Instability

※ 26 ※

The war overhead continues to plague the air as we search. I skim the ground quickly, wiping away decaying leaves and grass to hunt for any clues. As I search, I spot a tree truck with an "I" carved into it. We're in the right place.

"Hey, I got something," Daniel calls, half of his sentence drowned out. I rush over to him, grass crinkling under my feet. He brushes dirt to the side, revealing a piece of twine. My mind immediately recognizes the string.

"Of course! My gosh, I can't believe I forgot," I exclaim. I run my hands along the string loosely wrapped around the tree.

"What?" Daniel remarks with his familiar laugh. "It's a piece of trash."

I don't bother to give him an annoyed glance. Our lives are at stake here, and he seems to be forgetting that.

"Follow this string, and we'll find a shelter," I tell him. I toss my bow over my shoulder, aligning it with my sheath. I bend to run my hand across the string. We slowly follow its path. Another missile booms above us, but I don't give it a look. Stay calm, Ashley. Stay calm.

I look at my hands, and they're steady. How are they steady? How am I suddenly calm when there's bombs bursting in the sky above us?

I better not question that.

But I am.

I keep my fingers on the string until I reach another tree the length knots around. I step around the tree, finding the string again as we keep going. My back begins to ache after a while, but I don't say anything to Daniel.

More missiles release, and more airplanes fly above us. Thankfully no bombs drop anywhere near us, at least not yet. However, gnats begin to swarm around us, causing me to swat them every time a fly swoops into my eye or ear.

Daniel and I soon trade jobs, and he hands me his compass.

"What's this for?" I say.

"It's tracking our path," Daniel explains as he runs over to my position at the twine. "So we'll have a map to follow next time."

I look at the compass and note that it's tracking our path in green. The technology also records the rest of the trees and bushes around the path.

I jog alongside Daniel as we make our way through the trees. The sun hides behind a cloud, causing the woods to feel more sinister. Another missile sounds across the sky, and I'm reminded of the looming danger.

By now, there's almost 10 planes battling above us. I give the sky a fearful look before continuing. Daniel is a lot faster at running bent-over than I am, so we nearly double the amount of progress I made according to the map.

"The string ran out," Daniel says, searching the tree for any more pieces of twine. I help Daniel look before telling him to search for a shelter door instead.

"I know for a fact we're looking for a metal trapdoor." I say, stomping my foot next to the tree with the last hints of twine. The dead leaves crunch loudly. "It can't be too far from this point."

Daniel and I spread out, searching the woods for a hint. I squint at the ground closest to the twine's endpoint before moving a bit farther away. I bend down to check the next tree. I rub away some leaves and grass to reveal a somewhat faded ring of red string at the base of the tree.

"Hey, I found it!" I call to Daniel. He runs over to me and checks out the tree, skimming his fingers on the red surface. He covers it back up so no one knows it's there. I begin to pound on the ground with my foot, searching for a sound other than solid earth. Daniel tosses some tree branches out of the way and ends up finding the door first. We brush away the leaves and spot a metal door painted brown. Dead leaves even stick to the door, creating the perfect camouflage..

Daniel throws the door open, and it clunks loudly on the earth, squishing leaves and grass. Grabbing the compass from me, Daniel taps his finger on it, marking our location with a blue dot. He convert the device into a flashlight and peers down the dark hole. We spot only a metal ladder, and it's so far underground I barely see the floor of the shelter.

Daniel deems it safe. I deem it risky, but marginally inhabitable.

Another missile fired in the distance, vibrating the Earth. I whip my head towards the sky and stare in horror as column of smoke clouds billows faintly in the distance. Daniel and I lock eyes, confirming each others' thoughts.

"Ladies first?" Daniel asks.

I place a firm foot on the second rung of the ladder and make sure my gear is secured. The ladder shakes a little under my weight. I take a deep breath and move all of my weight onto the ladder. I don't fall to my death.

"Gladly," I reply.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

yes, i am releasing two chapter today! i had a really bad headache last night, and i couldn't write. luckily, i woke up early today, and ta-da!

Question of the Day: what chapter number do you think the book will end on? No cheating!

this book is already completed, but still give me your guess in the comments because who doesn't like guessing!