The sound of Kennedy jumping off the roof of the bus woke me. I looked out the window just in time to see him slipping into the trees on the side of the road, leaving us entirely unguarded. I took a quick look around the bus to make sure that no one else was awake. When I confirmed everyone was still snoring, I carefully made my way to the nearest exit and slipped outside to follow him.
The woods around me were thick with darkness. I could hear small animals scurrying through the darkness and bugs kept flying into my face. I stepped on a branch and it cracked loudly under my boot.
“You really need to work on your stealth,” Kennedy said to me. “You're making too much noise.”
I blinked and spun around, trying to figure out where he was hiding. I couldn't see him. He dropped down from a low hanging tree branch above me. I stifled a scream.
“You scared me.”
“I had to be sure you weren't Drake or Shayla,” he replied. He brushed his short red hair back away from his face. He was shouldering a huge backpack I hadn't noticed him carrying when I'd watched him walk into the woods only minutes before.
“You're leaving?” I asked.
He nodded.
“You're going to join Seth?”
He nodded again. “Going into Mylon is suicide and Drake knows it.”
“He told me it was your idea,” I said.
Kennedy snorted with disgust. “Drake lies. Have you ever seen Mylon?”
“I'd never been outside the Cube before yesterday,” I reminded him.
“Right.” Kennedy shook his head and leaned against a tree. “When the zombie virus first became an epidemic, the citizens of Mylon thought they could keep zombies out by building an impenetrable 8 foot tall concrete block wall all the way around the town.”
“Kind of like the outer wall of the Cube?”
“Exactly like the outer wall of the Cube. Except zombies got into Mylon and no one could escape because the military locked down the town and permanently sealed the gates. They shot anyone who attempted to climb over. Now there are literally thousands of zombies inside the city. They've been trapped inside that fence for almost 30 years.”
“Oh god.”
“Very few people have ever managed to get into Mylon and get back out without being bitten.”
“If Mylon is so dangerous, why would Drake order us to go in to it?” I asked.
“There's a junkyard on the far edge of the town next to the river. It has its own fence within the fence so it’s not quite as heavily populated with zombies as the rest of the town is. We've gotten parts from there before when we've had no other options,” Kennedy explained. “He's going to send everyone he wants dead into Mylon tomorrow and hope that someone makes it out with a radiator before they finish turning zombie. It's the perfect way for him to clean up all his problems.”
“You mean like Cya?” I asked.
“Cya's pretty high on that list,” Kennedy said. “But I don't figure anyone is really safe. Drake knows I won't stay a Scavenger with Conner dead. And you, well....”
“What about me?” I asked.
“You should come with me,” Kennedy said after a slight hesitation. “Don't worry about your bags or your weapons. Just come with me. Walk away and don't look back.”
“I can't,” I said. “I can't just abandon my parents.”
“Your parents are gone,” Kennedy said. “Isn't that why you threw that screaming hissy fit in front of the Powers that Be last week?”
I nodded and took a deep breath. “They wouldn't have left me alone, Kennedy. My Dad didn't just get up out of the bed he'd occupied for the last 20-odd years and decide to go on an adventure. He might have left the Cube if he'd known there was a city nearby, but he wouldn't have left voluntarily without me.”
“Pilar-.”
“They wouldn't have left me. I know they wouldn't have left me.” I sounded desperate but I didn't care. “Someone or something in the Cube took my parents. I'll never find them if I don't go back.”
“Pilar, they're gone.” Kennedy grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me none-too-gently. “People who disappear from inside the Cube don't ever come back.”
“What do you mean, people who disappear from the Cube? Has it happened before?”
“It happens all the time,” Kennedy said brokenly. “You're not going to find them. You're not going to see them again. Give up and focus on saving yourself.”
“Who took them?” I asked. “Why have I never heard about other disappearances?”
“You've never heard about the disappearances because most survivors have the sense not to go screaming at the Powers that Be in front of 7,000 people,” Kennedy said. “You're the smartest stupid girl I've ever met, Pilar.”
“Kennedy, please.” I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.
“I can't. I'm sorry. We've already stood here too long. I can't risk Drake finding me right now. I'm leaving now, Pilar. If you have any sense, you'll come with me. If not, I wish you the best of luck in Mylon tomorrow. I hope you don't die. You're a sweet kid.”
“Kennedy-.”
“No.” He pried my fingers off of his shirt. “I'm sorry. I want to live, Pilar. If you change your mind about being a Scavenger then you should go to the church.”
“I don't know where the church is,” I stammered.
“Follow the river.”
“What river?”
“You'll find it,” Kennedy said dismissively. “Goodbye. For what it's worth, I'm sorry.”
“Kennedy please. I have so many questions. Do you know what happened to my parents?” I pleaded with him.
“I don't want to know what happened to your parents,” Kennedy said. “I don't want to know what's going to happen to my mother and my sisters when Drake realizes I've run.”
“Kennedy-.”
“Goodbye,” he said again as he turned his back to me. I tried to grab for him again but he knew I was coming and he dodged me. Within seconds I was alone in the dark woods.