The Battle of Rabid Earth

12

"Did you tell your team that we were leaving?" I had to change the subject. If I had to hear Syrus explain one more thing about different fighting techniques I would've thrown up.

"Yes... I texted Echo." He seems unsure, nervously glancing back and forth from his side mirror to the road.

"Okay.."

He's definitely still hiding something.

I have a mental bulletin board in my head labeling all the things he's done to make me suspicious of him.

So far, there's plenty of reasons to trust him.

There's only one reason not to.

One reason that stands out the most.

There was a deafening silence throughout the next 30 minutes of the car ride. The only stop we made was to our house to grab some things.

Dad needed to grab his work bag, which lead to Rosie asking if she could just stay back at home. She said she needed to call some of her agents anyway to see if they managed to get back to Florida from their work trip to California.

Other than the stop to the house, the rest of the ride was quiet, only a few short words from Dylan as he studied moms journals for more answers.

The road started to become more curved and bumpy, making me think about where this camp was even located.

I can't help but wonder if it's smaller than ours. Surely it can't be too big if there's no doctor on the property.

Maybe i'll get to pet a cow or something.

"We're here." Syrus' voice is low, just above a whisper.

We pull into what looks to be an old military base, with a building that rose high above their renewed concrete walls.

This was much bigger than I had pictured.

I begin to notice the differences between our camp and this one.

They men at the entrance were holding guns, and the entire base was in a vast open area surrounded by bush and trees, yet it looked modern with it's man made architecture.

There were no tents in sight. Only one massive building in the middle of the camp.

When Syrus parks, everyone slowly makes their way out of the car, standing just outside of it as we take in our surroundings.

Only then do I see how many women there are here.

"Syrus!" My head trails to the voice of a man. He approaches us with a smile directed towards Syrus.

He smiles back, giving the man his hand and a side hug. "Jared, good to see you."

"I wish it was under better circumstances." Sadness dripped from Jared's voice. "Thank you for coming." His head hangs down, giving the ground a short glance.

Syrus puts his hand on Jared's shoulder, followed by a empathetic look before directing it back to us.

"So this is Doctor Winston." Syrus motions towards Dad, who was looking through the people and around the camp.

He snaps his eyes back to the conversation when hearing his name. "Hello." He holds out his hand.

Jared shakes it, firmly but friendly. "Nice to meet you Doctor."

"Likewise. Where should I start?" Dad holds up his doctorate bag that previously hung on his left arm, glancing one again, around the camp grounds.

Jared looks at him with his eyebrows raised and let's out a chuckle. "You'll have to ask the general." He points towards the large building in the distance. "Luckily it wasn't too bad, so you might have to do less work than you imagined."