Unplugged: The Beautiful World (#3, Unplugged Trilogy)

Chapter Thirty One

"Enna... Hey, what's wrong?" My eyes fly open and I blink back moisture. I'm back in Lucy's house. Matthew's chest is damp with tears where I've been sleeping on it. He nudges my head. "Are you alright?"
What happened? One second I was in the clearing, the next I'm here. Morning daylight filters in through the small window, and I find myself wishing that I were still with my father. How brief that embrace was! His kind face won't disappear from my memory, no matter how many times I try to blink it away.
"Yeah, I'm..." I massage my temples and sit up. My back aches. "I'm doing okay." Matthew looks up at me, eyes wide with concern, and exhales softly.
"Dream or something?"
"Yeah." I hold a hand to my forehead. It burns. "Yeah, a dream." My muscles ache as if I'd passed out or been beat up, yet I clearly remember everything that had happened with Father.
Should I tell Matthew? One part of me feels like I would be unfaithful not to, but another urges me to keep quiet. If Matthew were supposed to know these things, Father would have spoken to him about them himself. Right? And who's to say that he'll believe me at all?
At least now I know for sure that Father is not just a figment of my imagination. My own thoughts could never infuse that much raw emotion into a dream; my own memories could never summon my father back to life. My throat starts burning even as I think of him, and I swallow hard. Matthew repeatedly rubs his thumb over my cheekbone, and I try to lose myself in the repetitive gesture.
The calm moment ends suddenly with hurried knocks at the door.
"Enna? Matthew?" A worried voice. It might be Leah's, but I can't be completely sure.
"What?" I call quietly, disoriented.
"Oscar and Becca went looking for the car. It's gone." Leah. Definitely Leah.
"What?" Matthew demands. He jumps to his feet and hurriedly slips into his t-shirt, features growing hard. I sigh. Why is it that every moment we find peace, something bad comes along to remind us of reality? "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean," she replies grimly, her voice muffled by the bedroom door. "Jackson stranded us here."

* * *

Lucy sets a small plate of fruit rations in front of each of us. After we fully woke up, Leah, Oscar, Becca, Matthew and I had crowded around her dining table to discuss Jackson's act of treachery. And to eat, of course. She shakes her head in aggravation, passionately waving around a serving spoon.
"I knew there was something odd with that one since I first laid eyes on him."
"You can say that again," Oscar mutters. He messes with his fruit like he's too disgusted to eat.
"It'd do you well to consume some nutrients. You're going to need them," Lucy says to Oscar. She glances around at the rest of us, eyes narrowed. "You all need them, by the looks of you."
"Thank you again for your hospitality," I mutter appreciatively, trying to stay positive amid the glowering party surrounding the table. Lucy glances at me oddly from the corners of her eyes.
"My dear? Sounds to me like you're trying to say goodbye." I swallow the rest of my breakfast and glance around at my friends.
"It's not like we haven't appreciated everything you've done, it's just--" She raises a wrinkled hand and wearily shakes her head.
"Say no more. You've realized that continuing on your mission is futile. You've decided that returning to New York is your only option."
"Actually, we were heading to Atlanta." Lucy stares at me, her dark eyes hard and unreadable. Then she huffs and starts busying herself with our messy dishes.
"My God, you're a determined bunch, eh?" Matthew opens his mouth to utter a retort when, suddenly, the sound of a spine-tingling explosion tears through the air. We all jump, slamming our knees against the underside of the table. Lucy drops the dishes in the sink, followed by a high-pitched crash. I shove my chair back and stand, staggering over to the nearest window.
"Enna!" Leah hisses a warning, but I ignore her, peering through the thin blinds. A couple of blocks away, black smoke rises eerily into the sky. The roofs of apartment buildings and shops crumble to the street, burdened with flame. Soon, Matthew and Oscar join me by the window, peering out through the section of blinds above me.
"What's happening?" Lucy asks, standing helplessly in the middle of the kitchen. Leah holds Becca close to her; their expectant faces watch us fearfully. Hands shaking, I return to the table.
"Your city's under attack," I say urgently, turning to Lucy. "We're too late. You've got to warn anyone you know from the resistance. Tell them to relocate to New York, understand?"
"Hold on!" She splutters, backing up against the sink. Her face is red. "What will you do?"
"We've got to warn the Atlanta rebels," Oscar says. He and Matthew shutter the windows tightly and join me in the kitchen. "They're the last target. If we get a head start, we might be able to save them in time." My stomach drops. We were too late to truly help anyone here. Now it's up to Lucy to gather what's left of the Philadelphia resistance.
"Atlanta's one of the poorest cities on the east coast, not to mention the most downtrodden," Lucy argues anxiously. "Labor camps line almost every street. I'll eat my spatula if there are any rebels left. You're all better off to go home. Hide. Live while you can."
"We can't do that," Matthew says patiently. "There are millions of innocents about to be destroyed." Another nearby explosion punctuates his comment. We all flinch. Lucy looks at us with a mixture of fear and pity.
"Please help us," I beg, reaching out and grabbing her forearm. "You've got to warn anyone you can. Escape to New York. At least there you'll have a chance of survival. Sitting here would just be participating in a waiting game you'll never win." Her eyes survey me anxiously, and then her jaw tightens with resolve. She nods almost imperceptibly.
"I've waited too long for change, and it never came. If I blame my old age for my inaction any longer, I'll be no better than the man who gives up." She rasps. I smile encouragingly. "Thank you for waking me out of my stupor." Lucy fingers the red band around her wrist and glances at the shuttered window.
"We've settled that, but what about our transportation issue?" Leah wonders. "Without the jeep, we have no way to travel anywhere."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Lucy murmurs. We all stare at her. "There's a train that passes through here every so often. I think it carries supplies through the eastern Regions. If you find a way to sneak on board, it'll take you straight to Atlanta."
"When's the next train?" Oscar asks. He reaches down and takes Leah's hand as a gesture of comfort. She visibly relaxes.
"Tonight," Lucy replies. My spirits lift and I glance across the room at Matthew. The ghost of an adventurous grin passes over his face, and I nod.
"Then that's when we'll leave."