Tent City

Chapter 29

I yawned as I flicked through the well-read pages of the diary. So far, I have not found anything that even hints at the exact location of the secret lab/bunker.

I turned to the last page, and there on a single blank page was a sequence of 8 numbers. There was no cypher, no hint on what the numbers represented. I was stumped.

My attention was brought to the sensor screen as an alarm beeped from the dash. After the alarm sounded, the monotone computerized voice followed.

"Movement detected within 2 km vicinity of vehicle. Scanning initiated, please wait..." I watched the screen intently, hoping that it was just Megmoths or something harmless. It took about 30 seconds for the scan to finish. The monotone voice echoed around me,

"Scan complete. Species identified as Megmoth and Giant M Rats. No further action is required." I let out a sigh of relief, just Megmoths and giant mutated rats.

The rats were the size of a pony, mostly harmless...unless humans were outside without protection of a vehicle, then they were a threat and would not hesitate to eat us, and share us with their mates. Exactly what creatures I expected to find in this area. 

I waited patiently for the Megmoths to come into view. Megmoths looked like any other moth of old, but they were the size of a large dog, and the way their wings were shaped they would look like fairies at night, as they'd glow white in the light of the moon and gold in artificial light, so they were quite a beautiful creature to see up close.

I wanted to wake Ben and Kelsie so they could see them, but I decided not to do that. They've already had a stressful night, being displaced from their only permanent home since Tent City.

There would be plenty more opportunities to view the Megmoths on our journey to the secret hidden lab and bunker... If only we knew exactly where it was.  

Soon, the Megmoths came into view, and I watched them in awe. Their wings were so beautiful as they reflected gold in the light of the transporter.

They fluttered about like fairies playing in the sun. I gasped as one landed on the windscreen of the transporter. I studied every hair on its body and watched as its antennae moved and its legs scuttled along the surface. Even though they were the size of a large dog, they were light, and landing on the transporter caused no damage. 

After watching the Megmoths interact with each other, I looked at the dash and realized that it was 3am in the morning. I needed to get some sleep. I found a safe spot off the side of the road and put the transporter into sleep mode.

I didn't want to wake Ben or Kelsie, so I wrapped myself tightly in the blanket that Kelsie had given me earlier and curled up on the floor. It didn't take me long to get comfortable, as I've slept in worse places in my life. 

Before we took over the bunker, I couldn't even remember the last time I slept on something soft like a mattress, even when I was travelling with my older sister, we roughed it in hidden caves, rotted buildings, even made beds from dirt and rotting leaves depending where we travelled. I instinctively touched the scar on my cheek, the constant physical reminder of my sister Sierra's death. The mental reminders stayed with me also.

I was woken by a rough shake and a light kiss on my forehead. My eyes fluttered open, and Kelsie was standing above me. 

"Morning," I said, my voice croaky from sleep. "What time is it?" I whispered.

"Morning, according to your dash clock, it's 9am. Ben and I have made you some breakfast, come," she said cheerily. 

I slowly found my feet and folded the blanket, and placed it over my seat. I checked the solar battery levels, and they were 95%, so I didn't bother exposing the solar panels to the sun. We had at least another 2 days until we had to charge them to avoid being stranded and having to use the atomic battery.