All three nodded.
"When can we have some water?" Fay asked.
"Not until you've puked up the last of the cryo-crystals. They multiply in water, so if you drink any liquids right now, you'll never get rid of them."
He'd actually seen one man explode after drinking an entire gallon of water right after being released from a stasis tube. It hadn't been a pretty picture, but it was one he'd never forgotten. He just wasn't going to share that particular story. These people didn't need that gruesome image in their minds.
"Stay close," Sawyer warned as he started out of the storage closet. He paused when he thought of Stefan and the others, then glanced back at the three people he'd rescued. "If you see anyone, any human, you do not call out to them or acknowledge them in any manner. You let me know, and I will decide if we should approach them. Understood?"
The older man frowned as he shook his head. "No."
Sawyer huffed. "Not all who survived the plague and the invasion are willing to help. There are marauders who are out for only what they can get for themselves. They'd just as soon shoot you as look at you." Sawyer glanced at Tim and Fay. "You don't want to know what they'd do to you."
All three of them paled.
"Now, let's go. It's going to be dark soon, and that will make traveling harder. We need to use as much daylight as we can." Not because of the mechs, but because they didn't have Sawyer's enhanced eyesight.
He led the way out of the storage closet. When they reached the sidewalk in front of the building, he led them toward the alley. It might be getting dark, but there were still hostiles in the area…and maybe a few friendlies, as well.
He needed to avoid them all.
They reached the edges of Denver before full night fell. It was a good start. Sawyer had a plan, though, one that would hopefully allow them to travel through most of the night. This wasn't his first time rescuing people from cryogenic facilities.
Sawyer led them to a small dilapidated barn he'd used in the past when visiting the area. They'd be able to rest here and get a little food in their stomachs. Sawyer was also hoping to get them out of the stupid cryo-suits they were wearing and into something that would better protect them against the elements.
Once inside the barn, Sawyer led them to a stall and helped them get settled. "We're going to rest here for a little bit." He handed them each a tube of space food. "Squeeze it into your mouth. It doesn't taste that good, but it'll fill you up."
He opened his own tube and squeezed some into his mouth. After watching him, the other three did the same.
Ralph grimaced as he chewed. "You're right," he said after he swallowed, "it's kind of disgusting."
Sawyer nodded. "It was developed after the invasion. I don't think they were too worried about taste, but it's easier to carry, doesn't need refrigeration, and it has all the nutrients you need to survive."
The young man shrugged. "It's not so bad."
Sawyer snorted. "You've been a popsicle for several years. How would you know?"
"Yeah, but I'm starving." Tim grinned. "Dirt would taste good right about now."
Sawyer couldn't argue with that.
"I'm going to grab you some clothes to change into." He gestured to their stasis suits. "You'll stick out like sore thumbs in those things."
Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"
"Makes you easy targets. Marauders assume you don't know anything about this new world, which you don't, and they will use that to take advantage of you."
"I'm not sure I'm liking this world you've brought us into."
"It's different, I'll admit that, but there are some good things. Global warming and overpopulation are a thing of the past. People spend a lot more time talking now instead of spaced out on their cell phones. There's no rush hour. The sense of community in the settlements is unlike anything you've ever experienced. People have to work together or they don't survive."
"What's the downside?" Fay asked.
"The mechs." That pretty much said it right there. "We haven't figured out how to defeat them yet, so the danger is always present. The punishment for crimes is a lot harsher than it used to be, and then there are the marauders who don't belong to settlements. They steal and kill to get what they want, and they pretty much want it all."
Sawyer had come across more than one of them during his travels. He wasn't a fan. They usually ran in groups, were heavily armed, and cared less about human life. It was as if this was all a game to them. Some even enjoyed the killing and pillaging. It was one of the reasons security was so tight around settlements. It had to be.
"This new world seems to be an inhospitable place," Ralph remarked. "I'm not sure I should be grateful you woke us up."
