That was just the tip that we needed. Zac spins the map around in my hands to where the markings of the Atlantic Ocean line up with the direction we are going.
“If we are where I think we are,” I whisper, “we are getting close to a place called M Beach SC 223, whatever that means.”
“How far is that from The Elected headquarters?” Samantha asks.
“We were supposed to have cut through this area,” I point at the map, “but we passed that check point and kept going straight.”
“I find it weird there were no guards at the last checkpoint,” Zac adds. “Don’t you?”
“I know,” I agree. “The map says the next one is in…”
Before I can finish my statement, the truck comes to an abrupt stop. The passenger door flings open, and Smith jumps out. He marches to the back of the truck, grabbing the map out of my hands.
“No need for this,” he says.
“Hey! That’s mine!” I yelp.
“Not anymore,” he says, climbing back into the truck, slamming the door behind him.
A fraction of a second later, the truck lurches forward, and we are traveling the abandoned, waterless ocean yet again. When we get back up to full speed, Smith crumples the map and throws it out of the passenger window. I watch as it floats away on the wind.
“Who are these people?” Samantha asks. “I mean, I know I can be a bit…you know…but really, these guys are a bit much.”
We have driven long enough the sun has begun to go down over the horizon. It is beautiful watching the colors meld into the earth to our left. The moon and stars begin to shine over what would be the ocean. I am sure this would have been a beautiful sight had we had gotten to see it with the water still here.
The heat of the night is sticky but not uncomfortable. We all agree to try to get some rest, but sleep is something that none of us are sure we can get.
I sit on Jake’s legs, and while he rests his head on the back of the truck, I rest mine on his chest. We lay in the stillness of the night with the only noise being the hum of the engine. In the distance, a heat storm has thrown lightning over the horizon making a spectacle to see.
I fall asleep thinking about the day that it might be possible we see the world’s beauty without being on the run or kidnapped by monsters. Sadly, I don’t think that day will come unless the ones in charge are destroyed. The Elected must pay for what they have done to us.
The sun coming over the horizon wakes me. Its purples, pinks, and blues mix together dancing back and forth in the sky. Jake kisses me on top of my head, letting me know he too is awake.
“Did you sleep?” I whisper.
“Some,” he answers.
The only other person awake is Zac. Now he is sitting on his knees at the back of the bed of the truck. His elbows are propped on the top of the tail gate, and he is considering the sunrise, deep in thought.
I wonder what he is thinking.
As the morning sun shows itself further into the sky, the members of our group wake up one by one, the splendor of the sunrise lost on everyone who missed it.
“Where are we?” Eli asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Don’t know,” Jake says, “all of us slept all night.”
“Not me!” Zac interjects with a glint of sleepiness in his eye.
“Why not you?” Mar asks while rubbing her brother on his back.
“Well,” Zac begins, “Jake always says we need a look out, and last night…that was me.”
“You didn’t have to do that buddy,” Jake says.
“I know,” Zac squeals. “It’s ok, I have been able to keep track of how far we have gone.”
“How?” Samantha pipes up, being the last to wake.
“See up there?” Zac says while pointing to a monitor inside the truck. “It keeps track of distance or miles, I think that is what it’s called, and the device beside it keeps time.”
We all look at him in disbelief. He then pulls out a small piece of paper and Samantha’s pencil.
“Hope you don’t mind, but I borrowed this,” he says to Samantha.
She grunts in his direction in either anger, disgust, or in saying it’s okay. Either way, it doesn’t matter now.
“I put the time down when all of you fell asleep!” he begins. “Magi fell asleep first and Jake last. From the time Jake nodded off until he and Liz woke up, you had all been sleeping for nearly eight hours.”
“Oh, wow!” Jake exclaims. “That is the longest I have slept in years.”
“It’s okay,” Zac says, “you were all tired.”
“What about you?” I ask.
“I can sleep later,” he chuckles. “Anyway, in eight hours, we have gone through three minor checkpoints. My guess is there will be another one in an hour or so if we keep driving this direction.”
“Really!” Eli says in surprise.
“Yeah,” Zac answers. “I kept time, but with every three hours we traveled, we went around one-hundred and ten miles…I think.”
“That’s almost three-hundred miles since dark!” Jake exclaims.
“Are we still where the ocean was?” I ask.
“No!” Zac answers, we turned right around two hours ago and have been headed west since then.”
“Good job little man,” Mar praises him.
“Okay…Okay…I know I am the youngest one here,” Zac rants, “but I feel like I have more than pulled my weight.”
“You have,” Jake agrees.
“Then no more little man, buddy, Zakie, nothing. You got me? I am either Zac or Isaac to you, but nothing else.”
He says the words with such finality. You can tell he has been thinking about this for a while. Yes, he has done so much; put a bullet in a man’s back, kept watch, navigated. A sadness takes me over. I feel the war has claimed another soul. His childhood and innocence have been cut short so fast. He is only twelve!
“You got it, Zac,” Jake says. “Anything else?”
“Nope! Well, I heard them say they were planning to stop soon. Oh yeah,” his eyes sparkle with excitement knowing he is being treated so grown up. “There were no guards at any of the stations. They had to call on a radio and report what they were doing and why they were passing.”
“And…” Samantha says.
“And that’s it! I could never hear what they said exactly. Plus, I had to play like I was sleeping so they couldn’t find me out.”
“Good work little…Good work Zac,” my brother finishes.
“It was nothing,” he finishes with the biggest smile on his face.
He hands the paper to Jake and the pencil back to Samantha.
“You keep it,” Samantha smiles. “It looks like you can make better use of it than me.”
That is the first wonderful thing she has done in a while. I make a mental note to never count Samantha out in the humanity department, and to never underestimate Zac again.
After being updated with all that had gone on in the night, we sit quietly looking around for any sign of life. We are in an odd-looking place. It is somewhat like the R9, but much bigger. Maybe twenty-times bigger than where many of us came from.
In all directions are huge buildings that have long since crumbled under the pressures of time. Besides a few trees here and there, there are no signs of life at all. Not one single human or animal scurries in the shadows or runs from building to building. The few trees that peek out of the pavement look like nothing I have ever seen before. Each one of them are a different color. I wonder if they were born of the radiation that came with a bomb that was dropped during the war or if they had simply learned how to adapt to the dismal surroundings?
“What is this place?” I ask no one specific.
“The sign I saw coming in said Charlotte North Carolina,” Magi offers, “but that would not be what it is called on the map now. I think we are still outside the North and East Corridor intersection.”
Just as she finishes her statement, the truck takes a left down an
other broken road full of dilapidated buildings. Moments later, we take another left under a large cement block that has fallen from a nearby structure, another sign that war had ravaged the town.
As we drive under the slab, we notice IOUSC is carved into it, making it clear we will be stopping soon enough.
Chapter Ten
After passing under the IOUSC sign, we head into what looks like a tunnel. On either side of us there is nothing but concrete and smashed and banged up cars.
“Where are we?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“I would say we are getting ready to find out,” Mar whispers with a terrified look on her face.
We all watch as the truck continues to pass post war destruction. There is also broken glass, parts of motors, and a strange smell of decay all around us. There is so much debris the sky isn’t visible from where we are. Everything is so eerie feeling in this dark and damp place.
Eventually, we emerge into an area where the sky shines blue and the sun warms us. The scene set before us is nothing like I have seen before. On either side of the entrance are armed guards wearing all white from head to toe; strangely, their guns are white as well.
“It’s a football stadium,” Jake says in amazement.
“And it’s nearly in perfect condition,” Samantha exclaims bewildered.
“I didn’t think any of these were left intact after the war,” Magi begins. “The Elected destroyed anything that was deemed an American activity.
“And boy was this their favorite.” Jake beams.
“Hey Jake?” Samantha says, still in shock. “Do you remember that football game we watched with Mitch and Hannah?”
“Yeah,” Jake says, dropping his voice to a sad tone. “It was the only recorded game left to our knowledge.”
“I know,” Samantha says, “it was pure luck we found it in that abandoned building.”
I know the sadness in his voice is because we had learned a few days ago Mitch and Hannah’s names were on the list of those who willingly became members of The Elected.
They must have all been close friends.
Before Mar, Zac, Eli, and I came to The Force, I wonder what life was like. They were friends and family that all had something to believe in. I begin to wonder how long they had been stabbing each other in the back. Jake knew nothing about his dad or friends, so how long had they been planning to go bad and keep it from him?
I am sure he is haunted by the same question.
“Look!” Zac exclaims, looking in the direction of a wide opening in the stadium.
We fall silent when we see ten or so guards marching in unison out in the open. They are all wearing crisp white uniforms and they all carry short, white guns. I can’t help but laugh just a little at how funny they look. Jake looks at me sideways as if reminding me to keep quiet, but something inside me tells me he finds it funny as well.
They walk towards the truck. In the middle of the group stands one man dressed in an ivory suit. My stomach clenches. The only other person any of us from the R9 have ever seen in a suit, was Morimoto.
He’s dead now.
Slowly, they march to the side of the truck to the front door. The guards allow a path for the man to walk up to the truck. He opens the driver’s door pulling Johnathan out and hugging him tight.
Smith climbs out of the passenger side of the truck walking over to where the group is standing. The man in the suit gives him a light shake on the hand indicating they do not have the same relationship as his partner.
Johnathan ignores us sitting in the back of the truck. He, Smith, and the man in the suit turn in the direction of the opening in the stadium and walk inside, followed by two of the guards.
“If you don’t mind,” one of the guards begin, “we are going to blindfold you, so you don’t see anything you’re not supposed to.”
“And what if we don’t agree to that?” Samantha blurts out defensively.
I can’t say I can rightfully blame her. I am looking around at this very moment trying to find a way out of being led blind into a building we very well may never get out of.
“If you don’t allow us our protocol,” another guard begins, “then you may not enter.
“And if we don’t enter?” Jake pipes up.
The remaining guards look at us dumbfounded. It was easy to see they didn’t meet much resistance.
“Um, I’m not sure,” the first guard stammers. “We’ve never had anyone refuse. Most people come looking for us. We have never taken prisoners.”
“Well, you better find out what you are sure of before I go anywhere with you, and we are not prisoners,” I say confidently. “You’re dealing with a different group of people than you have ever dealt with before.”
Jake sends another look in my direction, but it is hard to tell if it is a way to go Liz kind of look, or a shut up you’re making things worse kind of look. Now I am going to assume it is the shut up you’re making things worse kind of look and be quiet…if I can.
The second guard looks at the first and nods his head. He then leaves the group, walks ten yards away, and begins talking into some sort of radio. Moments later, he re-enters the group, whispering to whom I would guess the one in charge is.
The first guard nods in confirmation.
“If you do not go with us willingly, then you will be taken by force,” the guard announces his instructions hesitantly.
“Some guards you are,” Samantha scoffs. It is this version Sam I like. The same one that outran Sampson, Malachi, and Levi the day they about killed Mar and me.
“Well then,” Mar looks at Leah, ignoring Samantha altogether, “we will go willingly.”
“Speak for yourself,” Samantha spits the words at Mar.
“We are speaking for ourselves. We are tired of fighting, and maybe they know something.” Leah smiles.
“Yeah,” Mar speaks to me now, “Johnathan says he knows your father, and this may be our only chance in finding out who the IOUSC are and if they plan on helping us fight The Elected.”
“I go where my sister goes,” Zac confirms.
“And I go where mine does,” Eli agrees.
Mar looks at him hurt for a moment, but in the end, I think she knows we won’t be going anywhere separately.
“Let’s just go with them and see what they have to say,” Jake agrees.
Samantha jumps out of the back of the truck, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She begins to run towards the exit, but it is heavily guarded, so I don’t know what her plan would be if she got to them. In true fashion, she has got to be stubborn.
Just as the guard said, she is going with them if she wanted to or not. In seconds, two guards rush up behind her and touch her with a two-pronged device. She hits the ground hard, lying motionless where she falls.
The day Eli and I were taken by The Force, similar devices were used on us. In our training at The Force, we learned they are called Tasers and are used for temporary loss of all motor skills and bodily function. Its effects can last from minutes to days depending on the health and strength of the one it is used on.
A blindfold is placed over Samantha’s eyes as she is hoisted in the air and over a guard’s shoulder. He begins to haul her towards the building, and we watch them disappear into the darkened doorway.
The remaining members of our group huddle together to discuss what we should do.
“There is no getting out of this without a fight,” Shawn says, “so I say we go willingly.”
“I don’t want to be poked with a taser,” Zac agrees.
“Me either,” Mar and Leah say simultaneously.
Jake jumps out of the truck with his backpack on his back and empty m-16 in hand. Slowly, he walks up to the guard that appears to be in charge.
“We were promised release,” Jake says, “if we would hear Johnathan out. Now, if we are going to go anywhere with you, we need to know that we will see daylight again.”
The man looks at Jake for the longest time.
“And what would make you trust me if I gave you my word?” the man retorts.
“I guess you’re right,” Jake agrees.
I hop out of the truck, taking my place by Jake. I square my jaw, trying to look as unafraid as possible.
“If you are honorable and want us to trust you,” I begin, “oh wait, we have been through a lot so trusting you may be a far cry from what is possible, so we may never trust you.” The man nods as if understanding. “Now tell me,” I continue, “is there another way to do this without treating us like animals and prodding us, or treating us like blindmen and taking away our sight?”
“Not a chance,” the guard answers as he prods me in the side with his taser.
The last thing I remember is going down, my body hitting the ground in a limp pile, stars dancing in my field of vision until there are none.
Chapter Eleven
As I open my eyes, all I can see is a thin veil of light coming from no place identifiable. It covers my body, making it look a sickly yellow color. Wherever I am, it is causing a cold and damp feeling to settle into my bones.
I lay still, trying to listen for any sound I might be able to pick up with little to no luck. Except for a distant humming sound, I can’t hear a thing. The hum sounds mechanical, but I can’t be certain.
My mind reels as I lay here wondering what were the events that led up to me being captured.
Captured by who?
Slowly, I begin to remember the trip to the stadium. I remember Johnathan, Smith, and the man in the suit. I remember Samantha being hit with a taser…
Taser, I have been prodded by a taser.
The amount of anger filling me this second is astronomical. I was just trying to negotiate with the guard, I wasn’t even putting up a fight.
Was I?
No, I am quite sure that Jake and I were only asking questions. What harm is there in asking questions?
I begin to move my feet and hands to make sure they remember how to work. I am surprised to feel that I have not been shackled or bound in any way. Matter of fact, I can sit up and even stand, but as I stand to my feet, I can feel the sharp pain in my side left from being shocked.
The light in this place is so thin that if I were to try to walk, I wouldn’t know what direction I was going in, or what was in front of me. I turn in circles, trying to see if I can tell where a door or window would be. Perhaps they are covered to make the room as dark as possible? If that were the case, I should be able to see, at the very least, a sliver of light around the edges.
THE ELECTED (Fighting Freedom Book 2) Page 5