Everyone was gathered around the carts and trucks, numerous yells and shouts echoed through 636’s ears as the group prepared to leave. Everything was getting tied in and people were starting to load up into all the vehicles.
Zaiden and 636 rounded around the large crowd of people, who paused their movements when they spotted them. A few looked confused and others remained unbothered, eager to listen to their leader.
“There’s been a change in plans!” Zaiden yelled over the crowd and everyone grew silent. “We’ll continue north. It will be a few more days until our journey home, for that I apologize but this is a great opportunity I don’t think we’ll want to pass up. A few days' ride from here will lead us to an abandoned… fortress, if you will. Inside there’s bound to be supplies we could take back with us. Technology we’ll greatly benefit from taking. So far our supply run hasn’t gone as planned. The interference from Mallax and O’Connor have made things difficult. They still think the ravine belongs to them.” Zaiden paced back and forth as he addressed the crowd. “Mallax won't be able to stop us from this raid. It’s too far from their territory, which makes it free rein for us. So we’ll head north and strike gold.” Some people in the crowd cheered at that. “We leave now. Is that understood!”
“Understood!” The crowd yelled back in unison, raising their guns for emphasis.
“Dismissed!” Zaiden called and everyone saluted before going back to the task at hand.
When Zaiden returned to 636, she couldn’t contain her curiosity. “Who’s Mallax?” From everyone’s reaction, she could tell there was some bad blood between them. The group seemed to hate them.
“It’s not really a ‘who’, more like a what,” Zaiden replied, “They’re one of the rival groups we have to deal with. We don’t really get along with a lot of them, but Mallax is the most troublesome. The main part of Mallox is led by a man named O’Connor. He’s by far the most annoying enemy I’ve ever had the misfortune of having. Our group, Abrax, has been feuding with them over resources for years. Everyone’s idea of survival is different, which would be fine if they didn’t try to force those beliefs onto others so much.”
“Have you ever tried making a deal with them?” 636 asked.
“With Mallax? Don’t make me laugh. We’re too far into our little war for that. Plus my father would never allow it. For him this is personal.” Zaiden’s eyes looked distant, no doubt recalling some bad memories.
“Your father?”
“He’s the leader of Abrax,” he laughed humorlessly, “No pressure right.” Zaiden smiled but it didn’t seem real. “Everyone expects a lot from me. Which is why this raid has to be a success.”
His brown eyes stared right at her and 636 felt like they could see into her soul. A chill went down her spine from the pressure of his gaze. The raid had to be a success for Abrax. 636 knew the labs had hundreds of useful supplies they could potentially use, or at least they used to. She really did a number on the building. They’d be lucky to get down there. It wasn’t like the soldiers would want 636 to lower them down with her power; she hoped they had rope or something to get down.
“It will be.” 636 hoped she sounded convincing.
“I admire your optimism.”
The group left not too long after her conversation with Zaiden. With the wagons and trucks, they moved through the area quickly. The ride was bumpy and long, but 636 would take it over walking any day. The engines were annoying though. They grumbled and screeched constantly, making her wonder how the others remained unbothered by the noises.
She sat in the back of one of the trucks with Zaiden, Alex, and Simone. Malcolm drove the machine and 636 silently thanked the universe for preventing any further conversation with that man. Zaiden and Simone were preoccupied with mapping out the route, and since Alex was sitting next to her, 636 tried to make conversation with him.
“How did you guys meet?” She asked and Alex jumped slightly in his seat. He looked at her, a little confused, so she tried to clarify. “You and Simone. How did you meet?”
“Oh,” he said and his cheeks reddened, “She… Simone, she… Well I guess the easiest way to put it is she saved my life.”
“From what?” 636 racked her brain for the dangerous things she had encountered, “The Wolf-Spiders?”
“No, or well yes, those too,” he said. “But what she really saved me from was being alone. It’s hard to explain.” Alex scratched the back of his head, most likely a nervous tic.
She understood more than Alex gave her credit for. She knew what it was like to be alone and to have someone pull her out of that loneliness. But unlike Alex, she also knew what it was like to lose that person.
“What happened to your arms?” Alex spoke up timidly. “If you don’t mind me asking that is,” he added nervously.
636 looked down at her forearms. She was grateful they were still bandaged, not liking the idea of her scars being on display.
“I’d rather not answer.”
Thankfully, Alex got the hint and dropped the subject. He didn’t try to talk to 636 again, she figured it had taken a lot of courage for him to talk at all. Especially to a stranger.
“We should go around the plateau,” Zaiden’s voice was louder now that Alex and 636 had stopped talking. “It’s late in the year so that area will be flooded with Wolf-Spiders. It would be better to go through the old city. It will take longer but I don’t want to risk an attack.”
“Maybe,” Simone responded, “but there’s no guarantee we won’t still run into them in the city.”
“It’s not the quickest route but it is the safest. I’d rather go through the city and add a few more days onto the journey than put the members of Abrax in more danger than necessary.” Zaiden said sternly, as if to put the argument at rest.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“But we might not have enough supplies to make that journey.”
“Then we will ration and get more supplies from the facility. That is the reason that we’re going there.” Zaiden’s word was final and Simone didn’t argue anymore. Still he turned to Alex and 636 sitting across from him.
“Is that okay with all of you?” he asked. “Alex?”
Alex raised his head at the sound of his name being called. “Yeah, that would probably be the smartest option.” He looked over to Simone for some reassurance, hoping he hadn’t upset her. She didn’t seem at all angry with him, in fact it was as if hearing it from Alex made the decision easier for her.
“Then we’re all in agreement.” Zaiden pointed to the location 636 had given him before they had departed, “We’ll arrive in two days time.”
Zaiden informed Malcolm of the arrangement and their truck led the rest of the group. It was going to be a long ride but she wasn’t bothered in the slightest. She had waited over twenty years to know her name, she could wait a few more days.
It was getting dark out and everyone was visibly tired. At some point on the journey, Alex had migrated over to Simone and the two used each other as pillows as they rested on eachother, barely sitting up straight.
636 couldn’t see anything in the sky except the moon, midnight clouds covering up the stars. The main source of light came from the headlights of the other trucks, brightening the dirt path the trucks and wagons traveled on.
“It’s going to storm.” Zaiden said quietly.
636 looked up at the sky again. It was cloudy and dark, just like how it was the previous night. Zaiden must have been able to see something that she wasn’t.
“How can you tell?” 636 asked with the same level of volume.
“You can smell it. It’s hard to tell from the way the sky looks, at least in the dark, but you can always smell it.” He closed his eyes and rested his head against the truck wall, dark hair covering his eyes. 636 admired his features, his muscular build and beautiful brown skin. She looked down at herself, she didn’t think she’d ever look that alive. Guess that’s what happens when someone goes their whole life without sunlight.
“We’re here.” Zaiden spoke up, louder this time to wake up Alex and Simone. He climbed out the opening of the back of the truck and started yelling orders to everyone.
“Looks like we’re camping in the city tonight.” Simone whispered, still tired.
“Yay.” Alex said with zero enthusiasm.
636 jumped out of the truck to get a better look of the city. Even in the dark it was easy to see the tall buildings up ahead. She closed her left eye to focus the right and get a better look. The structures were broken and some were almost completely collapsed. The streets had a few vehicles that she knew wouldn’t be driven anytime soon. Plants had uprooted and were overgrown, covering the majority of the area and almost every road was full of cracks and holes.
The place was abandoned. Not a living soul could be seen or heard. No wonder Alex seemed distraught about staying and Simone had argued to take a different path.
At least they’d have shelter. Though, that was probably the only upside. The place was rather ugly.
Entering the old city, the group layout moved to fit the narrow streets. Zaiden led the way for everyone to follow, walking at a steady pace and looking for a place to camp out in. He eventually came to a stop and directed everyone towards an opening in one of the buildings. There was a gaping hole that looked as though something large had crashed through it at some point.
“We’ll camp here!” He yelled to everyone, “Don’t bother with tents, just take out your sleeping bags and start a fire!”
Everyone was quick to follow his orders and within a few minutes the camp was set up. Not a moment too soon, because the rain started pouring down on them.
636 watched Malcolm hit some small rocks together, making sparks fly onto the sticks and twigs he had gathered. After a few attempts, a fire started. It was bright and already 636 could feel the warmth coming off of it. Malcolm must have noticed her stare because he gave her an odd look before joining a few others in their conversation.
“Don’t let him bother you.” Alex appeared at her side, having been watching their exchange. “Malcolm didn’t like me either,” he paused deep in thought, “but Simone started hitting him everytime he looked at me funny, eventually he just stopped. I don’t know if he even likes me now but I don’t really care that much.”
It was the longest 636 had heard him talk and she stared at him and then at Simone who wasn’t far behind them. She walked over, hooked her hand around Alex’s arm and the two walked over to one of the corners of the room. It must have been nice to have someone like that, watching over him. 636’s eyes drifted over to Zaiden on the other side of the room. Maybe… she thought.
She situated herself near the edge of the wall closest to the opening. She watched the rain fall down, some droplets landing on her arms. The water was cold to the touch and the droplets ran down her exposed skin. Pulling out the blanket from her pack, she wrapped it around herself and continued to watch the rain, this time trying to make it so the water never touched her.
Eventually everyone went to sleep. A few people stayed awake to stand on watch but they didn’t pay 636 much mind as they ignored her. She couldn’t sleep. With the collective sound of the rain and the feel of the cold winds, it was hard. She even ended up wearing Zaiden’s jacket again.
She never did give it back.
A loud bang echoed through the city, accompanied by a bright light. The building they were in shook slightly, dust falling from the ceiling but no one seemed bothered by it. 636 on the other hand was shaking again, this time it wasn’t from the cold.
She looked at the sky again, stray raindrops falling on her face. Another bang came and she flinched, covering her ears. It was so much louder for her with the advanced hearing. The bright light flashed once again followed by another crashing sound, which made sleep even harder for 636. There was some shuffling to her left and she flinched again, this time a little bit of her light started to seep through. Control slipping.
“Can’t sleep?” Zaiden sat down beside her and handed her another blanket. “You can’t keep this one since it’s mine but you can use it to get warmer.” The corner of his lips lifted a little as he looked at her.
She snatched the blanket out of his grasp and threw it over herself. “What is that?” She asked, trying to suppress her fear.
Zaiden looked at the sky but 636 only watched him. The light flashed once again, illuminating his face. His brown eyes looked brighter and she spotted little specks of green.
“It’s lightning. It’s far away so we have nothing to worry about.” His words calmed her a little. It seemed he knew she was scared of the lightning, but was nice enough not to mention it.
636 rested her head on the wall behind her but it was incredibly uncomfortable. Unintentionally, her head leaned more towards Zaiden until she was resting against him. If he was uncomfortable, he didn’t show it.
“You’re warm,” she mumbled, just under her breath.
Zaiden didn’t move, his sight focused on the rain outside. “You can borrow that too, if you want.” 636 didn’t answer, finally getting tired. She hadn’t meant to, but she eventually fell asleep against his side. Finally warm.