Running on Empty

Chapter 5

Noelle Baxter
Location: Bunker

They finally began making cuts to who would be going on the trip. They hadn't told me to quit trying, so I was still putting in my hardest effort.

At the end of the day, there were still 10 people left in the group to choose 8 from. I had already been warned that I was close to being one of the two that weren't picked, and there was nothing more but fear in my heart.

I wouldn't trust a group without me in it to go and rescue my sister.

As I lied in bed that night, the horrors of what could've happened to her remained in my mind.

The worst thing could be that she was dead. She could be dead and rotting in the hole that the signal stopped in.

Or maybe she was locked away somewhere. Maybe one of the rouge groups of survivors had found her and captured her.

Or maybe she was being mutated against her will. Maybe she was screaming for help as her cells expanded and contracted at horrendous rates while she was induced to feel only pain as the virus cells entered her system.

I felt my eyes begin to sting with tears. Quickly I climbed out of bed and ran towards my door.

I walked out into the hall way, and I could see in the reflection of the floor that my face was becoming red, my eyes glossy with a clear coverage.

I rushed down the quiet hallways and towards the educators sleeping quarters.

The halls that people lived in were separated by occupation - if you lived alone. All of the families that wished to live together we're all placed in their own sections. All of my neighbors were Runners, my sister was placed 6 rooms down from me.

Luka's mother had told Luka he could live on his own if he wished, so he should've been placed in the same hallway. But he told me that he refused to leave his mother all alone.

I made my way to door 544. I shook as I knocked on the door, hoping that he heard me.

There was a groan on the other side of the door, and I stepped back when the door clicked and slowly opened.

"Nelly? What are you doing here?" Jessie stood in front of me and looked down at me with tired eyes.

"I... Um..." I stammered.

"Come on, come in..." He reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into his dark room.

Unable to see, I trusted his guidance as he led me through the dark sitting area and into his bedroom.

"Thank you..." I murmured, "I'm so exhausted... I just can't sleep... I'm so worried..."

Jessie lied down in bed, pulling me down next to him and wrapping me in his arms. He pulled a heavy quilt down on top of us. Then he spoke softly to me, in the soothing way that he did, "What are you worried about?"

I pressed myself closer against him, my ear resting against his chest and listening to his heart beat, slow and steady, "I.... I'm afraid... Of losing Willow... Of leaving the bunker... What happened to my baby sister..." I mumbled against his chest, "I'm so scared... I've never been so scared..."