The Fall

Part 9: Griffin

Chapter 22: Civilization

Al and I have done a lot of exploring. By reading some maps we think we found a safer and more well stocked place to live for a while. We both know that the hospital has no more resources left for us. We cant stay here for much longer. We cant stay anywhere for long. After we use all the supplies there I dont know where well go. I guess we just live today and worry about tomorrow when it comes.

The nights are colder now because the sun cant really get through all the dust. I wonder if there is any place that doesnt have a sky full of dust. Is there any place that still has people? Through all these days of exploration we have seen other people but none of them alive.

Al and I are back to fitting together like 2 pieces of a puzzle, just like when we were little. Id even go as far as to say that we are even closer then we were before. She and Eva are close too. I can see why but I have just kept my distance from her.

We were curious about what was going on outside our little town, we turned on one of the radios. It was mostly static besides the national crisis warning just playing repeatedly. As we flipped through stations, we started hearing a childs voice. It was the voice of probably a ten year old girl. We found the channel that she sounded clearest on and listened. Through the scratchy static we heard her say that if you are still alive come to this place in Montana called Melville. We also discerned the GPS coordinates, 46.1030° N and 109.9538° W. We couldnt tell what else she said but if there was any chance of finding civilization, we would take it in a heartbeat.

If we hijack a car or truck so we dont have to walk, we may be able to make it to those coordinates in a week or two. This lifts everyones spirts. We have a goal in mind now. Theres a chance to rebuild.

Chapter 23: Journey

I wake up early the next day to go scout for a truck. We decided on a truck instead of a car because it can handle the rough terrain of this broken world. When I open my eyes, Eva is already awake. She dismantled one of the old broken radios and is figuring out how it works. Al is still asleep and so the two of us leave to go find a vehicle and Max is staying with Al. We walk up and down a few streets until we come across a red truck. It has a large six-person cab and can fit the 3 of us, Max and all our gear with room to spare. Eva starts to search the truck for extra supplies, and I start to take out the wires to hotwire the car. In the first minuet she has found a key to the car hidden in the glove compartment. For the next few minuets she continues to search the truck. There is an emergency kit in the back with a first aid kit, another lantern and two days worth of food. In the metal storage boxes in the bed of the truck there is camping supplies and a bag of tools. Well now we have a tent and 3 sleeping bags.

I finally get the truck started and we drive back to the radio shop. When we get there Al is awake and she made a small fire and warmed some instant oatmeal for our breakfast. After eating we packed up our supplies and put them into the metal storage boxes in the back. And then we started driving. Correction, I started driving. Eva is too young to drive, and Al doesnt quite know how so that leaves me to drive. Al sits in the passenger seat and Eva sits in the back with Max.

We just drive for hours, using the cars built in GPS to make sure we are traveling in the correct direction. We stop around noon and eat a small lunch and then get back on the road. I drive through the night, not feeling very tired, and Eva and Al sleep. I want to get there as soon as we can. Over the next 4 days we stop each night and set up our tent and sleep till morning. I stopped on the third day to get gas at an old abandoned gas station. We didnt bother paying because there was no one there anyway. We took a gas tank and filled that as well, so we wont have to worry about that for a while.

After ten days of driving our food is running low. I'm worried about Al. Shes getting thinner and having less energy because she keeps giving most of our meager meals to Eva who is growing surprisingly quickly. She has almost grown 3 inches in the past month. I tried to give her some of my food, but she refuses, claiming I need it more to stay strong to drive. Weve been stopping more and more to try and find more food but the most direct route to the coordinates the radio gave us is mostly driving through barren desert or thick forests. Not many towns or buildings to speak of. I pray there is something or someone there when we get there.

Chapter 24: Proven

On the 13th day of our journey we find a little food and after a whole day with nothing we fill our stomachs once more before we reach our destination. One starving day later and a few miles away from this destination the desert starts to turn into more lush greenery. A few minutes, and miles, later we reach a fence. This isnt an old fence its a newer chain link fence with barbed wire on top. It looks almost as if it was put in after Apollo hit. There are dense trees inside and a small road but thats all we can see. Our hearts all simultaneously sink. We get out to try and see a way out of our predicament. This fence that stretches almost as far as the eye can see. There is no going around it. Eva stares off into the trees with almost glazed eyes while Al and I try to find a way inside. Strangely enough I cant even use my abilities to dig under the fence or bend it back.

Then suddenly Eva cries out. She calls to someone we cant see. But then we can see. There is a girl of maybe 12 peeking out from behind a tree beside the small road. She tells the girl that we are like her. That we are immune, that we have abilities and that we are alone too.

I have never heard Eva talk so much and from the look in her eyes Al hasnt either. As Eva talks the girl comes out from behind her tree. She takes out a walkie talkie that was hooked to her belt and says something into it. Eva continues to talk to the girl and a minuet later a quad with two teens about my age come driving up. One girl and one boy. She has curly red hair and a yellow tank top with a smiley face on the front and he has short blond hair and is wearing a black tee-shirt. They carry an air of superiority about them. Like they are in charge and they know it.

They explain that they are the leaders of this civilization. They are Kara and Lucas. Before we are admitted into this last civilization, we must prove that we are immune. They know that every immune has an ability so we must show them ours and they will let us in.