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Chapter 106: Revenge, Part 1
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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
FLUX Chapter 113: Night Terrors
Jack woke to screaming in the middle of the night. He pushed himself out of bed and stumbled across the hall to Lexi's room. She lay in bed screaming at the top of her lungs."Lights," he grumbled sleepily and the lights to her room obediently faded on.Jack scooped her up and held her. Her eyes were open but she didn't see, she just screamed. Sometimes words echoed out of the scream but most of it was nonsense. He held her tight against his chest and whispered comforting words into her ears until finally, her body relaxed.She pushed away for a moment and looked up at him. Her small navy eyes were frightened and then sad. Tears filled them and she shook into racking sobs. She buried her face in his shoulder and clutched at his shirt."I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she wailed over, again and again, mostly muffled by his shoulder.Jack stroked her back and held on to her. "It's okay, just breathe. You're okay, I've got you." He would be glad when these night terrors finally passed. A week
FLUX Chapter 114: First Day, Part 1
Later that morning Jack woke to a chiming alarm. The lights gradually grew brighter. The screen on the wall set to mimic a window showed the sun rising over a mountainside with green grass flowing over the scenery up to him.He stretched in bed and then slowly pulled into a sitting position. His bare feet hit the warmed floor as he stood and stretched again. His body felt slow and he realized he hadn't done any physical work since the explosion. That was something both him and Lexi were going to have to do to keep their bodies from getting weak. He'd have to put together some workouts for them to do together to stay in shape.He showered, shaved, and dressed in a suit and tie. It was a classic look, not like the ads he'd seen on TV, but he wasn't into the current fashions. He preferred a good pair of denim jeans and a T-shirt, something tried and true for hundreds of years. He put product on his fingers and ran them through his hair, just as Penina had shown him. The tuffs of blonde
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