Chase wondered about his grandparents and how they were coping without him and Riley to help out. The roof collapsing had left them in a difficult position and by now, Chase had to assume that his grandparents knew he and Riley weren’t coming back any time soon. He couldn’t make up his mind about whether they were more likely to stay at home and wait, or go out looking for them. He hoped it wouldn’t be the latter—if that was the case then Chase really couldn’t guess at when his family would reunite again.
But for now, he needed to focus on Riley. He kept his head down as his block was marched out of the cafeteria and toward the makeshift communal showers. They looked like they had been rigged together by a complete amateur, the pipes leaking and the tarpaulin that covered the ground gathering large puddles in certain places as it slipped and fell out of place. They’d been set up outside—although technically the amphitheater had a roof over the outdoor area now so performances could continue no matter what the weather was—so there was no privacy or place for any of the boys to change. They were simply forced to strip off and enter the showers, or lose out on their chance to get clean for the day.
By the time Chase stepped under the stream of water, it was completely cold. He doubted whether there had been hot water to start with, but with him being from Block D, he knew he’d never get to experience it if there was. As the fourth and final block, they ate last in the morning, showered last, and Chase presumed they did everything else last as well. The pit was almost filled to maximum capacity, only one cell remaining empty beside his.
“Time’s up!”
Chase blinked as the stream of water that was raining down on him suddenly stopped, soap still covering parts of his body. A member of the Authority looked over at him, Chase, Joel and two others who were the last to occupy the showers.
“Dry off and get dressed,” he commanded them. “Lessons start in fifteen minutes.”
Doing exactly as he was told, Chase collected a pair of pants, underwear, and a T-shirt from the pile that was pointed out to him. The clothes were all mismatched and came in various different sizes, the T-shirt almost drowning Chase as he put it on.
“They’re scavenged from the city,” Joel explained as he fastened the belt in his oversized jeans. “The only things we get to keep are our shoes.”
Chase scowled as his clothes were taken away, hoping at least that his Re-Breather which he’d left hidden underneath his bed sheets would still be there when he returned. “This is stupid,” he complained as he tugged on his boots. “Can’t they at least sort the clothes into sizes?”
“I think that’s something the girls do,” Joel replied matter-of-factly. “They’re trying to get this place running better. You forget how little time all of this has been going on for.”
“Feels like forever,” Chase answered, thinking back to all the things that had happened to him since the eruption. He remembered Riley thinking that it was snowing outside and all of them being so incredibly confused by what was falling from the sky, their confusion only to then be replaced with horror when the truth was revealed.
Chase could still remember the words that he’d heard on that news report, warning the country what had happened and how devastating the effects were going to be. He thought of Mia and where she had been when Yellowstone erupted. Chase desperately wanted to believe that she was still alive. Nevertheless, he knew it was unlikely. Mia was very resilient and was probably one of the most prepared people on the planet for an event like this, but even she wasn’t invincible. No one was.
Especially not his grandparents. Chase remembered how bad the weather was getting around the farmhouse and how his grandpop’s body was not only struggling to stay strong, but his mind as well. What if he ran off outside again? His grandma wasn’t equipped to go out and run after him—what would they do if he lost his mind and Chase wasn’t around to bring the old man back inside?
Chase again tried to push thoughts of his grandparents to the back of his mind, though it was a nearly impossible thing to achieve. He would never give up on his family and he would never stop thinking about them—no matter what sort of terrible situation he was in himself.
As he joined the back of the line of boys once again that morning, Chase subtly wiped away a tear that slid down his cheek. He knew he had to be strong and to continue to try and find a way out of the pit, away from the Authority and back to the farmhouse, despite it feeling insurmountable. He was growing tired of always having to be the strong person—he couldn’t do it all the time without feeling weak inside. He missed his family. He missed his home and he missed having someone to tell him that things were going to be okay. Chase longed for his parents to still be alive, just so he could hear them speak to him one more time. No matter how devastating the eruption had been, it was nothing compared to the damage losing his parents had done to Chase. He had been broken that day and he doubted whether he would ever feel whole again.
No child was ever prepared to say goodbye to their parents. No child ever thinks that when their parents leave the house one morning, they won’t return. To know that his mom and dad would never say his name again, never see everything that he achieved as he grew up, and never know the man he would eventually become was incredibly difficult for Chase. He never told anyone he was terrified of what would happen to him now that he didn’t have a role model in his life. Even with the eruption to think about, he was still more concerned about what would happen to his future without his parents to guide him. Now, he wondered whether he would even have one.
He’d already said goodbye to his parents for the last time without knowing it, perhaps now he had done the same with his grandparents, Mia, and Riley too. Chase tried to keep himself from breaking as the thought crossed his mind. Would he ever see his family again, or was this the end?
ESCAPING DARKNESS Book 4
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Escaping Darkness (Book 3): Landslide Page 16