It was difficult for Charlie to find any comfort from sleeping that night, and not because of the immense dark hardly bested by Wade’s small lantern, or the incurable chill in the air that accompanied it, and not even because of the subtle sense of danger lurking within the eyes of beasts hiding in the shadows. Another danger lurked in the back on Charlie’s mind, one that threatened not only her life, but the safety of every inhabitant of Haven. But Charlie didn’t care about them, or even herself, only her mission and the hidden marking on Wade Jackson’s hand.
The group decided to sleep for three hours while the lookout changed every thirty minutes. Alice now sat alone in the dark, shotgun in her lap, listening carefully for a thing she didn’t even knew existed. Every now and then she would turn on her torch and shine in around as if she was looking for something. Everyone else slept soundly. Charlie checked her watch, her shift was in a few minutes so she got up and quietly approached Alice.
Charlie placed a firm hand on Alice’s shoulder and she nearly jumped right out of her shoes. Alice clutched her chest and took a deep breath. “Phew, Charlie. You scared the bajeezus out of me!” She let Charlie sit beside her. “It’s not your shift yet. I’m alright, if you want to rest some more I can stay up for part of yours.”
“Can’t sleep. Can I join you?”
Alice nodded.
Charlie rested her arms on her knees and leaned back. “I want to ask you about Wade.”
“What about him?”
“Saw you two chatting yesterday. You trust him?”
Alice shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that. Since I left home it hasn’t been easy to trust anyone other than Jodie. I guess I want to trust him, if that makes sense.”
“What about the other two?”
“What, July and Thomas? They’re different. I know why July offered to bring us along and it wasn’t because of how pretty I am; first you, then Wade, then Jodie and me, it’s like he’s recruiting us for something. I don’t really care what he wants from us, I just trust him to get us safely to Haven, and Jodie and I will sort the rest out when we get there.” Alice twirled her hair in her fingers. “I hear they brought you along because you’re good with a rifle.”
Charlie drew back. “Okay, first of all, they didn’t ‘bring me along’ I was already heading north. I am a good shot though. I’ve killed a lot of Raiders, a lot of Royalists.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
Charlie hesitated, but figured there was no use in lying. “Yes.” She sensed Alice’s discomfort. “You should go rest. I’ll take over.”
Alice stood up. “Okay. Oh, I uh, I thought I heard a noise before you came, sounded like feet, maybe? It could have just been water dripping and my imagination getting the better of me but I figured I should mention it.” She tiptoed off towards the lantern.
Charlie was alone. She knew what she wanted to do, but was now really the right time, while everyone was so on edge? The time passed and when Charlie was certain that Alice was asleep she left her post and knelt in front of Wade. Sleeping so peacefully, he didn’t look like a killer, but Charlie had to be sure. She took the lantern and shined it over him, he stirred slightly, Charlie’s hand reflexively dashed to the knife on her belt, but Wade continued to sleep. Charlie carefully peeled off Wade’s glove to reveal the skull tattoo of the Raider. She lifted her knife.
“No!” Alice’s hand caught Charlie’s wrist and Wade, along with everyone else, jolted awake. Charlie pushed Alice away. Wade drew his pistol on Charli and within seconds the others were pointing their weapons at either one or the other.
“What’s going on?” July yelled, his 45-70 aimed at Charlie.
“I fucking knew it!” Charlie gestured towards Wade. “He’s a Raider.”
Suddenly every weapon other than Alice’s moved to Wade.
“What are you talking about Charlie?” said July.
“Look at his hand. The tattoo. He belongs to Leah Mackenzie’s gang.”
Wade refused to lower his sidearm. “Calm down, I can explain…”
“Shut up!” Tom snapped. Biscuit started barking.
Surprisingly Alice stepped between the firing squad of weapons and Wade in what could only be considered the most foolish action in the entire wasteland. Jodie tried to catch her sister’s shoulder without making any sudden moves, but Alice stood confidently. “We should hear him out. You can’t just kill him.”
Even in the poorly lit cave July suspected there was a fire in Charlie’s eyes that could not be reasoned with. Kill raiders, that was her mission. She took a step forward. “No exceptions.”
July quickly pushed her hands towards the ceiling. The flash blinded them momentarily and the shot echoed right through the cave, the peculiar chirping of a flight of bats fluttered off in the close darkness, and when it ended, for a short time, there was complete silence.
July lowered his voice. “We need to leave. Now.”
A blood curdling howl erupted from somewhere close by and it echoed through the tunnel making it hard to tell if there was one beast or more. Heavy footsteps approached from the dark. The group gathered up their things, switched on their torches and started to run. Tom pushed Wade along. “Come on Raider man, you don’t want to meet these guys.”
“What was that?” Alice yelled.
“Who cares,” Jodie replied. “It’s not friendly.”
The rapid tapping of July’s fake leg became very noticeable.
“Can you even run?” said Thomas.
“Now would be a good time to find out.” Another shrill cry sounded and July glanced over his shoulder. “At best given the circumstances I can hobble very quickly.”
A deep ravine opened up on their left and the subtle glow of green mushrooms reappeared, thickened by a sinister fog. July and Thomas recalled the ravine, it was the scene of one of their first encounters with a wastelander, just after they left home. If they wild old man still lived there he’d have done an incredible job of surviving so long. From above it seemed as though water gushed through the bottom of the ravine. Tom shined his torch down to see not water but a ferocious mass of black rats scurrying – like he and the others – away from the clamour of the faceless creature. A decrepit wooden hut overgrown with mushroom and moss rested near the end of the ravine – it hadn’t been lived in for years. So much for the old man.
The commotion of the tunnel suddenly ended and Jodie called out, “Guys, daylight.” She was right, a beaming slash of white light marked the end of the god-forsaken tunnel and every atrocity in it. The group pushed themselves harder, their eyes ached as they stepped into the light but they didn’t care.
Outside the tunnel the group overlooked the region known as Haven; an expanse of trees and fading grassland cut by a river through the middle, speckled with the odd building: an old country estate, a water tower and broken windmill, and in the far distance, the main settlement of Haven itself. July and Thomas were home.
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