7. When the Clock Stops Ticking and the Land is Covered in White
There was no reason to stay in Oakdale or venture deeper in. Jane didn’t want to see the destruction or the skinless corpses of the people she used to go to school with. She did, however, feel inclined to visit her hometown. It was called Dodge, and it was only a few minutes down the street.
There could still be survivors, she thought, making her way down the long road that led into town. Uncle Scott, Jessa… though I’m not sure I want them to meet Rin and Angelina, it’d still be nice to know they’re alive.
Her two new companions sat in the backseat of the jeep, quiet and comfortable. Angelina was clothed now, though Jane’s wardrobe was a bit small, and Rin wore his coat. She hadn’t told them why they needed to stay covered—she wasn’t sure if she was right—but she knew that either Uncle Scott or the town library would hold some valuable information.
She glanced at the rearview mirror. Angelina still glared at her while Rin in turn glared at Angelina. He’d definitely make a good henchman, Jane thought. Though, Jane wouldn’t necessarily consider herself leader material. Why was he still following her, anyway? Jane shook her head. She had no clue.
She sighed and looked ahead of her. They were approaching the first houses of Dodge.
If the people in Oakdale had died from third degree burns, then what would’ve happened to somebody twenty miles over? They’d be burnt, sure, but would they be skinless, too? It’d been a few hours since the bomb went off. The cashier had somehow held onto his life, and there was enough time left for Angelina to completely heal and make her way to the gas station. If there were survivors, they’d all be in pain, but the choppers that’d attacked her earlier would’ve most likely killed them.
The Great White Brotherhood, Jane thought. They want all the normal humans dead so that the Aryans can rise, just like Hitler, except these Aryans actually have demigod abilities.
Jane shivered. There were two Aryans in her backseat, and she was only a normal human. What would happen if they both turned against her? She’d have no way of defending herself. But Rin would never allow that, she thought. No, I don’t think he ever would.
Jane shoved the thought aside. There were more important things she could be thinking about.
When they entered town, all the houses appeared undamaged save for a few shattered windows and turned over yard ornaments. It was a small town, and most of the homes were at least a hundred years old. Once again, she wondered if anybody had survived; though if anyone had, it would’ve been an Aryan.
Jane approached the center of town, where the two main streets crossed.
“Not a single hovercraft,” Rin muttered from the backseat. “How do you small people live like this?”
Jane couldn’t help but smile. “This is Oldtown,” she said, glancing at Rin through the rearview mirror. “Downtown is right at the stoplight, and Newtown is mostly farther west, but there’re some newer houses to the east, too. That’s where all the rich people live, and they’re the ones with the hovercrafts.”
Rin smirked as if amused.
Jane took a right at the stoplight and entered the two-block area known as Downtown. It was incredibly old, built more like one of those Wild West towns with a German twist, and there was a little shop for everything. Uncle Scott’s garage was at the edge, and their house was right beside it.
“This place looks so old,” Rin said. Most of the cars were on the street sides, but some had parked in the middle. Jane swerved around them. “Where’s everybody at, anyway? There should be dead people in these cars, right?”
Jane glowered at him through the mirror, though he clearly wasn’t paying any attention to her. Angelina was. Her glare remained steadfast.
“This was the town I’d hoped to reach before the bomb hit,” Angelina said. “It’s at the edge of the safe zone, but it seems that the Watchers have already cleansed it.”
Jane stopped the jeep and put it in park. She turned around and scowled at Angelina, who quickly averted her gaze.
“What do you mean the Watchers cleansed it?” Jane asked.
There was no response.
Rin looked uneasy. Hesitantly, he grabbed Angelina by the jaw and forced her to look at Jane. “Repeat the question,” he said. Jane frowned. What difference would it make whether or not Angelina looked at her? “Just do it. You’ll see what I mean.”
Jane looked back at Angelina, confused by Rin’s words. For a moment, the healer closed her eyes. A few seconds passed, and then she opened them.
Angelina seemed willing to speak. “The fliers that came by here—they’re called the Watchers. They watch for those that’ve escaped the system and kill them. This little town…” She glanced around her. “Perhaps they used microwaves, or maybe poison gas. I was never told.”
Jane released a breath, her heart sinking further into dismay. She turned back around and sat quietly for a moment.
Uncle Scott, Jessa… they were all she cared about, and even if their heads had exploded or they were blue from the gas, Jane needed to see them. Once she confirmed whether or not they lived, she’d leave them just like she’d originally planned, but this time, she wasn’t running away to California.
She put the jeep back into drive and cleared the remaining distance to her uncle’s garage.
It was the most likely place that her uncle would’ve retreated to after the explosion. Though their house next door had a finished basement, the garage had a storage room underneath that had been converted into a bomb shelter during World War II. When there were tornadoes and other wild events, they always retreated there, so Jane had every reason to suspect that Uncle Scott and Jessa were there now.
She parked her jeep and hastily unbuckled her seatbelt.
“This is it?” Rin asked from behind her. Jane twisted around and returned Rin’s stare. “You’re not actually gonna do this, are you? If you find your uncle and sis dead, it’ll—”
“I need to know for sure. Wouldn’t you?”
Rin frowned and looked away. Jane immediately regretted asking the question. Of course he wouldn’t care about his family. He was a serial killer.
Stupid, Jane thought for the thousandth time. You know what he is but you still trust him? Stupid, stupid, stupid…
The sad truth was that she didn’t know why she trusted Rin. He was a serial killer and she was an ex-wallflower in denial. She thought that maybe she trusted him because he’d tried to save her from the bomb even without knowing if he could, and then he actually succeeded. But still, Rin wasn’t a pleasant person to be around. Jane was sure she was slowly losing her mind.
“You’re a painfully optimistic person, Miss Doe,” Angelina said. Jane and Rin turned to face her. “If the town was cleansed, what makes you think your uncle and…” she looked at Rin “… sis survived?”
Jane smiled. “There’s a bomb shelter beneath the garage.” Angelina’s eyes widened, and Rin frowned. “The walls are made of three feet of lead and two more feet of concrete, and there’s even some old food in there, too. Have you ever seen a tin can before? They’re really neat. I’ll have to…”
Jane trailed off. That was right. She couldn’t take Rin and Angelina down into the shelter because one was a murderer and the other was a white-haired immortal. What would Uncle Scott say? And Jessa would most likely embarrass her.
Jane grabbed her camera bag. “Stay here,” she told them. “Watch Angelina, and… I’ll be back. [Come with me if you want to live!] [Hasta la vista, baby!]”
Before either of them could respond, Jane hopped out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut.
Everything looked different when the protective barrier of her beloved jeep wasn’t surrounding her. The white matter that gradually coated the land was somehow grayer, but at the same time, the town looked less depressing. She was no longer a stranger passing through a strange land, but a citizen of Dodge returning home from war. Her heart raced with excitement. She was happy.
Jane walked around to the back of the garage, but before she turned the corner, she glanced over her shoulder at the jeep. Rin tracked her movements dubiously, and Angelina stared blankly into the distance, as if deep in thought.
At least they’re not following me, she thought. She turned and hurried away.
The shelter entrance was outside and hidden beneath an ancient, incredibly cool-looking trapdoor. Beneath these two doors was a more modern-looking door. It was metal with a wheel handle, like on a submarine.
Jane turned the wheel. It refused to move. She tightened her grip and put all her strength into it, causing her bandaged fingers to ache. Finally, the wheel became easier to turn. The door popped open, and she lifted it up to the side.
It was dark down below, but the light from outside painted a gray path. She saw some of the boxes of old car parts they’d tossed down there years ago, and she even saw an old tin can.
Jane narrowed her eyes.
What is that? she wondered. She knelt down to get a better look, but it did little to improve her sight. She had an idea what it was—especially after the recent events—but somewhere in her mind, she didn’t want to believe it. The stain at the edge of the shadows must’ve only been oil.
Jane pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “Uncle Scott?” she called. “Jessa?”
There was no reply.
Jane’s voice became shaky. “It’s Jane. I’m okay and… safe. There’s only a few burns on my hands, but I don’t look scary like those other people. I’m alive, okay? Are you down here?”
There was silence for a few seconds, and then Jane heard a shuffling noise. She gasped and leaned closer, but when her body cast a shadow, she moved away.
“Uncle Scott? Jessa? Is that you?”
“Jane.”
The voice didn’t sound excited or questioning, but was instead more somber and, in a way, relieved. Though, that might’ve been Jane’s wishful thinking.
She leaned over the edge. “Uncle Scott! Please tell me you and Jessa are alright! Jessa, will you say something? Please, just let me—”
“Jessa is dead.”
Jane froze. “What?” she squeaked. For a moment, her heart stopped beating, her breathing halted, and she could no longer bring herself to speak. Her entire world came to a standstill, and time seemed to slow.
“Who said that? You have to be lying! Who are you?”
“I’m not lying to you,” the voice replied. “It’s me, Uncle Scott.”
“So then …?”
The voice softened. “Yes, Jessa is dead. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.”
Jane struggled to breathe as the reality set in. Jessa… why did it have to be you?
Out of everybody in the town, Jessa was the sole person Jane cared about the most. She loved Uncle Scott for taking care of her when her parents couldn’t, but Jessa was more than just a little sister. She was Jane’s best friend, too.
They did everything together, and on a few occasions, Jessa had even invited Jane to hang out with her friends from school. Jane was always the quiet one who was too observant, while Jessa was the outgoing one who wasn’t observant enough. They were such great friends that Jane had promised her sister that she wouldn’t go to college until Jessa graduated from high school. Jane would’ve kept the promise, too, if Jessa hadn’t supported her dream to live in California. In a way, Jessa had been the reason that Jane survived. If Jane had never left home, she would’ve never met Rin and Angelina or figured out what was going on. And most importantly, she would’ve most likely ended up dead.
Tears escaped Jane’s eyes, and her teeth chattered from the cold. She wrapped her arms around her knees and fell backwards onto her rear.
She was lucky to have survived, and so was Uncle Scott, but why Jessa? Had her uncle left her outside? Or had she refused to go down into the bomb shelter? No. Jessa had gone down there—there was no doubt about it. What else could that black smudge against the floor be?
Jane buried her face into her arms and sobbed. Jessa was gone, and Jane should’ve accepted this hours ago.
But why Scott? Jane wondered. Why is he still alive if they were both in the bomb shelter? He couldn’t be a… no, I would’ve noticed. He would’ve told me if he had some type of freaky ability. But still…
Moments passed. Jane couldn’t stop crying.
Uncle Scott’s voice emerged from down below. “It’ll be okay, Jane. Your sister may be gone, but we still have each other. You should come down into the shelter, Jane. Come, so we can talk.”
Jane’s sadness turned to rage. Once again, she felt angry, and her fury attempted to seize control of her.
“Why?” she spat. She looked down into the hole. Her uncle was still hiding in the shadows. She climbed to her feet. “Why did you survive and not Jessa? Are you an Aryan? Is that it? Did you kill her for the benefit of your own race?”
There was silence for a few seconds, and then the voice replied. “Where did you hear that, Jane?”
Jane smirked. “I’ll take that as a yes, you… you Aryan nincompoop!” That was the most offensive thing she’d ever said to anyone, but she no longer cared. Her uncle was evil, and she should’ve already deduced this. She was disappointed in herself.
Jane wiped the tears from her eyes and surveyed the back wall of the garage. There were several tires leaning against it, but nothing that was too heavy.
“You’re not getting out of there,” Jane continued. “I’ll make sure you rot down in that icky mausoleum with Jessa and all the maggots and disgusting canned food.”
She started for the largest tire, one that would’ve attached to an old-fashioned tractor.
“Jane, don’t be ridiculous!” Uncle Scott shouted. His voice grew louder, as if coming closer. “The radiation has gotten to your head. Snap out of it and be reasonable!”
Jane scowled. Just when she reached the giant tire, she spun around to face the hole. Uncle Scott was nowhere to be found.
“Don’t tell me I’m being ridiculous, and I’m certainly being reasonable! The only thing the radiation has done to me is burn my hands and kill everyone I know!” She pointed a finger at the hole, as if her uncle had actually emerged from it. “Now step away from that ladder before I sic Rin on you!”
Her uncle was the typical stereotype for all creepy uncles, but he was generally kind and affable. He had spiky brown hair and an orange mustache, and he liked to wear those old bowties with the craziest designs. Her uncle was a weird guy, but Jane loved him. Well, used to love him—now she wasn’t so sure. How could she even remotely like the guy that killed her little sister, let alone love him? There was no way.
A few seconds of silence passed before he responded. “Rin? Is that the boy you ran off with?”
Jane felt her jaw tighten in anger. Did he really believe she was so foolish as to run away with a stupid boy? Uncle Scott mustn’t have known her at all.
She balled her hands into fists and closed the distance between her and the giant tire. It was nearly as tall as she was, but she knew she could move it. She had to, in order to avenge her sister. She began her endeavor by attempting to push it away from the wall and into an upright position, but it wouldn’t budge. No matter how hard she pushed or how loudly she grunted, the tire wouldn’t yield an inch.
“No!” she shouted. She kicked the tire, but the force of the impact sent her stumbling back. In an instant, her toes cried out for mercy. Why was she such an idiot?
She grabbed her toe and hopped around until finally she gave up. She didn’t care anymore. It was over. She fell onto her backside and allowed the sorrow to overcome her anger. She was weak, pathetic, and all she could do was cry.
Jessa’s gone, she thought. She’s really gone, and Uncle Scott was the one to kill her.
Jane didn’t know for sure if her uncle had killed Jessa, but who else could’ve done it? They’d been hidden away in the shelter after the bomb struck, protected by its lead walls and concrete, and no one else could’ve possibly found them. Her uncle was an Aryan, and he must’ve terminated Jessa because she was a normal human being.
Why? Jane thought for the thousandth time. Why is all this happening?
It was quiet for a moment. Jane wondered why her uncle hadn’t come out of the shelter, but then she remembered that the white fallout matter would harm him. He was a smart man and would’ve known about something like this. If he was an Aryan in league with the Great White Brotherhood, he’d have most likely been informed of the bomb’s effects on nature.
The sound of rocks crumbling underfoot broke the silence. Behind the garage, there was a type of narrow alleyway that allowed access to people’s backyards, and this was where Jane now sat. Somebody was approaching from the road behind her.
Jane held her breath and wiped her sore eyes. “Go away,” she said. “You Aryan scum.”
Something warm touched her head, and she froze. It wasn’t until it started petting her that she realized it was a friendly hand.
Jane looked up.
Rin knelt down beside her with an awkward half smile. He patted her head before removing his hand completely. “You called?”
Somehow, Jane was relieved.
Even though Rin was a psychotic serial killer, his mere presence relaxed her. He was her shield, her henchman, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She didn’t know how she knew, but she was sure of it.
Jane forced a smile and nodded towards the tire. “Can you, umm… put that tire over the bomb shelter door? I don’t want him coming out. He killed my sister.”
Rin didn’t need to know anything else. He stood up straight, held out both of his hands—one extended towards the tire and the other towards the bomb shelter—and acted. The white strings grew from his fingertips like miniature whips and wrapped around the tire and door. The door slammed shut, the wheel turned to lock it, and the tire lifted from the ground. It hovered in the air for a few seconds as Rin guided it with his hand and fingers to the shelter.
Jane was awestruck. All she did was ask for a favor and Rin proceeded to obey her. But why? He seemed willing enough, and he didn’t look uncomfortable when he finished the task. It was as if he actually wanted to serve her.
Nearly expressionless, Rin held out his hand for Jane to take. She was hesitant, for she still had yet to figure out what was wrong with him, but she soon decided that there was no way Rin could pose a threat to her. Somehow, she’d managed to hypnotize him into becoming her lackey. Did this mean she had an ability, too?
Jane put her hand in his—the first time they’d had any real contact since Oakdale—and he wrapped his fingers around hers.
Impossible, she thought. There’s no way I could be like them. Impossible.
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Bienvenidos al fin de la capitulo! [Tran: Welcome to the end of the chapter!] Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Please vote so I know if you liked it :3 Thanks!
As promised, here's a working description/blurb of a new project I'm working on....
"Dangerous Games"
There are only three rules to the Game: Don’t tell anybody your secret, learn to keep an open mind, and don’t forget to pay your debt. If any of these rules are broken, the price is your life.
Will is a self-conscious, overweight teen that enjoys taking risks, but not when he’s pitted against twenty or so look-alike johnnies each with an unknown, supernatural ability. On top of juggling his normal life with a game of survival, Will searches for the true reason he and the others were forced to play the Game. Along the way, he discovers the value of life and learns that some secrets are meant to be told.
Tell me what you think! And it's okay if you tell me it sounds boring hahaha. Kevin doesn't seem to like it, but I can't please everyone, right? Well, thanks :) You guys are awesome!