“There’s an outcrop of rocks maybe a stone’s throw away. I saw one of them behind one.”
A few more bullets fired before a gruff male voice called them down.
It was dead quiet. Even the wind stopped. I could feel my heart beating madly in my chest.
Finally, the same gravelly, slimy voice who had called the shots off yelled out.
“Come out, Makara. We won’t kill you. I promise. I just want the pack back. That’s it.”
Makara gave a savage laugh, loud enough for only me to hear. “Like we’re going to fall for that.”
“How the hell are we going to get out of this?” I asked.
She reached in her bag, and pulled out a canister with a lever.
“This should do the trick.”
“What the…”
“Tear gas,” she said. “I hope it’s enough of a distraction.”
“You
“If you got a better idea, I’d like to hear it. After a lob this, we’ll take off for those hills to the east. On the other side, there’s a trail that leads to Oasis.”
I looked at the twisted hills uncertainly, not sure if there would be a way across. But what other choice did we have?
Makara pulled the plug on the tear gas canister, waited a couple seconds, and threw the damn thing over her shoulder. There were shouts of alarm, and then I heard a thud. Shortly after, the canister popped, and spewed gas into the air.
“Now,” she said.
She sprinted from the shelter of the rock toward the hills. I took off after her.
I’d never run so fast in my life. I could hear the tear gas hissing behind us.
A few seconds later, the shots started.
I chanced a look back. There were five of them. Three of them, including Brux, were grabbing at their eyes, wailing in pain. The other two ran after us, rifles in hand.
“Run!” Makara yelled. “Don’t look back!”
From time to time, a shot went off. A bullet whizzed past my ear. If I had been a few inches further to the right, I would have been dead.
After a minute, we slowed from a sprint to a fast run. After a mile at this pace, I was ready to die. I was in decent enough shape…or at least, I thought I was. I was nothing compared to Makara. The only thing that kept me going was sheer necessity.
Despite my lagging behind, we were gaining the lead. The backpack was heavy on me, and I felt it bobbing up and down on my shoulders. God, all this trouble for some batteries. I could hear them tinkle in time with my strides. It was like they were mocking me.
Makara had long slowed to a steady jog now, but I couldn’t go on. I collapsed to the ground.
Makara stopped. “Sometimes, I forget you haven’t walked more than a mile a day in your entire life, much less run one.”
I was breathing too hard to protest. I felt like I was going to puke. Maybe I would have if there had actually been something in my stomach.
She took me by my sweaty palm.
“You need to get up,” Makara said. She had already regained her breath.
I still lay on the ground, my pulse pounding in my brain. Finally, I let Makara pull me up. I walked beside her. She was still setting a fast pace, but I didn’t complain.
We spent the rest of the morning climbing through the line of hills, trying to break out onto the other side. I looked back at the valley, but didn’t see our pursuers.
“Are they going to follow us still?” I asked.
“Yes. If we can make Oasis, we should be safe.”
“Great.”
We found a pass, and worked our way through to the other side. When we made it, my breath caught in my throat. Before us, I could see a vast expanse of red going in all directions. In front of me, miles and miles out, was a sharp, jagged line of mountains. Their crowns were crested with snow. The entire flatland reflected a strange, golden glow.
A long, brown line snaked its way across the plain, close to the foothills. It took me a moment to realize it was the trail Makara spoke of. Along it I could see a long cloud of dust rising from the red earth.
“What is that?”
Makara squinted. “It’s a caravan. Going to Oasis, from the looks of it.”
“Maybe they can take us with them.”
“Yes,” Makara said. “Maybe they can. There is safety in numbers, after all.”
Before I could say anything else, Makara was bounding down the hill. I hurried to catch up.
As we came closer to the dust cloud, I could see shapes moving within it. Then, I saw people, walking among animals laden with goods. The animals had long necks and long, brown hair. Each had a large hump on their backs.
“Are those…camels?”
Makara nodded. “Yeah.”
“Camels…in California? Or was my Bunker actually built halfway across the world?”
“No. There were zoos before…you
“I’m not an idiot.”
Makara smirked, as if she might contend that. “There was a really big zoo in San Diego, which was not too far from here. Anyway, when Meteor crashed down, there was no one to take care of the animals. In the chaos, some escaped. Unlike most other animals, camels are built for harsh, dry environments. They would have thrived here, even while everything else died off. I imagine the dry weather is their cup of tea.” She shrugged. “That’s my theory, anyway.”
“Seems you have this well thought out.”
Within a few minutes, we had caught up to the caravan. When we reached the road, several hundred feet behind the tail of the train, Makara raised her hands high.
“Do the same,” she said. “They won’t let us near till we check out.”
“Check out?”
“We could be raiders to their eyes,” she said. “Raiders attack caravans all the time, and sometimes use diversions. We could be a diversion, but we have to prove we’re not raiders, or with raiders.
“Makara…are you going to get us killed?”
“No worries,” Makara said. “I got this. They’ll know I was with Raine when they see this…”
She lifted the left sleeve of her white tee, revealing a tattoo of a pair of angel’s wings.
“Every Lost Angel has one, and they command respect, even out here in the Wastes.”
Two men approached from the end of the train. They wore elegant, brown robes made from fine material. Each had a large hood drawn, masking their faces. Each had long, thick beards.
“Who are these guys?” I asked.
“That’s a southern look,” Makara said. “There’s more cities in the south, and it’s where most of the trade comes from.”
“State your name and your business, travelers,” one of them said.
“I’m Makara. This is Alex. We are traveling to Oasis, and wanted safe passage with your train.”
“What business have you in Oasis, girl?”
“Raiders pursue us. We seek shelter with your caravan.”
“Raiders? Are you with raiders?”
“No! I said they pursue us. If I were a raider, would I have this?”
Makara lifted her sleeve, revealing the Lost Angels’ emblem.
The other man stepped forward, not seeming to care. “You invite danger to our trading party, and you wish to join us?”
“Look,” Makara said. “They’re in the area, and they will probably come after you, anyway. You might as well
