Kids Never Die

Chapter 30: Sober Up

We continued to drive as long as we could. As the night bore on, the desert disappeared behind us and into road. Mile by mile we inched closer and closer, flipping through map pages, Angela's journal, Kyra's sketch books. Anything we could to make sure we were headed in the right direction. Josh had already planned to reach the power station so he seemed to know what he was doing.

It had been a long week for all of us. Watching some of our closest friends and family die was harder to bare than the thought of dying ourselves. Some of us were traumatized. Many were stressed and dehydrated. Losing their minds. We had drug addicts, mechanics, nurses, any type of high school and middle school kid.

But the one emotion we no longer felt was fear. We had seen and felt the worst things imaginable, and we were too focused on our goal. There was no time for fear. Though there were still teenage urges, there was no time for love. No time for feelings. It wasn't that we didn't want then. I loved Sadie. It was the fact that it could get us killed, and I couldn't handle another loss.

We passed the border into California around midnight. The only ones awake were me and Morgan, who took turns taking the wheel on and off. The dashboard of the truck looked like a War Conference room with all the maps and papers. We wanted to stop, but for fear of losing another friend, we persisted on until morning.

Around seven o'clock, everyone was pretty much awake. Everyone, except our new friend. He had been zonked out for god knows how long. If it weren't for the occasional twitch, I'd have thought he was dead.

We reached another maze of cars, all stalled on the road. Bodies lining the street, each with masks that you would find nurses wearing at hospitals. Sam watched the road, mortified.

"What happened here?" She asked.

Josh shook his head. "They didn't make it in time."

Reading signs, we saw that we were driving down an evacuation route, heading towards Los Angeles. We were exactly where we needed to be. Down the road, there was a gas station, and we decided to refuel one last time.

When the truck rushed to a stop, we all jumped out and did our normal routine, but quicker this time. The clouds in the sky were swirling off in the distance, and the wind was beginning to pick up.

Morgan took a kitchen knife from the back of the truck and as always, he slashed the gas pump hose and began to fill the gas tank. The rest of us got out to stretch our legs and restock water and food in the gas station store.

Once we were finished, we filled the truck with a few more water bottles, and a few more assorted snacks. This time. More fruits instead of just potato chips and candy. I wasn't sure how I felt about getting fruit from a gas station, but it was better to keep up health and strength, going a week without vitamins and all.

We were all back in the truck. All except Morgan, who was still filling the gas tank. As the wing picked up speed, there were noises, getting louder and louder in the distance.

"Hey Morgan," I leaned out the window, "try to speed things up, okay?" Morgan didn't respond. I called to him again. "Momo?"

He was frozen in place, staring into the distance. "What is it?" Asked Sam.

Sadie rushed out of the back of the truck as a whizzing was heard through the air. Out of practically no where, a red minivan came galavanting out of the sky towards Morgan. He was stuck in place. Frozen with fear. Sadie rushed towards him and just as the minivan made contact with the ground, she threw him out of the way. She was not so lucky herself.

The car came to the ground with a mighty crash, just missing Morgan, giving the full force to the much smaller Sadie. The vehicle skid across the pavement, and all of us in shock watched as blood formed a pool from under the car.