The War Satellite

Chapter Thirty-One

Miles

We had been traveling for a little over two weeks and had entered into the ruins of advanced cities. With little to no upkeep, half the buildings were falling down and makeshift huts and homes were centered in the rubble. Cars were more prominent here as well. They were littered on every sidewalk and driveway. No one drove any, they were all broken and picked apart. Besides there was no way to receive fuel to drive.

People sold anything and everything on the streets, they were especially keen to prey on my team because as conceived foreigners, we were stereotypically stupid. There was never any quiet, I don't think I have ever wished for something so bad. It was a constant stream of shouting, propaganda and salutes to Hornet in several languages.

I did the salute without hesitation, even after four weeks, I was already getting lost in the constant stream of lies. I couldn't think without Hornet's falsehoods being shoved into my subconscious. It had slipped into my dreams, I couldn't even escape them when I was asleep. I was already sick of it.

Guards and families came up to us frequently, with endless amounts of questions. The lies became easier to say and I could say it without thinking. They were becoming a part of me. I didn't know how long I could last.

The only thing that grounded me was Clara's note. It was amazing. The lighthouse amidst a stormy sea. I kept it with me always, she was the driving force behind everything. I was willing to withstand it all for her.

But that didn't mean I had to be happy about it.

I was dragging my feet on the ground. The monotony of taking one step after another was not lost on me. I was bored, horribly bored. Who knew walking could be a sort of torture?

"Miles. Keep your head up, if you keep acting like this, you're going to die within the week."

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "Good." Daniel clapped me on the shoulder and made it so I had to look up.

"Cheer up! What's not to love? We're gonna have the finest calves in the whole colony, after all this walking. Not to mention we have an endless stream of potatoes to munch on."

I smirked as Audrey turned around. "Really, the potatoes again? They really are useful, we've been using them in stews, they're good plain too. The only bad thing is they're keeping you and your jokes alive."

She poked towards Daniel and he backed away, his hands open in the sign for surrender.

"Fine, I'll stop with the potatoes."

"You better." Audrey turned away, crossing her arms. Daniel turned to me obviously about to reply something sarcastic, but he was interrupted by Archer.

"Daniel, just don't say anything, you'll regret it."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't."

I smirked as Jane fell back in line with us. She grinned, "Maybe it would be better to stay in this town for the rest of the night. So I can get some distance from your bickering." I smiled as Jane's eyes gleamed with silent laughter. We all knew she thought our jokes were funny, we had heard and seen her laughing multiple times.

"Not to mention to try to cheer up Miles. Maybe his concussion deprived him of happiness." Daniel placed his hand on my head, as if he was checking for a fever. I shot him a disdainful look and he just grinned.

"Remind me to stand by Audrey next time."

"I mean I could, you'd probably miss me too much. You'd come crawling back to me, begging for me to walk by you again. You'll say, Daniel, take me back. Audrey doesn't know any good jokes. All she talks about is potatoes."