Summer Lane - Day One

Jay swallowed and glared at the floor as Georgia muttered something under her breath. Jay seemed to agree with whatever she said and turned away, Flash following.

“This way,” Danes told Elle.

Elle clicked her tongue and Bravo stayed close to Elle as they moved out of the Refugee Ward, into the stairwell outside. Danes leaned against the railing, a pensive expression on his face.

“Where’d you find the dog?” he asked at last.

“Why do you care?” Elle demanded, defensive. She kept her arms folded, her stance defiant.

“Kid, your dog’s name is Bravo. He belonged to Nathan Ingalls, a lieutenant from Sector Twenty-Seven.” He shook his head. “Nathan went MIA about two weeks ago, along with his dog, a bomb dog from the military K-9 units that existed before the EMP. So what I’m asking you is this: why the hell do you have Nathan’s dog?”

“You knew Nathan,” Elle stated. “He was your friend.”

“Yeah, he was my friend,” Danes replies. “Now tell me the truth, because I can throw you out of here just as quick as I picked you up.”

“You think I killed him?” Elle asked, raising an eyebrow.

Danes didn’t reply. He only waited.

“I didn’t.” Elle looked him straight in the eye. “I found him dying in an abandoned mining camp in the middle of the desert. Bravo was the one who brought me to him. I tried to save him, I swear, but there was nothing I could do. He just… slipped away.”

Danes blinked, swallowing hard.

“So he’s dead,” he said.

“Yes, sir.”

“And you took the dog?”

“The dog took me, sir. I had nothing to do with it.”

Danes smiled slowly.

“And these kids you’re with?”

“They’re just kids.”

“You’re obviously in charge of the group. What’s your story?”

“My story is just like everyone else’s. I’m trying to stay alive.”

“You’re fresh out of Slaver Territory with a bomb dog and a group of kids trailing behind you like a Boy Scout troop,” Danes remarked. “That’s no small feat.”

Elle didn’t answer.

“You and your friends can stay here,” Danes said at last. “For now.”

Elle nodded. That was fair.

“We were originally headed to Sacramento,” she said. “We heard it was safe there.”

“It’s safe for now.”

“Is it worth trying for?”

“Anything’s worth trying for, now.” He paused. “You look after your dog, Elle, and he’ll look after you.” He touched Bravo’s head, scratched him softly. “Go eat and get some rest. We’ll talk more after.”

Elle didn’t argue.

She couldn’t afford to.

“Samuel is dead,” Elle said .

Aunt and Uncle were sitting at the breakfast table. Uncle was wearing his leather duster, his flight cap stuck into the pocket of his pants. Aunt raised an eyebrow .

“You don’t know that for sure, Elle,” Aunt replied .

“Yes, I do.” Elle stepped into the kitchen, placing her hands on the breakfast table. “He was supposed to be back here with Mom two days ago. I’m telling you — he’s dead. You haven’t seen the city like I have. It’s bad. People are killing each other and—”

“I have seen the city, my girl,” Uncle interrupted. “I don’t take my plane out every day for pleasure rides anymore. I’m looking, searching. And what I’ve seen are bad things.”

“We have to go back into the city and find Mom.”

“We can’t do that.”

“How can you say that? She’s your sister! She’s your—”

“Enough, Elle.” Aunt raised her hand. Elle shut her mouth. “We have something we want to say to you.”

Elle tensed .

What could they possibly have to say to her at a time like this?

“I’m leaving,” Uncle said .

“You’re… going away?”

“Yes. I think I can help the militias in their fight against the Omega invasion. I’m going to do my duty and help end this nightmare.” He looked at Aunt, and she touched his hand across the breakfast table. “I feel called, I guess.”

“You’re leaving us alone to go join a militia somewhere?” Elle repeated .

“I’m leaving to fight for my country—”

“Don’t give me that patriotic crap. You’re leaving .”

“It’s not crap, Elle. It’s the truth. It’s not right for me to sit here and wait this out.” Uncle shook his head, running a hand through his wild gray hair. “I’m able to help, so I have to. I’m obligated.”

“You mean you’re obligated to go join a militia, but you’re not obligated to go looking for your own family lost in the city?” Elle’s vision was red around the edges — she was furious. “I can see what’s more important to you.”

“Don’t take it like that. Searching for your mother would be like searching for a needle in a haystack,” Aunt answered. “It’s not that we don’t love her — because we do, Elle. We love her so much. But we can’t help her, so this is what we can do to help. Everybody needs to play their part — including you.”

Elle stared at them. They were so calm, announcing Uncle’s departure. Announcing the acceptance of Mom’s death. How could they be like this? Didn’t they care at all?

“Fine,” Elle said. “Do what you want.”

“Elle—” Uncle began, but Elle stalked away .

“I’ll do it myself, then,” she muttered .

She would have to go back into the city, and she would have to do it alone .

Elle sat at the end of a plastic table, absently stirring the hot bowl of stew in front of her. It smelled delicious, filled with chunks of meat and pieces of vegetables. She ate slowly, savoring the flavor. It had been so long since she’d had real food. She didn’t want to make herself sick by eating too fast.

Bravo sat on the floor by her feet, eating a bowl of food provided by the woman called Myra Linch. It was a mix of old meat and cuts of fat. The dog practically inhaled it.

There were conversations all around her. Voices echoed against the underground walls. It was overwhelming. So many people in one room. So many potential threats.

Elle kept her head down and listened, trying to latch onto a single voice to focus on, to keep the clamor of the crowd from becoming overwhelming.

“…The Freedom Fighters is where it started, initially,” one woman was saying. “One of the first militia groups in the hills, a hillbilly group of rednecks, the way you’d hear the Scouts tell it. But it was effective.”

“And the Mountain Rangers?” a man asked.

“Further up in the Sierra Nevadas.” The woman paused. “Rumor is, the militias in the mountains are in a bit of trouble. They couldn’t stay hidden from Omega forever, after all. The Mountain Rangers have been fleeing — they say they’re headed toward the coastline. Monterey, maybe. Monterey is supposed to be safer than Sacramento.”

Elle frowned and took another bite of the stew.

“The militias and the U.S. Military are becoming one,” the man replied, his voice lower. “It worries me.”

“I trust our military a lot more than I trust Omega,” the woman said.

“So do I, I’m just saying…” Another pause. “Merging all of these groups of people at a time like this. Either it’s a smart move or a ticking time bomb.”

Elle shook her head. She didn’t know what to think.

“Hey, we’ve been looking for you, shortstack.”

Georgia sat down in a chair across from Elle. Flash sat directly beside her and Jay took a place on Elle’s right. “What did he say?” Jay asked.