We Survivors [Published Version]

6: Joyride | Nadia

"I know where the adoption agency my parents used is," Coby said the next morning while we ate a breakfast of dried fruit and granola bars.

We all stared at him. My mouth hung open, full of half-chewed banana chips, before I collected myself.

"Really?" Zara asked, taking the wrapper off another granola bar.

"Yeah, my dad took me there when he told me. We could check it out, see if there are any clues."

"Okay, Sherlock," Zara said. "Where are we headed?"

"It's a city called Newbury." Coby said.

Jake pulled out his road atlas. "That's at least 100 miles from here. But I guess that's not so bad when you have a car."

I laughed, realizing I'd been calculating the walking distance in my head. Five or six days, if the terrain was flat.

"It's parked up the highway, about a mile away," Coby said, taking a swig from his canteen.

"We do some hiking," Zara said as she zipped the granola bars back into her suitcase. "Shall we go?"

"I can't wait to see it," I said, looking at Jake, who only shrugged.

We quickly packed up camp. I was excited; I hadn't driven or ridden in a car in over a year, and having one again felt like we'd gained a huge technological advancement overnight. I longed for the feeling of the road beneath the tires, the scenery zipping by.

We trekked toward the car, chatting as we crunched our way through the forest. Birch trees and maples lined our path, and I viewed them with some regret. I wasn't ready to head back into an urban jungle, but the mystery was intriguing. Could there really be a reason the four of us survived?

"How do you get gas for your car?" I asked Coby as we hiked.

"We siphon it out of abandoned cars along the road."

"Oh," I said, feeling foolish. "That's obvious."

He laughed. "Each of us has been surviving so differently. I could ask you how you're able to hunt with that thing." Coby nodded toward the compound bow and quiver slung across my pack.

"I started when I was young," I said, shrugging. "I joined an archery club because I wanted to be like Robin Hood."

"Robin Hood, huh?" I liked his smile.

"Yeah," I said. "I didn't think I'd ever hunt with it."

"I never thought I'd be doing post-apocalyptic mechanic work." He laughed.

I tripped over a root and he grabbed my elbow, stabilizing me. "Thanks," I mumbled.

Behind me, Zara asked Jake, "Are you much for cars?"

"No," he said.

"How about archery?"

He didn't say anything, so he must have shaken his head.

"Not very talkative are ya?" Zara asked.

"He used to be," I said. I turned to look at Jake and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh yeah?" Zara said. "What happened, Jake?"

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. I tried to give him a look that said "we'll talk later" before I restarted my conversation with Coby.

"If you haven't been hunting, what have you been eating?" I asked him.

"Canned food, MRE's—you know, the military meals-ready-to-eat that you boil? But that's only when we can find them. We tried hunting. At one point I'd found a shotgun and shells, but I'm a horrible shot and I didn't have the patience for it. What have you taken out with that bow?"