“Should I risk it?” Jorden asked. They were almost to another town. This one was a little bit larger, and the drive had been pretty long. The car was desperately low on fuel. Lisa knew they couldn’t afford to waste any time. But she didn’t know what to say. “Think about it,” Jorden went on. “Not a lot of time has passed since you arrived at my place. I doubt many people know I’m a criminal,” he said.
“But your face will be the most likely to be recognized. People will almost certainly recognize you,” Lisa pointed out.
“But I can’t just steal fuel; how is that going to work?” Jorden was right about that. Lisa sighed.
“Fair enough,” she whispered. “Just be careful.”
“So, what exactly is the plan?” Riley asked.
“It’s very simple,” said Jorden. “I buy food and fuel and then we leave as quickly as we can.”
“Stealing then?”
“Yes, but you can’t help. Are you disappointed, Riley?”
“A little. It’s not that I like to steal, I’m just so good at it,” she said. Lisa found herself laughing once again.
“Well, you know what else you’re good at, Riley,” said Lisa.
“What?”
“You’re good at staying hidden. Let’s focus on that skill for now,” Lisa said.
“Fine,” Riley groaned. Her voice dripped with disappointment, but there was an amused smile on her face.
Lisa could see the town now. She hadn't expected it to be burned to a crisp. Yet she was still relieved when she saw that there was no sign of fire to be seen. It was a lot larger than the other towns the group had visited.
"Okay, heads down, girls," Lisa ordered. Sally and Riley ducked down.
"Hopefully we can find a little gas station on the outskirts or something like that," said Jorden. "I just hope that we won't have to drive too deep into the town." After a little bit of looking around with no luck, they headed into the main part of town. There were far fewer trees out here. The forest was fading away into flat fields and meadows. The land around them was a dull grey color. Sally and Riley stayed perfectly still as they drove on. This town was a lot larger than it had looked on the map. Lisa wondered if the map might be out of date. Perhaps the town had grown larger in recent years. The streets were full of cars and people. Lisa’s heart began to race. She was surrounded by possible enemies. Her eyes remained focused on the ground. She just needed to stay calm and try not to call too much attention to herself.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Okay, I see something up ahead,” said Jorden. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.” Lisa nodded.
“So, you’ll fill the car up. Then go in and say that there’s a problem and it’s not taking your card. While you’re in the shop you’ll try to grab some food. Then make a run for it when they’re distracted, right?” Lisa asked. Jorden nodded.
“Exactly. I promise I’ll be careful.” He smiled at her before climbing out of the car. Lisa gritted her teeth. Jorden’s whole plan depended on the kind of gas pump this was and whether or not he had to pay beforehand. It wasn’t a terrible idea, and Lisa couldn’t come up with a better plan. But if they had to pay beforehand, the plan fell apart. Lisa watched him go. What if being careful wasn’t enough? No, she couldn’t think like that. She turned her attention to the sisters in the back seat.
“Are you doing alright?” she asked.
“We’re doing fine,” Riley piped up. Lisa opened her mouth to ask another question. But before she could say anything, the car door was flung open by Jorden.
“We need to leave, now!” he burst out.
“Why? What happened?”
“They’re here. I saw Inola and a small group!” said Jorden. How had she found them?
“How can we make her stop?” Riley cried out. “What will it take to make her leave us alone?”
“I-I don’t know, dear,” Lisa whispered. She really wished that she did know. Her heart raced as the car sped away from the gas station.
“Do you think she saw you?” Lisa asked.
“I have no idea! I turned to run the moment I saw her,” Jorden said. It didn’t matter what they did or where they went. Inola was always one step ahead of them. Lisa knew that they couldn’t keep living like this. They couldn’t keep going on like this forever. It was only a matter of time before someone caught them. Everyone was an enemy. It was just four people against the entire world. Then, just when Lisa thought things couldn’t get any worse, she spotted two new horrors. Despair washed over her soul as she stared with nothing but fear pulsing through her mind. A thick, black cloud of smoke was rising up behind them. It seemed to fill the air and block out the light. That was the first awful thing. The second awful thing was ahead of them. A large group of armed men stood up ahead, blocking the road. They were humans. Lisa knew that they were humans because she recognized their faces. They were the same men from the sanctuary. Lisa caught sight of Zack. Their eyes met for a moment and her heart froze.
Jorden slammed on the brakes. There was nothing they could do. There was danger behind them, and there was danger in front of them. Where could they run to when everything was a threat? Sally’s eyes were filling with fearful tears. The child snuggled up close to Riley, who was shaking. Smoke and shouts filled the air. Panicked and confused people were running this way and that outside. There were so many innocent people who were about to be burned alive. This felt like a battle. The fear, the panic, the horror; Lisa hadn’t seen anything like this since the 9th war. Yet this felt far worse. This time, she was in the thick of things.
“I-it really does look like the end of the world,” Jorden whispered. Lisa could only nod in agreement.
“W-what do you do, Lisa?” Riley demanded. Fear and anger exploded across the child’s face. Lisa reached out and pulled the sisters close to her. She held onto them as tightly as she could. They were her whole world. No matter what happened, she wasn’t going to let them die. She wouldn’t let them down.
“I… I don’t know. Let’s all just focus on sticking close to each other,” Lisa said. Riley dug her nails into Lisa’s skin.
“If we die, we die together,” Riley whispered.
“You aren’t going to die,” Lisa said firmly. Now she could feel Jorden’s arms around her. For a moment there was peace. Lisa closed her eyes and savored it. The small, trembling four clung to each other and braced themselves for the end of the world.