Hope of the Future

by Ariana Browning

  Ronin turned the vehicle, became quiet while he maneuvered around a few city buses and made sure they weren’t ambushed. Then he continued his conversation. “You mentioned wanting to visit—if we went near—your old home. If this Highway 9 avoids major cities, do you want to stop by your old home?”

  At the touch of kindness in his voice, Hope’s attention jerked to the rearview mirror and caught his gaze on her. She saw the sympathy and turned away from it when her tears welled up. “This isn’t my home. Nowhere is. Learned it long ago.” She bit back anything else before her emotions got the best of her. Before they reached the border, she swore to herself to ditch the two in the front seat. As she told them, she knew nine better than them.

  “Which way?” Ronin asked, knowing better than to push. She pointed haphazardly, but wouldn’t look at him.

  “Cayla said her friend was located in what once was Snohomish. Nine will take you straight through.”

  Ronin nodded. An explosion ripped through the block around them. Shards of glass and broken metal flew all over the place, raining down on the vehicle with a pat pat pat. Their vehicle jerked to the side.

  Cayla yelled at Ronin not to slow the vehicle down. Another explosion sent a car next to them into the air. The car smashed down into the street in front of them. Ronin gave the wheel a harsh jerk and bashed the break petal into the floor to avoid hitting the car. He rounded the next corner at a dangerous speed. Hope lurched to the side.

  A black vehicle showed up behind them. More explosions rocked the vehicle. The windows in the back of the SUV Hope, Cayla, and Ronin were in, exploded inward. Bullets rained upon the car.

  TWENTY FOUR

  “STAY DOWN!” RONIN SHOUTED, jerking the wheel again, careening around another corner.

  “Are you all right?” Cayla shouted to Hope from the front seat.

  Tires screeched behind them. Another vehicle joined in the pursuit. Both vehicles hit one another in their quest to pursue. The clanking of metal reverberated through Hope’s head. More bullets whizzed through their vehicle, narrowly avoiding Ronin.

  “I’m fine,” Hope said. More glass broke in the vehicle. A bullet hissed past Hope’s head, making a fooooop as Cayla’s seat sucked in the bullet, right behind where she’d been sitting.

  Hope was once more thrown to the side when Ronin spun around another corner. Hope’s head struck the door handle and she yelped. She sat up in the seat.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Ronin barked. “Get down!”

  The vehicles behind them joined forces. They seemed more intent on taking Hope’s vehicle down, over taking each other out.

  Hope ignored the pounding in her head and Ronin’s command. She dug her hands into his seat to pull herself forward and told him, “Get off this street.” Figuring out where they were, she pointed to the right. “Take that street. Up ahead is a parking garage. Enter it and head left, then go straight. You’ll want to stop, but don’t. Go straight. We’ll drop a floor, but that’s better that than dead.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ronin growled, taking her directions.

  Bullets whizzed past her head. Hope glanced behind them. She shook her head as another car exploded to the side of them. She took a breath. “When you straighten out, put that gas pedal to the floor. Trust me.”

  Ronin glanced at her in the mirror as if saying are you crazy? They broke through the wooden gate that blocked the entrance to the parking garage. He turned into the do not enter lane as instructed by Hope’s directions.

  He shook his head, but kept his attention in front of the vehicle and pressed the pedal to the floor when they straightened out. In the dim light of the garage, all that was clear was that the path was unobstructed.

  One of the vans in pursuit behind them swerved at the last minute when the driver noticed only one of them could make it through the small entrance. It spun in a circle and disappeared, slamming into the building.

  One down, one to go. Hope glanced down at Cayla curled in the footwell. Hope shrugged as if to say, why did you think I’d listen to you?

  The black vehicle maintained its course. Ronin caught sight of the large plate glass window in front of them and growled, “Hope. . . .”

  “Keep your foot down,” Hope said. “And be prepared for a drop and then swerve right the instant we hit the ground.”

  Ronin tightened his grip on the wheel. Right after, they crashed through the window and an open street lay out before them. A small island lay dead center in front of the vehicle. Hope’s stomach fell and the world paused.

  A moment later, they struck pavement with a loud crunch from the undercarriage and the vehicle rocked. Hope bumped up and off the seat with a squawk, thrown to the side.

  Ronin muttered a, “shit!” as he worked to maintain control of the vehicle and keep it steady amidst the bone jarring scraping.

  Even prepared for it, Ronin only had a millisecond to swerve the vehicle. Their vehicle narrowly missed the island and the trees along the center. The SUV rocked up and over the curb. Ronin pressed the gas pedal back to floor when all wheels safely hit pavement, launching them back on track.

  The black vehicle left the window a breath after them, but the driver didn't have time to prepare for the drop, or the island. The pursuing vehicle swerved out of control when it hit, and the driver of the vehicle overcompensated for the turn. Their pursuers hit the curb at a bad angle and sent the vehicle rolling onto its side.

  Hope let out the breath she held when she climbed back to her seat. The pursuer’s vehicle screeched on its back, the wheels continued to spin and spin and spin. She turned her attention back to the front and pointed Ronin out of the mess they were in.

  Cayla cried out upon climbing back into the seat, “She’s been shot.”

  Hope placed her palm against her cheek. “I wasn’t—” There was blood on her hand. “Oh.” Touching her cheek again, she learned the bullet had hit her, but it was a graze. One of the bullets must’ve struck her when she’d sat up. A bullet meant to hit her elsewhere.

  “I can’t pull over here,” Ronin told them. Grab a bandage to keep it from bleeding.”

  Hope shook her head. “It will be fine, don’t worry. We need to keep driving. My head is worse than the bullet wound.”

  Cayla’s knuckles were white as she clung to the seat. “What do you mean your head?”

  Hope waved her off. “From slamming into the door and roof on those turns and drop. I’m fine, woman.” Hope climbed over the back seat to grab the bandages.

  Ronin said, “We need to be on watch for another vehicle. This one won’t last much longer.” The wheels screamed beneath them in answer, scraping along the wheel wells.

  Cayla agreed. “Yeah, we do. Maybe once we get onto nine there will be a good place to find another.”

  Hope lowered back down in her seat and pressed a bandage to her cheek. Not that she needed one, but she didn’t want Cayla to ask probing questions. “There will be plenty of places,” she said. “Many homes and shopping centers. Sure bet for finding another. Can you drive big rigs?” Hope pointed the question at Ronin.

  “Yes.”

  Hope was impressed, but refused to show as much. “What can’t you do?”

  Ronin’s eyes crinkled when he smiled. He saw through her sarcasm. “I can’t seem to make you like me, can I?” he threw back.

  Hope huffed. “That’ll happen.”

  “How far until nine?” Cayla asked, her eyes sparkling.

  “A while,” Hope said. “There will be plenty of big rigs as well if you’re interested in them. Plenty of warehouses used to line there. Don’t know if it’s still that way, but I don’t see many of those trucks disappearing. That was the point of asking that question.”

  Ronin nodded up at the mirror. “Got that.”

  Hope eyed him before closing her eyes against the headache forming. “Attitude.”

  Cayla bit back her laugh and chastised them both. “Enough you two. Hope please try to get sleep
once we hit nine, all right?”

  Once they hit the old Highway 9, Hope did as Cayla wished. She told them to stick with nine, then slept.

  The drive was a lot smoother than it had been on the interstate, and the wheels stopped screaming at them, which made it easy for Hope to sleep. Though the vehicle did wobble every once in a while, it held up. As Hope slept, Ronin kept an eye on her. Cayla was lost in her own world most of the time.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Ronin whispered, pulling Cayla from her trance.

  “Hmm?” Cayla whispered, rubbing her face. “Oh. Been thinking.”

  “What about? Or do I have to ask?”

  Cayla smiled. “Wondering if we’ll make it. This isn’t an easy leg. It’ll get harder. We’ll be lucky if you and I both can make it.”

  Ronin checked on the woman asleep. “We’ll make it. All of us.”

  “You know Ronin, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that sounds like a man who is on Team Hope.” She gave him her classic know-it-all grin.

  “Don’t start. She told me everything she’s been through. I know she needs a new start. Though she seems adamant she’ll never have another child if she can help it.”

  Cayla checked to make sure they weren’t disturbing Hope. If Hope heard them, she would still pretend to sleep, but her cheeks were flushed, indicating she was asleep. Her muttering had softened which meant the dreams were bad, but not terrible.

  The girl deserved better. It surprised Cayla to hear that Hope had opened up to Ronin, but she was happy and proud. Nobody knew Hope’s story. The few times Cayla tried to prod, Hope found a way to avert the discussion. Most of the time she ran.

  Leave it up to Ronin to get her to open up. Cayla smiled. “I know she is. That she trusted you enough with that says a lot. I think she’s beginning to trust you more than she lets on. Maybe you’ll make her think differently.”

  Ronin shook his head. “Again, don’t start. I realized a while ago, why you wanted my help. I am not interested in that woman and I won’t be no matter how hard you try to make it happen.”

  “Yet you don’t seem to completely object to it.”

  “Cayla. . . .” He glared at her. “I mean it.”

  His look caused her to laugh. “I know that tone,” Cayla informed him. “That tone gives me much hope.”

  They continued in silence for a long time after. A large parking lot loomed up ahead, but it appeared nature took over. Plenty of cars still sat parked in the lot, so Ronin turned in and picked his way through. The bumping along the cracked pavement woke Hope up. She rubbed her eyes and sat back up.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “I wanted to take advantage of this parking lot. I spotted an SUV up ahead we can take if it starts, and works. Might have to tweak it a bit, but it should get us through the next leg. No doubt we’ll have to ditch it again later on.”

  Hope nodded, her pink cheeks puffy from sleep. “No doubt.”

  Ronin laughed. “I think I like the sleepy, Hope.”

  Hope turned and stared out the window. “Bite me.”

  “Or not.”

  “He’s always so charming.” Hope muttered under her breath, causing Cayla to laugh. “What?”

  “Nothing.” Cayla stared at her. “If you hated him so much, why engage him? Ignore him like you’ve always done.”

  Hope narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like your implication. I’m not interested in him, or any other man. Not now, not ever. Thank you very much.”

  “Yet you treat him different, whether you know it or not. Or . . . perhaps you’d rather not admit it, even to yourself.”

  Hope stepped out of the jeep, stretching her body. The SUV in front of the jeep roared to life after a few puttering starts. Good to go. She glanced inside the jeep and Cayla was getting out. The win was short-lived because a moment later the SUV cut off and Ronin walked around the back of the vehicle with a curse.

  Ronin addressed Cayla, “Will you grab the air pump and see if you can inflate more life into the tires while I siphon the gas?” He turned to give Hope her orders, “Please start moving all our bags to the new vehicle. Quicker we get it done, the quicker we can get back on the road—” Ronin glanced around, checking for anything out of the order before finishing, “—and get out of here. We’re sitting ducks.”

  Cayla and Hope both nodded and did as asked, knowing this wasn’t the time to argue. Ronin went back to the vehicles to get them back on the road.

  Approaching the driveway to where Cayla’s old friend lived, Cayla was surprised by what she saw. “I was expecting it to be overgrown, but not like this.”

  Another branch snapped and screeched along the side of the SUV as they made their way up the path, the vehicle bumping and pogoing through the holes.

  “Are you sure this is the place?” Hope asked.

  “Yes, I am. This is just . . . wow. . . .”

  Hope murmured her agreement from the backseat.

  The vehicle crawled along the driveway, forging a new path through the undergrowth. Branches broke off and fell as they drove. The weeds swished along the sides, thwacked against the undercarriage until they entered a clearing.

  A lifeless cabin loomed up ahead. It appeared to have sat for many years without inhabitants to the point that ivy had grown over the front door. The sort of ivy you didn’t touch because the thorns could slice skin as bad as any razor. A stairway leading up to the front door was broken and falling in on itself, bits of broken board jutted out at all angles. The porch, once beautiful, leaned off to the side, long since giving up its fight for splendor.

  Ronin drove up near a bush that would conceal the vehicle from view. He pulled the wires apart that he used to start the SUV and let the engine die. Everything grew quiet. The scene gave off an eerie vibe.

  They all stared at the abandoned cabin, wondering if there was life inside. Hope tilted her head, but heard nothing. She turned and studied the area again. Nothing. Hope blew out a breath. Ronin looked over his shoulder at her.

  “Got a funny feeling. It’s too quiet.”

  “I have the same. We shouldn’t be here,” Ronin admitted.

  Cayla said, “So do I, but I think it’s from something else, not from people being around.”

  Hope nodded, but when she met Ronin’s gaze in the rearview mirror, she got the sense he was thinking the same as her. It seemed a little too . . . dead . . . around the cabin.

  Cayla sighed. “Well, eventually someone has to get out. Maybe he’s locked himself in. He could still be here. He was a survivor and could’ve holed up. He knew I was coming. It hasn’t been that long since I talked to him. These plants . . . I swear . . . the wild grows too fast now—”

  Hope shook her head and hopped from the vehicle. Two voices in unison whispered in anger, “Hope!”

  She shrugged. Keeping her voice low as Ronin left the vehicle, Hope said, “You said someone needed to get out. I did.”

  Cayla gave her an admonishing look. “That’s not funny.”

  Hope smirked. “Well I’m out. Can’t do much about it, can you?”

  Cayla forced back the smile, but her words weren’t as playful. “Brat. You know better.”

  They left the doors open in case they needed to get in the vehicle in a rush. Ronin, Cayla, and Hope made their way to the front door, but stopped when they saw how bad off the front appeared from up close, and none of them dared touch the devil ivy.

  Ronin suggested they go around back if there was another entrance. Cayla nodded and told them of a back door as well as a cellar door.

  They chose the cellar. Seemed the last door someone would expect them to come through. If this friend of hers did hole up in his house, the lowest level would be the most likely chosen position. They had to break through the cellar doors, which they found locked from the inside rather than outside.

  Once taking the utmost precautions to ensure there were no traps set up, Ronin told the women to wait outside while he cleared the interior.


  Everything was quiet and then they heard a few soft angry mutterings.

  “Shit!” echoed out from the dark interior.

  A small glow began in the midst of the cellar and Ronin called out, “Clear!”

  Cayla motioned for Hope to go first. Then she followed behind, looking around the dingy cellar. The glow of the small bulb hanging from the ceiling didn’t reveal much. Old boxes and crates were stacked in corners, covered in dirt and dust, dressers long since moved downstairs covered in old sheets, also covered in dust. A small animal scurried up into the main house with an odd screaallll sound.

  Old empty bookshelves stood along the walls. An old canning room in one of the old corners was filled with cans of food. Labels so worn they could barely see what was in them. Glass jars filled with fruits and vegetables that sat awaiting usage.

  Off to one side sat an old bed Hope wandered over to. “You guys, check this out.” She pointed at the empty bed and the others followed.

  Ronin found something off to the side behind an old bookcase that served as a wall. His entire body shrouded whatever it was. “You guys aren’t going to want to look over here.”

  TWENTY FIVE

  “WHAT IS IT?” CAYLA asked, worried.

  When Hope’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a pair of shoes . . . attached to a body. She swallowed and grabbed Cayla’s arm, dragging her away from the corner. The man had been a friend to Cayla. If Ronin went to the trouble of blocking him from view, Cayla shouldn’t see it.

  Cayla didn’t protest, but she did ask, “What are you doing?”

  “Moving you away from the corner.”

  Wandering back over, Hope snatched the sheet from the bed and threw it at Ronin. Cayla gasped. Hope returned to her side as Ronin swept the sheet around what he hid from view.

  “Oh my god, Ronin, is it an older man?” Cayla asked. Her voice broke on the last word.

  Once he was sure the body was hidden from view, Ronin came over to the two women. “Couldn’t tell.”