Semua Bab FLUX: Bab 171 - Bab 180

It had been two days since the train stopped. Alex had joined the senior team in one of the larger ruined buildings. She thought that maybe it had been a library once. Lexi had taken to collecting a few of the books hidden in the crevices. Lexi sat next to her reading while Alex surveyed the road with a scope on her rifle. They were perched on a crumbling piece of a two-story balcony that rose up over the rest of the buildings and the train.People milled beneath them packing supplies onto cars they had constructed out of spare tires from vehicles lying around. Alex had met with anyone that had guard or military or even just shooting experience, thirty-two in all including her. They were broken into three shifts while they waited here. In one off-shift, they would sleep and during the other, they were partnered with up to two people to teach them how to shoot. Everyone was armed except the young children or the children not mature enough to carry one. Lexi carried two small pistols an

Tom laced his fingers with Brooke's hand as they sat around with a ring of people. One man sat telling a story of the how he battled a giant cockroach in a tunnel beneath the base one day. It was hard to tell if it was completely made up or had a little basis in truth.Brooke leaned over to him. "Are you ready?" She whispered.He squeezed her hand. "Of course.""Els got us a good spot. Nice and quiet. Well, not for long," she purred.Tom was glad for the dim lighting. He could feel the heat flood to his face. He thought he would be over this by now, but the thought of both Ellie and Brooke together was making his imagination run wild.Brooke faked a yawn, then stood and headed off into the dark. She shot a glance back over at him and raised her eyebrows. He stretched and stood up. Only a few heads turned in his direction. He smiled and nodded then followed after Brooke. The house they chose was on the outskirts of the neighborhood. The railway lay stretching out back to the east.

Alex dreamt of a fast-moving pod that twisted and turned through the udder blackness of the speedway tubes deep below the ocean. It zipped at blinding speeds. She braced herself as the pod grew ever stronger around her. Her stomach churned and roiled bringing her to life in the real world with real nausea. She wiggled herself free of Lexi and Jimmy, pulled herself to the edge of the bouncing cart, and somersaulted out. She ran to the edge of the road and wretched, then heaved, then wretched some more. Someone came up behind her and patted her on the back."Are you okay?" A deep voice asked. It had that familiar ring of Jack's voice in it, but not quite the same tone."I will be," she answered in a hoarse whisper.Jimmy pulled a canteen over his shoulder from the strap then opened it and handed it to her.She accepted and drank in little sips. "Pods used to make me sick when I was little.""It's not like they're going very fast, but they are pretty bumpy."Alex took a long drink t

Jimmy nodded. The men before him parted. Jimmy waved at the caravan to follow. Tom pressed the forward button, but the cart didn't move. The shadows from the buildings blocked the sun enough to keep them from getting charged. The other carts had the same problem. People scurried out and started pushing. Tom steered as the cart moved forward again.The white-eyed men walked to either side of the group, watching them from the corners of their eyes, or so Tom assumed. Tom directed the cart after Jimmy, who followed the leader. Alex walked at Jimmy's shoulder, her pistol still pointed at the ground a meter ahead of her. A few blocks later, a garage door opened to allow entrance to the cavern. Candles lined the edges and torches lit the center. It looked to have been a shopping mall long ago.Once the cart was parked, Tom stepped out and joined Alex and Jimmy. Both their eyes were trained on the men at the edges surrounding their people."We're like fish," Alex whispered."I'm well awar

Alex woke to find Jimmy's arms draped around her. Her head lay on his chest. He snored softly with his head resting on hers. A blanket had been draped across them. Lexi lay curled up next to them under another. Alex's arm still hurt. She took shallow breaths to keep from aggravating her lungs. She eased away from Jimmy slowly, careful not to wake him, then tucked the blanket back around him. She checked that Lexi was snug, too, then tiptoed through the carts heading for the restroom area.The caravan had quieted down. Whispered conversations filled the open room. A few slept, probably happy to sleep without the motion of the carts beneath them. After Alex found the restroom, she came up the stairs to find one of the scaled men waiting for her. It was the leader, Gregor."You need to leave," Gregor said pointedly.Alex pointed to herself. "Me? Just me?"He shook his head. "All of you. If what your people told me is true, then the Alpha's are coming here and they won't just pass us b