd, suspicious even. They still didn’t seem to recognize me at all. Not only that but my presence seemed to be making them uncomfortable… well not my presence so much, but my unrelenting staring.
    “They don’t know me any more,” I said to Penn, puffing out my bottom lip.
    “It’s probably just your hair,” he said eating a forkful of mush.
    “I don’t know,” I said running my fingers through my hair to feel its shortness. “Do I really look that different?”
    Penn stared at me as if I was losing my mind. “I have no idea,” he said as he rolled his eyes, “I don’t know what you looked like before the black hair.”
    “Oh right,” I sighed.
    Penn opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but he changed his mind. Instead he went back to his meal with a quick glance to make sure I was doing the same.
    “I have to figure out a way to let them know it’s me.” But I wasn’t sure if I should. Maybe it would be better to just leave them alone. Even though they didn’t look it, maybe they were happy here. At least content. After all, they hadn’t tried to leave to come find me. Ryan, wherever he was, was probably happy too and me coming here was just going to ruin everything for them. “Or maybe I shouldn’t,” I mumbled with a frown.
    We finished eating and left the cafeteria. Penn went back to his training for his new guard position and I went back to our room. I probably should have roamed about, but I felt too nervous being out on my own. It was too soon. I went back and forth with myself the rest of the day about what I should do about my friends. At some point I knew I would just have to find a way to talk to them. It was what I came here to do. I just didn’t know how. Or when.
    The next day I left the library and made my way to the cafeteria to meet up with Penn. I turned the corner and before I could scream there was a hand pressing hard against my mouth. Someone was moving me roughly through an open door and I stumbled forward but was able to stay on my feet. Through my stunned, wide-open eyes, I saw pots and pans on the shelves around me, along with various bags and boxes of flour, sugar and other ingredients. I jumped when the door slammed shut.
    “Don’t scream. Don’t even think about screaming,” he warned. He spun me around so he could look into my eyes to show just how serious he was. I looked at him. It took a few blinks to calm down enough so that I could focus on the face looking at me. It was Dean, but he truly had no idea who I was. “I’m not going to hurt you… I just want to talk to you. I’m going to remove my hand, and you’re not going to scream. Right?”
    I shook my head, and he slowly slid his hand off my mouth ready to clamp it back down if he should need to. He looked angry and confused and I was surprised that even this close he didn’t know me. We had spent so much time together in the shelter and everything after that I would never have guessed that losing some weight and changing my hair would transform me that much. I turned my head away from him because I was both frustrated and sad. I was fighting to keep the tears from falling.
    “OK first of all who…,” he started to speak, but out of the corner of my eye I saw him pause and cock his head to the side. I turned to look at him, and our eyes locked. He paused and concentrated on my eyes. Time seemed to stop. Dean blinked several times, “Oh my God… is it rea—”
    “Mel,” I said as I held back the tears that started to fill my eyes. I didn’t know what to do. My body felt paralyzed from all the emotions that crashed through me all at once. It felt like a dream now that I was finally able to actually talk to him after all this time. Just being this close to him was almost too much to bear.