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Outside, Molev gave me a quick kiss then disappeared. I paused for a moment and looked up at the stars in the clear sky. Perspective hit me hard. Our daily struggles, no matter how intense, changed nothing in the grand scheme of things in our universe.
That insignificance didn’t make me feel less important. Instead, it wrapped me in a blanket of comfort knowing that the mistakes I made ultimately didn’t matter. Trying and enjoying the time I had while living to the best of my ability were all that did matter.
Feeling settled by that knowledge, I went to check on the preparations. The rest of the team had ensured everything was packed and ready. Even the research equipment was already safely repacked in another vehicle.
All we needed was the light of day.
I checked my watch then went to a roof to wait as Molev made rounds and removed any infected he found in the area. When the sun started to lighten the sky, he returned to shower and change again.
By the time the sun’s first rays crested the horizon, everyone was in place and ready. The rumble of the engines echoed around the base as I looked around one last time and got into an MRAP in the center of the line.
As each vehicle pulled forward, they checked in over the handhelds they’d been given.
A few infected rushed toward us as we made our way out of Vance, but not as many as we’d anticipated, which I took as a good sign. Molev handled them quickly and sprinted alongside the convoy.
We learned fast that the radios were absolutely essential. Molev had no problem keeping an eye on things when we drove the straightaways. Turning and curvy roads were a different story, especially in wooded areas. But the new drivers learned to use the vehicles as a weapon if Molev wasn’t right there. They also learned the importance of wiper fluid.
More roadblocks littered the roads than the last time we’d passed through the area, and the Strykers had to clear a fair share for the rest of the convoy. However, only a few infected poured from those traps.
I felt both relief and worry at the indication of how many infected had moved to the coasts.
Despite the reduced number of them, it still took the anticipated four hours to reach the intended Wichita FOB.
The base’s closed gate was a welcome sight. The convoy rolled to a stop while Molev jumped over the gate and went inside.
The first body thrown over the wall made me smile, which my co-pilot noticed.
“Isn’t that a bad thing?” she asked.
“Not really. The infected are just a part of life now. But the fact that they’re in there means we’re more likely to find fuel and food that might have been left behind.”
“Ah.”
She’d been pretty quiet the whole trip but had quickly caught on to a lot.
“Make sure you stick to the places that have been cleared,” I said. “And even then, it’s better to be with someone who’s armed. Oh, and sleep fully dressed if you haven’t been. You never know when you need to get up and run for your life.”
She gave a deprecating laugh. “What do you think life was like in the camps?”
I glanced at her. She read as easygoing most of the time, which was why I asked if she wanted to be my co-pilot. But at the moment, a deeper bitterness was showing through.
“The idea of facing an infected is terrifying,” she said. “But so was the idea of being raped in my sleep.”
“I’m sorry you had to face that.”
She shrugged. “And I’m sorry you had to face what you faced out here to be this good at surviving. We’ve all had hardships. It’s the hope of those ending that keeps us going.”
I faced forward as the vehicle in front of me pulled ahead and slowly followed.
“I haven’t seen the place we’re going, but I trust Molev,” I said. “He says it's safe. He says it’s a place where we can sleep without our boots on.”
“I noticed there are a lot of women in the group. It was something I noticed when I was selected, actually. A lot of us are wondering why we were really selected. Tell me I didn’t trade one hell for another.”
“I can’t,” I said. “Getting there might be a level of hell we won’t survive. But if you’re asking me to reassure you that you won’t be raped by Molev’s kind, that I can do. They’re not human so try not to compare them to human men.”
I parked next to another vehicle and shut off the engine.
“I heard you in the room with him,” she said as I grabbed my water bottle for a quick drink. “Seemed like you were enjoying yourself.”
