4:23 AM
October 12, 2019
Alexandria, Virginia
9 Months and 5 Days Left
Sleep, as I had expected, did not come easy for any of us last night. My stomach is what finally gets me off of the couch, when I stand up my joints crack and pop as they get used to moving again. Tired, yet refreshed, I stumble into the kitchen nearby and start to look for food. As you could probably expect whoever was living here before we showed up, took everything they could. Still though I search for something I can eat. To my dismay I don't find anything, instead I go back into the living room, in silence I sit back down on the couch and wait for everyone else to wake up. Slowly one by one everybody groggily wakes up, after a while Adam walks over to me and sits down on the couch.
"So back to Washington then?" He asks with a tired and sarcastic grin. I actually hadn't thought about what we should do next.
"You know, now that I think about it, that's not a bad idea." I reply contemplating how to execute the plan. Reinvigorated I get up and walk over to the door, where Lucy and Anna are already waiting for me. Looking through the window I am blinded by the Sun's rays reflecting off of the pavement. The air outside almost looks wavy, slightly distorting some of the buildings cars in the distance. The sky is a heavy burnt orange, with very few clouds.
"D.C. Is at least a hundred miles from here." Anna states gloomily, "And it looks to be terribly hot outside as well." She continues. Adam, however still seems to be somewhat optimistic considering the circumstances.
"If we leave now we should be able to make it before nightfall." He says trying to convince us.
"He's right, I mean the only other option we have is to stay here, and there is very little food here. At least if we get back to D.C. we'll have enough food to survive." I say siding with Adam.
"Yeah but how will we survive the heat for a hundred miles?" Lucy asks, still skeptical of our plan.
"Wait!" Anna exclaims, grasping our attention. "What if we hijacked one of those cars" she continues, pointing at one of the abandoned cars siting on the side of the road.
"Ok, fine! But if we're doing this we are going to need something to defend ourselves with." Lucy says somewhat reluctantly.
"You're right." I agree, I turn to look at Anna. "Anna, do you know of any sort of weapons storage areas in D.C.?"
"You mean like an armory?" She corrects.
"Yeah, whatever just..."
"There's one about 20 miles east of our hideout." She interrupts before I am able to finish.
"Alright then, let's go!" Adam says heading out the door. Without word the rest of us follow him, making a dead sprint for a car just big enough to fit the four of us. The heat is searing against my skin, and already I can feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. Adam reaches the car first, I hear the doors handle jam as he tries desperately to get in, it's locked.
"Here let me," I reach for a rock sitting on the side of the road near the car and hurl it at the window. The glass shatters and I reach my hand in to unlock the car. Adam just stares at me bewildered, I look back as I open the door and get in, "What? I saw in a movie once." I say with a grin, I position myself in the driver's seat and wait for everyone to get in. After everyone is in the car safely I start to look for a key so that we can leave. Anna, who is sitting in the seat next to me finds them in the glove compartment, and hands them to me.
"Thanks." I say, sticking the keys in the ignition. My happiness is short lived however, a frown spreads across my face as I hear the engine sputter out.
"Relax, I got this." Anna leans over and exposes the wires that are positioned just behind the wheel. Without a word she pulls out a knife from her back pocket and cuts a few wires and reconfigures them. She then sits back up, replaces the cover, and smiles. "Okay now, try it again." She commands calmly. With a doubtful sigh I try to get the car going again and... it works! The engine roars to life as my foot steps on the gas, I turn to Anna baffled,
"Where did you learn how to hotwire a car?!" I ask.
"Hunter taught me how, when we were still in high school." She replied her face turning solemn for a moment.
"Hey, listen." Adam says leaning forward from the back seat. "We will figure out a way to get him back" He promises. His voice still sounding optimistic.
"For now though, we just have to survive long enough to be able to do that." Lucy chimes in, comforting Anna hesitantly.
"Yep, that's right." I say reinviting myself to the conversation. "Next stop. D.C.!"
YOU ARE READING
Time Left Over (Time Book 1)
Science FictionWhat would you do if you and the rest of the world only had 1 year left before the Sun expanded killing everything and everyone on Earth. Jack is just an average guy of 25. He has a house, a job, and is content with where he is at in his life. His s...
