When I opened my eyes in the morning, I knew something was wrong. With the store bright in the morning light and quiet as ever, I couldn't figure out what had woken me. My heart beat gently against my chest, maybe a little too fast, but I couldn't find reason for it. I sat up and saw Jude still sleeping away under a tangled blanket.
Blood pounded in my ears as I tried to listen for something else. Something I was sure was there.
"Jude." I reached over quickly and shook his shoulder. He responded fast and sat up, his hair splayed in odd directions.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He looked around, but seeing nothing noticeable, he relaxed a bit more, though my fast breathing kept him concerned.
"Scrappers." I didn't need to say anything else.
We gathered our things as quick as we could, shoving everything inside our bags with a strong sense of urgency. My hands shook. My heart pounded. Everything about my fear was too familiar.
"Wait." He touched me arm and I froze alongside him, listening. "Do you hear that?"
At first I thought the heat was coming on, a deep rumbling coming from somewhere below, but when I listened closer it was different. Something I'd never heard. The rumbling stopped, and then started up again, closer.
"What is that?"
Jude shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "But I have an idea. Come on."
We ran to the back of the building, through the double doors and down the dark hallways lined with mostly empty shelves. As he ran, Jude dug through his bag and pulled out flashlight and turned it on.
"Over here." He shone the flashlight on a set of steep metal stairs. I followed him up the steps, still able to hear the rumbles over the sound of our feet on steel. Jude stopped at the top, the light showing a thick padlock on the roof hatch.
"Do you want me to find a pair of bolt cutters? I think I saw a maintenance cage down the hallway."
He studied the lock and shook his head. "No, I don't think we need it." He curled his metal fingers into a fist, took a deep breath, and slammed it into the lock. The door swung outward and neither of us commented on it. I followed him out and over to the edge of the roof. The noise was no doubt the rumbling of a Scrapper machine, but there was something more we hadn't yet seen. We crouched down near the parapet and slowly looked over, keeping our heads low.
About two blocks away, the Scrapper's black machine was taking down one building at a time, the town flattened to ashes behind them, leaving nothing but rubble and smoke.
Jude turned and sat against the wall, his shoulders tense. "They're trying to flush us out," he said.
"How do they know we're here?"
"I don't think they do. I think they're guessing." He flipped his messenger bag open and started searching through it. "They have nothing to lose by flattening a town, and they may even get lucky and find other humans besides us."
I hesitated. "Jude, do you think they really want to find you that badly? Would they go this far to search for you?"
"I don't know, but we can't ignore the possibility." He pulled out a gun and continued to dig for something else. I was about to ask where he'd gotten it when he answered for me. "I found it in the house we stayed in last night."
I lowered myself down next to him, having the strongest urge to run away. Running always made me safer. I could feel his eyes on me so I turned away and acted like nothing was wrong. "So how're we going to get out of here?" I asked. "If they're flushing us out, they probably have Scrappers on the other side of town waiting for us."
"Did you see that fuel truck down in the street?" He pulled out a flare and I'd seen too many movies to not know what he had in mind.
"What about the Scrappers on foot?"
"If they decide to engage us, then I'll take care of them."
"When have they ever not? They'll come after us the moment we do something about their friends down there."
"Let's just worry about one thing at a time, all right?" He swung his bag over his shoulder again and started back across the roof. I looked over the wall once more before following him downstairs. We ran back through the store and paused at the doors, watching carefully for any rogue Scrappers watching the buildings. We didn't see anyone. The fuel truck sat down the road, crushing a small coupe into a lamp post.
Another building crumpled to the ground not too far away. Jude watched the smoke rise in the distance, thinking fast behind his brown eyes. "I'll have to find a place to stay out of sight but close enough to throw the flare."
"There's a vitamin shop near it." Then I said, "Give me the flare and the gun."
"What? There's no way in hell you're doing it," he said. "I am."
I took another look down the street and shook my head. "You won't have any time. They'll blow up the building before you could step out the door. But if I do it, you can distract them long enough for it be possible."
"You want me to be bait." It wasn't a question.
"Just long enough for me to kill them."
I pressed my back against the tire of the semi and tried to catch my breath. I'd been sprinting from one car to the next, trying to stay out of sight from the Scrappers. They were coming closer. One building at a time.
Jude was a few cars back, waiting for the right moment to show himself.
I flinched when another building dropped behind me and gripped the gun tighter. The safety was off with a bullet in the chamber. I couldn't wait any longer.
I took one step out and aimed. Most people think shooting a tank full of gas will make it explode. It isn't true. The bullet simply passes through the metal too quickly for there to be any kind of spark. But it's safer to aim low in case the tank is half full, because the vapor will ignite faster than gas. I used to watch Myth Busters way too much. I just never knew anything they taught me would come in handy.
I took the shot.
As gas poured from the punctured hole, I ran into the vitamin shop before the Scrappers noticed me. It was doubtful they heard the shot over the sound of the crashing building. When I was safe inside, I turned to study the damage I caused. Fumes rose from the leaking gasoline as it spread farther over the road. This was the moment when practicing baseball with Luke paid off. Everything came down to my ability to throw.
When the Scrappers moved up the road, I sunk deeper into the store. The ground shook. The walls shuttered. A thought occurred—there was a chance the Scrappers would destroy the building before they saw Jude. It was too late to back out now. I pulled out the flare and waited for them to stop near the fuel truck, willing my hands not to shake.
The machine slowed and hovered right where it was supposed to and I looked out to see why. Jude stood in the middle of the road, his back straight and his eyes level.
There was no better time.
I ignited the flare, stepped out of the doorway, and threw it with everything I had. It was one of those moments you know you'll never forget before it actually happens. The flare flipped in the air. One end over the other. Arching like a flying baseball towards the foul line. But instead of a foul line, there was a lamp post. Right or left; inches that could mean everything.
The Scrappers were oblivious to the fuel gathering under their machine from the parked truck. Oblivious to the death that surrounded them. When the flare was counted good, and landed on the wet asphalt, the air exploded in fire.
The force from the blast knocked me back into the store. My ears rang and the world shook. I pushed myself up in time to see the machine spinning out of control with fire coming from the inside. I smiled, thinking we had done it, right before it changed direction and started towards me.
I stumbled to me feet, grabbed my bag where it had fallen on the floor, and ran. I never looked back to see if I would make it in time.
Then I heard it.
The Scrapper's machine blowing up was louder than the fuel truck, and more powerful. I was thrown in the nearest car and my vision blackened, my whole body pounded on by debris falling from the sky.
When I opened my eyes, it was hard to make sense of things. I was deaf, unable to hear anything but my own heartbeat. Pounding fast and hard. The ground was cold underneath me and the asphalt hard against my face. I didn't have the strength to push myself up. I stared at the burning machine, to exhausted to do anything but breath.
Small shards of glass rained down from the sky, each piece reflecting fire and sun. Like snow for summer. Then I caught a flash of something silver coming down the road.
My eyes became heavy, and I let them close.
Someone called my name in the dark. I tried to answer but my mouth wouldn't work right. Like talking in a dream when no words would come out. Then I heard another voice. Not Jude's, but someone familiar.
The sun had barely moved in the sky when I woke, but there were three faces staring down at me. Jude's worried expression was the first to catch my eye. I could've stared at him all day if I hadn't known the person next to him. Someone I hadn't seen in so long.
"Kaileb."
He smiled, his green eyes bright and familiar. "Hey, Morgan. I definitely didn't expect to see you today."
"To say the least." I couldn't have smiled any wider from seeing him. I thought he was dead. I thought everyone I knew was dead.
Jude helped me sit up against the car and Kaileb wrapped his arms around me. My head pounded so hard it hurt, but I was too happy to care. He was warm smelling, the same as he always had. I never wanted to let him go.
He pulled back, still giving me the smile I always remembered.
"Are you all right?" Jude asked, his hand still on my arm. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm fine. Just warn me if I'm about to get thrown into anymore cars." Then I asked Kaileb, "How did you get here? Where have you been? I still can't believe you're here."
He pointed over his shoulder at the silver Jeep behind him. His hair was still in dreadlocks, pulled into a ponytail with a rubber band. "Found that down in Texas, along with this guy." He lightly pushed the guy next to him in the shoulder. He had short blond hair with dark rimmed glasses.
"Elliot," he said, offering his hand.
I took it. "Morgan, as you've probably heard."
Jude tried to hide the smile coming through. "I told them what happened. Nice throw by the way. World Series material."
Kaileb laughed once. "We saw the explosion from the other side of town. You were out cold when we got here. Scared me for a second. It would have sucked to have found you dead after all this."
I punched him in the shoulder. "Jerk. You know I'm tougher than you, and if you've survived until now, how could I not?"
Kaileb touched the side of my head and I winced. "There's a little bump, but I think you'll live."
"You never finished med school."
"I know." He grinned again.
"Have you seen anymore Scrappers? We thought there might be more since—" I stopped myself, not wanting to admit they were trying to flush us out. Jude stared intently, and I discreetly glanced down to see him wearing his gloves, hiding his hand. "Well," I started again, "since they usually work in bigger groups." Also true, so I wasn't technically lying.
They didn't suspect anything wrong. "No, we haven't seen any, but we should leave in case more show up. If we saw the explosion, there's no telling who else did, too. Come on, Elliot." He slapped him on the back, almost knocking him over. "Let's go warm up the car."
After they left, Jude helped me to my feet. I was sore but unhurt.
"So," Jude started. "You're cousin, huh?"
"In the flesh," I said. "Why?"
As he looked away, I could've sworn his cheeks reddened. "Oh, no reason. I just didn't know who he was until he told me. He seemed really worried about you."
"Like a boyfriend would?" I hinted.
He shrugged, not looking at me.
"I've never had one," I went on. "In case you were curious."
Jude pulled his eyes off the burning machine to study me. "That's good to know." His mouth twitched upward. "You know, just for future reference and all."
"Just in case the movie theater reopens?" I asked.
"How are you at mini-golf?"
"Horrible."
"Me too."
The doors of the Jeep slammed, making my heart pound faster and putting more distance between us. I swung my bag around my shoulders, still feeling weak and shaken, pretending we weren't standing that close. "I'm guessing you don't want to tell them the truth?" I asked, nodding towards his gloved covered hands.
"Not yet. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah," I said. "It's your secret to tell, not mine."
"But it's not yours to hold."
I thought about it and nodded. "It is as long as you're here."
We were all quiet until we drove out of the city, and everyone visibly relaxed once we were out in the country again where we could see our surroundings and know if Scrappers were nearby. It didn't help when Kaileb glanced in the rearview mirror every few minutes. Every time he did, my heart jumped.
"Kaileb, will you please stop doing that? You're making me nervous." I raised my eyebrows as he glanced back.
"Sorry, I'll try to be more inconspicuous." He smiled.
Elliot shifted in the front seat and turned around to face us. "Have you guys seen any other humans?" He blinked a few times, fast.
"Not too many. I hadn't seen anyone for awhile until I met up with Morgan. There were some people back near Kansas City, but they're . . . not there anymore."
"We haven't seen anyone since the state line. Where did you guys meet up?"
I answered before Jude could. "Outside of Denver."
Elliot smiled crookedly and nodded toward Kaileb. "We met up outside of Austin. He was actually trying to start up this Jeep when I came across him."
Kaileb laughed. "Yeah, and I almost shot you. You snuck up on me like a ninja."
"That's because I am one," he said smartly. "And I would've dodged your bullets if you had tried."
"Just like the Scrapper you might or might not have killed singlehandedly?"
Elliot turned towards us again. "I swear I did."
"Here we go again," Kaileb muttered. He winked through the rearview mirror at me.
"Oh, shut up, Kaileb. You weren't there so you don't know." Elliot turned back to face us and Jude laughed once at their banter. "It was down in Arizona last month and I was just separated from the group of people I was traveling with." I could tell by his voice he was excited to tell the story again, and he started to speak even faster. "I was coming out of an alley and all of the sudden he was just there. Of course, he didn't show he was surprised, but he wasn't ready for me either. I didn't have a gun but I still had my knife with me. I guess I just reacted faster than he did."
"So, you stabbed him?"
"Like ten times. I probably overcompensated." He blinked a few times now that he was done.
My mouth was a mixture of shock and a smile. Kaileb just shook his head and laughed again. "That's bull crap."
Jude laughed too. "I actually believe him. At least, I want to believe him. Anything that kills them is good news to me."
Elliot just nodded and sat back in his seat. The car became quiet and the miles rolled on until nightfall. We only stopped to refill the gas tank and switch out drivers so the others could get sleep. Jude was quiet most of the time—just listened to Kaileb and I as we talked about family reunions and the times we had together. He caught my eye a few times, giving me a smile that said something more.
The next morning, Elliot declared we should set a final destination and nominated Philadelphia. We all agreed, hoping we would find other humans there. And even though Kaileb always looked in the rearview mirror, I still had a habit of looking over my shoulder, still expecting to see those same two Scrappers standing there, waiting to capture us again.