The Bearing

8. The Escape

Gray reacts properly this time. We only have time for necessities, so we each grab a large backpack and throw in whatever we need. I remember to grab a couple of large blankets and a jacket.

"Wherever we're going, we probably won't have electricity!" Gray calls out.

I called out to the house, "Make two ham sandwiches, please!" For tonight, of course.

I open the food slot and out come two sandwiches. I throw them each in a plastic bag.

Now, for the future.

I press my thumb to the lock pad, opening his cupboards and putting in the non-perishable cans of food we just bought. Beans, meats, tuna, salmon, soup... I spot peanut butter, jelly, and bread and decide we could make sandwiches right away. Gray had jars of almonds, peanuts, and pistachios, and I throw those in, too. I see dried apricots and beef jerky. Those are nonperishable, right? Anything helps. I practically take the entire shelf.

Gray runs over to the sink and hurriedly fills four gigantic bottles of water to the brim. Even when stressed out, his appearance remains untouched and immaculate. Not a hair out of place, and not a bag under either of his eyes.

"Geez, Gray, how much is that?" I ask.

"Each is 10 liters..." he replies.."

"And how do you plan on taking all of that?"

"We're taking the car. What, you think we're walking?" he laughs. "We'd surely get caught that way."

"Uh, won't they be able to track the telecar?"

"I didn't say telecar."

"What?" I'm confused. "What do you mean?"

"Just trust me. Come with me in the garage after you're done. I mapped the coordinates right now on the physical map, and I have something else to help."

"Garage?" I ask. "What's that?"

"Shoot, you don't know. It's a hidden room under the house. A long time ago, before there were telecars and charging stations, people used to park their cars there. I have a secret one. Follow me."

I grab the supplies and carry two of the bottles of water. He opens the television wall and leads me downstairs into the disguised door.

In a dark room, there's a black machine that looks like a telecar but lacks the same sleekness and elegance. He pushes a button in his hands and the car makes a beeping noise. The doors don't open automatically. Weird.

Gray opens the back door and puts the bottles of water in the backseat.

"What is this?" I ask.

"It's a regular car," he responds. "Before telecars were a thing, you actually had to drive yourself."

"And you know how to drive?" I ask as I open the door and put the rest of the supplies in the backseat.

"Yep. My dad taught me. My parents were so cool." He opens the driver's seat door and gets in. It's so strange how there's no bench connecting the two seats and how the car doesn't talk to us right away.

He presses another button, located in a compartment in front of him, and a ramp falls down from the ceiling.

I gasp in fear. "The ceiling is falling! It's going to crush us!"

"Relax," he says. "It's for us to drive out of here. It leads to my front driveway."

He drives the car up the ramp and down the driveway. We speed away, then slow down abruptly after I hiss, "Remember the cameras! There are always cameras."