Tilting my head back, I stared at thedarkening sky as the first star broke through. I turned to seetendrils of smoke rising over the land from where the vines hadformed their tunnel. I didn’t like the idea of being so close tothem or the smoke.
“We’re going to take fifteen minutes to rest,eat, and then move on,” Kobal said, seeming to read my mind. Hekissed the top of my head before releasing me and walking over towhere Captain Tresden was directing everyone to start unpacking thetrucks.
The man stopped when he saw Kobal approach. Ididn’t hear what was said, but few of them looked pleased whenKobal walked away.
“They’re exhausted,” I said when hereturned.
“We all are,” he replied absently. “But wecan’t stay here. We’re too close to those vines and the fire.”
Erin dug into the supplies in search of foodand water while the rest of us took turns going into the woods.Fifteen minutes later, we were all munching on trail mix and stalebread when Kobal pulled onto the road again. I’d been hoping forsomething more substantial, but I wasn’t going to complain, atleast it was easing the rumbling in my belly.
With the windows down and the others in theback of the truck once more, my stench wasn’t so overwhelming.Finishing off my trail mix, I crumpled the bag and shoved it intothe glove box. I leaned back to watch the headlights bouncingacross the pavement. Their dim glow did little to illuminate theway as the night pressed against us. I kept expecting the world tofall away and for us to plummet over the side into nothing.
Or into Hell.
CHAPTER 34
River
“Cold?” Kobal asked when I rubbed my hands upand down my arms.
“No. It’s all so creepy. It’s like there’snothing out there anymore, only this endless road carved throughour country leading nowhere.”
“It leads somewhere.”
I inhaled deeply and turned to stare at thescraggly, barren landscape I barely recognized anymore. Beforethere had been green vegetation and life growing in and around thebombed-out and burned-down homes. Now there was life still, but itwas nowhere near as abundant and none of the homes around hereremained standing. Some of the life I sensed out there wasn’t lifeI was familiar with or could identify.
After another couple of hours, Kobal pulledto the side of the road and parked the truck. “We’re far enoughaway from the akalia to stop for the night and I smell water,” hesaid.
I leaned over to give him a peck on the cheekbefore opening the door and climbing out. I stood, inhaling thefresher air, but there was a strange cloying scent on the breezethat was neither pleasant nor unpleasant. It reminded me ofhoneysuckle at the same time it reminded me of fire. It was such anodd combination that I couldn’t figure out if I should pinch mynose closed or inhale eagerly.
“What is that smell?” I inquired.
“Nuclear fallout.” Erin smiled as shesuggested it, but I could hear the anxiety in her tone.
“Is it?” I asked Kobal.
“No,” he replied. “It’s probably some plantlife in the area.”
Vargas leaned over the side of the truck todig through the supplies in the back. He pulled out a yellow boxwith a metal handhold and turned it on before pulling out a black,handheld device.
“It’s not radiation,” Kobal said impatientlyto him. “We checked this area before.”
“Don’t care,” Vargas muttered as he walkedaround the area with the radiation detectors.
I watched him until he came back and put thedevices away. “Everything is reading normal.”
“Good,” Erin said and turned back to thetruck.
My thought exactly. “You said something aboutwater,” I said to Kobal.
“I did.” He gathered my bag of suppliesbefore tugging his own from the truck.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and kepthold of mine as he took my hand and led me across the smallclearing, down an embankment, and through some small pines andoaks. I surveyed the woods as we walked, taking in all the detailsthat were similar and different than the forests I was used to.
The oak leaves were green, but they didn’tshine and were a more faded green than the vibrant ones I was usedto. The pine tree’s needles drooped as we walked by and like theoak leaves, these were also a faded green color. Maybe this areawas experiencing a drought right now, but something felt more offabout this place than that simple explanation allowed.
Stepping around a few of the trees, myconcerns about the plant life vanished when I spotted the largelake. The moon shone on the water, lighting a pathway across itssmooth surface. Lightning bugs zipped over it, their flashes oflight reflecting in the water like shooting stars falling from thesky.
