End of the Suburbs

Chpt 15: Donnie: Stowaway

10 DAYS AGO

The Ohio township.
I wake up to the sound of creaking floorboards.
I look out the window.
It's still dark.
I don't know why old people wake up so early.
I lay there for a minute before hearing, "Trish,have you seen my wrench?"
It's followed by hurried footsteps.
I live with my mom and dad inside the township.
Everybody here has a job.
In school we learned about the world before disease.
People lived their lives completely differently.
Cities were different.
The infection wiped out the majority of the population and most animals.
It's still out there.
Because of that we have to learn to survive.
My mom is an agriculturalist and my dad's a mechanic.
Both are useful but that's not what I see myself doing.
I want to be a scavenger.
Scavengers are the coolest people to exist.
They're the only group that the council allows to go outside the township.
My neighbor Alex is the teacher of the survival training class.
People say his dad Jonas is the best scavenger to ever live.
He went missing years back.
I never got the chance to meet him.
They say he's so good that he once fought a group of 50 infected without using any water.
One day I'm going to become a scavenger and be as good as him.
But first I have to learn to fight.
Today is the day we start sword training.
I get up and rush to get in the shower.
I hurry and get dressed and race downstairs.
I open the cupboard to grab my breakfast.
Supplies are low. 
I grab a packet of granola and go outside to sit with Alex's wolf Casper.
I hang out with him most mornings.
When I'm done eating I hop on my skateboard and go my clubhouse.
It's actually just a building that used to be a mall near the edge of town.
Nobody knows I go there.
From there I can see the outside.
I watch the sun rise then practice my fighting for a bit.
I realize it's almost time for class.
I climb down and head to the community hall building.
That's where the class is held.
Just as I turn the corner I see Alex leaving the classroom following one of the council guards.
Something is up.
They go to the council's chamber and close the door behind them.
I check to see if the area is clear.
Quietly I tiptoe up and gently press my ear against the door.
I hear them talking.
They offer him a chance to leave the city.
The scavengers left on a supply run.
They were due back 2 days ago.
The council is putting together a team and they want Alex to lead them.
I must be mishearing through the door.
It sounds like he says no.
The door flies open and Alex almost knocks me down.
"You have to go." I say.
He doesn't want to talk about it.
Going outside the city is huge since there isn't much to do here except work, train, and watch old movies.
In class Alex teaches us the basic sword movements.
I've learned this already.
After class I go home.
The rest of the day is boring as usual.
I skate for a while.
Afterwards I go inside and get ready for dinner.
The portions are small.
If the supply shipment doesn't come in soon then we'll run out.
When I'm done eating I head upstairs and watch a movie before bed.
I hear my mom and dad talking.
They're both worried, not just about the people on the outside.
According to my mom we're getting desperate.
I have an idea.💡
From what I heard earlier today there's going to be a team leaving tomorrow before sunrise.
This is my chance to be a hero.
I go straight to bed and fall asleep.
I can't sleep.
I'm too excited.
Instead I pack my bag.
The most important thing on the outside is water.
I make sure to bring a lot.
I make sure to take a mask.
The air outside can be polluted.
Some is even unbreathable.
I take anything I think I would need along with a couple of packs of meat.
Once I have everything I skate to the motor depot.
The team leaving will be using a car.
I know how to get in.
My dad works on the cars.
There's a gate in the back that isn't monitored.
I scale the fence as quietly as possible.
Across the depot I see someone filling up one of the cars with gas.
That's the car they're taking.
I wait for them to walk away then sneak over.
It's clear.
I climb in back and hide waiting to leave.
I must've fallen asleep.
I wake up and the sun is up.
The car is moving then suddenly comes to a stop.
I hear a voice.
It's the border guard.
I stay as still as possible.
A minute passes before they give them clearance to drive.
I keep my head down.
If I hop out now they could just turn around and send me back home.
I wait.
The car keeps driving.
The combination of movement and quiet is very soothing.
I fall asleep again.
I wake up to the jolt of the car braking.
I wait a second before I peak my head out to look.
It's clear.
We're stopped at a food store.
I hop out and sneak around the side.
I'm careful not to make a sound.
I slip inside.
The place is huge.
I put my mask on to shield from the smell of rotting.
The shelves are mostly empty.
I think I see something shiny on one of the upper shelves.
I start to climb up.
Jackpot!
It's a metal pipe.
It'd make a great sword.
I also find a box of crackers.
Clam Crackers.
A win is a win.
I have to hurry back to the car before the others.
If they spot me I'm done for.
I make it outside just as they're about to get into the car.
I have to think of a way to sneak in.
I look down at the metal pipe in my hand.
I need a distraction.
If I toss the pipe as far as I can in the opposite direction, hopefully I can sneak by when they turn.
I toss the pipe.
It works.
They all turn facing that direction.
Just as I'm creeping by I feel something grab my backpack.
They caught me.
"Donnie?"one of them says
"Oh, hey Pete. What are you doing here." I respond
Pete is a friend of my dad's who works as a travel mechanic.
There's 4 of them.
The one holding me pulls me over towards Pete.
"You know him?"he asks Pete
I flash an awkward smile as Pete nods reluctantly.
"We have to take him back." One of them says.
Another argue that they're too far out to waste time going back.
Two of the guys driving motorbikes.
One of them offers to take me back alone.
"Wait." I say "I can help."
"We don't need help." Pete says
I point out the fact that we made it all the way there and none of them noticed.
I promise to be very quiet and listen to whatever they tell me.
I mention that I want to be like them someday.
I throw in the word "hero" and now they're basically wrapped around my finger.
We get in the car and drive.
We're following following a trail.
There's supposed to be an untapped food store that's further out.
The council found out about it from nearby towns.
That's where the scavengers were headed when they went missing.
The team of 4 was sent to t find them.
The leader- Andy, a fully trained scavenger. He is fully trained on how to survive on the outside. He's also the oldest, he's been outside before.
Payload driver- Dennis, a trained fighter and a part of the council guards. He's closest to my age but he seems like the angriest and most uptight. He just passed training and it's like he's got something to prove. He drives the car with all the tools and supplies in back.
The navigator- El, he's in charge of reading the map and deciding the routes. Outside the city things can change at a moment's notice. It's easy to get lost and it's important to have somebody who can read a map and has memorized the routes.
The mechanic- Pete, is mostly just along for the ride. His job is to refuel and fix the vehicle is theres any problems.
We drive for hours through the wreckage of fallen cities.
The movement of the car is like a hypnotic
I fall asleep again.
I wake up when the car suddenly stops.
"What's going on?" I ask.
Pete gets out of the front passenger seat and walks around back.
I lean over to the front seat.
"Refuel." Dennis says.
He pushes me back into my seat.
"You shouldn't be here." he says.
I look up and he's glaring at me.
There's a long pause.
"I didn't mean to cause trouble." I say.
"I just wanted to-"I start to explain but he interrupts.
"It's too late. You're here now."he says
"The least you can do is keep your head down"
While he's talking I notice El and Andy dismount their motorbikes.
Something is happening.
They look off into the distance.
"I think-"
"Just stop" he yells.
He turns with anger in his expression.
He starts to yell at me.
Suddenly-
*IMPACT*
The window next to him shatters.
An arrow pierces his face going through his jaw and impaling the front seat.
My pulse starts to the race.
A few seconds late the door next to me opens and someone grabs me.
I kick and scream as they drag me out of the car.
I use my skateboard to hit them until I hear a voice say, "It's me."
I stop kicking and realize that it's Pete.
He leads me to the back of the car.
I'm panicking.
I'm not sure where the attack is coming from.
Pete sits my near the back tire.
"Stay here" he says.
He runs off.
I can barely breathe.
I focus on catching my breath.
I reach into my bag and grab my knife.
I take a deep breath and get ready to step out.
*"yip yip yip"*
It sounds like they're imitating some kind of animal call.
I charge out from behind the car, my knife in one hand, I'm using my skateboard as a shield in the other.
I stop in my tracks when I see Dennis' body.
Pete is about 20 feet away surrounded by men in masks with painted faces.
They're overpowering him.
He sees me.
"Run!" Pete yells.
I drop my board and hop on.
One of the masked men chases after me.
I kick as fast as I can.
Lucky for me, we're going downhill.
I ride until I can't feel my legs.
By then I wasn't being chased anymore but the sun was setting.
Now I'm alone in the dark outside the city.