JURASSIC

Road

Zach waited by the desk. The huge shed that this place operated was vast and cold. It was made from a large structure of steel and corrugated iron. There was a low mumbling of voices. Millions of people, children and infants mostly, were scattered around. Most of the children were lined up, sitting against the wall. They looked tired and hungry with worn clothes. This worried Zach and Gray slightly. Was this how they were going to end up if Claire did not come? The desk they were at was one of many. These were registration desks all lined up parallel to one side of the shed.

The lady that had been with them had returned and said, "Your aunt is coming right away. For now, I'm giving you a registration form and a code. You will use this code to access this main building. Once all is in order your tents should be up with your codes on it." With that she clicked her pen and slid it along with a clipboard with intimidating forms on it. She half-heartedly smiled and left.

"Lemme see," Gray urged.

"No, I'm in charge." Zach mumbled. He swiftly took the clip board and pen and began writing.

"Do you think Aunt Claire will be here anytime soon?" Gray asked.

"It's a long way for her." Zach mumbled.

Gray started to look at Zach with cloudy eyes. His brow became tense with worry. Zach was too tired to deal with this. He put a lazy arm around his brother and tried to comfort him.

"She'll be here in no time." Zach said. Gray did not believe him, but he accepted it. Zach continued to write. Then, Zach noticed something odd. There was only one form. Where was the other one?

"I'm coming back." He told Gray as he got up and left, to the corner where many other adults were. "Excuse me, Miss?" He said.

"Yes?" Her voice turned to him. He saw there was a small coffee table behind her. She turned to him with a cup in her hand. She looked annoyed.

"Why is there only one form? What about my brother?" Zach asked.

"Oh, did I not tell you? You are of age. You don't need residence in the child section. You need to go to the main office and register yourself as an adult. You will be taken from there."

"I can't just leave my brother here." Zach protested.

"Well, sweetie, it doesn't seem like you have a choice until your aunt comes." She took a slug of her coffee and walked off. Zach watched her leave. He was not leaving his brother. It didn't matter if he wanted to or not. Deep down, he heard something telling him it was going to be fine. The system works. But Zach knew what happened. If the parental figure did not come soon enough, kids were shipped off to adoptive homes. With everyone evacuating the surface to underground places, Zach did not trust where or what would happen to Gray. Zach walked up to Gray angrily. He punched Grays shoulder softly and said, "Come on, were leaving."

Gray had tearing eyes and said, "What? Why? What about Claire?"

"We'll meet her halfway."

Gray followed Zach out of the shed, past the creaky iron doors. Outside was a barren, grassy landscape. It was hot. Zach paced towards the side of the building where he saw the other sheds. There must have been about five behind the one they were in, all about half a kilometer away from each other, spread out. Zach faced the land before them.

"What now?" Gray said.

"We find one of these peoples cars, then steal it and drive to Claires. Easy." Zach said confidently. His heart pounded against his ribs and a sweat drop beaded on his forehead. Gray looked unsteady but accepted Zachs words.

Owen had trouble starting his truck. It was old, but nobody had restocked new vehicles in years. People who were moving underground no longer had a use for vehicles. Everything worked in a community manner. Owen found it disturbing and rather dehumanizing. No matter how many governmental warnings he had for living out on a limb, in the middle of nowhere, he would rather be torn to shreds by Procompsognathuses then turn to that kind of lifestyle. His truck roared to life within a few frustrating attempts. Claire had already put her stuff in the back. Masie was still packing last minute items inside. She had already packed a backpack full of weird things. She had her pocketknife, a torch, her phone. She was well prepared for any unexpected capturing. This was her first non-official road trip with her parents. She was excited. She was also excited to see her new cousins that she had heard so much about. New people to welcome in her life. She hoped they would get along. She was in need for friends. Masie was still under the fierce protection of her parents. Although she had tried to convince them, many times, that she was safe, they never trusted people. They could not trust people. If someone knew that they had her, she would be hunted down. But she accepted this fate. She had found her place on this Earth. Her, like Blue, would be protected yet wild at heart. She learned to live with her overbearing parents be escaping to wilderness, going on hikes, and seeing Beta. She found her peace.