The Defiant

A Heavy Burden

Levi

"They will start moving in from the outside of the landing zone to the inside. There will be more survivors on the outskirts, but there will also be more surveillance from the General's men," Blake explained over the phone. 

Delta drove over a bump in the road, and Dakota's hand tightened in mine. 

"So, best chances are to work from the inside out?" I asked. 

There was a pause. 

"Levi, I am going to be honest with you right now; either way you are going to run into trouble. If you start on the inside, you will run into them on the way out. If you start on the outside, they will corner you on the inside. The only advantage you guys have is your powers."

I sighed. 

"Okay, Thanks, Blake."

"No problem, buddy... And Levi?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay safe. All of you."

"We'll try," I sighed before hanging up. 

The car was silent until Delta asked from the driver's seat, "So, what's the verdict?"

"They said we are screwed either way. If we start near the landing zone, there will be fewer survivors, but we will have more time to avoid the General's men. If we start on the outside..."

"More survivors, but we will be running from the hazmats the whole time," Hattie finished. 

I nodded. It was going to be hard to come out of this unscathed. The first bombing had been bad enough.

"Let's start near the landing site," Atlas said. "We might as well save the same amount if we aren't competing with the opposition. And, If we are closer, we might be able to..."

"Stop the bomb," Dakota finished. 

Atlas nodded. 

"But we will be closer to impact."

'So we could die from it,' were the unspoken words. 

The car filled with a gloomy aura. 

"Why couldn't they just use another method to infect us? Why bomb us?" Dakota fumed. His hand grew hot in mine. 

"Because they aren't just trying to make weapons. They are trying to rile up the population to start fighting the 'enemy'," Lyla said quietly. 

We all stared at her— crushed between Atlas and the door, looking like she wanted to combust. 

She hadn't spoken this whole time. 

"What? It's fuel for propaganda... It's happened before. Like, the Lusitania; they took the risk, and when it was sunk, U.S citizens were angry toward Germany and- and they made the propaganda posters, and people started to join the army."

"Oh my god, you are a history nerd!" Delta gaped. "I don't think I've ever heard you talk more than that."

Lyla blushed and sunk further into her corner. 

The car sunk back into an anxiety-filled silence after that. 

We were about to pass the city border, and as I looked out the window I noticed a white van already parked under an overpass. 

The same type of van that Tom and I got thrown into the day Portland was bombed. 

"They're already here. Just waiting," I commented, silently thanking whoever made this car that its windows were tinted.