The flames didn’t come right away. First it was explosions from afar that rattled the windows on the house. I stayed still – hoping – that we weren’t the next target.
“Mila,” Chase said. “You’re going to head toward the door on the count of three. We need to get off this top floor and away from the windows.” His body rose from my mine a little bit, while he steadied himself on the palm of his hands. He stared down at me, blue eyes hardened with fear and adrenaline. “One,” he started his countdown.
“…two.”
I can’t do this, I thought, waiting for that dreaded number to escape his lips.
“Three! Go!” He jumped up, pulling me onto my feet. I couldn’t think straight. I just ran.
Two more laps, Mila! Faster, faster! My running coach’s voice raced through my mind.
“I can do this,” I breathed. “I’ve got this!”
Chase caught up to me, pulling me by my wrist. We ran together, down the stairs, and stopped short at the front door. I looked back up the stairs, searching for Ethan. For a moment I thought maybe he gave up, or that he was hurt. But then he appeared, and a wave of relief washed over me.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked me with a smirk. “For a second, I thought you were scared for my life.” His smirk turned into a wide grin.
I rolled my eyes, sneaking a glance at Chase, and then back at Ethan. “There’s the jerk I know. Welcome back.” With a pat on his arm, I put a large gap between us.
Another explosion shook the entire foundation of the house, sending me back toward Ethan, and into his embrace. I pushed him away, frustrated. Trying to stay focused, I watched as Chase investigated.
He cracked open the front door, peeking outside, and then moved back. He clicked the door shut, again. “Looks like the houses on the next street over are on fire. My guess is this street is next.”
“Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Ethan asked.
Chase leaned his back against the door. “Dude, we don’t know if there are foot soldiers out there. Chill out, let’s think this through for a minute.”
Ethan pushed past me, and grabbed Chase by the shirt, shoving him to the side. “If you’re too scared to find out, then I will. Stay out of my way, Hot Shot.” He released Chase’s shirt and opened the front door.
“Ethan!” I yelled, and watched him disappear onto the front porch.
Chase slammed the door shut and faced me. “He’s nothing but trouble, Mila! We don’t need him.” His eyes searched over my face, then focused on my trembling lips. “Are you ready?” He brushed his thumb across my mouth.
No, I thought.
Instead, I said, “Yes. Let’s go.”
The ground rumbled beneath my feet as I ran ahead of Chase. Heat from surrounding fire crawled against the skin on my face. Even though I was terrified, I tried to push the fear aside.
Choppers flew above us, and the sound of missiles slicing through the air in the midnight sky made me run even faster. I looked up at the metal birds, and all I could see were their bright lights and clouds of smoke blocking the balls of light burning in space.
The spotlight hadn’t found us, yet. And not far, the main road that would lead us back to the city appeared. I went in full sprint, my feet barely hitting the ground. The burning in my chest and metallic taste in my mouth warned my body to stop. Just stop and breathe. But I wouldn’t. I wasn’t ready to die.
I slid on the gravel when a figure appeared out of the dark in front of me.
“I almost…ran you over!” I shouted, staring straight at Ethan.
Chase stopped next to me and bent forward. “Dang, Mila. I think that’s the fastest you’ve ever ran.” He smiled, and then moaned as he grabbed his side.
“If it’s a cramp, raise your hands above your head. You know that,” I said, poking him in his side.
Ethan grumbled. “It’s nice you two can chit-chat while your entire village is being disintegrated. However, I suggest we leave, like now!” He shook his head at us and proceeded to the ground, crawling back through the hole in the fence.
Following his lead, I inched my way back through, and stumbled down into the ditch next to the road. Ethan lied low next to me while we waited for Chase.
“Guess we could have made that escape route a little bigger,” said Chase. He crawled next to me and turned over on his back, staring up into the sky. “I can’t believe that just happened.” His voice was distant – he was distant. But I pulled him back to me with a simple touch.
Grabbing his hand, I said, “I’m sorry. We should have stayed in the city.”
He sat up, and even in the dark, I could see his concern. “It was the right choice at the time.” His eyes flickered back to the sky, and I gazed up in the same direction. On the edge of the cloud of smoke, a shuttle flew into space.
“It’s beautiful,” I muttered.
Ethan sighed. “Enjoy the sight now because there won’t be many of those left.”
“What?” Chase and I said at the same time.
Ethan’s voice seemed further away. “Don’t you see? Your village was destroyed and the people in it, gone. Dead gone. They can’t take everyone, got it?” I couldn’t see his expression, but I was sure it was smug. Badly, I wanted to grab him, shake him, and scream at him until I felt satisfied.
My voice shook. “They’re not dead.”
Ethan came closer. I could see his face clearly now, his breath hot against my cheeks. “Stop living in a fantasy, Mila,” he whispered.
I shoved him hard. “Get away from me!”
Chase pulled me back, wrapping his strong arms around me. His lips pressed against my ear. “Calm down. It’s okay. You need to ignore him, okay? Right now we have to get back to the city. Our focus is the Draw.”
“I can’t believe I was actually starting to think you were a human being with feelings,” I said to Ethan. He stared back at me, expressionless. Before he looked away, I noticed a glint of hurt in his eyes.
Good, I thought.
We stayed hidden in the ditch until the sound of explosions and choppers subsided. The decimation was finished. We had managed to come out from it unscathed, but far from danger.
“Should we head into the woods?” I asked the guys.
Ethan nodded, but Chase shook his head to disagree. “Actually, I think since it’s still dark, we can just walk along these deep trenches.”
“Okay, then it’s settled. We will stay near the road,” I said.
“Wait, what?” Ethan shouted. “I have no say in this matter? Right, fine, I will just tag along. Just ignore my presence.” He walked ahead.
“I plan to, idiot!” I shouted back.
Chase touched my arm. “Let’s keep a low profile, okay? Recons will still be patrolling. Plus, we saw there are soldiers on foot now. We need to get into the city and find a safe place to stay until we can get to the Draw.”
Inara’s house, I thought, cringing.
“Anywhere but Inara’s,” I said.
He smiled. “No problem, at all.”
Ethan called back to us. “Come on, daylight is in a couple of hours!”
After walking a few miles and no sign of Recons, I began to think that something bad was happening in Steel City. The day before when we were hiding in the woods, a siren had blasted in the distance. I was worried the bottom-feeders invaded, disrupting the Draw.
I can’t think this way, I told myself.
My lungs burned from inhaling smoke back in the village. Then after walking another mile, the smell lifted, becoming a bittersweet memory. I could breathe somewhat decent, again, considering the polluted air.
“There’s the bridge,” said Chase, pointing ahead.
His blond hair set against the sunrise. Walking over to him, I forced him to face me and stood on my tip toes, pulling his face close to mine.
“What?” He smiled.
Only silence. Then we kissed.
I pulled away first, grinning. “Seeing you in with the sunrise is all the reassurance I need.”
He laughed. “Good to know.”
I looked past him. Ethan stood on the bridge, waving his hand through the air. The coast was clear to move on. Chase let me go ahead of him. He stayed a few feet back to make sure no one pursued us from behind.
No one came.
The fog settled since the first day we arrived in Steel City. Now the skyscrapers were in full view. Once again, I felt excited. I was getting another chance to be selected like Ethan. And as much as I despised him, I did feel a bit envious.
Ethan was already halfway over the bridge. He stayed in the center, never once looking over the edge. I did the same. The thought of how high up we were made my pulse race. It didn’t stop Chase, though.
“The water looks like sewage has been poured into it time after time,” he said. “It smells so bad, Mila.”
I had to agree. There were so many strange smells since the Change: burning of flesh, hair, and bone, along with polluted water and soil. The land was diseased.
Chase jumped back from the steel railing. “Oh my god…”
“What?” I asked, not taking a step closer.
He turned to face me, his face pallid.
When he wouldn’t speak, I decided to take that step forward. “Chase, what is it? Tell me!”
I was becoming frantic.
“Trust me when I tell you to just get over this bridge,” he replied in a soft tone. “Don’t look over the rail.”
Could it be villagers?
My body thrust forward on impulse. Bumping Chase out of the way, I peeked over the side. Bile crawled up my throat when I witnessed the five dead bodies below.
I clamped my hand over my mouth, holding in a stifling scream. I’ve never saw a dead body before, only a skull.
Only a skull…
Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. They must have been down there awhile. All of their faces were eaten away from the contaminated water. But there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that they were some of the villagers that might have tried to escape.
“Let’s go, Mila,” Chase whispered in my ear, pulling me away from the railing. I fell into his side, using him to lean on as we walked away.
“Why did they have to be killed?” I cried.
“I don’t know,” he answered.
Ethan ran up to us. I looked into his wide eyes as he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. “You aren’t going to believe this.” He swallowed, trying to gain his composure. “But I think there are bottom-feeders up head. They’ve got hostages.”