Empire

Chapter 50

Wales' POV:

The world looked so small for where I was. It was quite beautiful. I would have enjoyed the trip more if I didn't have to manually make the wings work. When I first arrived in the Empire, I thought it wasn't going to be too different from what it was in the past, but I was very wrong.

Although, I have to admit, those art nights were really fun, but cleaning was never my strong suit. I'm still glad I got out of there though. But now, I have to focus on the plan.

A large nuclear device had been created years ago as a means of manually triggering the Great Restart. I remember learning about it in school. Someone had attempted to turn it on ages ago but nothing ever came of it. It was my job to find the device and turn it on. The only problem was, I didn't have the first clue to find out where it was.

I started getting tired and decided I needed to find a place to land. I was about an hour out of NZE territory and there was nothing but trees for ages. I couldn't find a clearing. So, I elected to try and land in the trees. Luckily for me, I had been practicing my landings.

I got closer to the tree tops and spotted a large branch that I could land on. I just needed to get the timing perfect.

"3...2... Oof!" I hit the side of the branch and it was too big for me to get a grip on so I slowly slid off the branch and began to fall. I tried to work the wings but they didn't seem to respond. Suddenly I hit the ground.

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My eyes opened slowly to find myself lying on what seemed to be a mattress. I rolled over but I felt something sharp stick into my back. I bit my tongue and tried to roll off it. That was when I noticed I seemed to be in the back of a utility vehicle.

I sat up and pulled whatever had been stuck in my back. It was a chunk of metal from the wings. They must have gotten broken. I considered jumping out of the vehicle, but when I looked over the edge, there was nothing. Just a huge drop off. It was hard to tell who was driving, but I decided it would be best to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.

I noticed that the drop off began to get shallower and not as steep. This would be a better time than any to jump and roll.

I stood up, trying my best not to fall over as the vehicle continued to drive. I waited until it reached the perfect spot. And I jumped. I didn't get a chance to roll though. In fact, I found myself dangling off the edge of this cliff by my foot. Someone had tied me to the vehicle. They must have known. The vehicle stopped and two people got out. I was still upside down over the cliff.

"See, I told you it was a good idea," Someone said.

Papua New Guinea's POV

"Are we there yet?" Scot moaned. It's all he ever did. The only reason I brought him along was for the alcohol. I honestly shouldn't have been surprised when he pulled out another two full bottles. I needed to get drunk for this adventure.

"No, and if you ask again I will shoot you in the foot," I said through gritted teeth.

"You don't have a gun," He said smugly. I pulled out a small concealed revolver and loaded it.

"Do you want your brains to paint the trees?" I asked.

"I think it could be quite a picture," He smiled as he took a swig from one of the bottles.

The map I had was not clear. I could easily say that I'm great at locating things, but the forest is another story altogether. The bunker was supposed to be the safe place. The place where we can prevent the worst.

But it was too dark to carry on. We needed to stop. I pulled out a blanket and two lengths of rope. Scot sat on the g

round next to a tree. He seemed to fall asleep straight away. I fixed myself a hammock and used my bag as a pillow.

Despite being younger than Scot, it felt like I was babysitting him. He was like a drunk toddler. Asking so many questions. But, I didn't mind the company. The journey would be lonely if he didn't tag along.

Before I fell asleep, I pulled the small collection of photos. Although I didn't understand Russian, I could make out what the pictures meant. I knew that I had to get to the bunker before anyone else did. If anyone else got their hands on what was in the bunker, the world could be in for a nuclear winter.

I took the tie from around my neck. I had taken it from Uncle Meri when he had left his office. I didn't have any real use for it except to keep it as a memento to remember the only Empire. I hope he won't fight against me in the next inevitable war.

I was so tired. A headache forming behind my eyes urged me to fall asleep. Sleep was the last thing I wanted. So many thoughts ran through my head as I slowly closed my eyes. I only hoped that the next day wouldn't be so long.