Finding Home | #Wattys2016

Chapter 4: Departure

Chapter Four: Departure

The next morning, Elyza awoke to the sound of a very large, very loud engine. She rolled off of the small, slightly lumpy couch, her feet hitting the cool wooden floor. She rubbed her forehead and glanced around, remembering where she was. Particularly the circumstances that got her there.

"What's going on?" She mumbled, noticing Finn already at the window, looking through the blinds.

He pulled away and gave her a dubious look, "Um, well, looks like the military is here. There's a whole bunch of trucks and a tank coming up the driveway."

Elyza's heart lurched into her throat. How would she get out of there if the military took over? Would she be able to leave?

She stood up and tried to rub the last of her drowsiness from her eyes, "I've got to get out of here."

Finn frowned and closed the blinds once again. He was standing in the hallway in a pair of pajama pants he had borrowed from Bellamy the night before. His hair was a mess and his eyes looked darker than the day before. He must not have gotten a lot of sleep. Elyza couldn't blame him.

"Hold on," he said, "get out of here? Where do you think you're going?"

Elyza stretched her back and raised a daring eyebrow at him, "I know I'm leaving here. Today. Because I have to find my family. I appreciate everything that the Blakes have done for me. What you've done for me. But I have to get out of here."

Finn frowned again but shook his head, "I can't blame you. If my parents weren't so far away I'd head out in an instant to find them. But, you have to consider that you'd be safer here. The people you're looking for might be safer where they are now. Going out there might not be the best decision.

"All I'm hearing from you, Finn, are maybe this or maybe that. There are no solid facts that I'm safer here. That person Bellamy killed yesterday was dangerous, if there are more of them. And it seems to me like there will be soon. We don't stand a chance." Elyza stared into Finn's eyes, daring him to disagree with her.

She had to find the Jahas, then she had to find a way to get back to Australia. Maybe things weren't so bad back home. But she wanted to be with her family, she wanted to die or live or whatever was going to happen with them.

Finn shook his head, "Whatever you say, Aussie."

Elyza rolled her eyes and scoffed. She made her way down the hallway to the bathroom. The Blakes were still asleep so if she got ready fast enough, she could be gone before they awoke or the military blocked off any exits.

She washed her face and pulled her toothbrush out of the backpack she had managed to keep from the airport. After brushing her teeth and making herself slightly more presentable, she pulled her hair back into a low ponytail.

When she reentered the living room she found Finn laying on the couch again, his blanket thrown over his eyes. Elyza wasn't sure if he was asleep, but it would be very helpful if she could sneak out of there before anyone noticed she was gone.

She quietly snatched up her leather jacket and flicked open the deadbolt to the front door. When she opened it, she was greeted by a very heavy, wet heat that reminded her of a swamp. The sun should have been rising, but grey, dreary clouds covered the sky, making it darker than it should have been.

Elyza opened the bed of the Blakes' truck and pulled out two of the plastic bags. She shifted around their loot from the day before until she had four bottles of water, her popcorn, a single Gatorade and three cans of Beefaroni.