Blood of My Death

Blood of My Death: The Ancient Earthscrapper - Chapter Four

Series Memory Sequence 482000152451983 beginning...

Series Memory Sequence 3510001002451983 beginning...

Memory Protocol Active...

Building Memory Database-002-0909...

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Sequence Active... Beginning waking sequence now...

Memory Series Sequence 482000152451983 beginning...

Memory Series Sequence 351001002451983 beginning...

Memory Protocol Active...

Building Memory Database-002-0909...

Start Memory Sequence...

Memory Sequence Active... Beginning waking sequence now... Sequence will run indefinitely...

Again, I awoke to find that we had landed at our destination. We're in another vehicle, driving. The morning light shines through the tinted windows. I sat up to see Kristonia already awake. I didn't even have time to come out of my slumber before the DNA staff workers carried me off the plane. From there, my memories are fuzzy. I barely remember leaving the airport or even saying a word to Kristonia. The next thing I know, we're in the back of another black SUV traveling down a country highway. My focus turns to the male DNA staff worker and the female staff worker. The ones who'd been with us since we left our home. Kristonia and I are in the third row, while they are in the second row. I can't see the two people in the driver's and the passenger's seats in the front row. With a practiced smile, he looks at me while putting his arm over the seat.

"Driving from the private airport to DNA Labs' main research complex is only four to five hours and a half. So, enjoy the scenery," he said, looking at me, then at Kristonia.

"Okay, where are we?" I mumbled, still half groggy.

The woman turns around, and I feel I am noticing her for the first time. Her hair is in a bun, and she wears sunglasses to hide her eyes. Her blonde hair is the only thing that stands out about her.

"Sit tight. The drive is long. The Personnel will brief you once we reach headquarters," she said in a monotone voice.

"Hmm... Well, yes, mommy!" Kristonia said, showing how annoyed she was.

Leaning back in our seats, we look at each other with concern. We sat quietly in the third row of the SUV, taking in the landscape as it passed us. I couldn't tell from the scenery where in the American Territories we were. The terrain was utterly unfamiliar, and I couldn't place our location. As I looked out the window, tall, thick trees lined either side of the two-lane highway we were driving on. A winding road weaved its way through thickly wooded terrain. The trees were tall enough that their shadows cast darkness over the road, blocking the sunlight. Because of the heavy shadow covering the road, I would not have known it was still early morning if I had just woken up.

There wasn't a single break in the trees since entering the forest. I didn't even know how far we had traveled before both sides of the highway were taken over by forest. Yet, I couldn't help but think this was the last place I wanted to be if our car broke down. The trees were so thick that there was nothing but darkness deep within the forest. I doubted the future for the first time as Kristonia and I stared out the window. I could only remember the words my mother had told me before we left home.

"Be careful and watch out for each other. We don't have any family up that way, so if you run into trouble, you won't have any family to come to help you," Eveline said just before we left. Our mother's words ran through my mind.

The realization hit me hard that there would be no one we knew who could help us out here if something went wrong. We knew only one road that led directly to the airport, but we could have come from anywhere. I couldn't trust my memories. As far as we knew, this road could go on forever in this dark forest, and we did not know where the nearest town was. There was a possibility that we had made a mistake by coming here. Neither the Maine Territories nor the landscape around Heartfield looked like this. I had researched the city of Heartfield after receiving the first phone call from DNA Labs, and this landscape wasn't anything like the images on the internet. There was an absolute difference between the trees around Heartfield and those trees.