by M. J. Reed
“We should get going. They’ll be sending more guards after us.” I clenched my teeth angrily and tried to focus on the task ahead. “They’ll have to take the stairs though,” I said, using my security code to keep the elevator stopped on this floor until someone overrode my security code. It’ll slow them down, but it won’t keep them off us for long. We need to move fast.
We made our way unimpeded towards the exit. My heart raced with anticipation as I punched in the security code. I’ve always wanted to leave this place, but somehow this isn’t how I imagined it would happen. The panel flashed red, indicating an invalid security code. “Fuck!” I swore, tempted to kick the door in frustration.
“What’s wrong?” Cora asked when the door didn’t budge.
“Must have keyed it in wrong,” I muttered, trying the code again.
Once again the panel flashed red, and the door stayed closed. I carefully tried the code again, forcing myself to slow down to prevent pushing the wrong numbers. My hands shook as I pressed enter. I shook my head. “Looks like someone finally invalidated my security code.”
“Fuck!” Wyatt exclaimed, echoing my frustration. He examined the door, then moved to join me. “Let me see the panel.” He said as I moved aside.
I know that Wyatt has some mechanical skills, but I have my doubts that he’ll be able to open the hatch before security catches up to us. I guess there’s no harm in his trying.
“We were so close.” I murmured to myself.
“What do we do now?” Cora asked, wringing her hands. She looked uncomfortable, standing there with nothing productive to do. That’s another thing we have in common; we’re women of action.
My mind was racing. My dad must have changed it. He’s the only one who can override my security code, and now only he can open the door. We’re so fucked! I shook my head in uncertainty “I’m not sure.”
“I have a suggestion.” Came a voice from behind us.
My father strode towards us, a large duffle bag that I recognized as belonging to the nearby armory was slung across his shoulder, and he held a pistol by his side. My father, who I was used to seeing look tired and worried, instead looked calm, confident, and just a bit dangerous.
He let out a low chuckle as he approached. “You know, it’s funny how no matter what you do your children never wind up turning out the way you expect them to.” He said, halting ten yards away from our little group. “Your brother, who forsook the right to rule the city when he became Cardinal, has turned so much of the city into zealots that he’ll probably still end up in charge.” He laughed wryly. “Even now, he’s got his followers rioting in the streets. Demanding that we return to the surface.” He lifted the gun as if to inspect it, his silver hair matching the gleam coming off the barrel. “And you, Sade, you’ve never fit in here. Somehow, instead of filling your role as a future leader, you always find a way to get yourself into trouble. Now, after the jailbreak you staged, I have to hand you over to Constable Greer.”
My heart was hammering in my chest. My father advanced towards us, slowly and casually. I could see Wyatt and Cora stiffen, ready to fight if he got too close, but I held up a hand to stop them. I can’t hurt him. Not any more than I already have. He’s my dad, and after what happened to Paul, I can’t let anyone harm him.
I took a few steps forward to meet him halfway. “If you hand me over to Oswalt you can tell him I let Wyatt and Cora escape before you caught me. You’ll be a hero, or at least have enough plausible deniability to get control of the city again.” I looked back at Cora and Wyatt. “Just, please, let my friends go.”
“My suggestion,” He said, holding the gun towards me. “Is that you leave. All of you.” He turned the gun so I could grab the grip easily, and in a daze I took it. Then he passed me the duffel bag. “And that you use these to destroy the cavern that connects the colony to the surface.”
I opened the bag, more curious than anything else. Inside were several explosives from the armory, an old notebook, and a supply of ammunition for the gun he gave me.
He sighed. “Once, when I was young, I had hoped to see the day when the surface was habitable, and the people of the city could leave this underground bunker. But seeing the chaos below makes me certain that it is not time. Oswalt might try to lead the citizens aboveground, to spread the word of God. Perhaps someday, by the time we’ve moved the rubble from the entrance to the city, we’ll be ready for the world above. As for you, my brave daughter, I think you’re ready now.”
“But what about you?” I asked, already knowing what could happen if I left him alone to face Oswalt and his minions himself.
He shook his head. "It doesn’t matter.” He answered. “I’m an old man now. I’ll be happy just knowing that you’re safe.” He said, somehow managing a smile. “One more thing." My father stepped forward and leaned in close so that only I could hear. "I know who you are. I know what you are. I've always known. But I don't care who you love, I only care that you do."
A lump formed in my throat. I had never felt so elated, and so shattered at the same time.
My dad brushed by me, keyed in his security code, and stood back as the hatch opened with a hiss. "Now go."
A tear slid down my face. Every fiber of my being wanted to say something profound and meaningful to my dad. To let him know how grateful I am, and how much I love him. Instead, my breath caught in my throat. I hugged him, quickly, and slipped out the door just before it closed, taking the gun and bag with me.
Wyatt and Cora worked quickly, setting the explosives around the entrance to Departure with ruthless efficiency. I operated on autopilot, doing what my friends asked me to do and nothing more. After a final check to make sure the explosives were ready to detonate, we moved off a safe distance and triggered the explosion. The cave collapsed, blocking the entrance to the city, leaving nothing but a smoking pile of stone and ash. Getting away from Departure was what I had always wanted, but the reality of never being able to return struck me hard. We stared at what was once the entrance to my home for several minutes before any of us spoke.
“Someone will have seen that explosion. We should go.” Wyatt said, throwing an arm around Cora.
I nodded, and robotically followed my companions as they headed away from the city, hoping I had done the right thing.
Chapter 26
We’ve spent the past several hours walking, and it’s getting dark. Much of the area that we passed was homogenous, flat, and peppered with tall grasses and scrub brush, but here and there a trace of civilization shone through. A broken road, complete with a few rusted out cars, cut across the bleak landscape. Every now and again we would pass a crooked road sign, a broken fence, or a dilapidated bus stop. Almost everything we saw had been ravaged by time, but to me, it was all still beautiful.
The sky was filled with constellations that I had only ever read about, a spider’s web hung in the air, preserved by a thin layer of frost, and as I breathed in the cold night air foreign smells assaulted my senses. I felt as if I had been reborn into a new, and strange, place, and I couldn’t wait to see more of it.
The remains of a house loomed on the horizon. Even from a distance, I could see that sections of what was meant to be the roof had fallen in, the yard had been taken over by plants long ago, and most of the windows were either broken or boarded up. Still, the lower level looked mostly intact, and parts of the upper level might be habitable. Better than nothing. I thought, trying to ignore my own exhaustion.
“Should we stop up there for the night?” I asked, crossing my arms across my chest to ward off the cold.
“It’s dangerous to stay in places like that,” Wyatt answered. “People could be living there, and they won’t take kindly to strangers barging into their home. Also, roving gangs make stops at places like that. If the house is empty, they move in, and if it’s not, they raid the place.” He looked ashamed. “I’ve seen firsthand what happens to travelers who stumble upon a gang hideout.”
“Might be
the best place we come across for shelter, though,” Sade said. She had been quiet since we left Departure, and I couldn’t blame her. Sade had lost her best friend, and even though she was trying to be strong, I could tell she was in pain.
Wyatt sighed. “That’s true.” I knew he could feel me shivering against him. None of us were outfitted to spend the night in this cold, and he knew it. “We’ll go in for a look. If the house is empty, we’ll stay there for the night.”
Sade checked the firearm her dad had given her, strapping it to her belt for easy access. She took point, her thin, dark form making her almost indistinguishable from the shadows.
Wyatt and I lagged behind. He walked behind me, with his arms wrapped around me, to help ward off the cold. I tried to tell myself that we remained wrapped around one another like this for purely practical reasons, but as we moved towards the hovel that awaited us, I found myself wishing that our future lodgings were farther away.
I like being close to him. I breathed in his warm scent and relaxed into his embrace. As we drew closer to the house, I found myself paying less attention to my surroundings, and more time imagining Wyatt kissing me again.
I might have felt guilty for enjoying our close proximity so much, but from behind me, I could feel a hard bulge forming against my back. Wyatt seemed to be trying to strategically lean away from me so I wouldn’t feel his erection against my ass. Naturally, I did my best to “accidentally” brush against him as often as I could.
“This, um, might not be the best idea right now.” He said in my ear. I shivered, titillated by the husky growl of his voice.
I surreptitiously reached behind me and ran my hand up and down his thigh, as close to his crotch as I dared. “That’s what makes it so fun,” I whispered back.
He kissed the top of my head. “Maybe, if that house is empty, we could share a room tonight?”
My brain whirled into overdrive. I want to spend the night with Wyatt, but I’ve always been told that sex hurts the first time. I remembered the story Olivia’s older sister told us about the first time she slept with her husband. She’d told us that it had been painful and that she had to grit her teeth just to get through it. But I love Wyatt, and I want to sleep with him. I don’t think he would hurt me.
“You alright?” Wyatt asked.
I sighed, embarrassed by my own naivete. “Sorry. I guess I’m just a little nervous.”
“Don’t be.” He said, turning serious. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” He punctuated the statement with a kiss, and I felt that same familiar warmth spread over me. Suddenly, I was much more eager to reach our destination.
I didn’t have to wait long. As we closed the distance between us and the abandoned building, I realized that the house was probably once beautiful. The remnants of a fence surrounded the building, along with a nearby, and intact, storage shed, giving the impression of a once large and well-maintained yard.
The building itself was missing parts of the roof, and a few of the walls on the second story had crumbled away. The lower level looked structurally sound, and the size of the building suggested that there were multiple rooms inside. There might be enough rooms for Wyatt and I to have some privacy tonight. I thought with a tremor of excitement.
Sade drew her weapon and began scouting around the perimeter. Wyatt headed up the rear while I formed the middle of our party. We crept quietly into the old house through the back door. Each creak of the remaining floorboards sent my heart hammering, but after a cursory tour of the house, we realized we had found a vacant place to spend the night.
“We should watch in shifts,” Sade suggested, still carrying her gun close. She began rummaging through the cupboards of what appeared to be the kitchen. “There’s no dust on any of the counters in here, so someone’s stayed here recently. We don’t want to be caught off-guard if they come back.”
“What are you looking for?” I asked. I ran a finger across the table, and it came back clean.
Sade’s right about the dust. I never would have noticed that!
“Food, valuables, anything that could be useful.” She said over her shoulder. “If whoever was here left something behind, I want to find it.”
“I’ll help look,” I said, wanting to make myself useful. I pulled open a large cabinet and started hunting.
“It’s dark in here,” Wyatt said, looking around. “I’m gonna try to find some matches or something.”
“Be careful!” I called after him.
Even in the dark, I could tell he was smiling. Wyatt disappeared into another room. I was tempted to follow, but I didn’t want to abandon my search of the kitchen. I was determined to prove to Sade that I could be useful.
Sade and I ransacked the place. Most of the drawers were empty, but when I checked the top of the cabinets, I found several sharp kitchen knives.
“Nice!” Sade beamed at me. She selected a small blade for herself and tucked it away in one of her many pockets for safekeeping. I felt a surge of pride and took a knife of my own. A light in the kitchen flickered on above us.
“What the hell?” Sade hissed. She was in a crouch with her gun drawn in an instant.
I clutched my knife close to me, less like a weapon than a talisman. “Wyatt!” I called, fearing the worst. What if this is a trap? What if someone’s found us? I could hear footsteps coming towards us, and I did my best to look menacing.
Wyatt rounded the corner, unharmed. “I got the generator working!” He grinned.
Sade rolled her eyes. “Great. I almost shot you, though.” She said as she re-holstered her weapon.
I beamed at Wyatt. Handsome and handy.
Now, with the aid of a light, we resumed our search. After tearing the rest of the kitchen apart, we started in on the living room. This time it was Sade who struck gold. She found a stash of canned food tucked away behind a long-broken television.
“I’ll keep watch for a while,” Sade said, grabbing a can of food from the hidden stash and heading towards the rickety staircase.
Wyatt nodded. “Just come get me when you need someone to take over. Wouldn’t want whoever hid that to come back for it and catch us all asleep.”
Sade favored Wyatt with a mock salute before disappearing up the stairs.
And then we were alone.
Wyatt and I got our own can of food open through a combination of smashing, prying, and swearing. The stove didn’t work, but after a full day of running away from the past we were starving, and it didn’t matter that the food was cold. None of the terrible things that had happened today seemed to matter, because now we were together. We bolted our food.
“We should change that,” I said, gesturing to the bandage across Wyatt’s chest. I ran my hand slowly down the length of the bandage until my finger met the remaining buttons on Wyatt’s shirt. “Let’s go,” I said, taking his hand and guiding him further into the ruined house. My heart was in my throat.
We explored the lower level of the house in search of a place to sleep. Apart from the kitchen and living room, there were two bedrooms on the first floor. One of these rooms had a bed with several blankets and a few articles of clean-looking clothing. We settled in for the night.
“Wonder what happened to whoever was staying here,” I said, looking for any clue as to the identity of the room’s former occupants.
Wyatt shrugged. “This place looks a little too tidy for it to have been used as a gang hideout.” He mused. “Could have been caravaners who passed through this area. I just hope no one comes back.”
I snorted in amusement. “Well, if they do they’ll have to deal with Sade.”
“Well then,” He grinned. “We should be safe from just about anything.” Wyatt took off his shirt, revealing tan skin and layers of muscle.
I had to focus to keep myself from staring, but I even as I made an effort to look Wyatt in the eyes I realized that I had unconsciously started biting my lower lip.
“Are you alright with everything that h
appened today?” Wyatt asked.
“You mean, with what happened in my dad’s office?” I asked. The memory brought a slight smile to my face.
He chuckled. “I meant leaving your home and father behind, but it’s good to know what’s on your mind.”
I felt my cheeks redden. “Yeah, I’m doing alright.” I pushed my embarrassment aside and thought for a moment. “I’ll miss my dad, but if I had stayed there I don’t think he ever could have accepted what I had done, and he’s the only family I have. Plus, I’m not sure they ever would have let me out of jail. If they did, I would’ve needed to make a lot of concessions about the way I lived my life, and I don’t know that I could have been happy living like that.”