Restless

The Night Shift

After the most awkward hour of my life, Brianna and I returned to the group and planned the shifts for the approaching night.

"So there will be six shifts. Big Ben and Madison have the first shift, Cailey and Elizabeth have the second shift, Zach and Hannah have the third, Parker and Hayden have the fourth shift, Ty and Luke have the fifth shift, and Drayton and I have the last shift." Brianna explained to everyone. I watched her eyes as she spoke. They glistened like jewels in the setting sun. After everyone knew the plan for the night shifts, we let the girls sleep in the trucks and the men would sleep outside, under the stars.

"If it's not your shift, get some sleep. If anyone sees anything dangerous, Do not hesitate." Big Ben said to us all. We did as he said and tried to rest. Then the first shift started.

8:00pm, Madison and Big Ben

"So Ben.. You're from Oklahoma?" Madison asked Big Ben.

"Yes." Big Ben simply answered. He focused on the road and the trees. Madison didn't want to be awkward so she tried to keep a conversation going.

"Um.. Where were you when the attacks first started?" Madison asked. Big Ben was quiet for a moment.

"I was with my brother." He replied.

"Where's your brother now?"

"Dead." He said firmly. They were quiet for a while. "They shot him right through the heart.. He bled out in my arms..."

"I'm sorry, Ben. He's in a better place." Maddie assured. "So.. How'd you meet the others in your group?"

"We grew up on the same street, went to the same school, and had similar interests." He explained. "We all liked the idea of being secret agents. We would meet up in Peter's tree house after school and would play together."

"Are you cold? I'm freezing.. I left my jacket in the truck. It wasn't as warm as it was earlier, due to the temperature drop. Big Ben looked at Madison and smiled. He removed his own jacket and handed it to Maddie.

"Take mine. It'll keep you warm." He said kindly. Maddie just smiled and they finished their shift.

10:00pm, Elizabeth and Cailey

"How you holding up?" Elizabeth asked Cailey at the beginning of their shift. She shrugged and sighed. The two had been side by side since the beginning. Through good and bad, happy and sad, they never separated.

"I can't believe Emilie killed Tim..." Cailey said. Poor Tim never had a proper burial before they left. Parker and Nick had laid his lifeless body under a big oak in the backyard.

"I can't believe we trusted her.. She was part of the team and she stabbed us in the back. Tim, literally." Elizabeth said angrily.

"I just don't understand... The sandmen don't have female troops. She must be important or something..." Cailey thought outloud.

"Maybe. I'm hungry, we have food?" Elizabeth asked. Cailey looked sick to her stomach.

"We have enough to last us a day.. The boys didn't bring anything back when Peter died. If you could, wait until breakfast." Cailey said nicely. Elizabeth nodded and they sat out under the stars for their shift. Watching the road.

12:00am, Zach and Hannah

"What about Annie?" Hannah asked Zach. Their shift was only half over and they had been discussing the name of their baby girl.

"Maybe... It just doesn't sound right.." Zach said thinking deeply. He wanted something unique but not something that stood out.

"Kaylin? Heather? Jacqueline? Julia?" Hannah asked. Zach just wasn't feeling any of them. He laid on the cool grass and looked up at the billion stars that hung over their heads. Hannah did the same and they intertwined their fingers.

"What about... Skye?" Zach asked his her. She thought about the name silently.

"Skye.. Skye Pechman.. It's beautiful." Hannah said leaning over and kissing her love. Zach smiled and looked back up at the shimmering starlight. Skye, he thought to himself. Skye Pechman.

2:00am, Hayden and Parker

"Why would they make you have a shift? I mean, I'm still surprised you're alive, with all them holes in ya." Hayden said to Parker.

"I'm fine. Now I just look cooler." Parker said in a hoarse voice. Madison had given him the last of our painkillers and he was feeling funny. "So, what's your story?"

"I was hunting with my Cousin when the sandmen attacked us. We survived in the woods for a month before they found us.. We shot until we were out of bullets.. Then there was this blonde chick that looked about our age that was IN CHARGE of the entire group of soldiers." Hayden explained. Parker thought about the girl Hayden explained. Short, blonde, and young..

"Wait, they took you AND your cousin? Where is he?" Parker asked.

"He stayed behind. Jerry didn't step out of line. I did once and..." He held up his right hand to reveal a hole that was the size of a quarter. He held it up to his eye and looked through it at parker.

"Sweet bro. That's cool. I wonder if any of my friends are still out there... Alone.."

4:00am, Ty and Luke

I'm bored.. And hungry." Luke said to his older brother, Ty.

"Eat air." Ty replied. Luke sighed loudly and patted a beat on his rumbling belly.

"There's not a lot of food left.. We need to stop at the next store we pass. Imagine how easy it would be with so many people." Luke said happily. Ever since his brother used some of the antidote on him, bringing him back from the sleep, he hadn't got out of the house much. He went out to get Ben's birthday present but that was all. He had killed a few men today and couldn't get his mind off of how cool he felt for protecting his friends.
"We're in Oklahoma right now so I don't know where anything would be." Ty replied. We had driven so far so fast we were already ten minutes away from Oklahoma City. In the morning, Ty and Brianna would repair the truck and they would get back on the road.

6:00am, Drayton and Brianna

"Hand me that screwdriver, please." Brianna asked me kindly. I reached over and grabbed the tool she asked for. I places it in her soft hands and she continued to work on the DC truck.

"When everybody gets up, we need to go. Elizabeth has a map of the country and has a route that were taking." I said, very concerned. We were very vulnerable here. We had to get to San Francisco as soon as possible.

"Will we ever come back?" Brianna asked as she worked on the truck.

"When it's safer, maybe. I hope so.." I replied.

"I hope so, too. I really hope that we find more survivors in San Francisco. What if they're not friendly?" She asked.

"Then we'll have to go somewhere else. I'm sure they could use all the help they could get." I assured her. They probably needed help like us.. Right?