The Untold Future

Let's Split Up

"Hey, Lorelei," someone whispered. "Lorelei!"

I groaned.

"Wake up!"

"What? Collins? Come on. I haven't had a full night of sleep in ages."

"I'm packing out, love."

"Why?"

"Well, Henderson's all better. We thought the sooner we get out of here the better. Listen. Exactly 20 days from now. We can meet up at Lightning Lake. Know it?"

"Yeah, it's more of a puddle though."

"Yeah, whatever, love, it's called advertising. So we can meet there."

"Why don't we just go separate ways?"

"Because of the General. You and the little one have defied him and he will hunt you like he's never hunted anyone before."

"Don't the other militias defy him?"

"You'd be surprised. Look, we have to split up to throw him off our trail. You have more to lose than me." He jerked his head towards Faith. "Which means when you leave here, which should be done soon, you need to mobile. Do you follow what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, but wouldn't having you with us just make us a bigger target."

"Yeah but you don't know the general like I do, Lorelei. Twenty days, okay?"

"My name's not Lorelei."

"What?"

"It's Eve."

"That wouldn't happen to be short for Evelyn would it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Last name?"

"Troi."

"Please, tell me you didn't say Troi."

"I did."

"Damn it! Now, you're going to be at the top of his list for a long time."

"Why?"

"He was trying to find you before that. He'd stare at a picture of you for hours. He knows about Project 13. He knows you're trained and on the government payroll. Why the Hell did you lie to me?"

"Because I didn't want everyone to know about that."

"Everyone now knows you're one Hell of a shot anyway. How are you going to explain that?"

"The same way explain everything else. I had an awesome dad."

"Lorel- Eve."

"What?"

"Does anyone else know?"

"Just Tommy."

"...I'll yell about this to you when we meet up. Just look out for ice cream trucks, the Drainers, the Lost, and the Hunters. Oh, and the Militia."

"Aren't they all militias?"

"But I mean the Militia militia."

"Oh."

"Okay. Twenty days not including this one."

"Collins, no."

"What?"

"You're not leaving now, are you?"

"Yeah, we've got to while it's still dark."

"But you're both still hurt."

"We'll make due."

"Wait here."

I left to the basement and came up with some canned food.

"Use it wisely," I said to Collins.

"Alright. Twenty days, love."

"Got it."

"Don't forget it. We can't hang around to long. You'd better leave tonight. When you leave, don't stay in one place for too long."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

He left the room and I watched from a window as he and his friend walked into the tree line.

In the morning, Sonya stormed into my room.

"I'm sorry but I need to talk to a girl. Roy just broke up with me!" she yelled.

"Are the people here allergic to sleep? Alright, what's up?"

"He said, 'It just doesn't feel right. Let's split up.' I was fine with that but then he turned to Tommy and asked to talk then Robert asked me out. What is happenin'? Did Roy have someone saved while I was dating him? What the Hell?"

I chuckled. "I wish I had one of those problems. It would mean I actually was in a relationship. Just wait and see what happens."

"Fine."

She sulked and left my room.

I got dressed and came downstairs. Sonya was giving Roy the death stare. Tommy pulled Sonya aside and talked to her. She came back looking confused but understanding towards Roy.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Faith and I prepared for our trip. We avoided the outdoors as to protect ourselves from watchful eyes. By the end of the day Robert and Sonya were flirting with each other and Tommy and Roy were doing the same.

I'm not sure if I'll ever understand relationships.

I couldn't stop worrying about Collins I had to remember everything he told me. It was all important. I had to hold on to every single word. It might mean life or death.

Oh, we had to hold off the Militia. It turns out the mayor's wife is an excellent shot. So is Robert. I'm told that she taught him how to shoot at the request of his father. For such a separated community they're really quite close. There's no secrets in this town.

We shook the hands of everyone before leaving. We pushed the quad out of town until we were far enough away to not have our engine heard. I started it up and rode. Faith hung onto me while we rode. She fell asleep a while into the ride. I hide the quad and made a temporary shelter with pine needles, logs and a poncho. That should keep us warm and dry.

I didn't sleep very much last night. My senses heightened because I worried about Faith. I know she can't hear and so my senses try to compensate. I know she's more observant than most girls but my body doesn't know that.

I'm sitting back and looking at the stars now, wondering if I should tell Faith about Project 13.

I dozed off. I had dream about that stupid program. I remember the "talent scout". He was essentially looking for kids to draft into the program. At first it sounded good. The promise of fortune, protection, and a normal life when I came home, drove me. I was willing to serve my country for that.

Boot camp was Hell. More specifically torture "simulation" was Hell. All of it was payed for by the people of the U.S.A. Now that I think of it, Project 13 might be one of the causes of the Collapse. In torture simulation, they would lock you in a room and do unspeakable things to you. Burn you with cigarette butts, choke you, waterboard you or straight up drown you, punch you, and "simulate" being taken advantage of sexually as a prisoner of war. The last one was probably the worst. They'd whip you if you didn't do your daily workout.

I dozed off again. I think I'm ready to sleep.