The Capital

A Sudden Halt

The vehicle came to an abrupt stop in the middle of nowhere, something that had never happened before. Lenny, the driver, announced casually, "I need to stretch my legs," which left me puzzled and full of questions. The protectors and Cal got out with him, leaving me alone with the hooded man, who still appeared to be praying.

The silence between us was heavy, so I decided to break it by moving closer and quoting a line from a movie. His head turned slightly toward me, and I could see the faintest hint of recognition in his eyes, even though his face remained hidden beneath the hood. It was clear he knew the movie. Then, without warning, he asked, "What year?"

I was taken aback by the question. "What year?" I echoed, trying to make sense of it. After a moment, I told him the year I came from.

He sighed, his voice barely above a whisper, "That’s four years before mine."

Four years? What did that mean? My mind raced to piece it together. Could he be from what I thought of as the "future past"? I began to wonder if he had come from a time just after mine, but before the present day. It was confusing, and I wasn’t sure what to think.

He began speaking to me as if I were someone familiar, asking about my goals and how I ended up here. I explained that I didn’t really know—I had woken up in this world without any understanding of how I got here. His surprise was evident. "You woke up like wha—" he started to ask, but before he could finish, a shout rang out from outside.

"Bandits!" one of the protectors yelled.

The hooded man muttered a curse "Shit!" and immediately began to hide, and I did the same. The protectors sprang into action, Lenny grabbing his rifle from the vehicle as Cal and the others prepared for a fight.

The bandits, rough and desperate-looking, swarmed toward us, their weapons drawn. The protectors moved like a well-oiled machine, each of them taking up positions to defend the vehicle and the people inside. Jake, the leader, barked orders, directing the others to form a perimeter.

Cal fought with his usual agility, dodging blows and striking back with precision. He wasn’t joking or smiling this time; his focus was entirely on keeping the bandits at bay. Sam and Leo were equally fierce, using their weapons to hold off the attackers, while Old Man Frank provided cover fire from a distance.

Even Tommy, the little thief, got involved. He darted around the bandits, using his small size to his advantage. At one point, I saw him slip a knife from a bandit’s belt, only to use it to cut through the ropes they were trying to use to bind the protectors. His tricks were quick and effective, helping to turn the tide of the battle.

In the midst of the chaos, I noticed the hooded man inching toward the edge of the vehicle, clearly trying to find the right moment to make a run for it. He seemed desperate, driven by something I couldn’t understand.

Just as he made his move, I saw a flash of metal in the corner of my eye. "Wait!" I shouted, but it was too late. One of the bandits had spotted him and, with brutal efficiency, stabbed him multiple times. The man crumpled to the ground, blood pouring from his wounds.

The protectors fought off the bandit, but by then, the damage was done. I rushed over to the hooded man, kneeling beside him as he lay dying. His breathing was shallow, his eyes unfocused. He reached out to me with a trembling hand, pressing something into my palm—a small USB drive and his ID card.

"Take this," he whispered, his voice weak. "To the Capital."

"No," I pleaded, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was hopeless. He was beyond saving. His hand went limp, and I realized with horror that he was gone.

I sat there, stunned, his blood staining my hands. Panic seized me, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps as I struggled to process what had just happened. The sight of his blood on my hands made everything around me blur and spin.

Suddenly, Cal was there, kneeling beside me. He gently wiped the blood from my hands, his face filled with concern. He placed his headphones over my ears, blocking out the sounds of the battle and the world around me. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I could see his lips moving, repeating the same phrase over and over: "Everything is going to be alright."

The music in my ears drowned out the chaos, and I felt myself slipping away from the reality of what had just happened. Everything faded into a blur of sound and color.

In the distance, I heard Lenny’s voice, filled with frustration and anger. "Shit!" he yelled, kicking the corpse of one of the bandits. "Not my baby!" He was staring at the vehicle, which had been badly damaged in the fight—beyond repair, it seemed.

"They got the engine good," Sam muttered, looking at the wreckage. "We’re gonna have to walk from here."

Lenny cursed again, shaking his head. "I knew something was off with that hooded man. I saw someone following him, but I wasn’t sure… Should’ve trusted my gut."

Cal tried to calm him down, but Lenny was inconsolable. "It’s too dangerous," he kept saying, glancing over at me. I could see the concern in his eyes, but I was too numb to respond.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the man who had just died. His last words echoed in my mind: "To the Capital." I hid myself in the corner of the vehicle, Cal’s headphones still on, drowning out the world as I tried to process everything that had just happened. The journey had just taken a dark turn, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle. But I knew, deep down, that I had to keep going—to the Capital, where the answers to all my questions might finally be waiting.