“We’re still at least one week away from the border, maybe more…” Jeff explained. He shook his head, sighing. “A lot of the walk trying to avoid small towns. It’s amazing how many towns were left after the second revolution.”
“With a hot it is, I don’t think jerky is a good idea for us to be living on,” I mused.
“Anything that we can carry for long distances will have a lot of salt in it,” Jeff said, though he was clearly understanding my dilemma.
“Perhaps we can find some packages of nuts, or even candy bars that are high in calories, that can maybe help us through these next few days,” I suggested.
“I suppose,” Jeff agreed, shrugging, “but that would require going into town, or asking the next safe house to do it for us.”
“I can going to town,” Clark offered. “There’s probably a gas station out on the outskirts, or maybe a truck stop. I’m sure I can find some food and bandages in the convenience store. Maybe I can even get a bigger jug of water and we can fill up our canteens with what we know to be clean water.”
“That’s a nice idea,” Jeff agreed, “but we have limited money, and, let’s be honest, Mark would kill me if I let you go into town by yourself.”
“I’ll go with him,” I declared.
“Mark would be even angrier if I let you go, too,” Jeff said strongly, giving me an exasperated glared.
“Look,” I started, “we need supplies. We need food, we need water, and we need something so that her infection doesn’t get any worse. Clark and I can going to town and you can stay with Jessica. You’ll do a better job protecting Jessica if someone comes by.”
Jessica shook her head. “I can move fine on my own,“ she insisted. “We don’t need you in danger as well. We don’t know what the Commission has been doing the past week. For all we know, there could be Commission employees at every convenience store and truck stop from here to the border.”
“That may be true,” Clark agreed. “But I think Dana also knows that we wouldn’t be stupid enough to constantly stop at convenience stores in truck stops. We’re still two days from the next safe house. The next two days are going to be rough if we don’t have the right supplies. This might be our only chance.”
Jessica and Jeff shared a worried look, but I could tell that they saw the logic in the plan. I took a quick moment to glance in the direction Mark had gone, being sure that he was not already on his way back.
“How long do you think Mark will be gone?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Jeff said, shrugging once again.
“Clark and I will run to the nearest gas station and we’ll try to be back before he even knows that we’ve been gone. You stay with Jessica just in case, and we’ll be right back.”
Clark nodded confidently. Jeff looked between us, and then hung his head.
“If he comes back before you guys, you know that he will panic.”
“If he does come back, tell him that we’re already on our way back. I’m sure this won’t take long,” I insisted.
“…just be quick.”
In an instant, as if we were running some sort of race, Clark and I rummaged through the bags, pulling out every last scrap of cash. Then, we took off into the desert, walking over the hot sand toward the town.
We did not speak to one another as we approached the structures. Our eyes moved quickly over the landscape, trying to find any outline of a gas station on the edge of town. Luckily, we both spotted a gas station with a convenience store and immediately moved toward it.
It wasn’t until we were walking over the asphalt parking lot that I started to realize how easy it would be for someone to spot us. I was sure that our faces had not been released to the public, but there was no telling who was going to be working for the Commission, and Clark and I were in very real danger being in a public place.
However, my thoughts and worries were immediately diminished when we stepped into the air-conditioned store. Both Clark and I took a deep breath, our eyes closing as we enjoyed the cool wave of air that passed over us. We did not linger long though.
“I’ll find first aid supplies,” Clark decided. “You find some food.”
We split up the store, each taking different sections, looking for what we needed.
I quickly found the snack aisle and spent a little bit of time looking over the different items displayed. I decided on a big bag of trail mix, some nuts, and a few candy bars that were on sale, hoping that the high calories would help give us enough energy to push through the next few days of travel.
Once I had chosen some food, I went to find Clark, who had picked up a medium-size bottle of antiseptic and another bandage that we could wrap around Jessica‘s wound in a properly-fitting bandage.
We started adding up the total of the different items while standing in the aisle. The door chime sounded, causing us to look up as two men dressed in black walked in, both exhibiting a very serious air. Clark grabbed my hand as we ducked back into the aisle, hiding behind a rolling rack of potato chips. Both of us carefully peered over the chip bags and watched the two men.
“Can I help you?” the attendant asked mechanically even though his voice shaking as he stared at the two men.
“Have there been any suspicious people around here lately?”
“Um…no more so than usual, sir.“
“We’re looking for members of the Central Angels domestic terrorist group. Do you know who they are?”
“I mean… I-I know what they’ve said on the news…” the young man stuttered, the nervousness in his voice growing with each word. My own heart was starting to race. I looked at Clark with the knowing glance, understanding that we had no opportunity to run. We had to stay hidden and hope the men left.
“We think that this might be a common route for them to take as they’re trying to flee the country.” the second man said strongly, leaning forward to intimidate the young attendant.
“I swear, sir, I haven’t seen anybody.”
“You would tell us if you had though, right?” the first man pressed, his voice is getting deeper as he, too, leaned in closer to intimidate the teenager.
“I swear, I would tell you.”
The two men stared at him in silence for a few moments before standing straight and looking around the shop. Both Clark and I tensed, thinking we were about to be spotted. One of the men walked away from the counter, pretending to peruse the shelves as an intimidation tactic.
“Well,” the first man said, standing straight, “if you see anyone suspicious, or anyone that looks like any of the faces that have been shown on the news, immediately contact your local police. Alright?”
“Yes, sir,” the attendant said, nodding rapidly.
The man at the counter turned back to look at the shelves of junk food, sodas, and other travel essentials as his partner walked slowly to the back of the store where Clark and I were hiding behind the rolling rack of chips. We tensed to run. I could feel Clark’s racing pulse in my hand, as I was sure he could also feel mine.
“Kind of dead in here today, isn’t it?” the man at the counter noted.
“It’s a small town, sir,” the attendant said. “And it’s a Tuesday. Not many folks gonna to be ‘round here until the evening.”
“Until the evening?” the older man said, turning back to look at the attendant. The man walking through the aisles also turned. Clark, moving very slowly, led me by the hand around the side of one aisle. We moved carefully, sliding our feet along the tile as we ducked around one of the aisles, peering carefully around the shelves to keep an eye on both men.
“…Yeah, yeah. I mean, maybe evening isn’t quite the right word…maybe afternoon?”
“Is that some sort of question?” the man chortled, leaning on both hands on the counter once more.
The attendant was beginning to look flustered and I was worried that his nerves would cause the men to thoroughly investigate the store, thinking he was hiding something.
With
both men’s backs to us, Clark and I began looking around the store for a better place to hide. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to go. The only exit was by the front counter and there was only one other door at the back with a placard reading Employees Only with a large key card reader above the handle.
I wondered if we could get away with acting like normal teenagers and pretend to be scared and intimidated like the man behind the counter. But I knew if we were questioned about the local area, we would both be unable to answer, pegging us as out-of-town teens. I also knew there was a high probability that Dana had shown my picture and Clark’s picture to all officials looking for the Central Angels.
It was imperative to stay hidden.
“Well,” the first man said, suddenly standing straight and looking over his shoulder, “looks like we’re going to need to come around here in a couple hours.” He turned his attention to the attendant though he was clearly still talking to his partner. “Got to make sure that there’s no one suspicious hanging around here.”
“Seems like it,” the other man seconded.
The man standing at the counter grabbed one of the jumbo candy bars in front of the counter, opening it in front of the attendant and taking a big bite, smugly smiling.
After a few exaggerated movements of his jaw as he chewed, he laughed and wiggled the remaining part of the candy bar.
“Oh, how much for this?”
The attendant lowered his eyes to the counter. “No charge, sir.”
“There’s a good kid,” he said with a dark smile. “You stay out of trouble, now.”
The two men left the convenience store, the door chiming cheerfully as they exited.
I thought my legs were going to give out. My limbs were shaking with the adrenaline coursing through me and I felt as though I could finally breathe. Nervously, I looked at Clark, who was clearly feeling the same overwhelming relief at the men’s departure. However, we still did not move for several long seconds. Whether that was because we were terrified, or because we knew that there was no telling if the men would suddenly come back, I did not know.
“Stay back there a few more minutes,” the attendant suddenly called.
I froze once more, not sure if he was talking to us or if there was someone else that he was hiding in the building. However, Clark carefully peered above the aisle shelves and saw the attendant looking at us.
“It’s all right,” he said. “I just want to make sure that they drive out of the parking lot before you move.”
The relief that rocket it through me was a different kind. Somehow, the attendant had been able to appear flustered about the questions, even though he had known that he was harboring us in his store. He had helped us.
“If they do come back, the Employees Only door is not locked. You can get out that way.”
We remained still, both relieved and surprised at the sudden aid we had received.
“All right, you can come out.”
With still shaking legs, Clark and I moved away from the chips and walked to the front counter, clutching our goods with shaking hands. We approach the attendant, who appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. He had thick, curly hair that sat wildly on top of his head, and even though he had some acne, I immediately noticed the sharp, boney structure of his face. He smiled gently as we approached and set our things on the counter.
“I hope you’re okay,” he said. “I’ve heard that they’ve been going around to each convenience store at different days trying to shake down the attendants.”
“Why would they do that?” I asked, pretending to not understand what was going on in the world.
“It’s all right, I’m pretty sure I know who you are.” The teen looked over the food, bandages, and antiseptic before his eyes turn back to us.
“I always figured that the Commission had attacked Central with its own winged creature rather than yours,” he said easily. “I’ve been behind you guys from the beginning.”
I wanted to thank him and tell him that we were sorry for the disturbing images he had likely seen on the news, as well as everything else that we had said about the Commission, but I could not find my tongue. He looked over everything once again, and then began to slowly ring up each item.
“You better be careful from here on out,” he warned, placing our purchases into a paper bag. “Border patrol and the Commission have had people over the area, combing the desert to see if they can find any of you guys.”
“We can’t go anywhere else though,” Clark whispered.
“I know,” he assured, setting the paper bag on the counter for us to take. “And I’m sure that you guys have gotten this far by being very careful. I just want to make sure that none of you get captured.”
“Thank you for distracting them,” I said sincerely. “I don’t know how you manage to keep calm,”
“I wasn’t calm,” the man laughed. “But, I just figured, if you guys could have the bravery to try and bring down the entire Commission of the People, then I can be brave enough to stand up to two of its goons.”
“Do you think we should leave to the back way?” Clark asked.
“No,” the attendant said. “It would be best to just walk out the front door, pretend like you’re just normal teens. There’s no telling if those guys pulled around the back trying to see if anybody would flee as soon as they had a clearing.”
I placed our money on the counter to pay for the items, but the young man shook his head, reaching into his own back pocket and pulling out his wallet, paying for the items himseld.
“No, we can accept that,” I insisted, pushing the money forward.
“Please,” he said, his tone quiet and sincere, “let me do this for you. After everything you’ve done to try and help this country, it’s the least I can do.”
“You know, if they find out that you knew we were in here and helped us, you could be in serious danger,” Clark said carefully.
“The way I see it, in the end, the Commission will take whoever they want. So, if they’re going to take me, I’d rather they take me because I was trying to do what I thought was right for my country.”
He push the paper bag across the counter. “Have a nice day,” he said mechanically, smiling.
I hesitated a moment before grabbing the paper bag and ignored money. I tried not to be moved to tears by his generosity, but the tightness of my throat was evident in my voice.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Both Clark and I moved away from the counter and walked to the door, taking a deep breath to collect ourselves before smiling at one another and walking outside.
It was almost too easy to fall into act that we had perfected while still in school together. Clark and I smiled at one another, laughing about how we had spent so much money on junk food and we were both going to get fat, pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend as we had back in Central.
Even though we were pretending to joke and laugh, both of us were really looking around the parking lot and gas pumps, seeing if we could spot the same men who had tried to intimidate the attendant inside.
There was no one at the front, so I walked with Clark around the side of the building, knowing we had to hike back through the desert to reach the rest of our group. However, once we rounded the building, we saw a suspicious black car parked near the store dumpsters.
We both hesitated for a split moment, caught off-guard, and worried that we had been spotted. But we both forced her legs to move, smiling and laughing. I grab the bag and opened it, stopping Clark as I pretended to look at the contents of the paper bag.
“Why are you stopping? We got to keep going.” Clark hissed sharply.
“Are they actually looking at us?” I asked.
Clark hooked his fingers on the edge of the paper bag, pretending to look inside as well, even though his eyes turned to the left, scanning the suspicious black car over my shoulder.
“Hard to say…”
I pulled out one of the chocol
ate bars, holding it between us with a broad smile.
“We have to act like we don’t have a care in the world,” I said. “Just for a few minutes.”
Clark shook his head. “It’s too dangerous…”
I grabbed his hand, and pulled him to the retaining curb in the parking lot. I sat down, yanking him with me and ripping open the candy bar wrapper, breaking it in half and handing him one piece. Clark rolled his eyes, an action that allowed him to look at the car once more, before taking the candy that was quickly melting.
With shy smiles at one another, we ate the candy bar, though we were more focused on the car next to the dumpster. The chocolate was melting onto my fingers, and I had to lick them quite ferociously to try and clean them. It gave me an idea.
“Work with me.”
Clark look like he was about to ask me what my plan was, but before he could voice the question, I leaned over, and took a big bite out of the remaining candy bar in his hand. He laughed, confused, and then I was sure to give him my best sultry look, hoping that my intentions were clear.
He smiled, casting one quick look at the car, before leaning over and pressing his head to mine, lifting the remaining candy bar to my lips. I ate it, smiling before grabbing his hand and standing, pulling him into a hug, whispering nonsense into his ear with a broad smile. We were a bit awkward as we hugged, trying to act like two kids too caught up in one another to even think about who could be watching them. However, we were acutely aware of the possibility of two sets of eyes watching us from the car.
With a giggle, I broke our hug and took his hand, leading him into the desert with a carefree laugh and an excited jog, pilling Clark with me as if I was eagerly looking for a spot to be alone with him.
Running in the heat after eating so much sugar made it difficult for us to get too far, but it did not appear that the men in the car were following us. If they had seen us, even if they had had their suspicions, it seemed like we had pulled off our little act.
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