CHAPTER 52
Miya
The Territories
Archai, Caspador
833 P.C. [Post-Collapse]
Miya’s head bounced when the truck jolted to a stop. She gasped awake and sat up, catching the back of the driver’s seat.
“Someone cut us off,” Lance said.
“How long was I out?”
“An hour. We made it to Archai.”
Miya peered out the back window at the vehicles surrounding them. People crept forward on the sidewalk where merchants had packed away their shops even though it was broad daylight. Pedestrians weaved between uneven lanes of cars, sliding over the hoods, ignoring the honks that followed them across the city.
What was this?
“Do we know what's going on?” Miya asked.
“No,” the driver said. “No events today.” He rolled his window down, yelling questions at those passing by, but no one answered.
This wasn't good. Miya needed to return to Krowe's as soon as possible. By now, Ashantae should have already sent the message through to the United. Withthe Captain's eyes on her, she didn't risk traveling to deliver her letter, but asked Hakym for help instead. He visited the other villages every week as the Takja, giving him an easy cover for making the delivery. Before they even left for Krowe's, Hakym called Lance to tell him to be safe. He'd left earlier than they had and used the call as a signal to let Miya know it was finished.
Lance knew nothing of their plans. There was no reason to implicate him more than he already was. When he was truly safe, Miya would tell him everything.
In the meantime, the captain waited for her at the Krowe Estate, and she wanted one last chance to gain any further information from him before the Royal Guard or the United forced her back to the palace. In Miya's message, she asked Ashantae not to tell them where she was, only that she was alive and personally witnessed the captain's schemes. They'd find her, though. Possibly before she even made it back to Krowe's, especially if this traffic slowed them down too much.
The driver leaned on his horn when the car in front of him failed to inch forward. Miya grabbed the door handle.
“You’re not going out there, are you?” Lance asked.
“Of course, I am.” She rolled down the window when she saw a boy sprinting past. “Stop! I have money!”
The kid turned on his heel. “What do I have to do?”
“Tell me everything you know about what’s going on here.”
“There’s a huge crowd at town square. I mean huge. I heard people are climbing on the roof to see.”
“See what?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out, lady. Can I have my money? I gotta go before all the roofs are flooded.”
“A lot of help you were.”
“It’s all I know. Pay up.” He stuck his hand through the open window.
Miya dropped a few coins. “Scram.”
What if the captain intercepted her message, and Ashantae never received it? Or if the United acted on the information, giving themselves away, so the captain did something to this city to make a statement?
She pushed the door open, her heart beating fast.
“Wait!” Lance reached across her and closed it. “Whatever they’re crowded around… It’s nothing good.”
