Vultures

Five

I tried to distract myself from the sense of impending doom that weighed heavy on my chest. Despite the crippling anxiety, I thought that I appeared surprisingly calm on the outside. We weren't going back to the Gardens, at least not yet, though I suppose it was possible that dragging me back there wasn't the intention anyway.

Duke had given up on the radio. "Twenty mile range, my ass," he grumbled.

The ride was maybe ten miles or so. The roads were in ill repair. Levi flinched visibly at every pothole, only complaining once. Once was all it took for Duke to snap at him, already frustrated. From what I could gather, he had helped put up signal boosting radio towers and it had all been for nothing. I didn't really care, but radio towers were much less terrifying than the places my thoughts were wandering on their own.

We drove through the remains of a small city. Wherever we were going must have been on the other side. Vines and trees had a harder time growing through the concrete and asphalt here, there was just so much of it. The hollow shells of old buildings were much taller here than in the Gardens and their walls spoke of a conflict that had happened here quite some time ago. The exteriors bore scorch marks and bullet holes, barely an intact window remained.

As the vehicle moved down a major street I could see that there had been a recent effort to clean up, at least some. Cars had been deliberately pushed to the sides of the road to clear a path. Some had likely even been salvaged for metal and spare parts. Up ahead, a chain link fence with barbed wire looped menacingly around the top sought to protect this "base" that Duke and Levi had both attempted to contact.

Duke slowed the SUV to a crawl and eventually stopped at the gate, his expression puzzled. It was plain to see why, the gate hung wide open. A military vehicle with chipped paint and a gun affixed to the back of it even sat next to the entrance to the outpost, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

"What the hell?" Duke muttered as he chanced to pull up a little closer. He crept the front end of the vehicle through the gate and stopped again, as if waiting for an ambush of soldiers demanding his clearance credentials. Still, no one came.

I could still see the large black birds through the windshield, high in the sky against a backdrop of building clouds. They added an ominous air to the landscape as they circled, now much closer than I had seen before. I didn't have the best feeling about this. Although, to be fair, I wouldn't have had the best feeling about seeing a bunch of soldiers either.

"Where do you think everyone is?" Levi asked. "You don't think we were--"

"No, the only thing the scouts found was a caravan of mostly civilians. They wouldn't have the firepower for the outpost, even if it is small."

Levi frowned. "I don't know, maybe we should go back to the Gardens?"

The cabin light came on in the SUV as Duke opened the door to get out. He didn't shut off the vehicle, as if expecting the need for a hasty escape. "Stay here, I'll go look around first. There's got to be an explanation."

Levi began to argue the point but Duke shut the door. We both watched him as he walked, his shoulders tense, his hand near his gun in its holster. He rounded a corner and disappeared from view. "I swear..." Levi grumbled to himself. I knew what he was thinking, he was thinking that Duke had made a pretty boneheaded move by just parking here. I totally agreed. Levi shifted around in the front seat, unbuckling himself and moving to the driver's side.

"Hey." I said once the grumpy one was nowhere around. There might be at least one good thing to come out of this. "Can I get a little help?"

Levi turned to look at me through the grate. "I don't know, depends on what it is."