nna was bee t red and grinning brightly as she pulled away from Bret and rattled off the address .
***
I was regretting our decision, regretting the fact that we were now standing on the edge of the main street in Plymouth staring down the tree lined road s. There were trees but they weren’t much coverage, and the two and three story buildings offer ed no protection from anything above. A few of the buildings had been destroyed. I didn’t have to ponder what had been capable of doing that, I’d been unfortunate enough to watch one of the larger octopus/tick /jellyfish things level the antique store our mother had been in the basement of.
Apparently some of these buildings had stood in the way of one of the monsters , and some poor victim. I had no idea how we were going to make it down that street without being spotted. Lloyd was consulting the GPS looking for an alternate route, but everything seemed to be miles out of the way and we had already lost a day just getting this far.
“Maybe if we wait till night,” Jenna said softly.
“There is no cover,” Lloyd retorted.
I studied the street, taking in the awnings, debris, and open doorways. I had made it down a street even more open than this once , and nearly been caught . Cade had saved me…
I shut the thought forcefully down. My hands fisted as I continued to take everything in. There was no Cade anymore ; I would have to save myself this time , and every time after this . We would have to save each other. No matter what , I wasn’t going to give up the hope of possibly finding Jenna’s parents. “We can do it,” I insisted. “Under cover of darkness, and using the buildings, we can do this.”
“Bethany…”
“Look,” I pointed to the street, to the piles of rubble, to the vast amount of stores and restaurants with their doors thrust open. “In daylight there doesn’t appear to be a lot of hiding places, but at night, under darkness, and hiding behind the debris, we can move swiftly through the town.”
“Bethany,” Bret said again.
Even Jenna was hesitant, fear shone in her eyes. “We can go back, go to the hospit al first, and then try my aunts, ” she suggested.
“That will easily take another day or more,” Lloyd muttered, frowning at the GPS. “Damn thing is acting up.”
“What’s it doing?” I demanded , the sharp edge of fear stabbing me in the chest .
He shook it, slapping it lightly against the palm of his hand. I glanced nervously toward the sky, but the large ship that had settled over Boston over as year ago was not visible right now, and the smaller ones didn ’ t seem to be about. It was hard to tell though; they were silent, and as fast as any racecar. I searched the woods, but birds still chirrup ed within the trees and thee was a chipmunk searching for an acorn as he dug at the base of a tree . There didn’t appear to be any imminent danger, but my skin crawled as Lloyd slapped the GPS again, shook his head and clipped it to his belt.
“It won’t register any other route. We either double back or go through.”
“Why?” Jenna inquired nervously.
“Could just be a bad spot.”
“Or it could b e something blocking the signal or satellite. ”
“Yes,” Lloyd admitted.
“Why do I feel as if we’re being herded?” Bret muttered.
“The animals are still out, I think we’re relatively safe until nightfall,” I pointed out.
“And then all bets are off,” Lloyd said softly.
The day pas sed slowly, the movement of the sun seemed excruciatingly slow as it shifted position in the sky. I tried to rest, tried to sleep, but my mind would not shut off. I kept opening my eyes to stare down the street. I had sounded confident when I ’ d said we could make it down there. I wasn’t so sure anymore. The more I studied it now , the less hiding places there seemed to be.
I stood up,
***
I was regretting our decision, regretting the fact that we were now standing on the edge of the main street in Plymouth staring down the tree lined road s. There were trees but they weren’t much coverage, and the two and three story buildings offer ed no protection from anything above. A few of the buildings had been destroyed. I didn’t have to ponder what had been capable of doing that, I’d been unfortunate enough to watch one of the larger octopus/tick /jellyfish things level the antique store our mother had been in the basement of.
Apparently some of these buildings had stood in the way of one of the monsters , and some poor victim. I had no idea how we were going to make it down that street without being spotted. Lloyd was consulting the GPS looking for an alternate route, but everything seemed to be miles out of the way and we had already lost a day just getting this far.
“Maybe if we wait till night,” Jenna said softly.
“There is no cover,” Lloyd retorted.
I studied the street, taking in the awnings, debris, and open doorways. I had made it down a street even more open than this once , and nearly been caught . Cade had saved me…
I shut the thought forcefully down. My hands fisted as I continued to take everything in. There was no Cade anymore ; I would have to save myself this time , and every time after this . We would have to save each other. No matter what , I wasn’t going to give up the hope of possibly finding Jenna’s parents. “We can do it,” I insisted. “Under cover of darkness, and using the buildings, we can do this.”
“Bethany…”
“Look,” I pointed to the street, to the piles of rubble, to the vast amount of stores and restaurants with their doors thrust open. “In daylight there doesn’t appear to be a lot of hiding places, but at night, under darkness, and hiding behind the debris, we can move swiftly through the town.”
“Bethany,” Bret said again.
Even Jenna was hesitant, fear shone in her eyes. “We can go back, go to the hospit al first, and then try my aunts, ” she suggested.
“That will easily take another day or more,” Lloyd muttered, frowning at the GPS. “Damn thing is acting up.”
“What’s it doing?” I demanded , the sharp edge of fear stabbing me in the chest .
He shook it, slapping it lightly against the palm of his hand. I glanced nervously toward the sky, but the large ship that had settled over Boston over as year ago was not visible right now, and the smaller ones didn ’ t seem to be about. It was hard to tell though; they were silent, and as fast as any racecar. I searched the woods, but birds still chirrup ed within the trees and thee was a chipmunk searching for an acorn as he dug at the base of a tree . There didn’t appear to be any imminent danger, but my skin crawled as Lloyd slapped the GPS again, shook his head and clipped it to his belt.
“It won’t register any other route. We either double back or go through.”
“Why?” Jenna inquired nervously.
“Could just be a bad spot.”
“Or it could b e something blocking the signal or satellite. ”
“Yes,” Lloyd admitted.
“Why do I feel as if we’re being herded?” Bret muttered.
“The animals are still out, I think we’re relatively safe until nightfall,” I pointed out.
“And then all bets are off,” Lloyd said softly.
The day pas sed slowly, the movement of the sun seemed excruciatingly slow as it shifted position in the sky. I tried to rest, tried to sleep, but my mind would not shut off. I kept opening my eyes to stare down the street. I had sounded confident when I ’ d said we could make it down there. I wasn’t so sure anymore. The more I studied it now , the less hiding places there seemed to be.
I stood up,
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