Summer Lane - Day Zero

To Elle, that meant just one thing: Omega hadn’t been here.

Yet.

They pushed on, walking until their feet hurt. The open space of the mountains was a huge change from the snug confines of the city. Elle felt exposed, like she was walking around with a huge target on her back that said: SHOOT ME. It put her on edge, but the fresh air and the stunning scenery was terrific.

“I almost forgot what it was like to have this much space around me,” Elle commented. “I’m so used to Hollywood and Santa Monica. Everything is squished together there.”

“It’s a good change,” Jay replied. “There’s freedom out here.”

Yeah. Maybe he was right.

They traveled all day, making camp at nightfall. Elle wrapped her hands in strips of cloth to keep them warm, pulling her hood around her face. She leaned her head against her backpack. The earth was slightly damp, leaving streaks of dirt on her pants. Jay made a small fire when it got dark, enough to warm the kids’ pinched, red faces.

Sleeping in the wide-open spaces was different than sleeping within the confines of an apartment building. The sky was dark, deep blue. Elle stared at the stars. The longer she watched them, the more she seemed to see. She fell asleep, sucked into the mesmerizing swirl of the Milky Way.

Early morning came too quickly. It was bitterly cold. Elle sat up, flexing her stiff fingers. She nudged the others awake. They moved slowly, shivering in the frigid temperature. The remains of the fire smoldered in the coolness of the morning. Jay stamped it out with his boots, hiding traces of their presence.

“Breakfast,” Elle muttered, opening her backpack.

She took two sealed granola bars and split them between the five kids. It wasn’t appetizing, but it was heavy enough to tame the hunger pains. For now.

They left the campsite.

As they followed the road, they wound upward around wide, dry hills. Drought-resistant foliage was clumped together in places and patches of forest lined the mountaintops. They stopped once to eat a snack and drink water, then kept moving again. They didn’t want to stop. Stopping was dangerous. Constant movement gave them a better chance of survival — this was something Elle had learned the hard way, after months of living in the city, being hunted by bloodthirsty Klan members.

In late evening, they finally arrived.

“We’re here!” Elle said.

She jogged forward, up the last part of the road. It flattened into a gravel driveway. The driveway led to a ranch house. It was painted in muted tones, blending with the hills. The house was surrounded by a chain link fence.

“Nice place,” Georgia remarked. “Were your folks rich?”

“My parents weren’t rich,” Elle corrected. “But my Aunt and Uncle were.”

“What did they do?”

“My Aunt’s family was cattle ranchers… probably a hundred years ago.”

“Ah. Lots of money,” Jay muttered.

As Elle approached the chain link fence, she noticed that it was hanging open. She stared at the front door. Weeds were growing around the entrance steps.

“The dogs are gone,” she whispered.

“The dogs?” Pix echoed.

“There were German Shepherds. Lots of them.”

Elle pushed the gate open and whistled softly. There was no answer, no barking. She followed the path to the front door and jiggled the handle. It was unlocked. She pushed the door open and gripped the handgun tucked into her belt.

“Elle… this is wrong, isn’t it?” Flash said, his voice shaking.

“Very wrong,” Elle replied.

The door swung open and revealed a long hallway. The spacious rooms were empty. Curtains were drawn.

“They’re gone,” she breathed. A sob lodged in her throat. “They haven’t been here for a long time.”

“What do you think happened?” Georgia asked.

“I don’t know.”

Elle walked to the end of the hall, turning into the living room — a familiar spot for her. The couches and chairs had been covered with white sheets. Dim sunlight filtered through the slits in the shuttered windows. The house was cold, empty. Elle stared at a mirror hanging above the empty fireplace.

She was alone. Again.

Elle huddled against the back of the cage, panting. She was caked in filth. The Klan had taken a knife to her thick black hair and hacked it off. Blood slipped down the back of her neck. She’d never been so dirty before. She’d never been so tired.

She’d just witnessed a fight in the Pits. Two women, both middle aged, thrown into a muddy, deep pit. Thrown against each other in a fight for their lives.

A fight to the death, the Klan called it. But Elle couldn’t do it. She couldn’t kill her opponents. They were prisoners, just like her. Forced into a sick, twisted game used as a form of entertainment.

Sooner or later, she would end up dead, too.

Someone would kill her, out of desperation.

The night was cold. She shuddered and watched the Klan guards round the park, lighting the torches. Tomas stood near the bonfire in the center of the rows of cages, warming his hands. His tattoos and the shadows from the flames became one in the dim lighting. Elle hated the sight of him. He was a sadist — the embodiment of everything Day Zero had done to the world.

Tomas felt Elle’s gaze on him and he turned, offering a smug smile.

She buried her head in her knees, hiding her face.

There had to be a way out of this hell, she thought. There was always a way.

She peeked through the bars and looked at the cages, at the guards making their normal rounds. There was a routine here, a rhythm of operation — even if the Klan was little more than an oversized group of organized thugs.

Elle drew a square in the dirt.

That was the beginning of her map.

Aunt and Uncle’s rooms were abandoned. Everything important had been stripped and taken from the house. Elle found traces of broken glass and splintered wood in the corners of the rooms. Something had happened. Aunt and Uncle had left suddenly, but someone else had cleaned the house up after their departure.

Who?

It was dark. Elle sat in the large, rustic kitchen.

“Where would they have gone?” Georgia asked.

She sat near Pix and Flash on the countertop, biting off a piece of jerky. Jay sat next to Elle.

“I don’t know,” Elle shrugged. “The only reason they would have left would be if Omega found them. They were working with the National Guard and the militias that are fighting Omega — it was dangerous work. Anything could have happened.”

“But where would they go if they were… well, still alive?” Georgia continued. “They must have had a backup plan that you knew about, right?”

“Not really,” Elle answered. “I only lived here for a few weeks. They were just starting to help the militias when I left.”

“Well,” Jay spoke up, breaking the depressing conversation, “I guess there’s only one thing we can do: keep heading toward Sacramento.”

“It’s hundreds of miles from here,” Georgia sighed.

“It’s safe,” Pix whispered.

“Oh, I know. I’m just saying.” Georgia kicked her boots up on the counter. “It could take us weeks to get there.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Jay replied. “We’ve got to keep moving. If Omega knows where this house is, they might be watching it. It’s not safe to stay here.”

“He’s right,” Elle agreed. “We should get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Are there any old cars that we could use here?” Flash asked.

“I don’t know. We could look.” Elle jumped off the counter. “My Aunt used to keep horses in the stables behind the house, but they’re empty now. I don’t know what happened to the animals.”