Broken World Book 1 - The On Coming Storm

9

The cabin around me is warm and stuffy. With the sounds of several people breathing. I prop myself up and scan the area around me. I watch as everyone's chests slowly rise and fall almost in time with each other. I lay back down on my back and fold my arms behind my head. I close my eyes. I feel the rise and fall in my chest start to match the rhythm. Then my eyes open to the dark stuffy room. The sounds of someone's harsh breathing echoes through the room like waves. I sigh, "I can't sleep."

I sit up and push the blankets off of me. Could be my gut telling me there's something wrong, I sit there a moment longer before getting up. I slip my converse shoes on, and tip toe out of the lodge. The night air is crisp and cool. The air is stale and static like a storm. The wind whirling and howling through the camp bombardes me as I stand there and look up the moonless and starless sky. The clouds are rolling in like a sandstorm. My braid billows back with the wind. My eyes scan the area, and everything seems in order. Even the plastic tumbleweed seems normal. But why can't I sleep?

The world is normal, and serine. Why does that bother me? It should be reassuring that the world is healing somewhat, but it leaves me wondering why haven't the Stalkers attacked this place yet? What's so special here that they wouldn't risk it? Or is there something I'm missing? They're allowing humans to gather here. Makes sense because it's easier to kill when we're gathered in large groups, but wouldn't it be smarter if they wipe this place out before it becomes too big? Unless they are already in control. I reach back and pull my 45 acp. pistol out and check the mag. Full, just like normal. They confiscated every weapon that we or I told them about. Which was a M-16, two AR-15s, and two 45 acp. pistols. I didn't tell them about my combat knife or my pistol either. Jaye and Bree didn't tell them, so they must've had the same idea as me. Or they weren't going to fight with me and my paranoia.

My feet crunch against the ice encrusted ground as I walk through the camp. I glance up and around mainly at the sky, but a flicker of light catches my eye. Not a natural light like fire, this light was bright blue only and LED bulb could produce. I duck down and slide behind the closest wall I can find. I look south-west to see someone in the guard's tower with a flashlight. How do they have electricity? I peek back out and look back up at the tower, but the light's off. It's an eerie black darkness that sends chills up my spine. Where did they go?

I take a step back and voices echo along with the hurricane of wind. "Someone's up," it's a man's voice. I recognize it almost immediately, it's Michael.

"Who?" another responds. The voice was clearly male, but slightly harder to distinguish. His name was at the tip of my tongue, but I can't quiet place it.

"Who do you think?" Michael inquires.

"Katrina," the other man responds. Who are you?

I peek out of my hidey hole and watch Michael sigh, "we were warned about her, and her habit of getting herself where she doesn't belong."

"Then why did we let her in?" the other asks. Gotcha! It's Stephan.

"Because if we're ever going to get this planet without a fight she needs to be put down," Michael says.

"She's one person. What can she do?" Stephan asks.

"She was able to save her friends from two of our kind, she shot someone point blank without thinking, she has the ability to kill her own father, and she escaped our military base. She was able to withstand the drugs. You've seen the numbers," Michael responds. My eyes widen. They were given reconnaissance on me. I sit there and watch as they split off from each other. I pull my pistol out and slam a bullet into the chamber. The gun makes a slight bang as I cock it into the firing position. I turn safety off.