Death City (Book 1)

Chapter 19: What Lies Ahead

Late in the afternoon, the dim sunlight began to fade behind the dark clouds above, as Dawn and Sky made their way to the fields. Taking the back roads past the ravine, in order to avoid being spotted by the park rangers, it was some distance before the two finally arrived. It was also a quiet walk throughout, both because of the lack of traffic and the fact that Dawn was still lost in her thoughts, fretting over the task ahead.

After learning everything that this meant to Sky, Dawn was unsure if she could bring herself to purposely sabotage or derail the mission. She had been so wrapped up in her head, to the point that she lagged behind and even stopped walking several times, prompting Sky to question if she was okay.

Upon approaching open plains that led into the forest clearing, Sky halted at the edge of the road and raised his wristwatch to his mouth, holding down a red button. He called out once to Warren and Aria. Seconds later, Warren reached out to them. It was muffled and fuzzy, but they could hear him verify his location–about two miles east of theirs. Having received confirmation, they proceeded forward.

The plan was simple. Dawn and Sky would enter the forest in a straight line toward the fence, which had been marked by Warren and Aria during their last mission, so as to avoid another confrontation at the previous point of entry. From there, they would take their first steps inside the city, exploring only buildings on the outer edge while Aria and Warren cleared the outside and kept watch.

As they walked through the grass, Dawn and Sky noticed a large pick up truck speeding down the open road from which they had just came. The driver and passengers inside couldn't be seen through the tinted windows, but hanging on the back truck and shouting vulgarities were two guys and one girl. Though they looked to be in their late teens, they were not dressed in any kind of school uniform and did not appear to be from the area. The truck would repeatedly race back and forth down the street at full speed, while the people in trunk would toss bottles and drunkenly yell at Dawn and Sky.

"What are they even doing? They're going to get themselves killed," said Dawn.

"Bunch of idiots. Come on."

"Yeah, but it'll be dark soon. With them out here, shouldn't we do something?"

"What can we do? Nothing." Sky marched forward into the forest, ignoring her pleas.

"Yeah sure then, leader," she mumbled under her breath.

It was pointless trying to convince him, she thought. As much as he called her stubborn, Dawn felt he was even worse. Sky had a one-track mind. And while she understood his goal, it bordered on being selfish in moments like this. Rain on the other hand, was far more thoughtful and considerate. Whatever, and whenever, she spoke it was as though every word carried weight and actually meant something to him. Even while traversing this chilling forest, Dawn's thoughts of Rain kept her happy. So much so, that she had barely realized it when they had arrived at the gates.

The two stopped several feet in front of the barbed wire fence. Dawn looked up at Sky, who gave her a reassuring nod. She turned away and smiled to herself for a second, thinking about what an odd guy he was, seemingly relieved to be walking into this monstrosity. As he peered through the fence and scoped out the area, Dawn took this time to contact Warren and Aria through her wristwatch. She called out to them through the mic and waited a moment for a response. But nothing came through. She tried again several seconds later, but was again met with silence from the other end.

"They aren't answering."

Sky shrugged. "Like I said, technology doesn't hold up well in here. These things aren't the best anyway."