“I say we recharge, then head back.”
Jake nods his head and motions for the others to come over.
We all toss water bottles back and forth, allowing everyone to get a refreshing drink. A few snack bars are divided and given to each of us to give us a bit of nutrition. We all allow a few moments to take in the fresh air before we decide to head back to Wonder Shield.
“So,” Eli says through a half-chewed piece of protein bar, “how far are we from headquarters exactly?”
“Ten miles,” Levi answers around his own food. “Maybe eight.”
“Why would they begin taking precautions this far out?” Mar asks.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Magi says. “Even The Force had our own protection from outside forces, but only about a mile out.”
“Wild dogs?” I smile.
“Wild dogs.” Jake smiles back.
I think about the first time Jake and I had spent alone. He was taking me to The Force Field to explain some things about The Force and his family. Outside their fences, there were several wild dogs. He and I ran so fast that night.
That was the first time I felt freedom in a while, and the thought of it makes me feel so happy right now. That was the night I fell in love with Jake.
“Well, let’s go,” Tim or Tom says with no concern for the real reason we had come. He packs his things up and heads back to his vehicle without any response.
“That’s that, then,” Samantha scoffs. “Muscles number one has spoken.”
The rest of us get a good laugh out of Samantha’s snarky remark.
“Let’s go.” Jake pats the seat beside him as he climbs into our side by side.
I do as he says and crawl into the seat next to him. The vehicle has no doors at all and only a front windshield. It is different from anything that we had come across yet. We had learned about all-terrain vehicles in class at The Force but had never seen one until now.
They would have come in handy this entire time, but what could be done?
“Are we heading back to Wonder Shield now?” Levi shouts out.
“For now,” Jake agrees.
We all start our engines, waiting for Tom, Tim, and Tina to lead the way when the first explosion happens ten yards to the right of us.
Levi looks back and forth between us and the point of impact.
“They are shooting short range rockets from somewhere,” he shouts in our direction.
“Where are they coming from?” Magi yells, looking all around her.
“I don’t know,” Levi breaths heavy while circling his vehicle back to meet us at our side.
The others pull their vehicle to the other side of us, making Jake, Mar, Eli, and my side by side in the middle.
“Orders boss,” Tina yells across us at Levi.
“Well, right now we are sitting ducks. We need to get moving, but not together.” Levi looks at Jake.
“Yeah,” Jake huffs. “Let’s give them three moving targets opposed to one sitting duck.”
“Do you remember that large clump of trees about a mile back?” Levi asks.
“Yeah,” Jake confirms.
“We will meet there.”
“Okay, boss,” Tim or Tom says as they start moving.
The three of them start moving first, but Levi gets turned around faster, so he and the girls are already almost out of sight. We are the next to get turned about as Jake whips the thing around so fast I barely have enough time to hold on.
A few feet in front of us, another rocket hits the ground, causing the ground to shake and fire to erupt in the dry grass. Jake nearly misses the fiery explosion but hangs a left at the last second.
Another rocket drops down to our right, narrowly missing the muscle triplet’s vehicle. Tim or Tom, swerve side by side around the explosion in enough time to escape it. Unfortunately, another rocket arrives directly after the first, hitting the roof of their vehicle, causing the entire all-terrain to fly into the air and break apart at impact.
Jake stops for a moment, just long enough to assess the damage and to check for movement.
There isn’t any.
Chapter Thirty-Six
We pause for a moment to think about yet another group of people that we will never get to know due to this war.
Another rocket hisses through the air as Jake speeds out of the way and towards our meeting place. The impact of the blast occurs just behind us, causing us to spin out of control for a few seconds before coming to a complete stop a few feet away from a large oak tree. The vehicles engine has stalled altogether.
Rockets continue to fall around us as Jake fervently tries to start the vehicle with no use. He tries time after time again, allowing a second to pass between each turn of the key.
The rockets rain down, getting closer to us with each time they hit the ground. Finally, a rocket falls only a few feet away from us, causing the vehicle to bounce back into the tree.
A few moments after the crash, Mar, Eli, Jake, and I abandon the vehicle altogether and run on foot in hopes of meeting up with Magi, Samantha, and Levi at our arranged destination. If we didn’t return in a decent amount of time, Magi would make Levi come back, for sure.
I can feel my ribs rubbing against each other with every step I take. They are broken, I’m sure. When our vehicle hit the tree, my side grazed the bar holding us in. I run as fast as I can, trying to ignore my ribcage that feels like fire as rockets continue to fall.
What would have taken a minute to travel a mile is going to take us
