Jake and I watch for what feels like a lifetime as Magi works her magic on the members of our family. The ones who are awake take instruction, helping her the best they can. I can see from the side of the road that Johnathan continually rubs his shoulder blades together sure to relieve some pain. Smith stands by with an ere of being overly impatient.
Samantha is the first to come to, feisty at first but calming down a bit each moment as Mar tells her what is going on. Samantha spots us in the trees, confirming the story Mar is telling. Eli is the next to wake up. He is sure to have a headache, because he has a lump on his head. I can see it from here. After the longest time, Shawn wakes up.
“You happy?” Johnathan yells up towards the tree.
Neither one of us says anything. We are nowhere near happy, but at least now we know everyone is responsive. They all load into the back of the truck, awaiting our next move.
“We stayed true to our word,” Smith begins, “now are you going to stay true to yours?”
He pauses for a moment to allow time for Jake and me to deliberate.
“I will go down, and you can stay up here,” Jake begins.
“It’s me they want,” I counter. “I will go, and you stay behind, maybe you can figure out a way to find us.”
“How about we both go like we promised,” Jake interjects. “At least then we will be together, and we are bound to find our way out. Neither one of us are very good when we are apart.”
“Either that, or these guys will keep their word and we will eventually go free,” I snicker.
Jake laughs out loud, not trying to mask his voice.
“Something funny?” Smith asks even more agitated.
“Yeah,” Jake responds, still snickering. “You!”
Smith’s sarcastic smile quickly fades to a frown. No more words are spoken, no gun shots ring out, no one fights anyone else. Jake and I climb out of our tree, and with our hands up, we walk slowly to the truck, climbing into the bed, hoping we haven’t just signed all of our death sentences.
Chapter Nine
As we travel down the road, I pull my parchment map out of my backpack. We try to make sense of some landmark on the road versus the markings on the map, but there are no consistencies. It is hard to compare wasteland on a map to wasteland around you.
We have gotten to a point in our journey where there are no more trees. The once lush woods are now flat land as far as the eye can see. Zac has taken an unusual interest in the map, studying it as much as he can by my side.
“This use to be an ocean,” Johnathon yells out of the window at us.
“Where’s all the water?” Mar asks with a terrified look on her face.
“There hasn’t been any water in the Atlantic for twenty-five years now,” Smith contributes.
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
