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THEY MANAGED to get to the airport sometime before midnight which was the city's self imposed curfew. Cassandra was both a little surprised and relieved that there were still shops open in the mall. Though it was restricted to just one convenience store, a bar and a kebab restaurant. It would have been deathly quiet, if not for the incessant laughing and warbling from the bar.
Gally and the others weren't there yet so they decided to wait in the restaurant. But on closer inspection, even though the lights were switched on inside, there was no one around and the doors were locked. Something about it struck Cassandra as odd and a feeling of unease filled her stomach when the convenience store was the same.
The only establishment that was actually open was the bar. But judging from the sounds, it would have been better off closed like the other two. There was certainly something strange afoot in this city and Cassandra wondered if all the cities left in the world were like this. That was a pretty bleak thought. Was there any hope left for a civilisation after the Flare?
"Maybe we should wait with the berg instead..." Brenda suggested.
"Yeah...I think you're right," Aislin responded. "I'll just text—" She had reached into her pocket to pull her mobile out when she paused with a frown. "Huh...that's weird."
"What's weird?" Thomas asked.
"Apparently they went on ahead..." She cocked her head to the side. "I just received this but the timestamp was ten minutes ago. Must be the reception..."
"What are we waiting for then?" Newt questioned. He'd been awfully quiet since they left Han's apartment but there were no more signs of aggression from the boy. Cassandra took that as a hopeful sign. She certainly did not want to think about how helping her friend would have costed her. That would be something for future Cassandra to consider.
"Come on," Brenda urged anxiously and their group made a quick shuffle towards the entrance to the airport. There were thankfully no extra security controls on the way out but the absence of the bored woman's voice from earlier made the air seem hollow. Cassandra had to wrestle the large knot in her stomach as the small hairs on the back of her neck started to rise. The darkness of the night was suffocating.
"Something's not right," she whispered into the stillness but only Thomas turned to her with a questioning gaze. Cassandra felt like she was hyper aware of her surroundings, from the rustle of their clothes to the crisp parting of grass under their feet.
