“It’s not like I’ve been here before, Clara.”
She paced, not able to look at him and think clearly while she was already fighting the urge to panic. This was not ideal. Sweat dripped down her spine, and the idea of walking an extra 15 miles was beyond frustrating. “Think, think,” she whispered to herself. She stopped pacing and said, “Okay, there’s still abiological weapon. We’re still in charge of saving our kingdom. So we need to get our stuff and start heading towards Noxvalis.”
If Carver was surprised she took charge, nothing on his features revealed it. In fact, to Clara’s great surprise, he immediately nodded and began walking to their train car so they could grab their stuff.
“Wait,” Carver paused mid step. “We still haven’t figured out what happened to the conductor and the boy with him.”
Clara thought for a second. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I walked around the train and didn’t see them.”
“Let’s make one more lap around? I’m sure they’re still here somewhere. Maybe under the train if they’re having to repair it to turn around?”
“Listen,” her tone was sharper than she intended and inwardly she grimaced, but honestly it was irrelevant. “We have to walk 15 miles, hopefully before the sun sets. That needs to be our focus. Not what happened to two people whose names we don’t even know.”
“Cory.” Carver said quietly as she passed him.
“What?” She asked over her shoulder.
“The boy’s name was Cory. I’m not sure about the conductor.”
Clara stepped into the train car, taking stock of what cargo was left to see if any of it was useful. Unfortunately, none of it was. “How did you know his name?”
Carver shrugged. “I asked him the first day. He’s apprenticing to eventually be a conductor. I’m a little annoyed about the fact we can’t find him. He’s only 14. This is not a good place for him to be lost.”
Clara didn’t respond, guilt pooling in her chest for not knowing the name of the boy who had helped them and now disappeared. She almost suggested they look again, but thatwouldn’t be prudent. Time was of the essence. So instead she gathered her things.
Carver picked up his bag, and began stuffing his journal, map, clothes, and everything else in. No particular order. Didn’t fold his clothes. Didn’t even fold the map. Clara bit down on her lip again, determined not to lash out at him. But what the hell? What kind of psychopath stuffed a map into a bag? Maybe she was better off without him.
Clara, on the other hand, perfectly folded the clothing she had removed, and the map. She put it all back in the bag in the same order it had been in when she received it. She found some dried food packages in one of the crates and threw a few of them to Carver. The rest she added to the top of her bag, tying it off and slinging it over her shoulder.
16CARVER
She put everything in her bag neatly. Precisely. Perfectly. Everything was inthe exact placeit was when they received the bags, with her personal bag on top. How?? It took a few minutes, but Carver realized he couldn’t figure out how Clara managed to keep everything so organized. A couple years before, he might have tried to stay more organized, but now he just didn’t care.
His only priority was to keep Clara alive. To hell with how his bag looked. Sure, it was far harder to tie off than Clara’s was. And sure, his clothes wouldn’t be as presentable, and the creases in the map would be annoying. But it was still readable. And fine, he cared more about his bag than he was willing to admit. It was irrelevant. He wouldn’t repack or ask Clara for help.
He stuffed the dried food packs into the top, and after two tries was able to close his bag. Clara pursed her lips like she wanted to comment, but maybe he was only assuming her to be judgemental.
“Ready?” He asked her.
“Ready,” she gave him a hesitant smile.
His eyes caught on the small split in her lip, but she hopped down from the train before he commented. He noticed her chewing on it, and wondered if perhaps she wasn’t quite asconfident as her status implied. Or, was it too much to hopehewas the one who unnerved her that much?
The ground was hard as they began the trek. They both kept a steady pace, and it wasn’t long until the train faded from their view. In front of them, the landscape was mostly untamed, browning grass on the edges of the tracks, forest on either side. They walked next to the train tracks, the unspoken agreement it was the fastest and most direct route.
He glanced back over his shoulder at the abandoned town as he tried to make sense of it all. Command’s intel would have known the town was abandoned. At least they should have. If that intel was bad, what else was bad? Or, had Command kept them in the dark intentionally?
“So,” the lamest conversation starter ever, but it was all he had. “How’d you get nicknamed the Eclipse?” Carver hiked his bag higher on his shoulder, ignoring the sun beating down on his head. At least it wasn’t raining. Small comfort.
She almost tripped, but quickly regained her balance. With a shrug she answered, “How does anyone get a nickname? They earn it.”
Brilliant. Completely enlightening.But he played along. “Okayyyy, how did you earn your nickname?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“If I didn’t want to know, I wouldn’t have asked. Duh.” He kept his tone light, contrasting the harshness in hers. She was so annoyingly frustrating, but he could be the bigger person. He would be the bigger person.
“Just drop it. Okay?”
