Alex sat in exile as Cart One rolled along its path. They left the mountains behind and were well on their way to the next big city. Jimmy walked ahead of the cart, occasionally looking through his scope at the dark landscape that morphed from mountains and windmills to desert and solar towers. The darkness around them brought a cool night breeze from the west that occasionally blew with strong gusts, then settled down. The wind sent chills right through her. Alex drew the blanket she was wrapped in around her tight.Jimmy held up a fist. It took a moment for the people pushing the carts to notice, but eventually, the whole caravan rolled to a stop."Twenty minutes. I need five volunteers," Jimmy shouted.Alex pulled free from the blanket then crawled out of the cart.Jimmy approached her. "Not you. You stay here.""What is it? What if you need my firepower?"Jimmy reached in the cart and pulled another blanket out. "I'm sure it's nothing. Just some weird movement. Maybe a bit of
They walked through the green grasslands dotted with solar towers, sunflowers, and blackberry vines. The sun was just setting over the mountains in the distance. The sky was seeping dark pinks and purples that lit up the entire sky. Tom had never seen anything so beautiful and majestic in his entire life.Brooke had been trying to abscond with him secretly for the last few nights, but with the wide-open space, there really was nowhere to hide. The best he had been able to manage was some long kisses behind the cart, but it was never long before someone interrupted them. He could see Brooke getting more frustrated. She was starting to get that look in her eyes. He knew that whatever she was cooking up was going to be disastrous for him.He finished filling the pot from the water barrel in the back of the cart and headed back over to the chemical heater at one of the circles. Brooke avoided his gaze but he saw her smiling wickedly. Whatever she had planned she was going to do it soon.
The carts rolled along at their own accord under the cloudy sky. The green grass faded into a suburban area around them and the roads grew more complicated. Ellie consulted her map and directed them along the straightest path north they could find. The group fell tight together and a hush fell over the caravan. So far, this was the biggest city they had traveled through since the one with the white-eyed men.The carts climbed up and over a mountainous pass. Finally, in the distance among the complicated crumbling overpasses, Tom saw the beginnings of skyscrapers. A large river ran through the city with various bridges spanned the gap. He wondered which one would be the best.He kissed Brooke on the forehead as she slept then jumped out of the cart. He caught up to Cart One and matched its pace. Jimmy sat at the front beneath a mountain of blankets. Alex's delicate features looked strained as she slept in his arms."Jimmy," Tom said loud enough to wake him, but not so loud as to both
The carts pulled on for the rest of the day while they crawled up and down the sloping road along the river. Tom was entranced by the grass blades rippled like ocean waves in the wind. Short sunflowers dotted the landscape and even small shrubs started growing. Blackberry bushes with prickly vines and pointed leaves sprouted up everywhere around them.The sun sank over the mountains, casting its dazzling sunset yet again, but this time the clouds looked heavy and dark. They broke for another meal. Tom joined his usual circle. He set a burner simmering a pot of tomato pasta."How's she doing?" Tom asked as he sat down next to Jimmy.Alex lay in his lap covered in blankets. Dark circles were heavy under her eyes. She was barely conscious as Jimmy tried to coax a scoop of mashed potatoes down her throat from an open MRE pouch. She swallowed them so painfully slowly it made it hard for Tom to watch.Jimmy shook his head. "Not well, she's barely been awake for the last two days.""How
Tom and Jimmy stood staring at the metal bridge."What do you think?" Jimmy asked."I think that someone did this on purpose," Tom said.The metal bridge ahead of them was the color of rust beneath the poking vines covering it. Patches of road had fallen through, but the center metal frame arching over the structure was still intact.Jimmy turned. "Smart kids, come here."Ellie and Weylin appeared."Will the carts make it?" Jimmy asked."We can go check." Ellie grabbed Weylin's arm and tugged him along after her.Jimmy nodded to two guards. They followed after them as Ellie and Weylin walked down the bridge.Tom watched them disappeared behind the vines before he turned to Jimmy again. "What are we going to do if we can't bring the carts?"Jimmy swung his gaze back to the caravan. "I guess carry what we can and come back for it later. It's only a little more than a day away.""Should we just bring food? Will we have enough fresh water?" Tom asked, not expecting an answer."
Tom knocked on the door to the new medical wing before entering. Brooke shot him a smile as she organized medicines in a cabinet. He strode up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her neck."I missed you," he whispered in her ear."You were only gone for three days." She turned toward him and looked up at him with her golden hazel eyes."It was a really long three days.""Did you get the carts?"He nodded. "They are getting unpacked as we speak. How is she?""Ellie has her hooked up to some brain monitor stuff. She says that without Jack's input, it's hard to tell what is really going on. So pretty much, we still don't know anything.""How's the baby?"Brooke looked surprised and then looked at Alex. "Oh, fine. Still too early to tell the sex, but it seems healthy enough.""You're keeping something from me."Brooke looked away and smiled. "Maybe."He pulled her closer and kissed her ear. "What is it?""It's too soon to be sure.""You can still tell me."Bro
Jack blinked his eyes slowly. His eyelids felt heavy. When he finally wiped enough haze from them to see, the pseudo-sunlight streaming through the window blinded him. He wiped at his eyes again and cast around the room. Fresh flowers sat on a table between two chairs. A silent monitor displayed his vitals. A tube ran into the crook of his arm. A chart across from him displayed information like nurses' and doctors' names, check-in times, course of action, and other hospital information.He searched his mind for memories but found them blurry and vague. His left arm felt stiff. When he looked down at it he saw a bullet wound healed over. A memory triggered, one of him jumping out for Henry while shots flew passed. He must have been hit. He squeezed his eyes shut to see if he remembered more. Another look down at his arm made him flinch. They must have healed him really fast because it looked very good. He wondered how that could be in only a couple of days.The door swung open. A woma
Three weeks after waking from the coma, Jack sat in an office turned classroom as his trainer, what was his name? Roger, Reeger, Renger, spoke about the origination of the original Congress in Greek times and how it had been adopted by different civilizations throughout history.He could feel his lids getting heavy as the lecture continued. His fingers crawled to his arm and pinched hard. The small amount of pain gave him a little jolt of awareness, but not enough to sustain him.Henry walked through the door. The lecture came to a grinding halt. Jack smiled, secretly thanking the man for his timing, but still holding on to that underlying distrust."Out," Henry said and the teacher disappeared out the door in the blink of an eye. Henry spread his hands out on Jack's desk and leaned forward on them. "My man, the news is looking good! It's only been two weeks since your official return, but you are already top in the polls for thirty percent of neighborhoods. It's just a matter of ti