The Uprisen

Chapter 24

Be careful, we love you, the text reads.

Spencer smiles at the text message and picture on his phone of his family back in Boston.  Smiling into the camera is a happy blue-eyed baby girl and his foster mom, Caroline.

I will, love you too, he replies.

“Alright, well we’ll keep an eye out.  Stay safe out there, okay?” Mallory says from the balcony.

Spencer watches his friend and mentor walk around nervously outside.  Ever since they boarded the plane, he’s tried to figure out which twin he’s traveling with.  He’s looked at the way she talks, the way she acts, and the way she treated the flight attendant, but even he can’t tell the difference.

“Yeah, I’ll keep you updated.  We actually just took it easy for most of today.  I figured we’d go through the shelters tomorrow...We will, talk to you later.”  Mallory walks back into the room from the hotel’s balcony, and takes a seat on her bed.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Spencer shrugs.  “It’s fine.  What’s going on?”

Quickly, Mallory explains her sister’s update, and how it affects their plans.

“They might not be in Kansas, but I think the most important thing we can do for now is look for those books.  Hopefully we’ll get to them first, then we can focus on looking for The Seekers,” she says.

He sighs.  “Okay.  So why are we going to the shelters then?”

“Just to see who knows what.  Wichita is one of the biggest cities in Kansas, so we’ll just work our way to the center and see what we can find.”

Spencer lays back on his bed.  “We’re still starting tomorrow, though.  Right?”

She smiles and turns off the light.  “Oh yeah, you think I’m going out into the shelters at two thirty in the morning?”  She laughs.  “Goodnight, Spencer.”

Spencer smiles.  This trip is going to be alright.  “Goodnight, Mallory.”

-----

“So how’s the family?” Mallory asks, noticing how Spencer keeps checking his phone.

He looks up.  “Oh, they’re good.  My mom, she’s a little worried, but that’s just how she gets.”
Mallory smiles and takes a sip of her coffee.  “Well, hopefully she won’t have anything to worry about.  You didn’t tell her about the books or anything, did you?”

“No, don’t worry.”

She nods, looking around the small Kansas neighborhood.  “Good.  I just don’t want to get them in any trouble for knowing about it, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”  Spencer looks at the sun’s reflection on the houses windows.  Mallory decided that walking to the shelters would do them good so they could get to know the area, and he has to admit that she’s right.  Unlike Boston, it’s cleaner and seemingly safer.  Men and women occasionally run by either alone or with their dogs with a smile and a nod.  He finds it strange how different the people are between Kansas and Massachusetts, especially in terms of kindness.

“Well, I looked into what my sister said last night.  I did some research before I went to bed, and I found a trail of dead families going through Indiana to Missouri.  The most recent was a few days ago in St. Louis.”

That’s one way to dampen the mood, he thinks.  “They’re still pretty far.  Are we going to go after them?”

“Nope.  We’re sticking to the plan: find the books before they do.”