Meridian | The Second Life III [COMPLETED]

9 - Chaos Quotient

- N I C K -

"Hard to believe she died," Caden mutters.

"Yeah," I sigh.

Caden and I sit on the bench at the end of the pier, watching a nice sunrise. In the distance, we could see the ruins of Brooklyn under the orange sky. Clear skies and a nice breeze signal another warm day. It's bizarre; this is the middle of winter. I'm sure we'd have a crazy cold front to compensate.

"She seemed like the person to keep kicking, you know?" he comments, shaking his head. "Instead, killed in a split second. It's not right."

"Tell me about it," I sigh. I had to break the news to Marseille yesterday, and she didn't take it well. Nobody did, to be fair: even Blake teared up. That's a rare sight.

- E V A N -

"Zach?"

"Hmm?" he stirs, grunting as he flips over and wakes up. "W-wha?"

"Where's Rivian?"

His eyes open at that, and he sits up. Wiping his eyes, he looks around the room. Rivian and all of his gear has disappeared; I'd noticed when I woke up at sunrise. Zach gets up quickly, grabbing his equipment as I do the same. "Granola bar on the go?" He asks, offering me one. I nod, and he tosses one my way.

We start towards the stairs and I pull out my radio. "Rivian, do you copy?" I ask panicked. We descend all three floors, not receiving anything by the time we get outside. "Rivian!"

"No use," Zach sighs. "He was clearly pissed at us. Maybe he ditched us to find Catey on his own."

"DAMNIT!" I exclaim, slinging my crossbow in frustration. "He's gonna get himself killed, Zach!"

"Calm down for a second," Zach suggests, taking his radio and changing the frequency. "Eagle, this is Zach. Do you copy?"

We begin walking down the street as he radios for Eagle. It's great weather, like yesterday, so at least something is in our favor. Why would you do that, Rivian? I don't regret what I did; he needed to be put in place. I'm not about to let anyone say I killed JP, much less someone whose sister I saved in the Battle of Manhattan.

"Receiving," the radio crackles. It's definitely Eagle, though she sounds out of breath. "Sorry for the wait, I had to hide."

"Is everything okay?" Zach asks, keeping up his jog.

"I've got some new intel," she replies confidently. "Though, I'd rather explain in person. More importantly, what's going on? You sound panicked."

"Rivian left on his own sometime last night," Zach sighs as a refreshing wind gust blows through the street. "Have you seen him?"

"Shit," she mutters. "No, I haven't. What got into him?"

"No clue," Zach mumbles. "Look, he's probably headed north, and his radio is off. Keep an eye out, will you? We're gonna try and find him."

"10-4," she replies. "Eyes are peeled."

"Copy," Zach states, holstering his radio and continuing to jog with me. He looks at me. "That should help."

"Yeah, thanks," I sigh. "It's just... ridiculous. He wasn't even there, he can't say that shit. Y'know?"

"No, I agree completely," Zach mutters, shaking his head. "So much for me being a mediator, I guess."

"Once we find him," I begin. "You'll get your shot again."

- R O N N I E -

Salt Lake City, huh? This is cool. I had driven through the night, making it all the way here by sunrise. I'm pretty impressed with myself, though also very tired. To the east are the city's towers, and to the north seems like a storm. Directly above me are bluebird skies, though tall wall clouds are on the horizon. Any Oklahoman knows what that means: a storm is coming. The wind has yet to pick up, so I don't have to worry immediately. I'd want to think about finding shelter sometime soon, though.

I hear the wind blowing stronger from the north as if on cue. Cold front, here we come. This high up, and at this time of year, that could mean snow. Unfortunately, I80 turns north just past Salt Lake City, and I don't want to get snowed in. I need to turn south.

Pulling over, I grab my Utah map from the passenger seat. I found it at a rest stop I'd used to refuel and added it to my collection. I80 leads into Wyoming, while I70 leads through the Rockies in Colorado. Snowmelt and altitude could make the southern route even more hazardous.

As I roll down the window, a gust of wind blows into the car. It's cold. That could be a winter storm, to be perfectly honest. That's not good. I don't know if I have the supplies to survive a snow-in, much less one in a mountain valley. I80 it is, and I need to be quick.

Setting the map down, I begin accelerating. My tiredness would need to subside for just a while longer while I get around these peaks on the other side of the city. Luckily, I won't need to worry about traffic. In every apocalypse movie I'd seen, roads worldwide were blocked by broken-down cars. Some things just didn't translate to reality.

It's funny; I never wanted to return for a while. Now, though, I know if I stay alone, I'll go insane. It's incredible and quite terrifying how one event can change absolutely everything in one's life.