I nodded in understanding and heard the ringing of a bell as he entered the store. I pressed my face against its grimy window, trying to peer inside, but a thick film of brown sludge obscured my view. Using the sleeve of my shirt, I wiped the surface clean, making sure there was nothing nefarious waiting for Jude inside.
Peering in, memories flooded my brain. I remember going to gas stations like this as a child, begging my parents to buy me a candy bar. The gas station shelves were wiped clean, and old newspapers littered the floor, but my mind’s eye pieced it all together from memory. I saw what this place used to be and the liveliness it once held.
I strained to see Jude through the grimy window, his bouncy blond hair the only feature visible before he vanished into the back of the building. Craning my neck, I tried to catch a glimpse of him, but he was nowhere in sight. I sidled along the outside ofthe building to clean the other windows, but just as I lifted my arm, something caught my attention in my peripheral vision.
A skeptical eyebrow raised, I turned the corner to find a row of electric vehicle charging stations, their cords snaking across the pavement like metallic serpents. At one time, these vehicles would’ve been expensive and highly sought after, but were quickly thrown away once the apocalypse happened.
Funny how useless money is when survival becomes more important.
“Vinny? Where are you?” Jude’s voice had a tinge of fear in his throat.
Peeking from behind the corner, I waved to him, and his face went from frightened to relieved in a split second. As he jogged toward me, my eyes landed on his empty hands. “You didn’t find any food?”
He shook his head. “Everything was completely bare, but I did find out something interesting.” Jude walked to the charging station with a purposeful stride, opened the metal charging port, and stuck one of the hoses inside.
A small, whimpering beep sounded through the air. “…How?”
He shrugged, a smile pulling at his lip. “I don’t know, but I heard a humming at the back of the store and realized it was electricity. There must be a power source somewhere in this town keeping the energy running. Let’s charge this car, so we can get back to Silvertown to regroup.”
I nodded, anticipation building in my chest as my mind raced with a million different scenarios. Obviously, Elysium had electricity, and the humans found ways to create it in their compounds, but how did this small, abandoned town have an energy supply? What other secrets are hiding in these streets?
Chapter Twenty
“While the car charges, let’s try to find the town’s energy source.”
With a slow nod, the familiar tug of curiosity inched through my mind, a persistent hum beneath the surface of my thoughts. Why here? How is the entire town’s electricity still running after sixty-five years? I wondered if we were walking into another nest of humans, but surely with the knowledge to create electricity, they wouldn’t be feral, right?
The untouched pristine snow settled like a thick, white blanket. The skeletal branches of the trees clawed at the pale sky on either side of the street, and the brisk air painted my nose a rosy pink. Shivering slightly, I crossed my arms tightly across my chest as we walked down the chilly street, only to feel Jude’s warm arm wrapped around my shoulders. It was like we were in one of the cheesy Christmas movies that played on loop in Elysium during the winter because people love living in nostalgia.
Honestly, it always made me sick. Watching movies around the holidays was something my mom and I did—I haven’t watched one in sixty-five years.
With each step, the snow crunched underfoot, a delightful sound as we neared a hill. The houses looked quaint and cozy, nestled side by side. Many looked run-down and old, but the grandeur of their design was still evident. They looked exactly as you’d picture small-town America: moderate porches with flagpoles that had tattered red, white, and blue colored cloth swaying in the wind. Each house possessed a fence encircling its perimeter; some were broken or had fallen over due to age.
“Pretty cool place, huh?” Jude asked once he saw my head swivel, gazing at the residences around me. “I’d love to have a house of my own one day instead of sharing a room with hundreds of other people.”
“Yeah, I don’t know how you barbarians do that.” I bit my bottom lip. I didn’t mean it to sound like it did. It just came out.
I swear.
“We wouldn’t have to if the vampires didn’t kill us if they found out where we were hiding, but maybe you forgot that.”
My cheeks burned, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the temperature of the air or because I was embarrassed. I lifted my head, and his piercing blue eyes winked at me. “You’re messing with me?”
A sheepish grin stretched across his face, and he shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, but not really.”
A nervous laugh broke the tension between us as we cautiously began to retrace our steps. “I do agree with you, though,” I said, itching the underside of my arms. “I’d love to have my own space and have neighbors to make friends with. Back in Elysium, it’s just me.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Just you?”
I nodded. “I wasn’t allowed to leave my penthouse without authorization, which was rarely given.”
“So what happened the night I met you?”
A laugh escapes my mouth, remembering the delicious thrill of defying my father. “It was my birthday, and I snuck out.”
“Nice.” Jude bit his bottom lip and put his hand on my shoulder. “I guess we each have our own completely separate gripes, but we can agree that our own freedom and space are important.”
Before I agreed, a sharp tug on my arm shoved me downward onto the cold snow. I recoiled quickly, my heart pounding in my chest, to see what happened. Jude was next to me, kneeling with his head low.
