*Second Book To Alliance*
Mel and Ben survive the mission across the Wasteland, but they arrive home changed. Ben's wound is healing slowly and what Mel witnessed in the past month haunts her at night. Their mission was fulfilled, but the conflict h...
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I sprawled across the seats in the back row of the SUV. My makeshift pillow was my winter coat and my blanket was a jacket. I tried to sleep but it was useless. My body cried for sleep, but it was near impossible to get any without a real bed and the constant bouncing of the SUV.
Three days ago, Alec, Ben, and I left York with Chris and Noah and a handful of military officers. We used the plane that brought us from Vegas to York a couple months ago. On that trip, I had little sleep because of Ben slowly dying in my arms from that bullet in his lungs. On the return trip back to Vegas, I had little sleep because of Audrey.
Arriving at the Vegas Military Post two day ago was a blur. The few military officers that came with us were analyzing Chris' men and weaponry. If there was a war between The United Regions and the Raiders, Chris chose to stand with us, even if that meant sharing his secrets of his aircraft fleet. I wondered if he wanted to show the United Regions what he had offered to strengthen the deal to let his people inside the Wall.
When we landed, Alec, Ben, Noah, and I were ushered to one of the few remaining SUVs that the rebels had. Asher leaned against the door with the keys in his hand and his clothes were the rebels uniform. There was a quick explanation that Asher joined the rebel ranks after we left. We piled into the SUV and started the almost three-day trip to Seattle. That was where Audrey's body device location was. How she got there, I had no idea.
We hit a large pothole, my head rose from my backpack and slammed down hard. There was no use sleeping. I sat up and looked ahead to where Asher was driving again.
In front of me in the middle row of seats, Alec woke from his nap. He rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, watch it on the potholes."
"Trust me, that's impossible," I muttered, remember back when Ben and I first started our trip to Vegas. It felt like years but the trip was only a few months.
"There's no road commission here," Asher said. He hit another pothole. "We are almost there anyway so deal with it."
A smile crossed my face. Oh, I missed Asher and Olivia. I wished to have seen Olivia. Perhaps on the returning trip I could visit and tell her congratulations on the mini Asher or Olivia who would arrive in about seven months.
Another pothole brought me back to the SUV. Flying to Seattle would have been easier, but the plane wouldn't last that long. The plane could only travel about three hours before needing fuel. On our trip from York to Vegas, we stopped at Chicago to refuel. Flying from Vegas to Seattle and back would take five hours and there was no place to get the fuel we would need to get back. Plus, a plane was loud and it was better to show up in an SUV that ran on solar power and was much quieter.
We've traveled the last three days in the SUV without stopping. At night, we had enough solar energy reserved to last until morning and with five of us, we cycled through drivers while shotgun riders were to stay awake with the driver, and the rest of us slept. With us getting closer, I wanted to get some extra sleep, but that was near impossible.
