External (Book 1&2)

Book 2|Chapter 2

|Blue Jay|

Stepping into the unknown isn't exactly new to us.

So when I wake up the next day at sunrise to leave, I'm not nervous or scared. It just feels so right to get on the road again with that unshakable urge to find the rest of our people sitting in the back of my mind. I leave to start our trek of forty miles there and back with three other people, William, Caleb, and Kevin. With Lily still trying to figure out how to save her plants from the frigid temperatures and Cayden and Sabrina not even supporting this, that leaves just a select group of people left for the hike. In the end we decided Marcus would be best served here at camp to protect it from any sort of threat that may occur.

I leave most of my supplies in the cabin and take only what is necessary for the trek. That being water, a prepackaged lunch, and a compass for me. Thankfully, even after two months, we still have the food from the facility. We ate only that at first, but Lily was able to grow food and we learned the skill of hunting. So, in turn, we have just under a months supply of food left. Though, it's only used for emergencies. Since we can't exactly cook on the hike, I would say this counts.

I walk out of the cabin and pull my hood over my head to keep my body warm. With the sun not completely up yet, the air is colder than ever. I can see the others already outside, ready to go. The sooner we head off, the more likely it is that we can reach halfway in a day. Last night Caleb had mapped out exactly how far twenty miles is on the map and where exactly headquarters is. It took a while to figure out, but with the help of Kevin, they eventually did it.

Walking over to the group I pull my backpack over both shoulders to keep the weight distributed evenly on both sides. I had made the mistake of holding it on one side the first day of our original mission and the pain my back had ensued the next day made me very quickly learn my lesson.

"Ready?" William asks me. I nod in response and with that we head off. Caleb holds a map out, staring down at the path he drew out for us. He tried his best to make it the most direct and easy path, but without an accurate map that represents what the earth looks like now, we don't exactly know what lies ahead.

I walk next to Kevin and behind Caleb and William. I stare at the ground as we walk in silence, no one knowing exactly what to talk about. It's times like this when Jacob's death really hits hard, he always had something to talk about, something to fill up the empty.

The sound of birds chirp overhead as the sun rises farther into the sky. I look over at Kevin, wanting to make sure he is doing alright. His eyes are empty as he stares out in front of him. I can tell he is on autopilot, just going through the motions. I look away from him, feeling guilty but for what? I don't know.

I just hope that the others went to headquarters and we will find them waiting for us to arrive. But a voice in the back of my mind reminds me that this will most likely not happen. There's a whole world out there. What are the chances that they'll be there?

My eyes catch sight of something blue above me. I lift my eyes to let them meet a bird, or more specifically a blue jay, sitting just out of reach. I watch it for a moment as I continue to walk behind William and Caleb. It sits on a branch that sways evenly in the wind, but with one brush of wind just a little too strong, it's gone. It reminds me of something my father had told me once. You can take down one bird, but the flock remains or something like that. I don't know who said it, other than my father, but he couldn't have made that up himself.

My eyes drift away from the vacant branch still swaying slightly in the wind and I focus my attention back on the road ahead. We had already walked for hours, I can tell by the slight ache my legs were producing. And the placement of the sun of course.

The only thing that has changed from the beginning of this walk and now, is the ground under us. Instead of walking on twigs, grass, and the occasional tree root in the depth of the forest, we walk on a road. It's not as large or as well kept as interstate fifty. This one is thinner and has more cracks in the gravel along the way. There is also no signs hanging above us, just the ever so often metal pole reaching for the sky. What those are, I have no idea.

I flinch when something wet touches my forehead. My face grimaces at the feeling and with that, another hits me and then another. Rain, but that can't be right. It's too cold for rain, I know that much. I look up to see snowflakes falling from the sky. My sour expression turns bright at the sight. For the first time in my life, I am seeing snow. The freezing cold feeling as snow encases me comes second to my excitement.

I look down at the others, who are also staring at the sky. William's eyes are wide as he watches a snowflake fall onto his stretched out hand. I smile at the fact that he almost looks like a child discovering life for the first time. My attention moves to Caleb who is pulling his jacket tighter in the cold, but his smile is still evident. Then Kevin who's expression contrasts the rest of ours with a look of disheartenment. I bite the inside of my cheek and my lips form a thin line. This is a big step in our life outside of the facility and his children and wife aren't here to share it with him.

Turning away from him, I look down at the snow piling up on the ground. A sudden thought enters my head, the perfect way to cheer anyone up. I had seen it in a movie, so it must work, right? I crouch to the ground and compact snow into a ball before standing again. No one had even noticed me grabbing the snow so I have the ultimate element of surprise. I raise my hand and throw it, hitting Kevin right in the shoulder. His head whips towards me with his eyes wide in fear. I had frightened him. The thought makes me burst into laughter causing the other two men to turn towards me as well.

"Did you just hit me?" Kevin questions me, his voice serious but his eyes are amused. I shrug in response before crouching down and very quickly gathering more snow. I then raise my body and hit Kevin again in the chest while laughing.

"What are you doing?" I hear William asking as Kevin breaks into laughter as well. I don't have time to respond when something hits me. I turn to a smiling Kevin with my eyes wide.

"Oh really." I say, reaching to grab more snow. We continue to throw snowballs at each other with the other two guys joining in. I throw one at William accidentally hitting him square in the face. I freeze, not knowing how he would react, but his smile widens into a large grin and he lets out a laugh. At the sound I burst into laughter like it is contagious. I don't know if I'd ever heard William laugh, but hearing it now makes me wish for it to never end.

I want to freeze in this moment, just enjoying each other's company in the snow. No death, no worries, nothing but the sound of laughter. Much to my dismay, it doesn't last long. We all know we have to keep moving.

"Okay, guys we got to stop." William says, his grin subsiding. "We still have like five miles to go before we have to turn around."

I frown at the amount we still need to walk, but stop throwing snow nevertheless. I brush the snow off of my body and begin to walk after William. Very quickly the mood of excitement turns into one of concern. I can tell we are all thinking similar thoughts. While the snow may be new and exciting, it's also dangerous.

With snow comes a colder winter, dead winter.