The Wanderers [Old Version]

Chapter 52: Limbo

Clara's POV

We walked through the tunnel and emerged on the other side. There were less cars on this part of the highway, and thankfully, less bodies.

The footsteps went on for a while, but eventually faded to nonexistence. The cars in this area weren't completely destroyed like the cars in the last area, but some had their interiors stripped. Hannah shook her head, "How could people loot the dead?"

Nico cleared his throat and Hannah's eyes got wide, "Oh! Uh...yeah, sorry. You guys do that. But you don't do it like this. You only take what you need."

A truck carrying water bottles was flipped on its side and a few bottles laid around it. Most were still full. Everyone grabbed two bottles and Nico found a baseball bat inside the cab of the truck.

It amazed me that no one had looted all the water here, but then again, maybe they only took what they needed.

The highway turned and went west. We climbed the hill that was on the south side of the highway and looked out down. A huge body of water was between us and another piece of land. The water was beautiful. It wasn't like the polluted lakes in Lightstone. It was a deep blue with white waves that crashed on the rocks below us. The ruins of a boat sat on the shore and two cars that had gone off the highway laid in the sand as well.

It was at least a 100 feet drop to the water below us and the rocks were too jagged. Our only choice was to walk all the way around.

A huge group of seagulls suddenly took flight and blocked out the sun for a few seconds.

They dispersed quickly and went in all directions. Rain looked up at the fleeing birds, "I hope they don't know something we don't."

Bryn was looking up at the sky, "It's just nature. Birds fly all over all the time. Nothing to worry about. I remember in Lightstone birds would do this all the time."

Nico shook his head, "Yeah, but Lightstone was a piece of shit anyways. There was always something to worry about."

"Just trying to be optimistic."

We followed the highway west since it was the easiest way around. Ruined cars spanned the entire highway, but they were less plentiful in this area.

We eventually came across the wreckage of a hovercraft. It looked old and was covered in rust. The bodies inside were just skeletons and the craft had no distinguishable marks from a kingdom. On a small plaque in the cockpit were the words "Hovercraft Mk. 1"

The inside of the craft looked like it was burned and the craft itself was embedded deep in the ground.

This was the first hovercraft. They probably crashed here and the craft caught fire. The poor crew inside was never even buried.

The highway led to a fork in the road. One way went south and the other continued going west.

We took the way that went south and we eventually came to a small roadside gas station with a diner attached.

A huge truck with a trailer rested in the parking lot. The trailer was blown open and huge machines rested inside. They were rusted and broken but looked advanced even for current day technology.

A skeleton in riot gear laid next to a big green tube attached to the inside of the trailer. He was gunned down many years ago.

This truck looked armored. Whatever it was transporting must've been important.

The diner wasn't fortified and the front door wasn't even locked. We opened it and went inside to search for ammo or anything we could use.

The diner looked like it wasn't in use during the end of the Old World. The kitchen was completely scrapped of all food and the cash registers were empty. The light switches were turned off and none of the tables were messed with. It was like no one knew this diner even existed.

Nico walked to the back room and searched through the managers desk. He didn't find anything useful and even the locker in the room was empty.

I found a supply closet that had a ladder that led to a hatch on the roof. On the roof was a lone skeleton in riot armor. It looked like they had committed suicide.

Sandbags and boxes of supplies and other objects were arranged to spell out SOS. I don't think help ever came.

The skeleton had a pistol with eight bullets in the clip and two spare clips and an assault rifle with a clip of 30 bullets. We needed it more than he did.

After we decided the only thing we'd get from the diner was plastic forks and spoons, we left. We continued down the never ending road.

Rain's POV

I carried the assault rifle that Clara found. Nico still had his plasma rifle and Clara had a laser pistol. Now Bryn had a pistol of her own. My mother was the only one unarmed, but she didn't mind.

The body of water was now to our left. I could still see the curve in the road up ahead. We passed a truck stop and a huge warehouse on the road. Neither had anything of use.

Cars were getting even less plentiful now. It was down to one car every hundred or so meters. Each car we came to had nothing useful inside.

The road seemed to go on forever. I could see the curve in the road, but it felt like we'd never reach it. Eventually, the land around the road stopped and we ended up crossing a huge bridge.

The bride was rusting, huge, and the wind made the pipes and beams below us croak. Cars were gone all together now. This road was completely empty now.

Bryn stopped walking and looked out at the body of water. The sunlight rippled off the water and the waves smashed over a shipwrecked boat. "I don't know what's more lonely. This road, or that ocean."

I took Bryn's hand and held her close to me, "You know you're not alone."

"I know. I know you're here. But this road is torture. It's like we're walking on a treadmill. We're not getting anywhere."

I looked around us. Nico and Clara were standing on the other side of the bridge, looking at the city skylines miles to the west. My mother stood in the center of the bridge. She was looking around at the beams and rafters above us.

I looked behind us then in front of us. The road seemed to go on forever, both ways. I sighed, "We should get going. This road isn't getting any shorter."

The road was mentally taxing. Lightstone had roads like this along the outskirts of the main cities. Roads that crawled around the rural farmland and were inhabited only by thugs and mercenaries. But even those roads were inhabited. This road was empty and alone. Even with Bryn and my family by my side, I never felt more alone.

Even the sky was empty. Not a cloud was in the sky. The only thing that inhabited the sky were a group of birds that flew in circles above us. They were waiting for one of us to drop dead.

My feet felt heavy. My eyes were tired and my body ached. I felt the wounds on my back and arms. My ribs ached. My body wasn't strong enough to survive this road. I wasn't sure if my mind was either.

I forced myself to keep going. I knew this bridge didn't actually last forever, but it was still the most lonesome road I had ever traveled.

We finally reached the curve in the road and there was a simultaneous sigh of relief from everyone.

This was the easy part now. The forest was growing around the road again. A single car resting in the middle of the road made me smile.

I searched the car for supplies. There was a first aid kit with some bandages and antibiotics. A box of bullets was in the glove compartment and a clip of ammo was sitting on the dash. There was a wallet sitting in the passenger seat. In it was a picture of a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes. My heart sank.

It finally hit me that Petra was gone. I had known her since I was a child and I didn't even stop to think about her death. The wasteland was changing me.

Death didn't bother me anymore. Petra was lucky. She wouldn't have felt her death, and now she's up in Heaven. The wasteland is a bad place. She's in a better place.