D. MacHale - Storm

I wished I had something more comforting to say.

“Stay until the soldiers arrive. Once they show up, take off and don’t look back.”

“Will you do the same?” she asked.

“If it means the difference between getting killed and not getting killed, yes. Pick a meeting place. If we have to take off, we’ll go there and wait for as long as it takes for the others to show up.”

“Twenty-four hours,” she said coldly. “If nobody else shows up by then, they aren’t coming.”

“Done. Where do we meet?”

“Old Ironsides,” Tori replied with no hesitation. “I love that ship.”

The USS Constitution was a museum-piece warship that was berthed in Boston Harbor. Every school kid in New England had been there on a fieldtrip.

“Old Ironsides it is. Wait there for one day and then—”

“Then go to Nevada,” she said with conviction.

There was an awkward moment.

I can’t say that I loved Tori Sleeper. I wasn’t even sure what that kind of love was. Hell, I was only fourteen. I’d had plenty of crushes, but I’d never known what it was like to be truly in love. Frankly, I wasn’t in any hurry. Life was just starting. But sitting there in that car, after what we’d been through, it was hard to know whether my life was just starting, or nearing its end.

“I think you’re great,” I said, fumbling for words.

Tori gave me a small smile.

“I’m still debating about you.”

She leaned forward and kissed me. A real kiss. It didn’t get all steamy or anything, but it wasn’t a quick peck either. It was an all-too-brief vacation from reality.

She pulled away, and we held eye contact.

I think I was breathing, but I can’t be sure.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“In case we don’t get the chance again,” she replied.

She threw her door open, grabbed the pistol, and took off running down the street.

I was left momentarily stunned, but I couldn’t take the time to dwell on a sweet and confusing moment that was already history.

The Air Force hit squad was on the way.

I had no idea how much time I had before the soldiers descended on Faneuil Hall—or what they would do once they got there. With the project at Fenway Park destroyed, the Air Force no longer needed slaves to build it, whatever it was. Would they try to keep up the ruse of the Hall being a refuge for survivors? Maybe they had another project for which they needed some drugged-up workers. Or would they finish the job they began when they attacked Boston and wipe out as many survivors as possible?

Whatever. We had to get out.

The solar battery-charging station was set up on the roof of the north building to maximize the sunlight. I sprinted there, charged up the stairs, and pushed through the door to see Jon walking to a table with an armload of batteries. Yes!

“Thank god you’re here,” Jon said with a big sigh of relief.

“Why? What happened?” I asked, momentarily thrown.

“I’m way behind,” he explained. “Can you grab the batteries from Section D?”

“No! We’re leaving. Now. Chris and his cowboys aren’t survivors. They’re with the Air Force. They set this place up to collect survivors and put them to work.”

Jon gave me a blank look. “What?” was all he managed to say.

“Tori and I saw it. Nobody’s leaving here by choice. They’re being used as slaves by the Air Force. Did you hear those far-off explosions?”

“I heard something,” Jon said, nodding dumbly. “I thought it was thunder.”

“It was Fenway Park being destroyed by SYLO missiles.”

“SYLO attacked?” Jon asked, incredulous.

“Yes. The Air Force was building something there. It was like a… a… giant steel igloo, but SYLO took it down, along with the rest of Fenway. Now the Air Force soldiers are headed this way to… to… I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I don’t want to be here when it happens. Tori’s looking for Kent. I came for you and Olivia.”

Jon stared at me, still clutching the batteries, with his mouth hanging open.

“Say something,” I commanded.

He snapped back to reality and shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

“What? Why would I lie?”

“I don’t think you’re lying, I just think you’re mistaken. Chris has taken care of us. Why would he hand us over to the Air Force to be… what? Slaves?”

“Because he’s one of them!” I shouted with frustration. “They’ve been fattening us up and letting us build our strength so we could work on their project. But the project is rubble. They don’t need us anymore.”

“But that’s so… so… implausible.”

“Everything that’s happening is freaking implausible!” I shouted. “Look, you can do what you want, but I’m outta here. The Explorer is parked behind a FedEx truck near the northeast corner of the building. That’s where we’re all going to meet. Be smart. Go there and wait for us.”

“I’ll think about it,” he said, though it didn’t sound like he meant it.

I wanted to throttle the guy and force him to go, but I didn’t have time.

“Do you know where Olivia is?” I asked.

Jon went back to work, placing the batteries in rows on a table as if I hadn’t said a word. Or was he just taking time to process the information?

“Jon!”

“When I left the barracks, she was still sleeping,” he replied curtly. “I think she’s prepping lunch today.”

I ran back to the stairs.

“Trust me, Jon,” I called over my shoulder. “Get outta here. Now.”

He didn’t even acknowledge that I had said anything. He just picked up a battery and installed it into a lantern. I had the sick feeling that it was the last time I was going to see Jon Purcell.

I half ran, half jumped down the several flights of stairs that led to the ground level of the building and sprinted through the long structure until I got to the stairs leading down to the basement. I passed a few people along the way, and I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t warn them. It would have taken too long to explain, and based on Jon’s reaction, they wouldn’t have believed me anyway. If I had stopped, even to talk to one person, I wouldn’t get to Olivia in time. I promised myself that once I found her and we were on our way back to the Explorer, I’d shout out a warning. There was no way anyone would be more inclined to believe me than Jon was, but it might just put them on alert enough so that when they saw the soldiers arriving, they’d have the presence of mind to protect themselves.

That’s how I justified not stopping, but the truth was that I was more worried about saving Olivia than people I didn’t know. I hated myself for making that choice… but I didn’t stop either.

I hit the basement and grabbed a headlamp. People were already up and out, so I found myself running between rows of empty cots. When I finally made it to our section, I flashed my light on Olivia’s bunk to find that it was empty.

“Damn!”

I turned back the way I had come, ready to run for the stairs, when I saw the light from another lamp headed my way.

“Olivia? Is that you?”

I would have been totally surprised if it was. How random would that have been? But I was desperate.

The lamp bobbed closer and stopped about ten yards from me.

“Who is that?” I called out.

No answer.

I stood there staring at the light as my skin began to crawl.

“You gonna answer me?” I asked.

“Hello, Tucker,” came a calm, familiar voice.

It was the one voice I didn’t want to hear.

It was Chris Campbell.

How much did he know about what I knew? I had to force myself to act as though nothing was wrong.