《Decimation [ Apocalyptic Novel ]》


 Chapter One

    Thumping can be heard across the hallway and through the corridors. There is a faint light shining in through the windows. My eyes scan the room as i attempt to take in my surroundings after yet another long, restless night. Yawning and stretching my feet and arms outward, I stumble to my feet and brush off my sleepwear, which is striped black and white like everyone else¡¯s.


    ¡°Maddie, be in the food court in five minutes, breakfast is being served¡±, I hear from the door. Huffing and rubbing my eyes, I glance in the mirror as I pass by.


    I don¡¯t stand very tall; about 5¡¯1¡± if even that. I¡¯m younger than most, having turned sixteen only last week. It was on my birthday I was informed that I was to be put into Squadrant 3, which was scheduled to be deployed on Friday at noon.


    Squadrant 1 has already been deployed, and Squadrant 2 is to be deployed today. We lost radio connection with Squadrant 1 on impact, and because of this, we have no idea if it safe. The President himself will be sending Squadrant 2 on their way, and we will wait for them to touch down before taking further action. If we have radio connection, Squadrant 3 will be deployed. If not, two adults will be sent down as scouts.


    After realizing that I¡¯ve run away with my thoughts, I shake my head and pick up the comb from my dresser, running it though my pixie cut. Well, it isn¡¯t technically a pixie cut but it could be classified that way. The top falls over the side of my cheek and swoops over my forehead in a dark brown mess. Hearing a knock and a voice, I roll my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming, jeez!¡±, I yell out to the guard, slipping on my boots. I open the door, and the smell of syrup wafting through the hallway brings a smile to my face.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s for breakfast today, boys?¡±, I ask. Getting no response in return, as usual, I groan and make my way to the food court. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Upon entering, I hear the usual chatter as I scan the crowd for the majority of my Squad whom I would consider myself friends with. The movement of a hand waving catches my eye, accompanied by a familiar shout.


    ¡°Hey Maddie, over here we saved you a spot!¡± I head over with my tray and a juice box, then sit down, rubbing my eyes.


    The first thing I hear after sitting down is the punchline of what I know is a perverted joke, and I immediately find myself rolling my eyes.


    ¡°Are you guys ever going to grow up?¡±, I ask. They all laugh, and I find myself laughing as well. I¡¯m not sure what I would do without them.


    My eyes scan each person individually and I am happy to see that everyone is present. We have Sara, a rather tall individual who always seems cold. Not cold hearted, just physically cold. Then we have Olivia, an artist and a substantial smartass, but with a good heart. Then there¡¯s Ashley, Max, and Amber, the self titled ¡°Nerd Herd¡±. Lastly, Jakob, who is standoff-ish and annoying, not to mention his reputation of playing with hearts. I am not exactly sure why we stick around him. Well myself for that matter, but the majority of the reason is because I pity him.


    The intercom crackles to life and the chatter ceases. Buzzing over the monitor we hear the voice of the President. ¡° Good morning all units! We are proud to announce that Squadrant 2 has made landfall and the radio signals were received. After receiving that signal, we lost all contact. Squadrant 3 is now cleared to deploy tomorrow night and will arrive Friday morning on Earth. I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this operation.¡±


    As the intercom clicks to indicate the end of the message, we all fall silent for a moment. Even though no one speaks, the tension in the air is obvious. What was causing them to lose signal? This question was poking at my abdomen like a hot cattle prod. Many others were asking different questions. Questions like ¡°if they made it, why are they still sending people out?¡±, and ¡°I¡¯m next, I don¡¯t want to go, what¡¯s down there?¡± float through our minds like clouds. Even as hushed whispers begin to break the silence, my Squad remains silent. I can feel gazes at my back as the crowd discusses the thought that runs through our minds on repeat. We have to leave tomorrow night. I take a deep breath and set my fork down. ¡°Well,¡± I say, ¡°we¡¯re next.¡±

 Chapter 2

    After I break the silence, Sara and Olivia get up, turn in their trays, and leave silently. I inhale softly as I look over and see that Jakob is playing it cool as a cucumber. It takes all of my willpower not to get up and deck him in the face, but that isn¡¯t something I want on my record. Instead, I decide to do as Sara and Olivia did, and turn in my tray before heading back to my corridor.


    When I reach my room, I pull my bag out from under my bed and start packing. After a while, I sit back and find myself running a hand over the top of my blankets.


    ¡°This is the last night I will sleep in an actual bed¡±, I say softly. Hearing a small agreement, I whip my head to the door and see Jakob standing there. Great.


    ¡°What are you doing back here?¡±, I ask, a touch of anger in my voice.


    ¡°I just came by to check on you¡±, he says, ¡°I have to look after my squad, don¡¯t I?¡±


    I grit my teeth and stand up, stomping towards the door and snapping, ¡°Your squad? You¡¯re fucking hilarious. This is Squad 3, and for your information, Squad 3 is run by Bowman, so I suggest you leave before I call him in here and he beats your shit in.¡± I slam the door in his face and lean against it, groaning and rubbing my face. Now I remember why I hate him.


    After a second I push myself up and begin searching for things I want to take with me. I grab a blanket and a firestarter, slipping the firestarter into the side pocket of my bag. My eye catches my first aid kit as a glance across the room and I pull it over. I open it and rummage through the contents.


    ¡°Alright, bandaids, two morphine syringes, gauze, and a stitch kit¡±, I list off to myself. I¡¯m interrupted by a knock on the door, and I walk over to answer.


    ¡°Ye-¡± I¡¯m cut off by the sight of Olivia crying.


    ¡°M-maddie¡±, she stutters out. I raise an eyebrow in response.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask, concerned. I gesture her inside and shut the door behind us.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared, what if we lose radio connection?¡±


    I turn and hug her, ¡°Shh don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t. Everything will be okay, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± I try to comfort her as well as I can. We have been good friends for about three years now, so there really isn¡¯t anything I wouldn¡¯t do for her or Sara.


    ¡°How¡¯s Sara holding up?¡± I ask, letting go of Olivia so we can sit down on the bed.


    ¡°She¡¯s asleep, she packed her things and then went to bed.¡± she responds, causing me to laugh.


    I sneak a glance at the clock and, noticing the time, reply ¡°but it¡¯s only twelve o¡¯clock.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°She doesn''t want to be jet lagged, so she¡¯s knocking herself off schedule.¡± Nodding, I look at her


    ¡°And you?¡±, I ask, ¡°Are you going to do the same?¡±


    Olivia paused, then shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to spend some time awake and then maybe around four I¡¯ll sleep.¡± Nodding, I laid back.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m going to sleep. I¡¯ve packed and I¡¯m ready to leave¡±, I said with a yawn, ¡°well, hopefully.¡±


    yawn. ¡°Alright well i¡¯ll leave you to that and i¡¯ll see you tomorrow. I wish you luck¡± Olivia said leaving. I hear her close the door behind her and I close my eyes with a contempt sigh.


    Tomorrow, we are leaving home, and going back to our planet. This is bound to be quite an adventure, and some of us will not survive.


    The worry of who is not going to survive is flooding my mind. Thinking and thinking, after a while I woke up by my alarm and i stretched out it Read ¡°6:00 p.m.¡± when i turned to look at it on top of my dresser.


    ¡°Its already thursday..¡± I yawn out and shuffle out of my bed.


    Grabbing my bag i set it on my bed and change into a more suitable outfit for traveling back to earth. I slip on a long sleeve undershirt and another long sleeve cotton shirt which was solid black. Followed by my Jeans and my wind breaker.


    I grab my bag and step out into the hallway seeing all of Squad 3 walking towards main hall. My heart breaks when i see them all walking they look as if they are walking right into death row.


    I stepped right in beside Olivia, and Sara. Sara had on her deep brown bag, a tarp attached to the top tied with rope. She had her knife attached to the side and her outfit was no different than mine was. Except her long sleeve shirt was a rather light blue a black windbreaker and her jeans were black. Same with Olivia she had on a long sleeve purple shirt a black windbreaker and black jeans.


    Turning my head forward i see the capsule we are supposed to be launched in and I huff. Minutes feel like hours as we walk. Finally reaching the capsule i step in seeing the people strapped in.


    A couple of people sobbing a few whimpers, and sniffles here and there then there were stone cold people who showed absolutely no emotion.


    I kept my head looking at my feet sitting down in one of the seats and strapped in. taking the gloves from the compartment I slipped them on and strapped them up. So did everyone else.


    Once everyone was settled the President came on the intercom ¡°Welcome Squad 3, this is your capsule. If you manage not to die from impact everything you need to survive will be in this capsule. I wish you the best of luck, remember this is for humanity.¡±


    The intercom pinged and left people crying even louder. The power cut out and my eyes widened we were finally leaving. A girl next to me shivered out of her wits and kept repeating ¡°we are all going survive¡±.


    I gulped and held on tight, it felt like a rollercoaster the capsule was being shaken from side to side. Finally the shaking subsided and thats when I knew we were in the pathway of earth. I peered out the window seeing the station far away and i gulped. From here on out, it is life or death.


    It had been a while that we were in space, we couldn¡¯t see each other from the lights being out. A sudden jolt hit us and began throwing us around again this time much worse. We had finally reached earth¡¯s atmosphere.


    The jolting and clanging got worse and worse. A couple of us were knocked out from the jolt while i was barely hanging on.


    The jolting continued for roughly fifteen minutes before we had crashed into the surface of the earth. Knocking out most of the Squad. I had bruises on my shoulders and knuckles from trying to hang on.


    Once we crashed I unbuckled sliding out of my seat. One of our medics Jesse has already been going around checking on people. Sara is comforting olivia as we all pry the door open.


    Hearing a small click the door let out a gush of air and began to lower itself to the ground. The vegetation was returning from the plague quite well actually. There is no spot of any decaying object in sight. But that doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t going to be obstacles.

 Chapter 3

    Looking at the sight in front of myself I turn to look at my comrades who seem to have a dumbfounded expression on their faces.


    Bowman, the leader of Squad 3, steps outside first looking around and he smiles. ¡°Okay guys we need to get camp set up so begin setting up, do not go far from the capsule and take weapons with you, we need firewood and food for dinner¡±. After announcing that he began to split us into groups, sorting us out by specialties.


    My speciality is I am good at long shot. Giving me a rather decent experience with a bow. Unlike Bowman who has upper body strength, he was on the wrestling team on the space station for training and exercise.


    Bowman is a rather interesting character. He has went to hell and back seeing all the things he has went through, first his sister died at birth because her body could not withstand space. Then, his mother died giving birth to his sister. Since then Bowman has taken on everyone in the Squad as his brother or sister, except for one particular person. Jakob, Bowman hated Jakobs guts. The reasons for that is, Jakob hit on every girl in his path and Bowman despised that. Bowman had a girlfriend but who is no longer with him simply because of Jakob, who convinced Bowmans girlfriend, Nathalie Parker, that Bowman was a thief and a lying piece of scum. Which of course was not true.


    Bowman and Jakob have gotten into many fights and Bowman has won every time, henceforth one if the reasons he is leader of Squad 3. But, if there is one thing about Bowman that he has charisma. But, Bowman deprecates himself, telling himself he can do better than what he does.


    But that is enough about Bowman. I look around at my surroundings and I see that i am put in a group with Sara, Olivia, Amber, Max and Jakob.


    From what I have heard Sara is a fast runner and she is good in close combat, she also will never back down when it comes to protecting someone or proving a point.


    Olivia specializes in plants, knowing which is poisonous and which is not, along with she is wonderful at making concoctions. Amber is good with close combat and mechanics, and Jakob is good with upper body strength and he has been put on wood duty.


    Our squad has been put on gathering food but Jakob is to go along and collect wood so he is acting petty once again. No one in the squad really likes Jakob except for the few girls swooning over him which makes us all sick.


    I walk up to Bowman with a huff ¡°why do we have to be paired with him Bowman? all he is going to do is slow us down.¡± I say with slight anger in my tone


    Bowman turns to me and says ¡°because unlike the rest of us he has upper body strength¡± I grumble and mutter under my breath ¡°fine¡± I say and go off to my squad.


    ¡°Alright so is everyone ready? Do you all have your gear and items? We will be out for a while¡± they all nod and we double check. After we do we set off. I have a piece of paper with me to write down coordinates, where things are to help us get around easier.


    A couple hours pass Jakob is carrying an arm full of firewood while the rest of us all carry at least three bags full of blueberries or strawberries. We figure that is enough so we start to head back. Humming softly to myself Sara speaks up ¡° so, what do you think so far, about earth do you like it?¡± She asks. And I turn my head slightly ¡° yes its wonderful but I am concerned. Where is Squad 1 and Squad 2. And why is there vegetation already?¡±


    As soon as I say that a scream is heard from camp, we all look at each other and take off sprinting towards it, there appears so be smoke coming from the pod as we make it there and people are scrambling ¡°where''s bowman?¡± I ask frantically. ¡°He''s gone they took him¡± Nathalie scream out and she dropped to the ground rocking slowly ¡°who who took him??¡± Jakob yelled and I sat my bag down ¡°dude shut the hell up you aren''t making problems better by yelling¡± I snap at him and he just rolls his eyes. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    With that it put me over the edge, i stormed over and took a branch swinging at full force at his side, landing the hit he fell to the ground squirming and i jumped on top of him landing one blow after the other. Finally after a minute Sara pulled me off of him


    ¡°Get ahold of yourself! This is no time to be acting childish, he is not worth it just leave him be we have to find out what happened to Bowman¡± she snapped. Sara then storming off to the pod looking around ¡° Nathalie did you see what happened by any chance or anyone else for that matter?¡± Sara said looking around on the ground for footprints or something, then she saw a pathway that seemed out of the ordinary.


    Following it she studied it and called me over ¡°it looks like he was taken by someone, someone like us. But who would do that.¡± she said pointing out the footprints and a track which seemed to be showing something be dragged.


    I bite my lip in confusion and huff ¡° Bowman didnt have any enemys besides Jakob and Jakob was with us. ¡° i look closer at the prints ¡°something tells me...we arent alone..¡± i say and looking into the bushes.


    ¡°Everyone inside the pod now!¡± sara calls out and everyone scrambles inside jakob limping inside. I follow everyone and sara follows behind me. She closes the pod door and makes sure everyone is accounted for.


    ¡°We have to go after bowman¡± i say rather loudly


    ¡°Thats a suicide mission and I cant allow that Maddy¡±


    ¡°I dont care he is one of us, He is a part of our people.¡± I say sternly inches away from saras face.


    ¡°I am not letting you leave this pod until i know whats going on, we need a game plan and no one is leaving im not letting you all get yourselves killed¡±


    I grumble and push my way through the crowd. I start pulling seats from their hinges in anger.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± sara asks coming up behind me


    ¡°Well you want to sleep tonight dont you? Help me pull these chairs out when they engineered these seats, they made them foldable beds. So help me so we can get our people atleast something of their own¡± i say and pull off another chair and sara does the same.


    After a while we finally get all fifty chairs off the wall and we knock out the stoppers on the wall to lay the beds one by one sara finishes making the last bed and calls out ¡°alright everyone! Your beds are finished, get some rest, we will hunt for bowman at first dawn¡± Sara announces.


    I nod and sit in my bed by the far corner. With a yawn i slip my bag off my shoulders and set it beside me.


    Looking up at the ceiling i sigh, not being able to sleep. I toss and turn from side to side all night and then eventually i get frustrated and grab my bag from where i originally put it.


    Shuffling though i zip it up and put it on my bag. I look around at everyone and spot out olivia and sara, Alexandria, Amber, Max and Jesse. One by one I go by tapping them awake and tell them to meet me outside the pod. When i reach sara i wake her and say ¡°Hey, we are going to find bowman, while everyone is asleep. We have to get him we cant do this without him. So are you coming or not?¡±


    Sara stares at me then sighs ¡°alright, you are right so lets get going.¡± she says and i watch her grab her bag and we both sneak out of the pod.


    I go to search the tracks with a soft huff. ¡°This way¡± i call out to everyone who followed. Slowly walking along the path everyone gripping onto their daggers that were given to them at the station.


    Turning heads, and breaking twigs to mark our pathway, leaving no stone unturned. We get about a mile away from the pod and there was hardly any vegetation, it was all burned, and broken. Nothing left but sand, and black trees and sut. Im lost in thought for a bit, we all are until we hear something.


    Someone speaking or humming we couldn¡¯t make it out. I ordered for them to all jump back into the bushes and there we wait, for the thing to show itself.


    We wait and wait, itd been about three minutes now and the thing is still talking and then finally, it steps out and all of our jaws dropped.


    The person had on a Squad one uniform, a leader uniform to be exact. Dirty blonde hair and stood rather tall. He turned and we all ducked, stepping closer he squinted and then backed off taking off running.


    After he was gone we all sat up, Sara speaking up in utter surprise ¡°Danny? how is Squad one alive?¡±.

 Chapter 4

    I stumble back and land on my butt looking around. ¡°What? Squad one? Are you sure Sara?¡± i ask looking over there and olivia looks stunned, the others their mouths still hanging open.


    ¡°Alexandria, Amber, Max and Jesse head back to camp and watch the pod we are going to be out here for a while¡± sara orders and they Listen all heading back


    Olivia Sara and I are the only ones left ¡°are you sure? Just us three sara?¡± i say in distress


    ¡°Its fine, we are going to look for bowman, but i dont want camp to be left unattended, Olivia you said you are good with herbs right? If bowman is hurt do you think you can help?¡± Sara asks


    ¡°Yeah i mean i guess so, but i will have to find some sort of plants on the way or we have to search for greenhouse bunkers.¡± she says


    ¡°Alright thats fine with me come one we cant let danny disappear¡± Sara sas and we all stand up


    I look around and see danny running through the field of black and i point him out ¡°over there¡± i say and we all take off on the path quietly following his footsteps.


    I think to myself and smile a bit ¡°yknow this reminds me a bit of sixth grade, we were all chasing danny because he took saras pudding.¡± i say and look at the two Olivia being average height now and Rather brown hair kept in a ponytail with her chocolate brown eyes. Her windbreaker already ripped on the side, probably from jumping into the bushes. Sara who is a rather tall individual has her light brown hair just free flowing, her windbreaker untouched but i cant say the same for her shirt which is all dirty now, her blue eyes filled with determination.


    Sara huffs ¡°you are right, but we cant think of that right now that was the past this is now.¡±


    ¡°Only the first day and so much has happened already, when will it end?¡± i huff and then look ahead


    ¡°Never, really, do you expect a plague like this to just end? I mean look around you, the earth was not only scorched from radiation but in that radiation came a plague of people turning them into mutants, luckily we havent ran into any.¡± Olivia finishes saying and then stretches


    ¡°Wait what do you mean mutants? I thought it was only radiation.¡± Sara says and i keep to myself


    Olivia hesitates and then speaks up ¡°No of course not, did you really think the radiation could happen without harm to the life source here on earth?¡± she finished her statement and then stops ¡°hush¡± she said abruptly.


    With that we both stop and lower to the ground our hand pressed firmly against the black sut and the other on our knives. looking over we see a snow leopard and i smirk ¡°alright food for home¡± i say and get a little bit closer, looking at it it has a missing leg and two tails. My eyes widen out of fear and I look back at Olivia and Sara my hands shaking. It doesn''t seem to pay attention to me and it doesn''t seemed harmed its still walking fine and i look at olivia ¡°olivia let me see your crossbow¡±


    Olivia hands me her crossbow and i load the arrow, looking at the snow leopard I cock it bringing it up to eye level and pull the trigger shooting the leopard, hitting it in the shoulder blade and it falls, i grab my dagger and quickly running over having a bit of pinning it down but sara and olivia follow up behind and help. It doesn''t struggle much. In fact, it doesn''t put up a fight at all which has me questioning.


    I take my dagger inserting it in the leopards neck killing it as blood pours out staining the fur and my hands. I huff and look around ¡± we need to get this back to camp before afternoon hits¡± I say and all three of us stand up picking it up.


    ¡°After we cook this and have jakob skin it, we are heading back here we have to find bowman.¡± Sara announces picking up the back of the leopard.


    ¡°Yeah i understand, let''s just hope bowman can handle himself until we get there¡± i say picking up the front part while Olivia picked up the middle.


    We begin carrying the leopard, i had the head and we had it raised above our heads, the blood dripping down my arm, my face, and my side. We walk for another hour just about and we see camp in the distance, looking up I huff ¡°even if night comes we are still going after Bowman¡± I say aloud but no response in return. We reach camp and Alexandria comes over along with Jesse.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Jesse speaks up ¡°what in the world happened?¡± he asked his eyes wide and we threw the leopard on the ground ¡±dinner is what happened start up a fire, i have a fire starter in the bunkers beside my bed.¡± i tell him and he runs to grab it.


    Sara calls for jakob and he makes his way over ¡°what?¡¯


    ¡°Lose your attitude for one¡± she said and looked at him ¡°skin the leopard¡± she said and jakob nodded grabbing rope, and the leopard tying it to the tree and began skinning it.


    Amber and max have been helping skin a deer and a couple squirrels and the huff walking over max speaking up first ¡°jesse, Amber and i went out hunting as well, we put the food in spare back packs we had and tied the down setting them in the river, its cold so it should keep it fresh¡±


    Sara smiled hearing that and nodded ¡°alright, you guys are to watch that food and you are on water duty.¡±


    I smile as well still covered in blood and completely forgot about it. ¡°Maddy go clean yourself off you look like you just came out of your mothers vagina¡±


    With that comment i snort and then go to the river grabbing a bag and filling it with water. I tie the bag up to a tree and remove my clothing and poke a hole through the bag, about ten minutes into taking my shower i hear a cat call and look over to see jakob and i scream. Sara comes running with a pipe she tore from the pod and then seen jakob.


    ¡°What the hell? Why are you here? Have you ever heard of decency?¡± she snaps at him.


    ¡°Well you are sure the one to talk¡± he snarks back


    Sara grits her teeth gripping the pipe ¡°and what the hell is that supposed to mean?¡± she grumbled


    ¡°Oh nothing now leave so i can watch my daily dose of fun¡±


    ¡°No you are going to tell me right now¡± she demands.


    ¡°Oh and who died and made you leader? Oh thats right the filthy mutt you call bowman¡± he chuckled


    ¡°First of all he is not a mutt second of all you better watch your mouth before you get hurt.¡± She snapped at him


    ¡°Oh? And that pitiful pipe held by a pitiful little girl supposed to scare me?¡±


    And with that i hear a ¡®clang¡¯ and then a ¡®thud¡¯ jakob hit the ground, sara hit him with the pipe and them swung at him like a golf and a golf club. Blood splattering instantly, the pipe had ridges on it that sara must not have known about.


    ¡°You are such a fucking prick! I should''ve let Madds hurt you when she pinned you.¡± she yelled hitting him over and over blood slinging everywhere, pouring out of his nose and his temple. He whimpered and winced trying to crawl away, he turned around kicking Sara off of him and he grabbed a knife from the skinning table ¡°don''t you dare get any closer¡± with that a crowd was growing, Sara swerved a couple strikes and slashes but he nicked her side and her left shoulder. Nothing too immense just flesh wounds.


    Sara gripped hold of her pipe spinning and kicking him that the jaw, and then brought her hands around hitting him in the face with the pipe and he fell, she had cut open his jaw with the ridges from the pipe, she swang one more time hitting him in the mouth and huffed.


    A couple of his teeth busted in as he groaned. Sara was taking all of her stress and anger out on him, not only because she hated his guts, but because she thought he was a worthless piece of shit and made the whole squad dysfunctioning.


    In that time i managed to get my clothes back on and run over but sara had already done so much damage and i pull her away from the bloody guy ¡°hey hey it''s okay¡± i try and calm her down as she was also breathing heavily.


    I call for medical and jesse and olivia come running down, their faces wash with color and then olivia smiles ¡°finally something to actually take care of¡± she said happily and jesse and her picked up jakob ¡°i have some questions to ask later about this¡± she said


    They both leave and i''m left with an angered sara, a bloody pipe and a pool of bloody and i take a minute to look at the surrounding and then i sigh. ¡°I mean, atleast you got all your anger out¡­¡± i say trying to lighten up the mood but she''s still angered.


    I laughed slightly in disbelief ¡°are you alright?¡± i ask concerned and she nodded ¡°yeah I''m alright he just deserved every bit of that. ¡° she said and I nodded.


    ¡°Well you aren''t wrong there¡± i say and look around. ¡°Well i''m dressed get something to drink and then lets head out to find bowman. ¡°


    Sara huffed ¡°take someone else, i''m going to stay here and keep jakob in check¡± i grumble lowly ¡°whos to take? I-¡± she cuts me off and names off names ¡°take Jesse, Alexandria and Rei¡± I arch my eyebrow at the last name ¡°whose rei?¡± and with that i hear a voice ¡°i am Rei¡± I turn to see an average height female, though her torso takes up most of her height, glasses covering hazel colored eyes and light brown in a bob style.


    ¡°Ah i see¡± i say and watch as she walks down. ¡°The names rei don''t wear it out¡± she smiles ¡°so where are we going?¡± Rei asked and sat beside Sara rubbing her back to help calm her. ¡°After the leader of course, what''s your specialty?¡± i ask pulling out a map looking at it and huff softly.


    ¡°Well my specialty is in your hands right now.¡± Rei inserts and it took me a while to understand ¡°hm?¡± i question looking at my hand and then realise i was holding the map ¡°ohh, hah whoopsie. So you''re a tracker?¡± I ask and she nods.


    ¡°Good we need someone like you.¡± I say and then hand her the map ¡°go grab your bag and grab Jesse from medical.¡± I then stretch and rub my eyes. Rei nods walking off as i take her place on the rock. ¡°Are you sure you don''t want to go?¡± i say looking at Sara.


    ¡°I''m good, you guys need to go, take some rations and some water, don''t forget your firestarter incase you have to stay over night, and weapons¡± i nod ¡°yeah yeah mom¡± i tease with a laugh causing her to smile.


    Rei comes back with Jesse and they both have their bag, I get up and nod ¡°well we¡¯re off¡± i say and Sara nods ¡°alright good luck, you¡¯re going to need it.¡±

 Chapter 5

    It has been about two hours since we started retracing the steps Sara and I took. Looking around, I groan in frustration.


    ¡°We are just going around in circles¡±, I say, kicking a rock across the sut.


    ¡°Calm down, we don¡¯t need you getting angry right now, we just need to focus¡±, Rei responds as she looks around, scanning the area, ¡°try looking for signs, maybe tracks.¡±


    I hear a shout and turn to see Nathalie running towards us, covered in blood. Our eyes widen and she shoves through us, continuing to sprint in the direction of the camp.


    ¡°Nathalie, wh-¡± I¡¯m cut off by gurgling and raspy screams and I turn to see creatures coming over the hill. ¡°N-no way, what¡­¡± I trail off, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Run! Everybody run!¡±, Rei shouts, breaking the rest of us out of our stupor as the things responsible for the noises begin to run after us. We all begin running away from the pod in an attempt to lead them away from the camp, with Alexandria leading the way, followed by Rei and I, with Jesse in the back.


    ¡°Cmon!¡± Alex yells out as she points to an opening in the side of a mountain. We sprint inside, going as deep as we can. Spotting a light on the other side, we head towards it, but the pounding of our feet and the instability of the cave causes the walls to start collapsing.


    ¡°Go! Go! Its caving in!¡±, Alex screams as she makes it through. As Rei and I get through I hear a thud and turn to see Jesse had fallen. I shout, but he isn¡¯t moving. I look around quickly and make a decision. Taking off towards Jesse, I pay little attention to the fast approaching threat of the growling figures. When I reach Jesse, I bend down and throw his arm over my shoulder, dragging him towards the exit as fast as I can, the walls growing weaker. When she realizes what I¡¯ve done, Rei runs in and picks up his legs, allowing us to sprint out faster, making it out just before the rock collapses completely. We set Jesse down, winded, as Alex checks him over.


    ¡°His legs are banged up pretty bad, his knees and palms are scraped, and it appears he has a concussion¡±, she tells us.


    ¡°Great, we need to find some shelter so we can try and make him a splint¡±, I respond, looking around.


    Rei blinks and points off towards a broken down helicopter, almost hidden from view by an overgrowth of plants, and huffs, ¡°Well that¡¯s awful convenient.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect! C¡¯mon, help me get Jesse over there¡±, I say, and all three of us pitch in to help carry him over. By the time we arrive, we are all out of breath.


    Setting Jesse down for a second, I open the door and grab his arms so we can drag him in. Once he is secure inside, I shut the door and take a break. While the group catches their breath, I scan the interior of the helicopter and hop into the pilot''s seat. Looking around at the controls, I spot something shining from the sun. Curious, I look over to see a metal box. I pull out from the floorboards and into the seat, brushing the dust off of it as I go.


    ¡°Hey guys, I found something¡±, I say as I open the box, sorting through the contents. As Alex and Rei peer over, I find water and non perishables, alcohol, which cause me to smirk, a blanket, a medkit, and what appears to be clothing.


    ¡°There has to be something in here for Jesse¡±, I tell myself as I open the medkit. I huff when I find only bandages, medical tape, and painkillers.


    ¡°Wait, I have an idea¡±, Alex says as she grabs piping from the side of the helicopter and rips it off with ease. I blink at the action, amazed, and she just laughs.


    ¡°There were no bolts¡±, she explains, ¡°must¡¯ve been why it crashed in the first place.¡± I nod and she begins bending the metal back and forth. Though it takes a while, it eventually snaps in half. I take those two pieces and place them on the sides of Jesse¡¯s left leg while Rei takes the bandages and wraps them around his leg, securing the piping. Then, she does the same with the medical tape, until we end with a secure hold. I give Rei a bottle of water and a painkiller to offer Jesse when he wakes up.


    When I glance out the window, I notice that the sun has begun to set and turn to tell the group, ¡°Well, looks like we¡¯re staying here for the night.¡± As they begin settling down for the night, I look through the clothing and notice it is more for protection from the elements than coverage. There were three jackets, to be exact, which leads me to wonder if there were three people in the helicopter before it crashed. I hand the puffy black jacket with caramel sleeves to Rei, and an almost identical jacket to Alex, but with grey sleeves. The last jacket, a black one with red sleeves, I set aside for Jesse.


    ¡°What about you?¡±, Rei asks, concerned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine¡±, I respond, waving her off. ¡°I love the cold, and we have blankets back at camp.¡±


    I yawn, and address the group, saying, ¡°C¡¯mon, we need to sleep if we want to find Bowman and find a way home tomorrow.¡± I lay in the back of the helicopter, and everyone else follows suit, finding a spot to lay down for the night.


    ¡°Remember to keep the lights off, we don¡¯t want company¡±, I shudder, still shaken up from our encounter with the creatures back at the cave.


    ¡°What were those things?¡± Alex asks.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡±, I say as I shiver, ¡°They looked like people, but they were rotting from the radiation.¡±


    ¡°Zombies¡±, Rei says as she rolls over, ¡°Now go to sleep please. Like you said, we need rest.¡± I arch my eyebrow, roll over, and sigh. I close my eyes, and eventually fall into slumber.


    I toss and turn for what seems like forever before I wake up, breathing heavily. Rubbing my eyes, I look around to make sure everyone is alright. They group seems to be fine, and I notice that Jesse is awake.


    ¡°Hey Jesse, are you alright?¡±, I ask, sitting beside him in the cockpit.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just sore.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well here¡±, I say, grabbing the painkillers and bottle of water that had been set aside for him.


    ¡°Thanks¡±, he says, smiling before he pops the pills in his mouth and takes a swig of water. I look out the window and smile.


    ¡°At least you¡¯re alive, that¡¯s good¡±, I say, leaning back in the seat.


    He turns to look at me and says, ¡°Yeah, thank you for that, but you didn¡¯t have to take that risk for me.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I grin at him and chuckle. He rolls his eyes and I¡¯m reminded of his sectoral heterochromia, a condition where a section of his iris is a different color than the rest. I¡¯ve always found it unique.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I didn¡¯t, but I still did, didn¡¯t I?¡±, I tell him, ¡°You¡¯re a part of the squad, so you¡¯re family.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right, though we can¡¯t say the same about Jakob.¡± Jess chuckles and this time I¡¯m the one rolling my eyes.


    Changing the subject, I look out the window again and ask ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll be able to find Bowman?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course¡±, he responds, a determined glint in his eye, ¡°we just have to look hard.¡±


    I nod and the conversation comes to a standstill before something in the distance catches my attention.


    Sitting up straight in the seat, I squint and see what appears be a collection of lights and ask Jesse, ¡°Hey, do you see that?¡±


    Jesse glances towards where I¡¯m looking and nods, answering, ¡°yeah, what is it? How can there be lights here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡±, I say shaking my head and leaning back to wake the others.


    ¡°Hey, wake up, I see something¡±, I say. The other two blink awake, yawning. Alex checks her watch and starts.


    ¡°5:39? Really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but look, there are lights. Are they¡­ are they coming closer?¡±


    As soon as the words are out of my mouth the group swarms the window and we can make out two cars and someone on a fourwheeler. After that, a dune buggy drives past us, and as we watch, we notice a truck with a cage and someone inside.


    ¡°Bowman!¡±, I shout, ¡°that¡¯s Bowman!¡± They slap their hands over my mouth to muffle the noise and I squirm.


    ¡°Bowman, c¡¯mon please! We have to-¡± I¡¯m cut off by Rei.


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t, there are too many of them¡±, Rei scorns. I grumble, and they shout, all of them leaving except the guy with Bowman¡¯s cage.


    ¡°Fuck it!¡±, I say and slip out of my groups grasp, taking off out of the helicopter.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to get us killed!¡±, Jesse screams as they follow me out. Because we were mostly wearing all black, we were not spotted as I scrambled to get to the truck. When I reach it, I pull my knife out and pause, taking a deep breath.I sling the door open, grabbing the driver and slitting his throat.


    I throw the body to the ground and hop in, everyone else hopping into the bed to try and open Bowman¡¯s cage. I close the door and smirk.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get driving!¡±, I say, turning the key and quickly throwing it into reverse.


    ¡°Hang on¡±, I shout as the car jerks backwards, sending Alex, who is the lightest out of all of us, tumbling towards the back. Jesse climbs through the back window and seats himself in the passenger seat.


    ¡°I¡¯m not breaking my other leg because of you¡±, he explains.


    I chuckle and glance back at my squad ass they scramble to get their guns. I put the truck in drive and smash the gas pedal down, tearing out towards the sand dune and over the cliff as the remaining people began shooting at us. Though a couple shots make their way through the window, the adrenaline running through my veins doesn¡¯t allow time to worry.


    I keep driving as fast as I can as Rei and Alex try to get Bowman freed. ¡®Hang on Bowman¡¯, I think to myself as I make a sharp turn.


    It¡¯s been a couple hours still we stole the truck and we finally get close to the pod. I turn back towards the bed of the truck.


    ¡°Everyone okay?¡±, I shout, hearing two ¡®yeps¡¯ from the back. I hear Jesse groan and turn my head.


    ¡°Jess-¡±, I start, but I don¡¯t finish my thought. My eyes widen, as I look as his side, wet with blood.


    ¡°Y-you¡¯ve been shot¡±, I say, dazed, before I gather it finally hits me.


    ¡°No, hang on buddy you aren¡¯t dying on me¡±, I say, reaching over to apply pressure as I floor it, speeding up. ¡®Cmon, cmon¡¯, I yell at myself in my head.


    Pulling around, I park the truck and quickly pull Jesse out, my eyes tearing up.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to make it¡±, I say, seeing the color wash out from his face.


    Rei and Alex help Bowman, who isn¡¯t in the best condition either. He has cuts and bruises along with whip marks covering his body.


    ¡°We found Bowman! Sara, Olivia!¡±, I scream.


    ¡±Jesse¡¯s been shot!¡±, I say as I run into the medical tent, spotting Olivia.


    Her eyes widen and she says, ¡°Oh no, get them on the mat.¡± We do as we¡¯re told, and she looks them over.


    ¡°Get me water and bandages¡±, she orders, and I run to get them. As I¡¯m doing so, Sara runs in, and starts at the sight of them.


    ¡°Wh-what happened?¡±, she asked in shock, and Rei speaks up, tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Jesse was shot, we aren¡¯t alone out here. There are zombies, and other people wanting to kill us, and use us as slaves¡±, she says, panicked. She takes a deep breath and tries to breathe. Alex bites her lip, getting emotional as Olivia looks Jesse over.


    ¡°He¡¯s losing a lot of blood. Madd-¡± She¡¯s cut off by me running in.


    ¡°Here you go¡±, I say frantically, handing her the water and bandages.


    ¡°Good. Help me roll him on his side.¡±


    With that I take one side and we roll him over. She bites her lip and looks at me.


    ¡°There¡¯s no exit wound¡±, she says, ¡°the bullet is still in there.¡±


    We set Jesse back down and she rips open his shirt.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the tools to do this¡±, she says as tears begin to roll down her cheeks.


    ¡°Hey, hey, it¡¯s okay we can figure something out, get... a knife or something maybe we can use that. I have alcohol, and I have a stitch k-¡± She cuts me off.


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t, unless you want to damage an artery. In case you haven¡¯t noticed, the bullet is centimeters away from his lungs¡±, she says in anger. She looks at him and checks his pulse.


    ¡°He¡¯s not breathing¡±, she says, panicked. She begins pumping his chest, trying to give him cpr. As she continues, she starts crying and it takes all of us to pull her away.


    Stop, Olivia! He¡¯s gone...He¡¯s lost too much blood¡±, Sara says, and Olivia steps back, tears streaming down her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late¡­¡± Alex whispers and walks out, not being able to take it.


    I look over to Bowman, who seems to be handling it okay, but I notice he has a couple deep wounds.


    ¡°We need to stitch these up¡±, I say as I pull out my medkit.


    ¡°But Jesse¡±, Olivia protests.


    ¡°Just because we lost Jesse doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re going to lose Bowman too. He¡¯s going to be fine, he just  needs his wounds stitched up.¡±


    Olivia nods and walks over, taking the medkit.


    ¡°Give me about two hours, I¡¯ll have it finished¡±, she assures me and we nod, leaving and giving her room.


    I walk back to the pod and sigh, sitting on the entrance ramp and staring into the grass. I glance occasionally over to the guys who are rummaging through the truck, taking all of the parts out to be used as weapons, something for shelter, or just to help us out around here.


    Sara comes up beside me and sits down.


    ¡°What happened out there?¡±, she asks. I take a deep breath and look at her.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault he¡¯s dead¡±, I say, my voice cracking.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she questions.


    ¡°I was being stupid, and reckless. Squad one....they had Bowman, they had vehicles. I saw them, and when they abandoned the vehicles I went to the extent of killing someone to get Bowman out.¡± I stop for a minute and take a deep breath before continuing. ¡°I ran after the truck, and killed the guy in the driver¡¯s seat. We all got in, and as we were driving away they shot at us, shooting Jesse¡±, I finish and hot tears begin to roll down my face.


    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been so reckless he wouldn¡¯t have died¡±, I say, sniffling. Sara looks at me and hugs me.


    ¡°You did what you had to do, yes it was reckless but you saved a life today. Don¡¯t blame yourself for these things¡±, she says and then lets go.


    ¡°I know, but either way, we lost a member of our family, and I killed someone Sara!¡± I¡¯m a murderer¡±, I say, pulling my knees to my chest. Sara rubs my back and sighs.


    ¡°You are okay, you did no harm, don¡¯t guilt yourself. Jesse wouldn¡¯t have wanted that.¡±


    I stand up. ¡°I¡¯m going to take I nap¡±, I say and walk into the pod. I find my bed and lie down, wrapping myself in a blanket.

 Chapter 6

    As I wake from my slumber I stretch out, looking around at my surroundings. It¡¯s quiet. No one seems to be speaking to each other, just doing their jobs as though nothing was wrong. I stand up and brush myself off, stepping over the other beds to get outside. Taking a look around, I spot Sara pulling animals out of hav-a-hearts. I head over and on the way I see Olivia and Bowman, who seem to be doing okay considering what we¡¯ve been through.


    ¡°Morning Sara¡±, I call out, looking at the animals she¡¯s caught.


    ¡°Good morning¡±, she replies simply enough. I nod and go over to my tent to check out all the pelts that are drying, ready for me to begin making supplies for winter. I pull down a couple of fox pelts and grab my materials from the sewing kit found in the truck. Sighing, I sit down and begin making clothing, starting with a jacket.


    Almost as soon as I start, Olivia walks in and I look up, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I found someone who can help me with medical if you don¡¯t mind¡±, she says.


    I smile and reply, ¡°you don¡¯t have to ask me, it¡¯s up to you. Besides, I¡¯m not the one in charge here, it¡¯s either Sara or Bowman.¡±


    ¡°Alright well, either way, his name is Austin. He¡¯s one of the older guys here¡±, she says, smiling. She then waved goodbye and left my tent.


    As I was left alone again I begin to think to myself, cutting out the pattern pairs for a hood for the inside of a jacket along with the liner. I take down the boar hide that had been drying. It¡¯s about as durable as leather, and so I attach the fur to the leather and make it into a jacket. I sew the buttons on and drop my needle on the table, sighing and sitting back in my chair.


    ¡°C¡¯mon Maddy, you have to get this done¡±, I say to myself as I stand up. Biting my lip, I grab my bag and put on the finished jacket, then head outside to search for Bowman. My eyes sweep the area and I see him working on weapons.


    ¡°Bowman!¡±, I call out, jogging over to him, ¡°Hear me out when I say this. I want to leave camp for a bit. Get more fur, and see if I can¡¯t find anything. There has to be something out there.¡± I bite my lip again and hope for a positive answer. It doesn¡¯t come.


    ¡°Absolutely not¡±, Bowman says sternly.


    ¡°But wh-¡±


    ¡°I said no.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, y¡¯know you can¡¯t tell me what to do¡±, I say, frustrated at the lack of consideration. I cross my arms and stomp back to my tent. I set my back down and angrily start on the next jacket.


    After a while, Bowman walks in, looking around before turning to me.


    ¡°You can go¡±, he says, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say yes in front of Sara or Olivia, they would kill me. Just bring this with you¡±. He hands me a walkie talkie, which I tuck into my bag.


    ¡°There is something out there. I¡¯m not sure what, but there are weapons, guns, medical supplies and we need them, so go before Sara gets in here¡±. He gestures to the back of my tent and I grab my bag before sneaking out the back of my tent and disappearing into the woods. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Sara pops her head into my tent after I leave and sees Bowman.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Madds?¡± she asks, confused.


    ¡°She went to get water¡±, he said and left, leaving Sara wondering. She sighed, leaving the tent to go over to the medical tent and Olivia.


    ¡°Heya, how¡¯s it hanging?¡± Sara asks as she walks in.


    ¡°Pretty good¡±, Olivia replies, ¡°Austin just went to sleep. He¡¯s doing a great job so far. He buried Jesse for me, which was hard¡±. She sighed.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s alright, I promise¡±, Sara says to comfort Olivia. Olivia nods and then smiles


    ¡°Just between you and me, Austin is pretty attractive as well.¡±


    Sara rolls her eyes and grins.


    ¡°Oh I see, I¡¯m glad you think so. I think you have a chance¡±, Sara says and Olivia nods.


    ¡°Maybe so, but I don¡¯t wanna talk much about it in case he comes back.¡±


    Sara agreed, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d probably be best. Hey, have you seen Madds anywhere?¡± she inquires.


    ¡°She asked Bowman something and then they went into her tent,but I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Sara nods, ¡°Alright, thanks. If you need anything, you know where to find me.¡±


    Sara then leaves, grabbing her bag before heading towards my tent. She glances around before heading out the back entrance with a smirk.


    A couple hours pass and I manage to make it about two miles past the helicopter we had stayed in overnight. Walking forward a little ways more, I notice something glinting like glass. I run towards it, and a run down city comes into view. My eyes widen as I get closer and closer to it, but my awe is broken when I¡¯m tackled to the ground. Spitting the sand out of my mouth from the tumble, I look at my attacker to see Sara and splutter.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I question.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to keep you from getting killed¡±, she says, snorting and getting up off of me, ¡°So where are we going?¡±


    I get on my feet and notice that I¡¯m coated in a black substance. I try to brush it off with no luck, as my hands are now covered in it.


    ¡°Well if you haven¡¯t noticed¡±, I snap, ¡°there¡¯s a run down city. I was headed to that.¡±


    Sara turns her head and her eyes widen.


    ¡°Woah! Wait, you haven¡¯t seen Squad one anywhere have you?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Uh, no....whoops¡± I rub my head and look around before starting off towards the city again.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, the city isn¡¯t gonna explore itself.¡± I say. Sara begins to follow and about half an hour later we reach the city, both of us awestruck by what we see.


    ¡°We need to find shelter, first thing¡±, Sara says as I walk into the city.


    ¡°Yeah we do, but look at this place. It¡¯s awesome!¡± I say with a wide smile on my face. I turn and notice Sara is smiling as well. We look around and I point out a small shack beside a tall building.


    ¡°We can set up there¡±, I tell Sara.


    We walk up to it and go inside, setting our stuff down. We find a rough, torn up couch and lay back, relaxing.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think Bowman was telling the truth¡±, I speak up and Sara turns to me.


    ¡°He told you? Why wouldn''t you share it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want people being stupid and coming out here and getting killed¡± I say in response.


    We lay back again and stretch out, letting ourselves unwind. But the peace doesn¡¯t last long. Not five minutes later, the door is busted open and two members of Squad one burst through the entrance: Danny and a scruffy kid with dreads. Sara and I jump up, but it¡¯s too late to fight back. Danny shoots me in the leg with a tranq and Sara jumps out the missing window, booking it out, thinking I was right behind her.


    Once I pass out, Danny grabs my arms and the other kid grabs my legs. They carry me out of the shack and into the city, eventually finding their way someplace underground.


    Sara continues running, and about a mile away she finally looks over and realizes I¡¯m not following her.


    ¡°Hey Madds?¡±, she says, worry creeping into her voice, ¡°This isn¡¯t funny, where are you?¡± She looks around frantically, as if that will make me appear. Looking back at the city, it hits her that I¡¯m not coming back. I never made it out.

 Chapter 7

    Sara¡¯s POV


    I grab my jacket that was resting on my arm and slide it back up observing my surroundings. My whole body shaking from my head to toes. ¡°M-madds?¡± I call out


    ¡°Come on madds this isnt funny stop hiding¡± I say once more.


    Feeling a knot grow in my throat i look around quickly ¡°i have to get others¡± i mutter and turn around taking off. Black substance flying behind my feet as i run, faster and faster by the minute.


    It takes me roughly two hours to get back to camp and by that time im exhausted and sweaty. Looking around frantically i shout ¡°olivia! Bowman! Please help!¡± i say my body shaking vigorous LA


    Olivia comes bolting out and stops abruptly when she sees me. ¡° woah, what happened?¡± She asks and bowman comes out limping ¡°wait wait wait where did you go? And come from? Where the he-¡± I cut him off and grumble ¡°this is all your fault, if you wouldn¡¯t have said she could¡¯ve gone she wouldn¡¯t have gotten kidnapped.¡± I grit my teeth and olivia raises an eyebrow ¡°woah whats going on? Am i missing something?¡±


    After olivia comments Rei comes bounding out looking like someone kicked her cat off a cliff. ¡°Where were you? You had me worried sick?¡± I shake my head looking around ¡°I need your help.. Madds is gone, Squad one-¡± i stop simply because my voice started cracking ¡°Squad one took her, and i need help getting her back, there is a city and they took her into the city, please i can¡¯t go alone, it¡¯s a suicide mission if I do.¡± I say tears began to roll down my cheeks and Olivia looks like she saw a ghost ¡°w-wait, m-madds is gone? You''re kidding right? This is all just a big joke and she''s going to jump out of the bushes any minute¡± With that Olivia turns around ¡°Okay Madds! You got us!...you can come out now!...¡± she shouts but nothing coming and she turns back to me. ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡± I look up and Olivia''s eyes gloss over with tears and sniffles ¡°there is no way..please..¡±


    Bowman hearing all this begins to get frustrated. He grumbles and kicks an empty water barrel over ¡°Olivia! Rei! Sara! You three go find madds, I''ll hold up camp. Seeing I only slow everyone down.¡±


    With that I stand up ¡°there''s no way! We need you!¡± I click my tongue to look around ¡°wait Austin! Hes muscular right olivia?¡± sara asks slightly hopeful and Olivia nods ¡°yeah why?¡± I smile and then look around ¡°Instead of bowman We can take Austin.¡±.


    Smiling we all began to get ready Olivia retrieves Austin and then Bowman catches us right before we leave ¡°You aren''t going.¡±


    ¡°Wait you''re kidding right?¡± I Say in remark


    ¡°No I''m not, you aren''t going no one else is getting killed.¡± he says sternly


    I shake my head at the remarks he has began to make ¡°why the sudden change of heart?¡± I snap


    ¡°Like I said no one else is getting killed end of story¡±


    I grumble and call bullshit on him. I turn around and we all start walking and then three rather muscular and tall males block the only exit.


    ¡°Wyvern Pho and Riz watch after these four do not let them out of your sight and do not let them out of camo¡± bowman orders and retests back to his tent. I grumble and try calming down.


    ¡°this is complete bullshit Maddie is out there!¡± I snap at Wyvern.


    None of them say a word and I try pushing pass them but am not able. Then we all pitch in but they won''t budge.


    ¡°Keep pushing and you get the punishment.¡±


    We stop and look at each other. Slowly backing off the punishment causes me to shiver. The thought of getting tied to a tree and getting whipped without any clothing makes me sick. Bowman came up with it in case he had rebellious people who didn''t listen to him.


    ¡°Cmon what about Maddie! She''s still out there she''s not dead!¡± Olivia cries out


    Rei backs of and bites her lip ¡°you said squad one got her right.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I nod in agreement


    ¡°Then she''s not alive, remember what they did to Bowman and she stole a truck, along with killing one of their members.¡± Rei said and turned around ¡°there''s no hope.¡±


    Our mouths are hung open from how quickly Rei gave up, Olivia having hot tears Rolling down her cheeks as she walks of. Pulling at her own shirt Olivia goes back to her tent and Austin follows to comfort her leaving me alone.


    My legs trembling below me and I stumble back to my bunker sick to my stomach. I fall to my knees inside of my personal bunker and grab at the ground tears falling from my face ¡°Fuck!¡± I cry out and curl up in a ball. Grabbing my knees and pulling them to my chest not being able to feel anything my body being numb. ¡°She''s not g-gone I swear it!¡± I yell out and cough pulling at the ground and then hit it my chest feeling like it''s on fire and something clawing away at my throat from the inside out. I¡¯m trying to hold back the tears but all I can seem to do is make helpless sobs and gasps from trying to cover up the crying. My eyes slowly close as I doze off to sleep.


    Maddie''s POV


    I wake with a excruciating headache and look around at my surroundings. The walls painted with some sort of symbols and I''m surrounded in a pile of blankets and pillows. I look to my right scanning the dresser and a cracked mirror with cobwebs and dirt coating it. I stand up and hear a rattle looking down, and see that my feet my shoes are gone.


    I  look to the dresser and see a pile of clothing and some shoes, boots to be exact. I grab them and remove my current clothes and put on the new ones, except for the jacket because it had a squad one symbol on it so I put back on my previous jacket which was covered in the black substance in the field.


    Looking around the room I bite my lip looking for a way to escape. Walking through the blankets I look out the window and look down seeing how far of a drop it is and I shake my head. My eyes catch something in the corner of the room. I walk over out of curiosity and pull it up. A long sword, I think to myself and look around for a sheath of some kind not finding one ¡°alright no biggie I''ll make one when I get back to camp¡±


    ¡°You aren''t going back¡± someone says walking in the room. The scruffy guy with dreads from before is what it looks to me.


    I turn startled and narrow my eyes ¡°and who says.¡±


    ¡°Well the boss of course¡±


    ¡°Thats bullshit.¡± I say in remark


    ¡°You might think it but you killed one of our people so you are going to give us something in return.¡± The male says and walks out closing the door.


    I look at the door marching up to it and kick I ¡°Fuck you!¡± I yell out and drop to the ground sniffling just wanting to go back to camp.


    Thinking back I stop. ¡°Wait..where are the adults? We were supposed to be sent down with two adults¡± I think to myself. I stand up quickly and look for my bag.


    Finding it in the corner of the room I yank it open looking for the walkie talkie. I find it and pull it out and turn it around looking to see if it has batteries.


    Removing the back I grumble and shove it back in the bag ¡°damn it¡± I scoff putting the bag on my back and slide the sword into the top of the bag zipping it up until I can''t any more.


    Passing by the mirror I glance at myself while pacing. My face and hands all dirty and my hair scruffed up. My clothes not scruffy but ripped in a few places, black jeans a Gray long sleeve shirt and combat boots. As simple as that, and then my jacket I made at home, dark brown leather the sleeves have been ripped off but the fur still attached to the hood.


    ¡°They must have ripped off the sleeves while I was out¡± I think and then continue to pace the room while thinking of a way to escape.


    The door opens and Danny walks in and I scoff looking the opposite direction ¡°I have questions to ask, if you don''t agree to them you will not be seeing your precious camp again, I will chain you up until you agree.¡± He snaps and sits down while I stand crossing my arms.


    ¡°I see you found your clothes¡±


    ¡°Not that fucking hard I''m not blind¡±


    Danny keeps quiet and then after what seems like forever speaks up ¡°I want to know if you will help me.¡±


    ¡°With what.¡±


    ¡°Well, you see the radiation killed everything, and the more people the more everything will continue to not grow from harvesting¡±


    "And? Though I believe you are false so what?¡±


    ¡°I want you to set your camp on fire¡±


    My jaw drops and I look at him dead in the eye. You are kidding right?¡±


    ¡°No I''m not this is no laughing matter. You see I want to help, not destroy and your people are destroying¡± he says and then looks down and back up at me. So what do you say?¡±


    I glare at him and march over to him and pick him up by his shirt ¡°listen here you asshole, that is my family and I''m not going to. You are fucking crazy. And getting someone else to do your dirty work is just wrong¡± I snap and guards come running in and pin my body to the ground.


    ¡°Then I guess we will do It the hard way. ¡° he says and looks at their guard and the nod chaining my feet to the ground.


    ¡°I guess you''re right, I''ll do that dirty work for once¡± he laughs and walks out


    ¡°No! Bastard come back here! Leave them alone!¡± I yell out and thrash around the chains giving me some room to walk but not exactly everywhere just the radius of my room.


    I get up and run after him but they slam the door as I reach it. I bang against the door my hands hitting it over and over. I slide against the door and cup my hands over my face and I began sobbing.


    Moving my hands I pull my knees to my chest looking around my room. I look at the chains and then the window thinking to myself ¡°I have to get out of here but i just don''t know how, or where to start. Guys hold on I¡¯m coming¡±

 Chapter 8

    Sara¡¯s POV


    It''s been roughly a month since anyone has came up with anything involving Maddie. I¡¯ve tried sneaking out but that just fails and I get locked up in my bunker. Bowman is becoming power hungry and it''s aggravating all of us. Relationships have been forming all around, there have been a few storms but it has been quiet here at camp. Maddie had put light into our faces even though she was reckless. But that''s not the point. Everything is changing, people believe she is dead. There is a scheduled memorial for her and Jesse. Which is ridiculous in my opinion, i will be there for Jesse but Maddie is still alive,¡¯I''m sure of it.


    I hear a knock on the door of my bunker breaking me out of my thoughts and look up to see Rei and Olivia. ¡°Yeah?¡±I ask and they walk in.


    ¡°How are you?¡± Olivia asks


    ¡°Could¡¯ve been better you?¡±


    ¡°I''m okay. Listen,I think we have found a way to get out of here to go find Maddie¡± Olivia says then they both sit down.


    Austin comes up behind Olivia swooping her up in his own arms with a smile out of nowhere and it lights up Olivia¡¯s face.


    ¡°Austin as much as I love this we have to get Maddie back¡± she says and Austin sits her back down.


    ¡°You are still going? It''s been a month. She could be dead.¡±


    ¡°You don''t know that, no one does.¡±


    Austin thinks for a minute and then nods ¡°I¡¯m coming with you¡±


    ¡°B-but Austi-¡±


    ¡°No buts, I''m coming¡±


    ¡°Olivia we need him¡± says Rei.


    ¡°Yeah.. you are right¡± Olivia nods and then looks back at me. ¡°So what''s the plan?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is an exit behind Maddie¡¯s tent, but her tent is always occupied by either Bowman or Nathalie. So I''ve been watching each night, no one occupies the tent for a very brief amount of time when Ari calls for dinner. So when they call for Dinner we will have a ten minute gap to get our asses around the fire pit and into Maddie¡¯s tent.¡°


    ¡°What about the guards that patrol camp?¡± Rei asks with concern and pulls out a map of the camp.


    ¡°The guards patrol here and here¡± Rei points to the far east of the camp and the far west showing their paths. ¡°But to get to the tent we have to get past Wyvern the West guard.¡±


    Rei then looks up at everyone. Austin, Olivia, and Sara. When she looks back down she huffs shaking her head. ¡°So what do you guys say?¡±


    Austin nods ¡°i can take care of the guard¡± he then smiles and Olivia rolls her eyes.


    ¡°Alright then it''s settled get your packs and weapons and get your asses back here before dinner.¡± Sara says and everyone disbands.


    Maddie¡¯s POV


    Another chain rattling I hear from my left and then I was struck falling to the ground shaking.


    ¡°Now, you will think twice before trying to escape again won''t you? That was your fifth time trying one more time and you won''t live to see your so called friends again.¡± One of the guards snaps out and then leaves me closing the door.


    Looking around my room laying on the ground blood covers some parts of the floor around me. I have a couple cuts and bruises on my face though my back has the most damage.


    Sitting up I tense up in pain and look around finding my jacket from back home. I put it on zipping it up. ¡°Fuck that hurt worse than last time.¡± I then stand up looking around. I had finally removed my chains about a week back so I was able to freely walk around. Danny decided to let me seeing I was not able to escape anyways.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Slipping on my boots I groan and hear a creak at the door turn around and my face lights up. ¡°No way..the dumbass forgot to lock the door.¡± I then hesitate because it may be a trap. Standing up I go over to the door and peek out my eyes meeting a pair outside the door and I jump, stumbling and falling back.


    The figure stepping into the room and my jaw hangs wide. ¡°Jakob? What are you doing here?¡± I ask, standing up.


    ¡°I left camp a while back to find you and I''m glad I did. They are wanting to kill you, so hurry up and grab your things we have to go.¡±


    I look around frantically and slide on and tie my other shoe lace and then stand up. ¡°Okay let''s go.¡±


    Jakob and I leave the room and head down stairs quietly as he peers around the corner and then nods as it is safe to go. Making it outside to the city seeing the building i was taken from.


    ¡°Run.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I ask, hearing Jakob


    ¡°I said run. Go now!¡± He said and shushes me and my heart starts racing and I take off running.


    Not knowing what was going on I just kept going while Jakob made his way back inside pretending that he was out of breath ¡°B-Boss! t-the..Maddie has escaped! And she''s making a run for it!¡± He said and hurled over out of breath.


    Dany jumps up and looks at Jakob ¡°what?!¡± He said and ran outside and I had already made it out of the city looking back with Jakob standing beside Danny who appears to have a very aggravated expression.


    I curse and keep running, my back in excruciating pain. Panting though I keep going. I begin to hear motors and my stomach drops. ¡°C¡¯mon C''mon!¡± I yell at myself and turn to see the helicopter and I bite my lip and hurl myself inside. Barricading the door and lay back out of breath.


    Covering my mouth hearing the motors roar by I peek out seeing them go right past the helicopter and over the hill that has a collapsed cavern from when we saved Jesse. As soon as I do I realise they aren''t coming after me, they are going after camp.


    I lose all color to my face and force myself out looking around for something and I grumble, climbing to the top of the hill seeing them roar off black substance flying in the air in a cloud.


    Cursing to myself i slide down the hill covered in black substance and begin to run. I make it to the forest in a matter of minutes and pant running through the trees. ¡°They don''t know the exact way to camp so it should slow them down.¡± I think to myself and take off through the trees and plants. After about fifteen minutes I see the wall come into view and I dash in tripping and tumbling into the grass and dirt with a groan.


    Bowman turns his head and calls out ¡°Maddie??¡±


    My voice hoarse I manage to yell out ¡°everyone get out of here now! Squad one is coming! They are going to burn down camp!¡± And with that comes chaos. I get pulled up by Sara, Olivia and Rei with tears in their eyes ¡°You''re alive?¡± Sara says and they pull me into a hug. ¡°Guys I love you and all but we have to go now, squad one is coming!¡±


    With that all i hear ia high pitched whistle and then I''m on the ground with everyone covering their heads. West wall had been struck by squad one. ¡°Cmon!¡± I call out pulling myself together and help olivia up who helps rei and sara ¡°everyone over the wall! Go!¡± I yell and watch everyone pour over the wall and take off deeper into the forest together.


    Looking around for stragglers I see Austin trying to pull up Ari and I run over ¡°Austin go!¡±


    ¡°But Ari!¡±


    ¡°I''ve got him¡± I say and Austin nods and I look down at the boy who doesn''t look any older than fourteen, our youngest. ¡°Cmon Ari¡± I say and look around the boy being unconscious. I grumble and pick him up and throw him over my shoulder and look at my surroundings. Seeing the hole in the west wall surrounded by fire. I take my chances and jump through and book it to where everyone else is panting as I run.


    I see everyone about an hour into the forest and they have all stopped. Catching up I raise my eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Sara pointing I look ahead and see a ravine looking down ¡°did anyone fall?¡±


    ¡°No, we stopped just in time. ¡°


    ¡°Alright good. I think they are gone, we can set up camp here for tonight and tomorrow we will cross the ravine. We have to go around it.¡±


    Sara nodded and Olivia is shaking holding on to Austin who is trying to soothe her running his fingers along her back.


    Setting Ari down I huff getting dizzy and fall back falling unconscious from the pain of the wounds.


    Sara''s POV


    Out of breath we all sit down until we hear a thud seeing Maddie on the ground ¡°Maddie!¡± I call out and Olivia slips out of Austin''s grip, running over.


    ¡°Give her some room¡± I call out and olivia is on the ground checking Maddie. ¡°She''s unconscious, but i don''t know what from. ¡°


    Olivia scans Maddies body and takes note to the blood stained jacket And blood stained shirt. Arching her eyebrow Olivia rolls her on her side seeing holes and then she takes Maddie''s jacket off. Her shirt being ripped in the back Olivia''s eyes widen at the wounds. ¡°Austin in my bag i have some alcohol bring that gauzes and a bandage to me.¡±


    Austin nodded and rummaged through her bag pulling out everything as I pace. Waiting for her to finish.


    Rei comes over and checks on Maddie and looks at her back as Olivia finishes. ¡°Rei could you and Austin lay her on the grass she needs rest. We have to set up camp she will be fine she just went unconscious from pain.¡±


    Rei and Austin nod picking Maddie up placing her on the grass as I look over and huff ¡°This is going to be a long rocky road.¡±


    Olivia agreed with me she sighs and starts to pull down branches for the temporary tents and she looks around seeing a couple people grabbed supplies and Bowman with a duffle bag and a knapsack and backpack.


    A couple people carrying all the blankets from camp and two crates of tarps and blankets. I sigh in relief ¡°At least we will be warm tonight, winter is close.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Olivias POV


    Groaning, wake up and rub my head. Scanning my surroundings, I see that Maddie is still asleep. I look over to Austin sleeping beside me and smile, gently caressing his cheek and planting a small peck on the area. There¡¯s a but of stubble on his cheeks, but the tickle of it on my lips only makes me smile wider.


    After a while of laying in my make do bed, I walk over to Maddie and feel her head.


    ¡°Alright, good, no fever¡±, I mutter softly, looking around for a canister of water.I spot it near where I was just laying down and head back over to pick it up before returning to Maddie¡¯s side to clean her wounds. Sighing softly as I clean, I glance around, noting the fact that it¡¯s roughly 3 am, so everyone is asleep. I should be too, but I can¡¯t help staying up. I¡¯m too worried about Maddie.


    A couple of hours pass before Ari is awake and trying to scrape up some breakfast for the remaining survivors. A few of our squad members have gone back to the campsite to get blankets and gather up anything that has not been scorched. Everything is quiet, and it¡¯s a little frustrating, but I understand. The sound of footsteps snaps me out of my thoughts and I see Sara standing nearby, looking at Maddie.


    ¡°Will she be okay?¡±, she asks, her voice full of concern.


    ¡°For now, though her wounds are great.¡± Sara nods and takes the water.


    ¡°You go rest, I¡¯ll take it from here. Go spend some time with Austin.¡±


    ¡°No, I have to-¡±


    ¡°Go¡±, Sara states.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I sigh and stand up, making my way over to where Austin is cleaning up the area where we slept. I yawn and step up to him, laying my head on his chest and rubbing my eyes.


    ¡°Tired?¡±, he asks, rubbing my back gently.


    ¡°A bit¡±, I reply, ¡°couldn¡¯t sleep last night.¡±


    ¡°I can lay a blanket down so you can sleep.¡±


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m waiting for Maddie to wake up.¡± Austin nods and stretches out.


    ¡°When she does, we have to leave ASAP¡±, he says.


    I nod in agreement and look over with a sigh, ¡°on second thought, I will lay down.¡±


    This cause Austin to chuckle. He nods and grabs a blanket from the bucket to lay down. I lay down onto it and pull the edge over my body. He then leans down and kisses my forehead, bringing a smile to my face.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get firewood for us to arm up until Maddie wakes up¡±, he says before standing and grabbing two guys to take with him.


    Sara¡¯s POV


    I huff as I lean on the tree beside Maddie. It¡¯s been two hours since Olivia went o sleep, and almost everyone in camp is awake and helping clean to get ready to leave. I close my eyes, then open them again and look over when I hear a groan and see Maddie struggling to get up.


    ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t¡±, I say quickly as I head over to her, ¡°you¡¯re hurt.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, we just have to go, so they don¡¯t come back.¡±


    ¡°Maddie, rest for the time being.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, could you help me up?¡±, she asks and holds an arm up.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I hesitate, but take her hand, and she stands to her feet with a wince.


    ¡°Where is Olivia?¡±, she questions, and as she does, Austin walks up to us.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re awake¡±, he says, looking around, ¡°I¡¯ll go get her, no worries.¡± Austin walks away and I look at Maddie.


    ¡°You are reckless¡±, I chuckle and shake my head, causing her to grin.


    A couple of minutes pass and Olivia comes running over with a smile.


    ¡°Maddie, thank god you¡¯re okay¡±, she says. I look around as they talk, quickly losing track of the conversation. I look into the sky and arch an eyebrow.


    ¡°H-hey guys, what is that?¡±, I say, and point up towards a drop ship, which is heading towards us, and fast.


    Maddie¡¯s POV


    Hearing Sara¡¯s words, I squint into the sky, though it is hard to see through the crack in my left lens.


    ¡°I-is that¡­¡± I trail off.


    ¡°A drop ship¡±, Rei finishes, and as soon as she does, parachutes are deployed and the drop ship lands on the ground roughly five minutes after we watch it cross the ravine and drop into the forest. Out of instinct I grab my bag and some rope and turn towards the ravine.


    ¡°Woah, woah, where are you going?¡±, Sara asks, turning me around.


    ¡°To the other side¡±, I reply, as if it¡¯s obvious.


    ¡°But it¡¯s a day long trip around the ravine¡±, she argues.


    ¡°Exactly¡±, I say, ¡°that¡¯s why I¡¯m going through.¡±


    Sara then steps in and draws the line, stating firmly, ¡°Not by yourself you aren¡¯t, you¡¯re still hurt, so I¡¯m coming with you.¡±


    ¡°So am I¡±, Rei joins in and I huff.


    ¡°Fine, but please hurry, they could be hurt.¡± I turn around again and walk over to the ravine. When I get there, I nod and tie my rope securely to a nearby tree.


    ¡°Alright¡±, I address the group, ¡°if we go down here carefully we can easily make it up beside the spring on the other side, but have to be fast.¡± I grab ahold of the rope and start inching my way down, the pressure killing my back. After I go, Sara follows, and then Rei. We all reach the bottom in about fifteen minutes, and I scan the area to make sure we don¡¯t have any ¡®visitors¡¯ before making my way quickly towards the spring.


    ¡°Not so fast¡±, Sara speaks up, catching my arm and halting my progress, ¡°you don¡¯t want to be hurt more than you already are.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fin-¡±, I start, but am cut off by movement at my feet and a weight moving swiftly over my shoes, almost causing me to scream in terror.


    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡±, I shiver and look over to see a lizard at Sara¡¯s feet. It¡¯s obviously a sun gazer, but it seems different than normal. It¡¯s larger for one, with three tails and two differently coloured eyes. All in all, it measures about twelve inches in length and it¡¯s sheer size causes me to shiver again. Sara awed and bent to pick the up the lizard, grinning.


    ¡°Hey guy!¡±, she coos, holding him up to her face.


    ¡°Aw, can I keep him Maddie?¡±, she pleads and I chuckle.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t creeped out by how big it is and the fact that it has three tails?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all. And his brown eye and gold eye are absolutely gorgeous¡±, she gushes. I roll my eyes and sigh.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, lets just get out of here before a bigger one shows up.¡±


    ¡°Well that just makes me want to stay¡±, she says. I chuckle and shake my head before beginning to climb up the rock. Sara sets the lizard on her head before beginning to climb as well, and Rei is already halfway up by the time we start.


    Another thirty minutes pass before we finally make it to the top and Sara looks around to see smoke.


    She points and shouts, ¡°Look! C¡¯mon!¡±, before taking off towards it. Rei and I follow, and we soon approach the drop ship, which is rather small.


    ¡°What?¡± Rei says absently as she gets closer, before prying one door open and peeking in. I pry open the other one and we find two people: A male, who is rather tall with wavy brown hair and soft freckles dusting his face, and a female, who has soft black hair that reaches her back and who seems to be around 5¡¯3¡± with an hourglass figure.


    ¡°Hey, wake up¡±, I say as I gently shake the female, Rei doing the same for the male. When there¡¯s no response, I unbuckle her, pulling her out and onto the ground to listen to her chest.


    ¡°Well she¡¯s still alive¡±, I say and look over to Rei, ¡°Is he?¡±


    Rei nods and pulls him out as well.


    ¡°Come on, we have to go.¡±


    After I say that, I hear groaning and turn to see the female moving her head slightly. I kneel down to look her in the eyes.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re alive thank god, that was quite a crash you took there¡±, I joke with a smile. I notice her head seems to be bleeding, but not too badly.


    ¡°We are going to take you back to camp to fix up that wound, is that okay?¡± I ask. She seems to be still trying to comprehend my words. She just nods and I help her when she attempts to sit up.


    ¡°S-squad two¡±, the male says and I turn my head, confused.


    ¡°What?¡±, I ask.


    ¡°They are alive¡±, he says, and we all fall dead silent.

 Chapter 10

    Maddies POV


    After everyone else crossed through the ravine and to the other side with Bowman helping with the equipment we started to set up camp in a cleared up area. Setting big tents that room three. A couple that would room two, and a storage tent. We didn''t make a fire in fear of squad one for tonight so we just sat wrapping in our blankets. I brought kenzie and tyler to my tent along with Rei and we sat back. I sent Sara to sleep along with Olivia and Austin seeing that Olivia stayed up all night last night treating my wounds and Sara has done more than enough with helping everyone.


    ¡°So squad two? They are alive?¡± I ask the two.


    ¡°Yes, but there is something greater¡­ we have to build a wall, and shield ourselves. The president is coming to earth.¡± Tyler says


    Rei¡¯s jaw dropped and my eyes widen.


    ¡±You are kidding right? But why? They have no business down here they sent us to die so they can all get oxygen deprived and float in space¡± Rei remarks and crosses her arms.


    I stand up and begin to walk out only earning a ¡°where are you going¡± from Rei.


    ¡°To speak with Bowman, no worries.¡±


    ¡°No stay here we need to finish.¡± Rei says and I sigh sitting back down.


    ¡°Squad two, they are alive and well. But they are about fifty miles north of here, roughly a week''s trip just to get there.¡± Kenzie says and stretches out yawning.


    I look over to rei staring over at Tyler and I pat her back ¡°earth to Rei¡± I chuckle and she stops from zoning out.


    ¡°Uh yeah sorry¡±


    I look back around and then nod standing up. ¡°Rei could you show Tyler to his tent I¡¯ll show Kenzie hers.¡± With that we both stand up and Kenzie and Tyler stand up. Both of them following us and then we part ways Rei going to the male''s side of the camp.


    ¡°Alright so, this will be your tent for the time being. Whatever is in there is yours and if you need anything you know where to find me¡± I say and Kenzie nods and smiles going into her tent as I walk back to mine.


    Crawling in I lay back with a yawn and rub my eyes. Today has been a long day...very eventful. I think to myself and roll over covering all of my body but my head with a blanket and close my eyes soon falling asleep.


    Rei¡¯s POV


    Smiling at Tyler I greet him ¡°I''m Rei by the way¡± I say watching my feet as we walk to the other side of camp.


    ¡°Tyler, nice to meet ya.¡±


    I look up and to see he is rather tall so I just stick to  looking down at my feet.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡± He asks


    ¡°Oh u-uh nothing no I''m fine¡± I laugh it off slightly and then look up to see we are at his tent.


    ¡°Alright this is your tent, anything in there is yours and you know where to find me if need be.¡± I say rather quickly and walk away rubbing my face and huff. Looking ahead I see that Madds is already in her tent and I look around and pull up a stump sitting on the outside of her tent just sketching places that I haven''t filled in on the map trying to get Tyler off my mind. Groaning in frustration I put my head in my hands and rub my face again and then stand up going to my tent.


    As I was walking I hear footsteps but pay no attention and then I hear a loud ¡°boo!¡± and I jump and turn around, accidentally hitting Sara with the map causing her to laugh.


    ¡°Hah! I got you¡± She jokes and I roll my eyes.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I joke around and Sara smiles.


    ¡°Well you are in love with space boy, I can see it all over your face.¡±


    Scoffing I open my tent and huff ¡°I am not! Nor ever will be¡± causing Sara to mumble sarcastically. I go in my tent and lay down taking off my jacket and wrapping up in my blanket. I yawn closing my eyes and soon fall to sleep.


    Maddies POV


    Waking up about three hours later I hear something rustling I groan and wake up to see Kenzie sitting in my tent and I scramble up hitting my head on a stump that''s right to the side of my tent. ¡°What are you doing in here??¡± I ask, whisper-yelling


    ¡°I got cold and I¡¯m tired and can''t sleep and you told me to come ask you when I needed help, I wanted to know if I can sleep in here.¡±


    I trip over my words and squint ¡°I-I uh..sure. Just, be careful there is a stump beside my tent.¡± I say crawling out


    ¡°Wait where are you going?¡± Kenzie asks and I sigh.


    ¡°For a walk.¡± I say sheepishly and then leave looking around for bowman and I find Sara. ¡°Ah Sara! Where is Bowman?¡± I ask and she huffs.


    ¡°No one has seen him for a while, he went to go get more supplies but then never came back.¡± she says and I squint.


    ¡°How odd. Send out a search team, maybe they will find him. I can''t go with all these cuts on my back and you and Olivia need rest.¡± I say and then turn around as it starts to rain. Looking up I wipe my face off and take my glasses off putting them in my pocket.


    ¡°Got it, I''ll send Alex, Max and Wyvern¡± Sara says and I agree. ¡°Alright, afterwards put someone on watch I''m going to sleep for a while.¡± I then leave back to my tent to see Kenzie sleeping and I sit at the opposite side of my tent. Pulling out my glasses I put them on and turn on the lamp. I had found a couple books in the drop ship and they weren''t that bad so I''ve been reading them in spare time though I hardly ever get any.


    Hearing talking I peek my head through and smile seeing Rei and Tyler talking. I bite my tongue from making any comments about them so I go back into my tent and grab the spare blanket wrapping it around me as I read.


    Rei''s POV


    I laughed as Tyler told a stupid pun and looked up. ¡°You''re a dork,¡± I commented which caused him to smile.


    ¡°Thank you, you aren''t too shabby yourself,¡± he jokes around and ruffles my hair and all I can think is ¡°hug me space boy¡±. Just a bit flustered I smile at him and then he looks around. ¡°So how do things work around here?¡± he asks curiously.


    ¡°Well everything really isn''t situated at the moment but leadership fluctuates between Maddie. Sara and Bowman,¡± I say and he nods. ¡°Alright that sounds simple enough.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯m almost positive Maddie will ask you and the other girl questions about squad two so just be prepared.¡± As I say this he nods and then looks around. ¡°Alright I''m going to try and get some sleep I''ll talk to ya in the morning alright?¡± He says and then hugs me causing my knees to go weak. Struggling, I hug him back. ¡°Alright if you can¡¯t find me I''ll most likely be putting up tents for the workers.¡±


    We both part ways and turning around I smile and go to my tent and take off my jacket and shoes wrapping myself in my blanket. I try my best not to squeal from happiness so I sit up and look outside and see that everyone''s asleep so I slip my shoes on real quick and slide outside. Looking for Maddie''s tent I open the curtain to see Kenzie by surprise and raise an eyebrow. ¡°Uh Maddie?¡±


    ¡°Over here in the corner¡±


    Hearing that I peek in and almost laugh seeing her cuddled in the corner with a book. ¡°Alright, when did this happen?¡±


    ¡°She just came in I swear I didn''t do anything,¡± she says whisper yelling. ¡°Also keep your voice down everyones asleep and if someone sees this they might make assumptions.¡±


    I nod and step in just a bit more to keep from getting wet in the rain and squat. ¡°Could you come over to my tent? I need to talk¡± I ask and see her nod then I back up going into my tent taking off my muddy boots setting them on the log I put in my tent just for that purpose so it wouldn''t get on my blanket or tarp that''s under the blanket and on top a rather large pile of hay and leaves just like everyone''s tent.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I hear her ask and come in taking her shoes off.


    ¡°Gods it''s Tyler, I don''t know.¡±


    ¡°Haha, do you have a thing for space boy?¡± she teased and I huffed.


    ¡°Keep your voice down! And it''s not like you don''t have a thing for space girl,¡± I say in remark causing her to roll her eyes.


    ¡°Yeah yeah i get what you mean, have you not told anyone? Sara, Olivia and I have already seen you flirting¡± she teased.


    ¡°No I haven''t, it''s nerve racking though.¡±


    Maddie nods. ¡°Yeah I understand really. But you have nothing to worry abou-¡± she was cut off by hearing mud sloshing and she reached outside pulling Olivia and Sara in by their legs. ¡°Alright eavesdroppers¡± she snickered and looked at the two who sat down in unison.


    ¡°What? We saw Rei hug Tyler and got curious,¡± Olivia says innocently and smiles.


    Sara¡¯s lizard rested on her head and yawned, popping his head up and then laying down again. ¡°Hm, well at least it''s only you two.¡±


    Looking over at the three of them I sigh. ¡°God ''m helpless he''s so cute,¡± I say and cover my face. Maddie snickers and Sara claps while Olivia awes.


    Maddies POV


    After I snicker I hear something like a missile of a sort and I hurry outside to see flares shooting off from the city. I look around to see everyone coming out of their tents and Kenzie comes over to me. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She asks curiously and I furrow my eyebrows. ¡°Someones in trouble.¡±