Utopia

Chapter 19

     We spend some time packing for a long journey. My backpack is a little heavy, but that's okay. We set out early in the morning. The sun is just rising so I put on my hoodie. A sharp wind blows through the air. I remember almost dozing off when we rested for a minute. I am usually a morning person...when I sleep well. I did not last night, so therefore staying awake will be quite the task.We don't talk much, for reasons I don't really understand. We should be chatting a bit to keep our spirits up. The day is long and tiring and boring. I see nothing of interest on our way to downtown. When we get to the edge of downtown, the sun has already set. Eric looks around and sighs. 

"We should camp out somewhere safe. Underground, maybe. Look to see if you can find the entrance to a subway station." He says. We learned earlier that there are not many guards downtown. They are spread thinly among the tall buildings but are closer together the farther downtown you go. Since we are on the edge, we haven't seen any yet. I turn on my earpiece. 

"We'll let you know if we find something." I say. He nods and we all spread out. I look around for a stairwell descending below the street. I see nothing. Ten minutes pass and I am getting agitated. No one has found anything yet. Five minutes after that I hear Jared's voice.

"I found one. Main Street. Six blocks north from the hospital." He says. 

"Roger that." I say. I start running.

"Wait up top for us." Dahlia says.

A few minutes later I see Jared. He's leaning against a pole. Dahlia and Eric are there. Mason is fashionably late. I suppose I am too. I walk over just as Mason appears from behind a dumpster. 

"I saw a few, but they were all filled with rubble. There was no way we would have been able to get in." Eric says.

"I saw the same thing." Mason says.

"I'll take the lead." Eric offers, descending the stairs. The lights are all out, so we all take some flashlights. We look around, our weapons ready. I have a headlamp. Don't judge, okay? Dahlia has one too. They're handy, alright? We finally find a nice, flat spot free of rubble next to a train. It is severed from its other half. We sit down and quickly light a fire with some of the broken bench wood and stuff. We all stayed awake for a while. It was hard to sleep, knowing that 150 years ago people stood here to wait for the subway. We don't bother unpacking anything except for some food. We eat in silence, the way we have done things all day. Eventually I sigh. 

"So...how are things?" I ask. Everyone shrugs and mumbles incoherently.

"Um...if we have to get back to the Resistance base, we could make a stop by my parent's house in the south. They wouldn't mind the fact that I'm a rebel." She says.

"That's good. You live on a peach orchard, right?" Eric asks. She nods.

"Yeah. I mean, it's just some consolation. We can stop by the coast and make it to my house before we call the General." She says. 

We get to talking about our parents a bit before Dahlia turns to Mason.

"So, Mason. I know this is going to sound insensitive but...how did your, um, mother die...?" She asks awkwardly.

"She drowned. She and my dad went on a boat trip and it sank." He says. His expression makes it clear that it's not something he wants to talk about.

"I'm...I'm sorry." She says.

"You have no reason to be. You didn't know her." He says. I look at Dahlia and she shuts up. I think she understand that it's time to stop pestering Mason about his tragic back story.

A few minutes later we all start to nod off. My head snaps up when I hear a sound. A high-pitched sound. Like hissing and whistling combined. Everyone else notices when it starts to get louder.

"What is that sound...?" Dahlia asks. My heart drops. I hope I'm wrong or else...

"SCATTER! NOW!" Eric shouts. I don't hesitate. I grab my backpack and run. Right where we were sitting suddenly explodes. I duck down and wait for the rubble to stop flying.

"THEY FOUND US!" Jared yells over the sound of another bomb approaching.

"THE SMOKE!" Dahlia yells. "THE GUARDS SAW THE SMOKE COMING THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE ROOF!" The whistling sound gets louder and louder. I realize it is coming for right where I'm standing. I dive through a window and fall on the floor of the subway cart. It rocks in the explosion, sending me flying. When I land on the seats I throw my backpack on and clip the belt thing around my waist to keep in on. An explosion rattles the cart and I look over. Mason and Dahlia are just landing on the ground. That explosion caught them by surprise, but they're both okay. They get up and run away. I look through the hole in the roof for the next bomb. I am still lying down on the seats. I see a black object start to fall...right towards the damn subway cart. I get up as quick as I can and jump out of the cart. But too little too late. The explosion sends me flying out onto the tracks. I turn on my side and hope that the impact won't dislocate my shoulder. I close my eyes and hope that there's nothing sharp there. But I'm not having the best of luck today. I feel something tear through my upper arm. It rips the skin deeply and blood splatters everywhere. On the tracks, on my face. I lie on my back in shock. I don't want to look at my arm. I don't want to see the blood leaking out of it. I can feel it. I can feel the pain and the warm wetness on my shoulder and all through my upper arm. Ouch. I hear another bomb and get up as quick as I possibly can. I sprint to Jared and stand beside him.

"What happened to your arm?" He asks.

"Tracks. Fell. Not important right now. Dahlia and Mason are okay. Eric is still going." I say. I look at him and notice the giant bruise on his nose. Not to mention the blood coming out of it. "What happened to your nose?" I ask.

"Flying rock. Doesn't matter." He says.

A bomb heads right towards us and I run to the wall. I climb on to the platform and press myself against the cold concrete. Heat sears my face, but it feels like nothing after what just happened to my arm. Blood is dripping down my fingers in a small but steady stream. When I run, it splatters everywhere.  I run to Eric and everyone else. We're all together now. 

"Spread out! They'll use more bombs that way and they'll run out sooner." Eric says. We nod and scatter again. I run to the left.  and put pressure on my arm with my other hand. Bombs are flying faster. More come at a time. It's almost like a video game. But, of course, it's not. Because we don't have a second life if a bomb comes too close to us. I dodge back and forth, but it's wearing on me. When are they going to run out of bombs? I turn around to look at my friends. I start running back a bit, because only five or six bombs have actually been aimed to me so far. I should take more of my share. I run right past an explosion and get hit in the back with a chunk of concrete. Ouch. I look at Dahlia. She's holding her own. Jared and Mason, despite Eric's orders, are together. And Eric himself is dodging bombs like a pro. He stops to look at me. That is where he makes his mistake. An explosion behind him sends him rocketing to the tracks the way I was. But instead of cutting his arm, a stray piece of tracks impales him. Right through his Heart.

"ERIC!" I scream, running to his body. Another bomb explodes, and then they stop. They have no interest in us anymore. They don't want to kill us now. Now They want to watch us weep over the corpse of our friend. Dahlia joins me, while Mason and Jared lag behind a little. Dahlia reaches him first and looks at him. His eyes are still wide open, the colour and life fading from them right before us. Dahlia feels his pulse. And then she starts crying. There is no pulse.

Eric is dead.