Maybe it was the reckless driving or maybe it was that Machine that sprang out of the woods, practically out of nowhere, that totalled my car. It shot one of those giant firey blasts into my right front tire. My new right front tire. New, like the "I got this Jeep an hour ago and now this happens?" kind of new.
And as the clunky cage of metal flipped over on itself time after time after time, all I could do was kick myself for spending the better part of 3 whole days looking for a working vehicle. I could have been looking for food and water. I should have known that something to this degree would happen. That it is of absolutely no use trying to progress and work at something continually in this new world because it just gets ruined by the aliens. The aliens ruin everything. Every. Single. Thing.
Still, what keeps me going is the thought of Rebecca and that's enough for me to continue.
The car finally comes to a halt. The roof, slamming into the ground, leaving me and my long auburn hair hanging, rather uncomfortably, by the seatbelt. I guess I can understand now why the government was so adamant with the Click It Or Ticket thing. I would be dead 5 times over without it.
Though I want to, I don't take off the belt. Instead I close my eyes and listen and almost instantly I can hear the distinct squeek of moving metal, coming to check for signs of life. I keep my eyes shut loosely and try to hang by my belt looking as dead as possible.
The aliens may be smart but I know from inspecting one of these, that they have no heat sensors or anything to accurately detect vitality, so they just gather cues and make an educated guess. Which is lucky for me because the Machine makes a quick observation and leaves. Striding down the road in the opposite direction of where I was headed in the first place.
Once I deem it far enough away not to be able to detect me, I undo my seatbelt and flop down onto the roof of the car. I instantly feel a surge of pain crawl across my skin. Waking up tomorrow is going to suck, I think to myself.
I crawl out the drivers side window, which broke as the car was tumbling. As I scramble to me feet I feel the stinging in my side and immediately know that I broke a couple ribs on the left side of my body.
I steady myself, using the car to lean on and get a good look at my surroundings. I'm on the left side of a pretty much barren country highway, there is thick forest on either side of the road and as my eyes trail the skid mark path the car took while it rolled. I see a wide space between the trees where the Machine must have cleared to get it's massive body through. Just my luck to have driven past as it emerged from the pines.
For a while I just stay and lean against the car, half because of the pain in my side and half wanting to just give up, lay down, and never get up again.
That is not an option though. Slowly I reach into my pants pocket and pull out the photo of her family that she gave me. 4 men are depicted in it, all pretty handsome to some degree. The oldest one, who I assume was Rebecca's husband, stands above his 3 kids who look to be around no more than 19, 16, and 10 years old. These are the Masons. And as I hold the picture of them I am reminded of the kindness Rebecca had showed me once upon a time and feel my loyalty to my promise renewed.
At my own painful pace I slide the photo back in my pocket and begin my pathetic shuffle down the road. I miss Rebecca, and I guess in a way this little errand ties me to her just a little bit more but I can't help putting my guard up. When I lost Rebecca I lost my last mom. I will not lose another person again. I won't. I can't. But even as I think those words, my heart sinks ever so slightly more han it's already sunk.
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Author Note: Hey Reader! I hope you enjoyed that first little installment in this journey and please be sure to leave a comment about anything! I love the conversation! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day!!
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Peace out.
Haylee <3
