I couldn't have known what was behind that door, and yet my psyche was itching. You could even say I was clawing my way to it...To Get To Him.
• • •
-2046-
The world is always going to be in a constant uproar of torment, but in the most recent deca...
"Once anything that has thermal energy is detected it switches to that mode automatically, same with the night vision when it turns to dark." Tom informs us.
We pass by the towering buildings slowly, the fire escapes mounted to the sides of them hang above us, and they creak at the slight movement of the wind. I peer into the busted out windows of each building to detect a heat field, hoping that the next corner I find it's her hiding. We split off from one another looking into each decrepit structure for a sign of the two of them.
Stepping past a broken out window I lean my head in to listen for any sounds that could indicate their hiding spots. An overwhelming aroma of rust and mildew envelopes my nose, making me choke for air. Stepping out of the dank room I see Tom round the corner of the alley to the second block. And I jog up to meet with Blake that's treading his heels looking through each building they pass.
As we turn the corner the alley way leads to the clearing ahead, it opens up to the evening sun set on the distant horizon. The purple hues of its illumination grows darker with each passing minute.
Even as it fades the heat of the day is still resting in the air, the only break from it is the cautious wind that makes its way in from the shore. The glasses rest on the bridge of my nose which causes a slight sweat to build underneath.
"They're not on this block." Blake states.
"We'll go to the shore and see if they're down there, if not we'll loop around the other way. Lilly is the one guilding so I can only guess they're in this square of area, she's not familiar with anything else." I state, trying to push away the fear of doom. Not allowing myself to think that thought, let alone speak it aloud.
Our feet glide over the crumbled remains of the city buildings leading to the sand we pushed to run up, doing the same to get down it. As we reach the peak of the hill my glasses flash in reaction to something I spot, as it switches on the thermal vision registering two bodies on the shoreline.
Squinting I try to focus my eyes to see if it's Watchman or bystanders. The small height of the one makes me assume they're not Watchmen. I race down the hill, leaving Tom and Blake behind. I don't look to see if they follow.
I click the button again as I run, clearing the heat radar—allowing me to see the full vision of who's down the incline. Lilly's familiar silhouette is held on the shore, a tall figure stands beside her. Thank god.
"Hey!" I shout down to them as I shrink the distance between us.
They both look up from the sand they are staring down at. Lilly waves in my direction and returns to walking along the shore kicking up sand with her feet.
"What the hell? I said to meet back at the warehouse. Why'd you come back?" I ask in a puff, as I slow my speed and come to a halt in the damp sand. Devin glances over at Lilly and then back to me, raising his shoulders in defense.
"She noticed the truck got close to the warehouse, so we hid in one of the buildings for a little while. And then Lilly said she lost her notebook; I didn't want to come back here mind you. She forced me anyway." Devin puts his hands up to show them, just as Tom and Blake stop beside me. Catching the last bit of information Devin gives.
Lilly scrunches her nose up in disapproval. "Wow, way to put it—thanks." She folds her arms over one another. "No, I did not force him. I simply told him if he wanted to go back that was fine, but I had to come back for my notebook." She responds. Huffing a push of air and unfolding her arms she returns to looking along the shore line.
My eyes roll back in a sarcastic response. "So, you mean you forced him," I argued to her. How could she be so blind to come back to the place we ran from. We've always been taught to never turn back.
"Okay, well either way—you are found. You're just lucky the truck didn't come back to the shore; you never go back to where you ran from. They probably thought you were local residents and didn't realize you all were activators." Tom echoes my thoughts and repeats the warning he's given to us many times before.
"Dinner is done, and being served as we speak, come on." He turns curtly and trucks his way back up the hill, Blake following behind.
Lilly scoffs. "Okay, yeah. Four whole years of writing washed away, but, yeah. I'll just forget all about it." She throws her arms up and follows somberly behind Tom.
I shake my head a bit at her unsensible response, although I understand the sentiment of losing her writings. I can relate with the resentment of losing something you've worked on for so long but there's no room for the risk. Had she gotten taken she would have been gone for good...
Devin steps past me and I return his steps alongside him.
"Well, that was fun." Devin's voice lingering on sarcasm.
"Yeah, she gets like this a lot. It's worse, even, especially on the first day of a move. Thank god this was it." I wipe sweat from my brow and take the last step to the top of the hill. The reflection of the sun on the surrounding buildings is calming, a bright orange light casts onto each of them.
In the distance, I see Lilly and Tom round the corner to the main street of the warehouse.
"I'm sorry for the scare, I would have taken her back—but I didn't think she would be the easiest to carry back. Especially with her fighting it." He apologizes.
"Plus, it was kind of nice to talk to her, she's so much different than the Lilly I knew. A whole lot more determined, but still the same level of sass." He laughs a little at the memory. I do as well, seeing as I can imagine the difference between my sister and the one on the other side.
The hard shell she has on is just a mask of the experiences we've had to face, shaping her to be a little more rigid in her personality. We step onto the hard pavement of the road and go around the same bend Tom and the rest of them went around.
"I'm sure she filled you with all sorts of stuff. She's great at talking, especially with new people." I smile a little.
"Oh yeah, she had a lot of embarrassing stories to share." I look over at him and the smirk that's plastered on his face makes my heart skip a beat. "I'm just kidding. She talked about you a lot, but no stories." His chuckle radiates through me, causing the beat in my chest to quicken.
"You don't have to feel so guilty, you know?" He says it in a way that's soft. I glance down at our feet striding along with one another. "Even though she's quite a bit younger than you, I can tell she understands the position you were set up to have. She knows you're her sister, but she speaks about you as if you were her mother. The girl out here has an intellect that the other lacked, the way she's lived her life has shaped her to dissect everyones real emotions. She doesn't hold anything against you, and you can see it." From my side view I see him look over to me, his eyes burrowing into my cheek.
I give a small smile at his kind words. They're comforting in a way I can't describe. We pass the buildings silently from there, the smell of the night air nestles a melancholy feeling into the atmosphere.
• • •
A/N Hiya to you beautiful people!😇 It has felt like a lifetime since I have been on here and actually POSTED but I am back! After a long rest and catching COVID I am ready to dive right back into world building and I am EXCITED 🤩🥳
I hope you all have had a good day and a even better few weeks since you've been here to read!📖📚 As always if you have any feed back or any comments you would like to give I love to read them 💕💞💓💗
💕STAY BEAUITFUL LOVELY FLOWERS💕
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