Haven (The Breadwinner Trilogy) by Stevie Kopas

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    “Yo!”  Samson, startled by Ben’s voice from the rooftop door hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath.  He gasped and turned to the tall young man peering out at him.
    “Yeah!  I’ll be right in!”  Samson looked out over the empty city one last time before heading inside.  It pained him that he couldn’t stay back at the resort and daydream of being on vacation.  It pained him even more that the world was what it was and he wouldn’t ever take an expensive vacation again.  Samson shrugged as he walked.  He was a coward.  And he no longer cared.

 
    X
    The group parted ways on the 24th floor the following morning.  Juliette remained with Clyde, assured by Andrew that he wouldn't turn while they were away.  She was then reassured by Clyde who proceeded to cuss her and tell her in typical Clyde fashion how lucky she was to even have him there to keep her company.  The rest of the group followed Gary down to the lobby and reluctantly back outside.  They agreed on minimal to no gun use in order to keep their presence unknown to the dead as they snuck around Haven to reach Emerald Park.  Gary had mapped out their route.  "The absolute quickest way possible," he had told them.  He led the way back out into the pool area, stopping momentarily to remove a padlock from a large white gate off to the side of their building.  Even the outer walkways on the ground floor were secure.  Floor to ceiling bars temporarily encased them in safety as they made their way to the front of the building.  Veronica wrapped her hand around one of the bars as she passed and attempted to shake it.  The white painted steel didn't budge and she found herself once more admiring the luxury of The Emerald City.

They passed closed office doors, utility rooms, various shops, and eateries along the gated path.  The resort's amenities really were exclusive to its guests.  It seemed as if even back before the world went crazy that they wanted to keep everything out that they possibly could, somehow preserving an elite and untainted paradise of tourism.

"Stay here, I'm going to check the grounds around the exit."  He whispered to them before disappearing around the final corner.  He quickly returned and pulled his enormous key ring from his pocket.  "This is just a precautionary measure.  We don't know what could happen out there."  He walked over to a large fake potted plant and placed the keys amidst the white rocks.  "The other precautions are the padlocks.  There's only one key."  He held up the padlock key which he kept separate from the others.  A colorful plastic keychain dangled from the key that read 'Haven Is Home.'

"Where's that one goin'?"  Samson asked him.

"In the dirt.  Now let's get a move on before we all decide this is a terrible idea."  They all followed Gary around the corner except for Samson.  The day wasn't anywhere near as hot as it had been the last few days but he was soaked with sweat.

Veronica poked her head around the corner and motioned for him to follow.  "Come on, we gotta go."  Samson nodded and willed his feet to move forward.

Gary held the heavy gate open and ushered everyone through.  He closed it gently and snapped the padlock back into place.  He held the key up and jiggled it for everyone to see and made sure they watched as he pulled up a fistful of bright green grass and pushed a mound of dirt aside.  He patted the area down once he was finished and cocked his head to the left as he stood, "Follow me."

The once pristine streets of Haven were littered with trash and grime.  Local business storefronts were smashed and signs of uncontrollable looting were present everywhere.  Samson wondered why Gary thought Emerald Park would be any different from the raided stores in the surrounding neighborhood.  A gas station nearby had a car sticking out of its storefront, black char ran up the sides of the building, the remnants of a fire caused by the