The Saviors

Chapter 5(Part 1 - The US, 2050)

My alarm goes off at five-thirty a.m.

"Ugh!" Brooke exclaims. "Why do we have to wake up so early?"

"We have a time slot to leave, and I don't want to miss it."

We both get out of bed, and I quickly throw on some clothes. I grab my backpack that I packed last night. Inside my bag I have a few pairs of clothes, a hairbrush, a toothbrush and other toiletries, a flashlight, a swiss army knife I snagged from a random kids dorm, a water bottle and some food. I step into my sneakers right before I leave the room to get Robbie. The rest of my bags are already in Brooke's car.

I walk down the barren hallway once filled with commotion and the raucous of college kids trying to get to their classes on time. Now, I am on my way to get Robbie to leave for a trip to Brooke's house where I will finally see my brother.

"Robbie! Are you ready to go?" I ask as I reach his room.

"One sec," he replies. A few minutes later Robbie comes out of his room with a backpack similar to mine. We walk back to my room to get Brooke.

"Let's go!" I shout barging into my dorm room for the last time.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming," Brooke replies exiting the room behind me. We begin walking down the hallway: Robbie in the lead, me in the middle and Brooke taking up the rear. Robbie and I reach the stairs leading to the exit of the building a million years before Brooke arrives. She finally comes complaining about the earliness of our expedition. We march down the stairs in unison and reach the door looking outside at the brilliant colors of a rising sun.

I haven't been outside since we heard about the revolts. Granted Brooke climbed out the window once but that was towards the beginning of the news. Anyways I'm still terrified to exit the building that has provided safety to my friends and I for so long. Despite my fears of entering the unknown, I exit the building pushing through the door and breaking the barrier of my fears. I stand outside taking in the beautiful feel of the outdoors. Besides the fact that it is swelteringly hot outside and all the grass is burned, the courtyard of our campus remains beautiful and untouched by the chaos of the riots.

On our way to get Brookes car, we pass many destroyed houses and stores. Most are burnt and the windows are smashed. There are tons of debris in the road. Besides the mess, the roads are oddly calm. Everything is silent, there are no lights on. There are no people besides the man that we left moaning on the road. The only other noise is the movement of the debris with the wind and the sound of our footsteps. It's both beautiful and scary. I've never seen anything so chaotic yet calm. We finally arrive at Brooke's car.

"Woohoo!" Robbie cheers startling me out of my daze and forgetting the horrific site we left behind. We round the corner to find Brooke's car unharmed. Throughout the entire lot there are probably three working cars. A tiny one row smart car, a minivan and Brookes beat up truck are the only cars that seem to be in working condition.

"Thank god, no one touched my truck."

"They probably took one look at it and thought that it had already been destroyed."

"Hey watch what you say. You should just be thankful that we have a ride."

"You're right, I am."

"Let's go." We walk up to the truck and it looks even worse closer. The truck is covered in scratches that make it look like it has been in many accidents. The door is a different color than the rest of the car making it look like parts of the car has been replaced. One of the windows is taped together with duct tape.

"Who's gonna drive?" I ask.

"I call driving!" Robbie immediately shouts.

"No way this is my car, I'm going to drive."

"I agree, Brooke should drive," I say as Brooke gets into the driver's seat pulling the keys out of her bag. Quickly before I can protest, Robbie follows Brooke into the car taking over the passenger seat. I sadly get into the squished back seat.

We pull out of the parking lot speeding down the barren and empty road. On our way out we pass by the exit where we have to check out. Brooke slows down as she approaches the two professors checking people out. In front of us, I notice a familiar car that I recognize as my friend Camilles car. Brooke honks realizing who the car belongs to, and Camille turns around and waves to us. Then it is her turn to check out with the professors. After Camille drives away, Brooke approaches the table. We each sign a paper saying that we have safely left campus, and finally we are on our way. Brooke turns on the radio to reveal nothing but static. She sits back in defeat as I realize that this is going to be one long drive. There's no music to entertain us with and nothing to see. We continue to drive down the long road devoid of anything interesting.