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
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
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
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
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
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
He sat back and folded his hands. The orientation program continued. Occasionally it would require a flick of his fingers, but otherwise, it was completely boring. His mind wandered as he watched and just when he thought it would be over, it would continue. Finally, a bell overhead rung. A clamor of people stood and marched towards the exit for lunch. His screens froze and a large "Lunch" flashed across them. Jack ran his fingers through his hair as he stretched. This was no way to live. He gritted his teeth. This was something he had to do. He stood and headed out to lunch.Instead of wasting time waiting for the elevators to open up, he took the stairs. He found the food court easily because it was packed with people. Some were just coming in, like him, but others were leaving, hinting that each building had its own lunchtime. He chose a place with wrapped sandwiches that he could eat while he walked. He wanted to move as much as possible before he had to go back to that chair.The
Tom disentangled himself from the sleeping women. He slipped through the dim light to the showers. It was amazing how quickly this place was starting to feel like home and it had only been a few weeks. Maybe it was the people or the fact that they were human, well most of them. He flicked on the light to the shower room and picked out a stall in the middle of the row.As the steam filled behind the shower curtain, he laid his belongings out on the bench so it would be ready when he was done. Hopefully, the few shirts he had in his possession would last a while. He didn't know when or if there would be trade routes open to get new things. He doubted anyone around here would be able to make handmade shirts that would be as comfortable as a cotton T-shirt.Tom stripped down and entered the hot water of the shower. Scalding rivulets poured down the ripples and edges of his body, energizing the muscles and waking his mind. He leaned his head back and stretched his sore muscles to their li