Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 42

"It isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair." Emma knew that well by now. "But we have to keep going. We have to do the best we can while we still can."

Teresa didn't respond, but Emma wasn't expecting her to.

The silence returned, and Emma kept her head down as she followed Jorge. Eventually, the desert turned into buildings. No longer was there an endless amount of sand. Now there were structures and people.

People.

People were living in this city. The buildings had long decayed and were now rusted and falling apart. However, that didn't stop the people from living in tents between them. She pulled at her backpack, feeling uneasy when eyes fell on her.

These people were like the ones that worked for Jorge. They weren't like the WICKED workers. They were unclean and unkempt. They didn't have the same resources.

"Marcus is up here," Jorge said a little while later. "Stay close and keep your heads down. Don't draw attention to yourselves."

That seemed easy enough, but this was new. Never had Emma experienced anything like this before. Her eyes flickered to an older woman sitting underneath a line of clothes. Her grey hair was tangled, and she had a scar on her cheek.

Emma looked away quickly, blinking a few times. They walked further into the unknown area. There were more people the further they got. Some were roasting unknown meats above barrels on fire. Others were picking things out of the garbage. Children wore ripped clothing.

A red banner on the side of a building said ZONE A. Emma wasn't sure what it meant but didn't care enough to question Jorge. The older man guided them around the side of a building. This one had a lot of women and men sitting outside of it, wearing clothing that seemed to be purposely revealing.

"Marcus," Jorge called. 

Emma looked up to see a blond man turn around quickly. His expression fell, and he looked momentarily fearful. "Jorge?" Whatever fear he had was masked by a false expression. "Jorge, it's so good to see you. How are you, old friend?"

The group stopped around him. A blonde woman by his side lowered her head and slowly stepped back. "I'm not here to catch up. I need your help. We're also looking for two people. Kids, around their age." Jorge nodded his head at the group. "A boy and a girl. Both with dark hair."

Marcus smiled fakely at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know who you're looking for."

Jorge raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "I hope you're not lying to me, Hermano." Emma watched as Marcus swallowed. It was clear he was both scared and nervous. Jorge stepped closer. "Are they in there?" Marcus hesitated long enough for them to know. Emma felt her heart rate speed up. Thomas and Brenda were inside, but what did that mean? "My friend, what did you do?"

He shrugged. "What I had to."

Jorge turned around. "Go. Find them. We're going to have a little chat." That was all the group needed to hear. Frypan burst through the doors, and the group ran inside after him, dividing without realizing it. Emma was immediately overwhelmed by everything she saw. Dozens of kids were inside, swaying to the music as lights flashed.

"Thomas," Emma heard Teresa shout. "Thomas!" In the chaos, she was lost. Unable to pinpoint where her friend's voices were coming from.

As she started to panic, Emma felt a hand grab hers. She looked over to see Minho, who was reaching out between the bodies of random teens. "Hey," he said. "I got you. Come on." With a gentle tug of her wrist, he pulled her toward the others.