Lost Atoms

Chapter 4

The glow of New Niagara has grown dim in the distance behind us when the truck slows, the tires crunch over gravel. Ezra slows his truck to a stop and comes around the back.

"We did it." His face relaxes as he lifts the hatch. "Zen, slide me that duffel bag next to you."

Zenith complies, and Ezra unzips it. He reaches in and digs around, but the bag is unorganized. She starts pulling out all kinds of things—a first aid kit, several bottles of water, and a travel-sized neck pillow. Finally, he finds what he's looking for.

"Protein bar to celebrate, anyone?" he offers, holding a box containing a dozen of them. "Road snacks go out by seniority at work, so it's all I could really get."

I think back to my last meal; a half-eaten porridge dinner, abandoned in my home. With everything that has happened tonight, I'd suppressed the gnawing at my insides. Now, the hunger pains intensify as I see the food.

Ezra tosses a bar to each of us. We catch them, except Navani, who fumbles. Her bar lands next to the dead body.

"Sorry. Bad throw," Ezra says dismissively. Navani looks down, frowning, and carefully retrieves the bar. Ezra gives me a look as if to say, 'It's like she's never seen a body at a Death Parade before.' He doesn't know enough about her. I look away.

Silence hangs in the air as we eat the bland food. It's sustenance, I remind myself. Something tells me I'm not about to eat a turkey dinner any time soon.

I steal glances at Navani. Her eyes are still fixed on the body as she chews. Guilt squirms like a snake in my gut. It's my fault she's here.

"Well, we can't say it was a dull night," Cail says, breaking the silence. "Who'd have ever thought a group of scavengers could drive straight out through the gate?" They swallow the last bite of their bar before yelling, "TAKE THAT, ZONER-BONERS!"

Cail looks at me with a grin and I smile back, but as I think about the day ahead of us, I can't shake this feeling we haven't faced the full gravity of our situation yet.

Ezra rolls some bottled waters our way before repacking most of the supplies in his bag. He tucks the neck pillow under his arm. "Better get back on the road. They don't make these trucks to go as fast as they used to."

"Why's that?" Cail asks.

"Council limited their speed after one got stolen by scavengers."

"No way! Did you know them?"

"Nah," Ezra smiles. "It happened way back. Long before my time." He starts to close the hatch.

"Can you leave it open?" Zenith asks, then glances in my direction. He knows me well. I'd just been thinking about how the small windows were becoming hard to see through.

Ezra gives his brother a nod and leaves the hatch ajar. A cool, summer's night breeze wafts in, circulating the cab. Navani's nostrils flare and her body, pressed against my side, tenses.

"What was that?" she whispers.

"Real wind," I say, reminded that Navani has never been to the Between. "It comes from... well, I'm not sure where." I look to my friends for support.

"Maybe a big fan in the sky?" Cail offers, while Zenith just shrugs.

Navani's shoulders relax next to me. I wish I could explain the Between better to her, but we only know what we've taught ourselves. For example, it's common knowledge among scavengers that protective equipment does little more than slow us down, unless we're close to a blast site. We've also seen a handful of animals that live in the parks and fields near our dome city.