Chapter Eight
My eyes were wide as I stared up at the dusty pink sky, waiting for the first sound of movement from the others. I hadn’t fallen asleep last night, my body too jittery for the day ahead. And I’d be damned if I slept through the first flicker of the sunrise, missing my chance to scope out the camp.
Finally, I heard the shuffle of bags being gathered, and I stretched my arms over my head as I stood up. Nearly everyone was awake, toiling away in their area of the clearing, besides Elizabeth and the twins, who were still sound asleep.
Slipping on my shoes, I strolled toward Mina and Sasha, hoping to avoid detection from Rainer. He was the one who could easily spoil my plans and I figured the later he realized what was happening, the better.
“Are you both going into town?” I asked as I crouched near them, pitching my voice low.
Sasha was the one to respond, barely glancing at me as she continued to pack a bag with food and water. “I’m going with Rainer. Emmanuel doesn’t want to leave his family and Murphy’s going to stay back.”
“I’m going with you.”
Sasha’s gaze landed on me then, her hands pausing in their movements. Her furrowed brows were answer enough that she was surprised by my declaration, but her silence gave me hope that she wasn’t going to say anything to stop me. Most likely, she didn’t care enough who came and who didn’t.
The three of us sat in silence as we waited for Rainer and Murphy to finish their conversation. Whatever they were discussing had Murphy’s usual smile flattened into a frown and nerves skated up my arms. Although I could talk a big game in my head, I had no idea what lay before us. And though I hated these woods, I had grown accustomed to the safety within them. But I wasn’t going to back down, not when I was finally given the chance to find my family.
Finally, the two of them finished talking and Rainer sauntered toward us, his eyes on Sasha. Murphy followed him and when he spotted me, a slight smile graced his lips.
“Are you sure you want to go?” Mina whispered before they reached us and I could hear the concern in her voice.
Nodding, I squeezed her hand gently before standing to my full height. Sasha followed suit and it didn’t take long for Rainer to piece the puzzle together.
“Absolutely not,” he scoffed as he folded his arms over his chest, his chin held high with a haughty air of authority.
The urge to bite back was strong, but I didn’t have the same confidence as I did yesterday and so I simply stood silently, refusing to back down under Rainer’s intense stare. We stared at each other in silence for minutes, the tension building until he finally gave in.
“Fine. But if you slow us down, we’re leaving you behind.”
With those lovely words of encouragement, Rainer stomped toward the tree line, Sasha whispering a goodbye to Mina and Murphy before following. I turned to do the same, but a warm palm on my elbow stopped me.
Turning, Murphy’s eyes met mine, a frown marring his lips. “Be careful. I won’t try to tell you to stay, but listen to Rainer. He knows what he’s doing.”
Nodding, I assured him I would, and even though I loathed Rainer, I wasn’t an idiot. I didn’t think that knowing how to build a fire suddenly made me a survival expert. I’d listen to Rainer for the entirety of our trek through the woods, but once we were out? I wouldn’t be making any promises.
My feet were aching as I bit back the frustrated groan that threatened past my lips. I knew if I so much as made a sound of grievance, Rainer would be in my face, reminding me why I shouldn’t have come. So I kept my lips sealed, even as blisters split open near my heels.
I thought the past week of hiking to the radio tower had improved my endurance, but those few hour hikes were nothing compared to this. Apparently, we were much further away from civilization than I originally thought. Which made Matthew and Brett’s abysmal appearance more understandable.
We had been walking for at least seven hours already; the sun beginning to peak overhead, the blistering rays piercing my skin through the gaps in the trees. I wanted to ask how much longer the hike was because it couldn’t be that much further. The others used to run into town for supplies and make it back before night.
Sasha and Rainer walked ahead of me, several feet of space between us, and I realized Rainer hadn’t been entirely joking about leaving me behind. Obviously, he didn’t care that I was already lagging. Sighing, I pushed my legs to move further, expending as much energy as I could.
Eventually, I made it so I was only steps behind the two. They were whispering quietly every once in a while, but neither seemed keen on inviting me into their private conversation. I told myself that it didn’t bother me, why would I want to talk to them anyway? But my mind wished it were Mina and Murphy on this trip with me.
Several more hours passed and woods still surrounded us. It seemed we weren’t any closer to our destination and I couldn’t hold back my question any longer.
“How far is this town? You all used to make supply runs within a day.”
Neither of them immediately responded, and I wondered if they were going to completely ignore me. Maybe pretend like they hadn’t heard me? I knew Rainer was an asshole and Sasha was usually quiet, but I had figured she’d at least respond.
“It’s a different town. The coordinates you and Murphy heard clearly stated that,” Rainer eventually said with an eye roll.
Because obviously that was a normal thing to know. Every human under the sun knew how to read, or better yet hear, coordinates, and know exactly where that was. I was definitely the weird one here for not knowing that.
“I’m just wondering if we will be there before nightfall,” I grumbled, annoyed at Rainer’s ability to make me feel like an idiot.
“We will be if we keep moving.” Rainer picked up his pace and I huffed at the movement, wondering if my legs would give out on me before we made it there.
Sasha glanced over her shoulder, smiling sadly at me before rushing to keep up with Rainer. Obviously, she commiserated with my pain, but she didn’t want to get on Rainer’s bad side by siding with me. I couldn’t blame her, it was anything but enjoyable to be on the receiving end of his agitation.
Deciding the rest of this hike would go by faster if I kept my mouth shut, I quickly stretched my legs before following after them. The only thing keeping me going was the thought that this may be the last times I stood among these trees.
True to Rainer’s words, we made it into town right as the sun began to set. I hadn’t been outside the woods in three months and even though my mind was constantly on what could be going on in town, I hadn’t been prepared.
Sloping down a trail, the city laid before us. I nearly cried with relief when my feet touched flat pavement, but I could barely focus on that because the sight before me was hard to grasp.
We were on the edge of a street filled with buildings, store signs sporting names for restaurants and shops. And yet, not a single light filled the area. Most of the stores were falling apart, burned wood littering the street. The signs hung haphazardly, some completely fallen and splintered. Ash dotted the pavement, blowing in the subtle breeze.
Rainer motioned for us to follow him but held up a finger, indicating our silence. Sasha and I followed slightly behind him and my gaze continued to scan the area as we walked.
The eerie silence sent chills up my arms, our footsteps echoing amongst the quiet. There didn’t seem to be a single living thing within a fifty-mile radius of us, and I suddenly wondered if Rainer had gotten the coordinates wrong. Shouldn’t we hear someone? Something?
The three of us trailed through the town as quietly as possible, but I wondered what the need for secrecy was. There was no one around. What were we trying to hide from? Those thoughts magnified as we started creeping through a residential area. My stomach tightened at the sight of the burned down houses, not a single one livable even if people had been around.
After another hour of walking, my stomach was nearly folded in on itself, the realization of how bad this really was hitting me hard. What the fuck was happening? This didn’t seem like a state of emergency, this seemed like the end of the world.
Finally, finally, moments later, I heard the telltale sign of someone’s voice. It was barely a whisper, far enough away that I couldn’t pinpoint if a man or woman spoke, but it was a voice. Which meant we were coming up on someone.
Rainer’s usual intensity magnified the closer we got to the voice, more and more voices sprouting up around them. The hope that had slowly diminished the more we walked through this ghost town suddenly came back to me with a barreling force and I tried my best to not take off in a sprint. My mom could be one of those voices. One of my brothers.
Turning a corner, lights sprinkled through the darkness, allowing us a faint view of what laid before us. Rows and rows of tents sat before us, sprinkled around a large building that had been spared from the fires. People milled about the area and I strained my eyes to see them. My heart rate picked up as we neared closer and I nearly broke out in a run, figuring it was time to go. Rainer and Sasha had gotten me here, I didn’t need to stay with them any longer.
But before I could, Rainer held up a hand, halting his movements and ushering us behind the side of a dilapidated house. Frustrated and curious about his actions, I peeked around the corner to see what had stopped him. And to my surprise, I spotted the group of uniformed men, armed with large guns.
The uniforms were nothing I had seen before and a prick of unease traveled through me. My mind wandered to Rainer’s words from last night about how we didn’t know who was running these camps.
A group of people dressed in dirty clothes not too different from our own trudged past the guards, their eyes widening when they spotted them.
“Get back inside. It’s nearly curfew,” one of the uniformed men said, motioning with his gun toward the rows of tents.
The group of people didn’t think twice before scurrying off, fear in their steps. My eyes widened in shock at the sight and any hope I had sizzled like a dying ember. This didn’t seem like a camp to help those affected by the fires. This was a camp to keep everyone in one place. And suddenly, I hoped with all my heart that my family wasn’t trapped in those tents.