Chapter 21
At my house we were packing some bags to throw in the back of the car. I was alone in the kitchen putting food in a duffle bag when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning my head I saw it was Michael.
I continued putting food into the bag when he grabbed my hands in his and turned me towards him, “We don’t have to do this.”
I took my hands back to my sides, “And why not?”
He looked around the room, “They could end up killing you! Then what will happen? There will be no one to look after Jenn or Aaron, and I’m certain your friends would miss you.”
I sighed and started putting food into the duffel bag again, “I need to do this. I want my brother back and the only way to do that is to go and find him.”
He sighed himself, “There’s no changing your mind, is there?”
I shook my head. He put his hands back on my shoulders and looked me in the eye, “Then no matter what happens, I’m not leaving your side. I’ll be a leach.” With the last part he gave me a wink and a smile, causing me to smile also.
There was thumping down the stairs and then Aaron appeared in the entranceway with his duffle bag above his head, “Road trip!” He slammed the bag against the floor.
I zipped up the few bags of food and slung them over my shoulders.
Turning I asked, “Everyone ready? Let’s load up the car.”
Heading outside it was a heavy drizzle. We put everyone’s bag in the back, along with the food, and got everyone in. Once again Michael was shotgun and everyone else was in the back.
Pulling out of my driveway we set out.
We drove for almost an hour when Aaron spoke, “So what are we going to do when we get there?”
I looked in my rear view mirror, “I don’t know. We’ll have to see how it goes.”
Jenn got excited, “We’re gonna set fire to everything! We’re going to take some bombs and make the place blow up!”
Courtney hesitated, “Um I think that’s a little too extreme.”
Ashley added, “I think we should keep her away from explosives.”
I replied sarcastically, “Welcome to my life.”
We continued on the road for a while until the grass and trees began to thin. I turned the car onto a side dirt road that led to the canyon.
Rain was pouring down and the windshield wipers were on high, but I could still hardly see. It was starting to get late and I knew we wouldn’t have much luck finding anything in the dark.
I could just see the guard rail of the parking lot that was next to the walking trail when the car stopped.
I heard Ashley in the back, “Why’d you stop?”
I pressed on the gas, but the car was shut off, “I didn’t.” I tried turning the key to start the car, but nothing would work. Looking outside the window I saw cars sitting in the parking lot, all of them abandoned.
