By the time we take a break, it’s almost dusk. Travis sits down in a wooded area then motions for us to join him. Slipping off his backpack, he digs his hands inside and returns with snacks for everyone. Ty gladly accepts the can of Vienna sausages. I snatch the chocolate chip granola bar so fast, you’d believe I hadn’t eaten in days.
It’s been months since I’ve had chocolate. My teeth sink into the oats and chocolate chips. I chew slowly, savoring every last bit of the sweet flavor.
“Hello, my name is Billy. Is anyone out there?” He listens for a minute to static before switching to the next channel and repeating the same thing.
“Hey Billy, you want something to eat?” I interrupt.
Without looking over, he replies, “No. I’m fine.” He twists the knob, then tries reaching out again.
I shift my focus from the radio to Travis and ask, “Who speaks Latin?”
“Besides you and the pope, I don’t know.” Travis laughs before taking another bite of his bar. A small chocolate chip falls from his mouth, landing on his camouflage coat.
“Whoever was on the radio earlier was definitely speaking in Latin.”
“Yeah, you told me. But you never told us what they were saying. Only that it didn’t make sense.”
“Because it didn’t.” I say quickly.
“Tell me and we can figure it out together.”
“Fine.” I sigh. My eyes squeeze shut while I think back to what I understood on the radio. “The man said something along the lines of too many have been killed, need updates from all, and then something else I couldn’t quite understand.” Cano smacking on a Vienna sausage makes it difficult to focus. I try to ignore the sounds and think back to when I first heard the voice. He said something else. What was it?
“Ignis.” I mumble.
“What?” Billy’s voice says abruptly from behind.
“When I was walking down the tunnel I heard the voice say ignis.”
“Yeah, me too.” Billy blurts out.
“What does it mean?” Travis asks, shifting his gaze from the boy back to me.
“I can’t remember right now. It’s been so long since I took that course.” My fingers rub into the sides of forehead as I continue, “I’m sure it’ll come to me.”
Travis chews on the inside of his lip while zoning out on the ground. After a minute of silence, he says confidently, “Based on the information we have, it sounds like they are survivors looking for other survivors. But to be safe, let’s be careful with how much we divulge over the radio.” He nods his head at Billy before throwing the last bite of his granola bar into his mouth.
Billy nods back then returns to his old ham radio. His long torso hunches over the speaker while he listens carefully to the static. When there isn’t another voice on the other side he pulls the microphone to his lips and says, “Mom, dad. This is Billy. If you’re out there, find me.”
I glance back at Travis, who has his stare focused on the radio. Zoned in on the speaker, he seems to be waiting for someone to speak. When there’s nothing he turns back to me.
“If they are other survivors, how come when I spoke to them in Latin they stopped responding?” I can’t explain it, but something seems off to me.
“That could’ve been a number of things. They could have been moving and went out of reach. Their radio might be broken and they can’t hear us. Hell, maybe Billy’s radio is broken. It’s not like we got it right out of the box.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Yes, I am.” Travis says as he stands up. His arm pulls up and checks the watch strapped to his wrist. “Now let’s get moving. We need to find shelter before it gets dark.”