“We need to get to closed quarters!” says Jude. “We have a better chance to get them one on one than out in the open!”
We run to a broken-down house. As soon as we’re behind walls, Jude holds his army knife up. I, on the other hand, grab two heavy rocks and hand one to our shaking friend.
“Defend yourself!” I tell him.
He nods, hands shaking.
I counted seven men and women giving chase. That’s at least two to manage each. I’ve had worse odds.
The first enemy comes crashing through the rotted door we closed just to win time. He didn’t expect us to offer any resistance. His mistake. Jude slashes his throat without hesitation. I trip the one that follows and bash his head in with the rock. After that, chaos ensues. Shots are fired, and one grazes my shoulder. I know from experience that the wound is not serious, and so I push through and throw the rock at the woman shooting. She screams as the other prisoner throws himself at her. She shoots him in the stomach. I knock her out, but another bullet hits me in the thigh this time, and I go down hard. Jude is on me immediately, trying to shield me from our attackers. They hit him with a baseball bat, of all things. It’s four against two, and we’re fucked.
They beat us bloody, and I’m lost to the world.
Later, when I come back to myself with painful clarity, I realize that they didn’t kill us. Jude and I are tied in a cage on top of a caravan. We’re traveling through flat wastelands. The air is dry and dusty. I already miss the ocean.
It takes me a while to recognize Jude. My eyes are swollen, and his face is red and blue.
“Good… you’re alive…” he croaks. “I thought you might have bled out to death…”
“I wish I had,” I say through clenched teeth.
“They gave you a shot of enzyme to stop the bleeding in your leg…” he says. “And not one minute too soon, I think. Then they gave you stitches.”
I’m surprised they wasted such precious resources on me. A few secret labs still make important medical supplies that are then traded all over the continent. But I was never important enough to get some. Until today.
“They really want us alive…” I say.
“Apparently, we’re worth a lot. Their leader is looking for someone, and he wants to see every damn blonde man on the continent. Lucky for us… And lucky for me. I’m strawberry blonde.”
He rolls the Rs ofstrawberry, and I laugh. We both know he’s closer to ginger. But with buzzed hair, who will know for sure?
I wince. I think I have a broken rib or two.
The chain is still tied to our feet. There is a second empty link where the third prisoner used to be. I just hope they didn’t leave him alone out there to die a slow death.
“How long have I been out?” I ask.
“One day. I was starting to worry.”
“Only starting to?”
“I would have avenged you,” he says.
I laugh faintly. “Thanks.” A cut on my lip starts bleeding again. “How long is our destination?”
“If I’m right, and they’re taking us toBunkertown, I would say a week. It’s in Yosemite.”
“Good…”
It gives plenty of time for Griffin and Beet to find us.
14
Bunkertown.
“When the old gods rose from their hideouts, our armies were immediately on the front lines. They faced the new threat with tanks, bombs, and fighter jets. But soon, we all came to realize that nothing we threw at them worked. We were nothing more than a swarm of bees attacking a dinosaur. A bother? Surely. But we were never a real threat. And as soon as that realization wormed its way through the collective consciousness, the governments fell as their representatives ran to save their own skin. Presidents, prime ministers, and spiritual leaders escaped to their bunkers and safe houses. However, it wasn’t enough. Bunkers serve one purpose only: to withstand and wait for better days. Yet, the better days are never coming back. The real survivors are the ones who adapted to our new world. You’ll find all those bunkers empty now.”
Video transcription of a video file shared among survivors in 2045, five years after the Rise. Content creator unknown.
