Charred Feelings

Chapter 18:Dashing Flame

Kim. Caney Kim.

I look at the faces of the others when I finished reading out loud the letter. No one said a word. My hands dropped to my sides.

"You guys had letters from her?"

I closed my eyes and breathed out. I hand the papers over to Mike. I had to register everything first.

I looked at Lilian. She was sobbing quietly. She came over and hugged me as Mike read out the directions out.

"We all got letters from her.", she whispers in my ear.

After Mike finishes reading the the directions out, clapping starts. Everyone is smiling. Omar swings his arm over my shoulder." We got this."

We all start stretching. This is going to be a feat.

Mike clears his throat. "Over the wall there is wasteland. In the letter it says that there is a civilization still surviving. That was where we were born. First of all we must go through the pipeline of the city and follow the way back to the generators. There, there's another clue.", he pauses," as much as I would like to take everyone out of this corrupted place we can't. We may come back..but I don't know."

Omar shouts," We'll be following the electric fence until we hit the big sewer pipe we used to cross over the fence."

There was a way over? My heart aches a bit. It's ok Lyra.

We start running. Omar jogs a little behind helping Daphne along. Lilian trails further behind then them. I could see her watching them grasp onto each other.

Oh. I see.

I kind of know what it feels like to like someone that's into someone else.

I stop and Everyone passes me up. Mike eyes flickers to mine and he nods.

I run besides Lilian. We all run in silence until we reach a big uncovered blue pipe.

I heard the hum of the fence before I saw it. Images flash through my head. The smell of burnt flesh. The screams. I shiver and fall against Lilian.

Aspen.

She holds me and we walk over the pipe.

I could feel the warmth of the sparks radiating off.

We get off and Mike is huddled around a sewage seal.

He opens it and waves to us to climb down. His head disappears.

There is a crunch of feets as one by one everyone jumped down. The stench filled my nose and I gaged.

When Daphne finally climbed down, Omar sealed up the seal and there is darkness.

A flicker of light reaches my eyes. Marie shown a flashlight. Mike looked down at the paper he had just taken out.

He points at the walls." This way guys.", we walk towards the direction of the wall. The humming is louder down here. In the letter it said that there were generators. Was that what the humming was?

I grab onto Mike. " Mike when did you get the letter from Stacy?"

He looks at me."About 2 weeks ago."

Was I supposed to get one?

I think back long and hard. Oh My God. I trip back onto the slippery floors.

The night before my date with Aspen. When I was in the shower..Kira got a letter for me.

My heart pounds louder. This was all my fault. If I had read that damn letter...this wouldn't have happened. Me, Kira and Aspen could of left together.

My stomach lurches and I steady my self against the wall. Whatever I had left in my stomach was now gone. I cried. I scream and thrash at the air.

This could've all been prevented.

Everyone huddled around me. Lilian holds me and sits me down. Everything was a blur.

I could taste bile in my mouth. I gag again.

I was a mess. Slowly everything zoomed closer and farther..and then..nothingness.

I wake up to bright light. My body is moving but my legs are not. I look down and I see someone's back.

Mike.

He held me close to his back. I pushed back but he held on. "Stop moving and look."

I open my eyes wider in awe.

The sun was being covered by clouds.

The smell of the air was different. Instead of soft grass there is sand and rocky, dry dirt.

The landscape seemed to drag on forever.

I look around. Everyone was treading along sides Me and Mike. They were all smiling. Omar cracked jokes. Daphne smiled and Madison laughed.

Lilian was pushing gently on Omar when he made an inappropriate joke.

Marie was treading far back.

She walked in silence.

Worry filled my thoughts." Mike, Marie doesn't look like she's doing so well."

He turns his head." She's just missing Illéa. I'm sure she's more connected with that place than out here.", he pauses,"What happened earlier?"

I shudder thinking about the thoughts I had before I blacked out.

"I did receive a letter. I forgot about it. It's unopened. If I had...Kira would be alive. Aspen would be alive."

I held back the tears.

"There isn't much we can do now can we. We just have to continue living.", he whispers," after your little episode we found the last clue. The there was a way through the generators. When we climbed through this was here."

I wrap my arms around him tighter. " Do you know the way home from here?"

It started sprinkling. I smile for the first time in a Long time.

This was just our first adventure. There'll be many more challenges. The people that are in my life right now understand the more than me. We'll support one another.
"Yes. The last clue told us. Home is close.", he smiles back.
I kiss the back of Mike's neck. I could see a light blush run up his face.

I hope Marie didn't see it. Would she understand?

I lean onto his back and fall asleep thinking about all our loses so far. I'm sure Carson, and Paco would love to be here with us.

I dream of a place where there is crystal buildings, rising above the clouds. The people there are smiling. We are there.

Me, Mike, Lilian, Daphne, Omar and Marie. We are smiling.

I hold onto the dream. It will happen one day. Soon.