Blank Slates

Chapter 15

"Calix, Yves," Akilah ordered, "Unlock the shed and go get the ATV's."

"Aye aye, chief," Calix returned, saluting strangely and heading out with Yves.

Akilah sighed, leaning against the wall slightly and looking over at Kairo and Slade. "You hear about the attack in the Northern Sector?"

Kairo shook his head. "No...what happened?"

"Our base in the north was attacked and overrun by Sentinels. Only a handful managed to get away, but most were either captured or killed on the spot."

"Wait, wait," Slade spoke, his voice trembling slightly. "How'd they know where they were?"

Akilah shrugged. "We don't know. But they've been cracking down harder on Insurgent activity recently. This is the first major base that's been overrun, but stats show that our death tolls have been slowly rising. Things aren't looking great for us right now."

Kairo cursed under his breath. "So what are the bosses doing about it? I know there's no way to fight them in an all out war, but we have to do something instead of just running away."

"I don't know. And quite frankly, I don't know if they know either."

"Say, wasn't Julia in the Northern Sector?"

"Yes, but we heard that she escaped. I'm not sure where she's heading next though. Clovis just said we gotta be alert and ready in case anything happens."

Before anyone could say anything more, Yves tapped on the door lightly, drawing their attention. "Rides are ready."

Akilah nodded. "You four pair up and let's head out."

Kairo glanced over at the three ATV's and his eyes fell on Yves. She offered him a smile, which he awkwardly returned as he made his way over to her.

"Can I ride with you today?"

He shrugged, climbing on one bike and turning on the ignition. "If you want."

"Hey," she said, touching his shoulder lightly. "We good?"

"Yeah," he returned, but his slightly sour tone said otherwise.

She sighed. "Look, I under that it's hard on you but..."

"Just drop it, okay? I'm fine."

"Okay, okay. Just...can you please stop shutting me out? We promised before it all started that we wouldn't let it destroy our friendship if it didn't work out, and now look at you. If I had known it would end like this, I would've said no from the start."

He sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be detached but...it just takes time to try to get back to how things once were, you know?"

She nodded. "I understand."

Kairo extended his hand out and helped her climb on behind him. Yves wrapped her arms around his torso and they were off. Calix and Slade had paired up and Akilah had taken one on her own. With Akilah leading, they sped through the countryside on their way to the closest uninhabited village to the west from where they were. Though Kairo hated scavenging, he loved the outdoors. Being cooped up underground always made him antsy and he'd often sneak out at night to explore on his own or with Calix and to get some fresh air. Feeling the cool wind on his skin and the sun behind his back caused a small grin to form on his face. He unintentionally raised his speed and Yves had to tighten her grip on him to stay in place. Calix took Kairo's actions as a challenge and increased his speed as well with Slade sputtering protests behind him. Soon enough, they were speeding past Akilah who yelled after them to slow down. A rather large bump in their path elicited a yelp from Yves.