I heard him walk up behind me. I felt his hand on my arm, slowly turning me around. I met his brown eyes, alive and dancing in the darkness. His hands came to my waist, softly pushing me back against the wall behind me.
“I know how I make you feel, Eve,” he whispered, his lips only an inch away from mine. “Does Avian make you feel the same way?”
Before I had a chance to answer, West pressed his lips to mine. His entire body molded against mine. My pulse skyrocketed, my breath catching in my throat as West’s lips moved with mine. I felt as if my body had exploded, a raging torrent of wanting more, more, more.
And then the lights went out.
THIRTY
When I opened my eyes the sky was starting to lighten, a pale shade of blue and pink. The tips of trees surrounded my vision and as I rolled over I was momentarily confused. For half a second I thought we were back in Eden, back home. But the shape of this lake was different, the trees a different species, though similar. And there were only nine tents instead of a few dozen.
The people of our group bustled around, finishing setting up the tents, putting their belongings inside, washing their sweat-crusted clothes out in the small lake.
How long had I been out for? It must have been a few hours if we had finally left behind the desert and found a forest.
I sat up, realizing I was still lying on the trailer. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that felt like it was still nesting in my brain. It was then that I spotted West at his tent. He glanced over at me and my eyes narrowed at him. His left eye was surrounded with a ring of black.
My eyes then found Avian. His bottom lip was split.
I didn’t even have to ask what had happened. West had sent me into overload again. I’d blacked out. Avian wasn’t too happy when he found out. They’d finally gotten physical.
I got up, feeling a little strange still, and went to look for my tent in the back of the truck. It was then that I realized that it was already being set up. To my surprise it was Tuck who was assembling it.
“Thank you,” I said as I grabbed a pole and helped him. “I can take care of it.”
“It’s no trouble,” he said, his lips pulling into a small smile.
I tried to return it, unsure if I had succeeded. It felt strange working next to him, I didn’t know him well. Tuck had only been with us for just over a year. I wasn’t sure how he had come to join our group.
“Was it bad?” I asked him quietly.
“What?” he asked as he started hammering a stake into the ground.
“The fight between Avian and West.”
Tuck gave the smallest of chuckles. “A few fists flew but it was over pretty quick. I reminded them that we didn’t have time for squabbles.”
I just shook my head, letting out a frustrated breath. “I didn’t do anything did I? Nothing… I don’t know.”
“Just zombie walked,” he said as he stood and wiped his hands off on his pants. When I gave him a blank stare he continued. “You just walked back to the truck with West, loaded up with weapons. But your eyes were just…”
“Blank,” I finished for him. “Was that all?”
He nodded. “You just sat on the trailer where we placed you, staring out into nothing.”
My insides felt all twisted up as I imagined what I must have looked like. “Was everyone afraid of me?”
He didn’t answer right away. “Some of them were a little concerned. Avian kind of chewed them out for it though. He made a good point. You’ve protected everyone for the last five years, why would you turn on us now?”
“Thank you, Tuck,” I said. He just nodded and walked back toward his own tent.
Feeling only slightly better, I turned my attention to my surroundings. It was similar to our old Eden in that it was surrounded by trees. But these trees were bigger, taller, like they were older. And there was something that smelled different here. It was then that I remembered how close we were to the ocean.
I had the sudden burning desire to see it. But that would have to wait.
Around lunch time, Tess walked up to me, a wary look on her face.
“Why did you just agree to their plan?” she asked, looking uncomfortable to be talking to me. “If you’re so afraid to go so close to the city, why would you allow them to come here? You know how dangerous this is.”
I gave her a curious look. “I’m not afraid,” I said. “It’s all of them I’m worried about. I will go where ever they do to keep them from getting infected.”
“So it’s true?” she half whispered. “That you can’t be infected?”
“Yes,” I said as I swallowed hard. “I’ve been touched by Fallen, multiple times.”
“Why is that?”
I felt uncomfortable. I didn’t know this woman, didn’t know if I could trust her. “I just can’t.”
“And that’s why you’re not afraid,” she said, giving me an almost harsh look, and walked back toward Van.
I didn’t like Tess very much I decided then. But at the same time, she had been right.
I couldn’t avoid them any longer. I finally sought out Avian, finding him keeping watch on our western perimeter, in the direction of the cities. I stood there, ten feet away, not even knowing what to say. The hate I felt for myself deepened as I saw the hurt there in Avian’s eyes. I wondered what West had said to Avian, and in that moment I hated West as well.
“We should get prepped to leave tonight,” Avian mercifully broke the silence. “We should get as familiar with the route as we can.”
Even though Avian spoke of plans, he didn’t move. I nodded my head, unable to do anything but stare in those infinitely blue eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I finally managed.
“I don’t blame only you,” he said as he slung his gun over his shoulder and started back towards camp. “West should understand the danger he’s putting us all in.”
We walked back to camp in silence.
We found West and Tuck and took the map back to the trailer. Setting it down, we all gathered around it. “We’re here,” Avian said, pointing to a spot next to an exact replica of the small lake. “I think we can take the truck this far,” he said has he pointed to another spot. “From there we’re going to have to walk. I’m guessing it’s about fifteen miles. Even if everything goes smooth and we don’t run into any Fallen, it’s going to take us nearly all night to get there. If we don’t find them by morning we’re going to have to find somewhere to hide for the day.”
“This is insane, Avian,” I said as I shook my head. “There are going to be so many of them. This is like sticking your hand into the middle of a beehive.”
“But if the people that are hiding in the city have put other messages out there, they must watch for others,” West said. “Maybe they have some form of transportation they can take to scout.”
“An electric vehicle would be virtually silent,” Tuck said as he studied the map. “If they have electricity and can power one, they’re around. They aren’t as fast as a normal car but it should be fast enough to outrun a Fallen.”
“That may be,” Avian said. “But we can’t count on that. Everyone we’re leaving behind has to know that we may be gone more than just tonight. We may be gone for a while.”
“And how long do they wait till they have to assume we’re dead?” I said harshly. “Then what do they do?”
“Survive,” Avian said as he glared at me. “As they’ve been doing for the last five years.”
“There’s one problem, when, or if, we get to these other people,” West said as he rested his hands on the trailer. “If they’re smart they test any newcomers, just to make sure they’re not Fallen. If they test Eve it’s going to kill her.”
“That’s a good point,” said Tuck, his eyebrows rising slightly.
“I’ll deal with it when we get there,” I said, shrugging that possibility off. I was still only about ten percent sure we would find anyone alive. “Did you want to talk about anything else???
?
Avian shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think we’re set, as long as we are all ready to leave tonight.”
We each nodded our heads that we were. “Have any of you slept yet?” I asked them. Their pause told me they hadn’t. “I’ll keep watch since I’ve been sleeping for the last however many hours. Or whatever it was that I was doing.”
West gave me a little half smile. Avian glared at him. They disbursed to their tents.
Everyone must have been tired after being up half the night. A lot of that was probably my fault. It felt like a ghost camp, with only myself and Eli outside of our tents. He kept himself busy whittling at a piece of wood.
I walked back over to the truck, fighting the war that was raging inside of me. Actually there was more than one. Eager for a distraction, I set to unloading the rest of the supplies from the back of the truck.
It was then that I realized the amount of food we had left was only going to last us another month, at the best. We had left as much as we could with those back in Eden. It was precautionary, in case more of us were to be lost on this dangerous first journey, and their truck had a bigger bed. But unless they got here soon we were going to have to either attempt a raid or start hunting.
It was a relief though, to know we had an unlimited supply of water with the lake. We had already used one of the big blue barrels and had emptied all the smaller containers. On the third day in the desert, we discovered a very slow leak in the second barrel. We could all be grateful for nature and that we wouldn’t die of dehydration.
Even though we were further south, the air felt cooler here. The peak of summer had passed and fall would be coming in the arriving weeks. I thought longingly of the harvest that would have been ready soon. The garden would have been overflowing with fresh vegetables, the fruit trees heavy with their crop.
I wondered then if we would ever have a garden again. I wasn’t so sure it would ever be safe to set down roots like that again.
But it was hard to imagine we could survive with a good quality of life without one.
People started waking back up around dinner time and those who knew what to do with food prepared it for those who were lacking that know-how. As we finished eating, Avian told them our plans, told them not to expect us to return sooner than a week or so. As he said the words, I felt like a deserter. These were my people and I had to protect them at all costs. Now I was leaving them for who knew how long. Maybe forever.
We asked for a volunteer and Morgan and Eli accepted the task of being in charge of making sure things were run well. Weapons were redistributed and most everyone was educated on how to use them. They seemed so defenseless without our usual scouts.
But they’d survived this long, they knew how to take care of themselves.
The four of us loaded our minimal supplies and the majority of the weaponry into the back of the truck. We unhooked the trailer, every one of us grateful that it had held it together for this long. With quick good-bye’s, we headed directly south.
Tuck sat in the cab by himself as he worked his way through forest again. The tension was obvious in the back, between the three of us, but there was a much more important task at hand than worrying about emotions and feelings.
But I hadn’t forgotten that I was supposed to have made a decision by now. We’d arrived at what might be our final destination and I hadn’t made up my mind.
I felt unprepared as Avian checked the map and we pulled over less than an hour after we had left the rest of the group. As the houses started to crop up, we parked it next to a few other vehicles that had been long abandoned. We all hunted around for stones of any size and stacked them up directly behind the truck. A message to those who might come looking for us.
Thankful for a nearly full moon to see by, we set out at a jog, each in a hurry to get this suicidal task over with. I had to constantly remind myself to slow down. Not all of us were machines.
The houses seemed so forlorn, their windows empty and hollow. All of the families that had once lived there now didn’t care about their upkeep, didn’t laugh or tell stories within their walls. The houses were all just overgrown pieces of a dead history now.
When we had looked at the map all I saw was city after city stacked together, crammed into such a small space. As we came into the center of the first one, my blood chilled. We slowed as we moved past the buildings, Avian and Tuck’s eyes growing wide.
“You were right,” Avian breathed as he cautiously walked up to a building. Dozens of Fallen stared back out at us, their eyes inactive and empty. “They’re just standing there.”
“They look like they’re just waiting for something,” Tuck said, going nowhere near the building.
“Let’s not find out what for,” I said as I started back down the cracked road.
We jogged for as long as Tuck, Avian, and West could breathe for. Tuck held his side as we slowed, Avian’s breathing became heavy, and West struggled to keep up. I wondered what it would be like to feel physical exhaustion. At times I could be grateful for all the enhancements I had received and developed.
I wasn’t sure how they defined one city from the next. It all just seemed like one endless city that kept repeating over and over. And everywhere empty eyes watched us.
We had just turned a corner when I stopped dead in my tracks, West plowing into me from behind, Avian and Tuck nearly tripping over him. The barrel of a shotgun was pressed tightly to my chest.
THIRTY-ONE
“Who are you?” a thickly built man with graying hair demanded. “How’d you get here?”
“We walked,” I started, holding my hands up, despite the weaponry that hung all over my body. “We’ve traveled from the east and found your sign. We came looking, to see if there was anyone still alive.”
The man’s eyes grew wider in awe. He lowered his gun slightly. Now it was just pointed at my feet. “We haven’t seen anyone else in well over a year. We weren’t sure there was still anyone left.”
“There are more of us,” Avian started. “We’re only part of a fairly large group. Half are still back east. The rest of us are hidden about sixty miles from here.”
He watched us warily and I knew what he was thinking. He was trying to determine if we were human. “You’re coming with me.”
We glanced at each other, knowing we were going to have to be careful. Who knew what to expect.
It was then that we noticed the vehicle that was parked behind him. It was much more rounded than all the other cars I had seen. The front seat where the driver sat was encased with a custom looking glass bubble. The rest of it was a bed similar to the one on our truck. As I climbed in I understood its set up. In case they ever ran into any Fallen and were tricked, they were safely separated in the bubble.
I was confused as the man started down the street. I was expecting the normal engine noise I knew a vehicle should make. This one was soundless.
“Electric,” West said when he saw my confusion. “Now I believe you owe Avian and I an apology?”
“For what?” I asked, furrowing my brow.
“For doubting, for telling us we were wrong. There’s people here. Apparently more than one considering he said ‘we’.”
I just shook my head and watched the buildings as they whipped by. Avian, who sat smashed against my side in the tight quarters of the small vehicle, slipped his hand into mine. The familiar feeling of peace immediately started sinking into me, but even that wasn’t enough to reassure me that everything was going to be okay.
Eyes watched us as we sped down the crumbling streets. I watched for signs of other life, surely this man was not alone out here. But I didn’t see any, just the sad reminders of the empire the human race had once had.
“Where do you think he is taking us?” Tuck asked.
“It will be somewhere incredibly secure,” I said as I continued to observe. “They probably don’t have enough CDU’s to give to each of their scouts. I’m sure he’s taking us wherever there
is one.”
Avian’s hand tightened around mine and I noticed how he readjusted his hold on his rifle. Unease washed over me. Not for fear that I might be shorted out in the next hour, but that Avian might do something stupid trying to protect me.
“Don’t,” I whispered to him, though keeping my eyes straight forward. I shook my head just slightly.
“I’m not going to let them do anything to you,” he said as he too kept his eyes forward.
“But I’ll never forgive you if you get yourself killed because of me,” I said quietly, giving his hand a small squeeze.
“Same goes here,” he said as he glanced over at me for just a moment.
We drove for not more than ten minutes when I started seeing them. Humans, standing on top of the towering buildings, watching us from above. Each was heavily armed and looked like they knew how to use their weapons. But despite the fear I knew they must be feeling, I saw the light in their eyes. Was it true that they hadn’t seen any other outsiders in over a year?
We slowed down as we approached a building that had levels upon levels and spanned massively in both directions.
“A real hospital,” Avian breathed as he studied it.
The vehicle we sat in pulled around to the back of the hospital and straight into a huge door. As we stopped inside, it closed behind us.
There were five armed men just inside the door. They each looked as surprised to see us as the first man had been.
“Where’s Royce?” the man who had brought us here asked as he climbed out of the glass bubble. He indicated for us to climb out, his gun pointed at our backs. I wondered if he realized how ridiculous he looked with his one single shotgun when we each had at least three firearms on us.
“He’s upstairs,” one of the men answered him. He stared wide eyed at me. I wondered if anyone could tell that I was different just by looking at me.
“That way,” he said as he prodded West in the back with the barrel. We started walking.
As we walked I noticed that there were rows and rows of vehicles in this concrete expanse of a room. Each of them were shiny and beautiful. They had picked through the best of all the cars, trucks, and vans they could find.