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Chapter 104: Detour, Part 1
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FLUX Chapter 105: Detour, Part 2
They crossed the bridge and raced onwards. Tom managed to hit two more men, not just bikes this time before the van gave out. The tire burst with a sharp explosion and the whole van swerved. Tom braced with his hands and legs as Ellie turned into the corner to keep it from rolling. The motorcycles came at them with guns blazing.Ellie turned in her seat. "Duck!"Tom flattened himself to the floor and the automatic rifle showered the motorcycles with bullets. Screams and crashes came from outside. Ellie stopped firing and turned forward, then shot out her window. Tom sat up. One man was recovering from his fallen bike. He started running away. Tom shot him in the back with the sniper rifle.Things quieted down. Tom swung the rifle to his back and held the pistols at the ready again. He scooted out of the van and walked around the side. Fallen bikes and dead men littered the ground. He turned towards the front of the van on Brooke's side. A man held up his gun and pointed it at Tom. T
FLUX Chapter 106: Revenge, Part 1
Ellie shook Tom awake. "It's getting close to the time you wanted to wake up." The orange shadows from the nearby flares lit up her face as she loomed over him.Tom grumbled. His back hurt from sleeping on the hard ground. Brooke lay curled up in front of him with her back to him and was using his arm as a pillow. He felt like he'd been asleep only a few minutes, but the darkness outside told him otherwise. With his free arm, he pulled Brooke against him."Time to get going," he whispered in her ear."I was already awake for a few hours. I took some pain medication." She turned to look back at him. "You just looked so lonely. I had to come to keep you company.""Well thanks, but I don't think you're going to like what I have in mind for you next." He pulled away from her and stood up. He grabbed one of the splints off the desk and held it up. "You're the doctor, but I am pretty sure we need to splint you up to make sure you heal correctly."Brooke, who now sat in the middle of the
FLUX Chapter 107: Revenge, Part 2
Tom knelt down behind his own tower and looked through the scope of the hunting rifle. The sun and heat made it hard to aim, but he could count maybe fifteen or so motorcycles coming down the highway towards them. "Looks like our friends are back to finish us off."Tom took aim but waited. With any luck, they would drive by them.A few moments later, a spray of bullets showered their little area.Brooke pressed her back tightly to the solar tower as bits and pieces of the glass flew from impacts. "How'd they see us?""Shadows," Ellie said and hugged the tower tightly. "Look down. Our shadows make the towers look thicker."Tom found a clear shot to one man's chest and took it. He went down and his motorcycle turned into another one. "We're going to have to run.""We can't outrun them," Brooke huffed."We'll take our chances. Run towards the train. Go now!" Tom commanded and shot at another man but missed. Damn the heat and water vapor.Ellie and Brooke took off running next to t
FLUX Chapter 108: Release
"Ellie," Brooke whispered. "Ellie, I have to pee. Els?"Brooke was leaning over Tom's stomach and shaking Ellie who slept on the floor next to their bench. His head rested on one of Brooke's thighs and it looked like her head had been resting on his stomach while she was sleeping.Tom reached out and touched his hand to her arm. "I can take you."In the dim light, he could see her shaking her head furiously. "No, that's okay. I'll wake her."Ellie grumbled in her sleep and rolled over beneath the travel coat she was using as a blanket."Seriously, I'll take you. It's not a big deal." He pushed himself up into a sitting position and steadied Brooke on the bench.Brooke's mouth became a hard line. "I don't think I can.""Don't you have to go?""Yeah, but, you'll be right there- listening," she whispered.Tom chuckled. "No, I won't. I'll plug my ears.""Ellie, please wake up. Come on, please?"Tom pushed into a standing position, careful to step over Ellie. His calf was tight a
FLUX Chapter 109: Lev-track, Part 1
Quiet voices startled Tom from his dozing. He hadn't quite been asleep but he hadn't been awake either. Brooke stirred at his side. He turned to see some of the others gathered together eating breakfast. The sun was just starting to light up the horizon and the air still felt a little brisk despite the humidity.He sat up and helped Brooke to a sitting position. "Ready for some breakfast?" He asked.She nodded and he retrieved the supplies from his pack. They sat cross-legged leaning against the bottom of the bench with Ellie still sleeping in front of them. He fed Brooke a spoonful of what must have been scrambled eggs.Tom looked out over the groups of people gathering for breakfast. There were ten in all. Three of them were women. The guard had changed since last night. A brunette woman sat with a rifle in her lap and the scope at her eye as she surveyed the horizon. The man on guard from last night was lying flat out on the ground near the train still sleeping. One man, he seeme
FLUX Chapter 110: Lev-track, Part 2
Once they hit the ground, they followed her to the tracks. The solar panels layout to either side hooked up to a large metal box. Large cables ran from the train to the sides. Long poles lay to either side of the single rail."Elroy, get over here. Get started. We're burning daylight.""Yes, ma'am. Alright, folks. Edrick, Sabin, you're on the left. Vigo, Khyber you're on the right. Vanna, you man the machine. Let's go."The people scrambled to their spots.Vigo and Khyber poked poles through the holes in one piece of track, which looked like a meter wide chunk of I-beam from a building. Edrick and Sabin caught the poles from the other side. They manipulated and turned the heavy track until it straightened. Elroy applied metal plates hooked to the equipment on to the top edge of the closest and furthest track pieces."Now," Elroy said.Vanna flipped a switch then watched the dials build while she read the display. "Clear!" She hit a button and a metal clang rang out as the two pie
FLUX Chapter 111: Heat, Part 1
Tom woke up on the floor of the train car. He felt rather chilled even though the hot, humid air was pressing in on him. He raised his head and looked. He was lying naked except for his boxer shorts. Brooke was curled up on a crate above him and Ellie was looking down at him with a smile.Her hand brushed through his hair. "Hey, there. I hope you're feeling better."He arched an eyebrow at her. "Where are my clothes?"She shrugged. "You were overheating. They're drying in the sun.""How convenient." His stomach growled. "Got anything to eat?"Ellie nodded. He sat up and she handed him a bowl of finely chopped vegetables in a red sauce."What's this?" He asked.Ellie cocked her head. "Not sure. Cameron brought it over for you a while ago. It tasted okay. Not my favorite."Tom took a taste. "Yeah, it's okay. Seems like it should be warm.""Cold actually, it's what he said."The train car rose up and rushed forward, then settled back down again."I'm never going to get used to
FLUX Chapter 112: Heat, Part 2
After three and a half hours passed, they entered the remnants of a city. They had passed a few smaller towns on their way, but the buildings here were closer together, turning into suburban areas. They came up to a large bridge. The train zipped right on past the river. On the left was bright blue ocean water and on the right was muddy dark water. The long bridge took four minutes to pass even at their speed and as they approached the end of the bridge, the train car started to slow.A few minutes later, the train car crawled forward through a junction that followed a tunnel down into the bowels of the city. Electric light lit the end of the steep tunnel, steadily getting brighter as they approached. They pulled to a halt at the end and the train lowered down onto the track at a platform.A man with a large black beard and short cropped salt and pepper hair stood on the platform with his hands on his hips. "Why are you back so early? We're never going to make it on schedule if you k
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