Two days. Rain had been running for the better part of two days. They’d taken a few breaks for a half-hour here and there, but since the shield Mist had activated would last for about forty-eight hours before it would power down, all four of them felt compelled to continue to run while they had the opportunity to take advantage of the safeguard.
Even though they’d figured out a way to beat the drones by tracking them as they moved around the grid, the shield provided them with the best opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the Mothers undetected. They’d each taken extra energy pills from the supply Mist had brought with her, which helped, but by the time the shield finally started to descend, over forty-eight hours after it had been launched, Rain thought her feet were going to fall off, and the cramps in her calves were almost unbearable.
“Son of a bitch, it’s done,” Mist said, catc
The plants of the forest grew closer together the further away from Michaelanburg the military traveled. Working her land riders through the foliage was slow going, and at times Jaguar thought they might have been better off on foot. But their average time traveling a mile was still faster than the Mothers running on foot, so Jaguar didn’t abandon her vehicle just yet. Besides, they finally had a lead.“Her behaviors are so erratic, it doesn’t make sense,” one of the uniformed Mothers who was doing the majority of the tracking, Mother Scorpion, said to Jaguar’s left. “At times, she’s perfectly still for hours. Then, she takes off running so quickly, it doesn’t seem like this could possibly be a human.”“What are you saying?” Jaguar asked, praying she hadn’t just shifted course and started moving in on one of their primary objective’s transponders for no reason
The drones were acting odd. The ache in Rain’s feet didn’t overshadow the fact that the drone they’d expected to hear at least five minutes ago hadn’t made its trip overhead as scheduled. Since they’d realized the drones were following a grid pattern, they’d known exactly when to expect them and had been able to scatter out of range whenever they’d announced themselves about twenty feet before they arrived above them. But since they hadn’t heard any in a while, it was clear that the Mothers had changed things up a bit, and their eyes in the clouds were no longer following the same pattern.She would’ve mentioned it to her companions if she wasn’t absolutely exhausted. Beyond that, she was certain the others had probably figured it out, too. Mist was sure to have noticed before she did. Her friend was so smart, so aware of everything. Mist’s worldly knowledge sort of made Rain consider perh
The buildings were taller than Rain had realized. It seemed like each step she took forward got her no closer to them. By the time they reached a mostly clear piece of concrete sticking out of the ground and forming a broken trail with its brethren of broken bits and pieces that seemed to lead directly to the closest building, which was still a thousand miles away in Rain’s mind, lifting her boots was a negotiation with each step. If the Mothers showed up right now, Rain was as good as dead.Not to mention the fact that she felt as if she were being watched. The closer they got to the remains of the city, the stronger the sensation that eyes were tracing their every move grew.It was Walt who finally said something. His eyes lifted toward the closest buildings, he asked, “Is someone watching us?”“Sure seems that way,” Mist replied. “But, they haven’t shot at us yet, so that&rs
Six men and four women of various ages came to a stop about twenty feet in front of Rain and her friends. They were all armed with various weapons. Rain recognized the rifles and handguns, of course, but one of them was carrying what looked like a long spear, its metal tip not only screwed into the top, but a long cord wound around it as well. Another had what might’ve been a bow and arrow of some sort. A bent piece of plastic arched across her back, but there was no string, and the quiver held several pieces of metal that appeared to be blunt on the end. One was carrying a long black stick that looked more like the handle to a sword than anything else. Perhaps it was a baton to beat a person to death with. She didn’t want to find out what it was. She didn’t want to find out what any of the weapons were.Two men stood in the middle of the group. The one on the left, the tallest, with long, black braided hair that surrounded his shoulder
Dal led them down concrete walkways between the buildings Rain imagined must’ve been streets at one time. She had a vague understanding of what cars were and how they used to fill the roads, polluting the air with noxious gasses as they took people from one point to another at high speeds, often crashing and killing the occupants. She’d never seen one, but she knew the Mothers had some larger transport vehicles in their fleet. She imagined the military hadn’t used any of them to chase their group down because they’d be impossible to maneuver between the trees, but if they had roads like these, they could get to Dafo easily enough. Were there such roads she was unaware of?The leader approached a smaller building positioned right behind one of the towering structures they’d seen from a distance. Up close, the sight was even more pitiful. Large plants covered the outside of the sagging building, smaller ones pushing through cr
Pitch black greeted her when Rain opened her eyes. There was no way of knowing what time it was since her timepiece was in her backpack, which had been confiscated. Her back ached from sleeping on thin blankets on top of a concrete floor, but she didn’t stir, afraid she’d wake Adam who was lying next to her.Her stomach growled loudly reminding Rain that she’d fallen asleep before she’d eaten anything. As soon as she’d laid down, she’d been out like a light. How many hours ago had that been? She couldn’t say, but she had a feeling it had been a while.Not only was her stomach screaming at her, so was her bladder. Muttering a curse word, and praying she didn’t wake Adam, she sat up, hoping somehow she’d be able to see better at this angle. Her eyes adjusted slightly, but it was still unbelievably dark, and she had no idea how she’d make it to the restroom in a strange place with
“We are down to six missing men and nine women,” Peach announced, coming into the command center. The Mother had a satisfied look on her face, as if that were good news. Mother White did not think so. Neither did President Violet.Violet hadn’t moved from the command center since her arrival, days ago. White was fairly certain the woman hadn’t even closed her eyes for more than a few seconds, though it’s possible she could’ve slept when White was catching a quick nap here and there. She studied her old friend as she took in the news, watched one dark eyebrow twitch for a moment before she asked, “Does that include the three women and four men we believe made it south of our border?”Peach’s resilience was shaken as she realized her news was not as pleasant as she’d hoped. “N-no, President Violet. I meant completely unaccounted for.”Violet’s
The sound of fabric being yanked back woke Rain, causing her to sit bolt upright on the makeshift bed. Her hand automatically reached for a weapon that wasn’t there. Thankfully, it was Mist’s familiar face that met her eye, which made the pounding of her heart soften slightly.“We need to get going,” her friend said, entering the room, her hand extended. Rain reached up, palm open, and Mist dropped a capsule into her hand before offering the same to Adam. “I expect Dal will or Cla will be here soon to get us. We should be ready to go. I don’t want to overstay our welcome.”Rain looked at the pill in her hand and realized it was an energy pill. She’d definitely be needing that. Even though she’d gone back to sleep after visiting the restroom, it hadn’t been restful; the conversation she’d had with Adam hadn’t left her mind, even when she’d closed her eyes and t