Chapter 4
Jesse
This must be what hell feels like. We all live in hell now.
I can feel the sun burning my skin, literally burning my skin as I walk.
My arms are covered by my long sleeve shirt, but the sun is relentless.
It’s strong and coming through the threads of my shirt.
The sun is starting to set and should be down soon.
I’ve travelled a few miles now, and I know I should have waited to move till it was completely dark, but I just couldn’t wait.
I haven’t been able to cover as much ground since the riots started.
In the three months that have passed since the disaster, the world we all knew has changed.
It took some time in the beginning before people really began to get out of control, when they realized no one was coming to help them and that things wouldn’t go back to normal.
The electric wasn’t coming back on, the water wasn’t safe to drink in the cities and no one had any answers…
that’s when the rioting and outrage started.
That’s when the people started fighting back against the government and amongst themselves.
Fights would break out over a bottle of water.
Now people, good people, try to keep to themselves.
Everyone is scared, rightly so that’s for certain.
My parents gave me a fair warning and supplied me with everything I would need to survive the initial fallout.
They knew that I could handle the truth.
They got me out of the Dome months in advance.
I was one of the lucky ones. I knew this was coming.
I was mentally and physically prepared. They got me out of the Dome by putting me on a train and secured my passage by bribing our family doctor.
My work absence had to be explained somehow, and greasing the palm of our doctor was the easiest way.
Money talked, and since he had no idea what was to come, he had no problem in saying I was ill and unable to work for an extended time frame.
Sickness or death, those were your only options for getting out of a government placed job.
I had chosen not to go the college route, and, after my year of self-reflection, I was placed directly into work by the Dome.
Once you are placed into work, you do not miss a job.
Six days a week you are expected to show up and do your designated duty.
You’ve got to put in 45 years before you can enjoy a leisure life, if you even make it that long.
The poor go into the work life as they have no other choice.
They sign the contract and usually get one bonus of some kind.
Usually, it's secured housing for their family or something else they request. It just depends on the Dome and what they’re willing to give in return for their labor.
My parents were shocked when I chose the work contract.
Their high placement in the Dome would have cemented an easy life for me.
I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to go to a boring party after party pretending to care about the Dome’s agenda.
I didn’t want forced servants waiting on me day in and day out, staring at me with their blank faces.
I wanted to earn my way in life. I didn’t want to live my parents’ lives.
I wanted to work, and I wanted to be my own man.
Well, now I’m definitely earning my own. And I’ve got a long night ahead of me.
Traveling at night is dangerous, but this far out from any major city should be safe.
I can’t handle the heat of the sun. Those first few weeks the sun was shrouded by clouds and ash dropping from the sky.
Once the overcast gray was gone, the sun bore down hard with constant heat like no summer I’d ever felt before.
It made traveling in the day nearly impossible.
At first, I couldn’t get out of the town my parents had sent me to in Indiana.
The roads were destroyed, and I had to bide my time.
I packed all of my pills that my parents supplied me with and re-read their instructions.
I know from their instructions that I needed to get to Antelope Island on the north western side of Salt Lake City.
I’ve covered a few hundred miles, and, with tonight’s progress, I should almost be to Denver.
The heat has drained my energy, and I have to sit down for a rest. I find a tree and prop my back up against it.
I open my pack and pull out the black envelope containing the letter my parents gave me.
I read it for the first time on the day of the disaster as I was instructed to.
I’ve read it every day since. It’s my only connection to my parents.
It provides the small amount of strength that I need in times of despair.
My instructions were clear, and I can even hear my mother’s tone as I read it.
Jesse,
You are prepared for today. In your pack you will find everything needed to help you succeed.
We have given you enough pills to last six months, a compass and the maps you will need to get across the country.
You must get to Antelope Island outside of Salt Lake City.
There you will find someone who can be a great asset.
She is the key to building a better world and can give you many answers.
Do not let anything happen to her. Keep her far away from the Dome, and only return to the city when you receive notice.
You must not let her know how important she is and, most of all you, must not let her know you were sent to find her. Keep her safe. Do whatever it takes.
Love, Mom and Dad.
I fold the letter and put it back in the envelope.
I pull out the enclosed photograph and stare at her face.
The girl I am to find. No name, no age and no address.
She is my mystery girl. Why is she so important?
Now, as I look at the photo, she looks plain to me.
I can’t see her body in the photo so it’s hard to determine her age.
She looks young, somewhere near my age. All I have to focus on is her face.
Her pale skin looks almost translucent with her dark hair pulled up.
Her green eyes stare back at me, taunting me to come find her.
The only things I know about her are what my parents told me in the letter.
I wonder, is she expecting me, waiting for me to come get her?
Was she prepared, ready for the world to fall apart?
All of these questions run through my mind.
I didn’t even know she was going to be my responsibility after the disaster.
I should have known my parents had an ulterior motive for getting me out of the city.
I’ll always wonder what they got out of it.
I slide the photo back in the envelope and shove it into my bag.
I get back up on my feet and continue to walk.
The light from the moon is now shining, helping me find my way.
I listen for noises around me. The looters have started making their way out of the city to set up camp in the woods.
I know I’m far enough out, but I remain cautious.
I keep heading west, always heading west. It’s all I know to do.
I stop a few times to drink water and rest, but I keep making my way. I have to get to my mystery girl.
Hours pass. The night drags on and finally the beginning of daylight is starting to creep up on the horizon.
The trees are growing farther apart, and the overhead brush is becoming thinner.
I need to find shelter to rest and stay out of the sun's blaze. I scan my surroundings for suitable shelter. Sunrise is almost complete, and I can see further ahead of me now. The woods are clearing around me, and a road is visible in the distance. The heat from the sun is starting to grow stronger every minute, and it’s glaring off something ahead.
I walk a few more minutes, and, once I’m upon it, I can see what the sun is reflecting off of.
It’s a large metal sign hanging on by a lone chain.
It’s faded, and I have to tilt my head to one side to make it out. It reads…Welcome to Denver