Runaway

Chapter Six

As I drove onward, my mind started to wander. What was that object really? Was it a sign? A weapon? Maybe it was once the house of someone that was really wealthy, or famous. Or maybe some secret organization that was once hidden, but after years of erosion isn't so hard to find anymore. Not knowing was killing me. I just had to find out. But it was so far away, and even though I had already been driving for a couple of hours, it still was just a dot in the distance.  On the other hand, what if it wasn't safe? What if what happened before turned everyone into zombies? Or weird animal-looking people? Or vampires? The worst part of it was not knowing.  I squinted, trying to see if that object was anything I could recognize from where I was, but it wasn't. The only way I could find out was to actually drive to it. Frustrated, I set the cruise control and leaned the seat back as far as it would go. Looking up through the glass sunroof, I couldn't help but wonder what was out there. People, kids even. The world outside the domes looked so barren, yet so mysterious. What could be out there? I just couldn't sit still thinking about it. I was stuck in a weird state of both nervousness and awe.

"Easy, Jess. There's nothing out there." As I spoke aloud to myself, I looked over at the clock: 2:37 PM. I chuckled at how long it took to get nowhere, seeing how I started at 6AM. I leaned the seat back up, and adjusted the cruise control so I was moving faster. I wanted to at least get to the thing before the sun set. After a while, it finally started to get bigger, and the reality set that whatever is there might try to kill me. I opened the glove box, and I grabbed my shock pistol. I loaded the battery into the bottom, stuck it barrel first down the back of my pants and took a deep breath.

"There's really nothing out there, is there?" I asked aloud, as if someone would answer. I couldn't shake the thought. I slowed the car down and took some time to look around at what was out there. Nothing. Not a single sign of life for miles. Then the car chimed.

BATT LOW was flashing on my dashboard. I knew I was going to have to stop eventually.

"I'll keep going, I think I can still make it," I assured myself. "Come on baby, pull through for me!" I whispered into the steering wheel. I drove on and on for about an hour, and then the ground went from sand to metal. I pulled over and plugged the solar panel in.

"There, you charge and I'll be right back," I said as I locked the doors, taking caution not to be too loud lest someone heard me drive up. I started walking around, looking for a hole in the metal. After a while, I found footprints in the sand.

"Gotcha," I whispered as I followed them. Before long, I had found a small hole, and a rope. I walked over to the rope and tugged it as hard as I could. Carefully I climbed down the rope and dropped down onto the ground. I could feel glass cracking under my feet as I walked around the place. The whole thing was very suspicious, and dark. I looked around for a flashlight, using the "pilot" arc of my shock pistol as a makeshift light in the meantime. Before long, I had found one hanging on the wall, still in a package. I ripped the cardboard back off the back, slid it out between that and the plastic front and tried turning it on. Nothing.

"Damnit, old batteries." I muttered as I began pulling light after light off the wall. Eventually, I got one that worked, albeit just barely. The light was very dim, but just bright enough to be able to see. I looked around the area. It looked like there were more little room things like this one, all connected in rows. Every one of them looked different.

"What is this?" I asked aloud as I walked around. Everything was weird. Signs, posters, little tables and sales carts littered the enormous two floor hallways. Seeing as I was on the second floor, I decided to take a test step on the floor. Good. I went back into the store I was in and picked up the heaviest box I could find.

Spark's Printers Model A4X-271. I laughed at how a printer that used to cost people $300 (if the tag was anything to go by) was now my dead weight. With a heave, I lobbed the printer out onto the floor, where it landed to the sound of shattering glass and its innards coming loose. To my surprise, the floor didn't cave in.

"Okay Jess, one step at a time," I whispered to myself. I gingerly took a step out into the hallway.

"Not dead yet, That's a start." I noted as I took slow step after slow step. I slowly looked around, and as I shone my light around, I could see more and more cool stuff hanging out on shelves. The more I looked around, the more excited I started to feel about finding this place.

"Who knows?" I told myself. "I might just find something super cool."

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Author's notes:

Yes, this chapter took forever and a day. And I sincerely apologize for that. I'm also trying to make them longer.  I've made some changes to the development, and I hope my improvements work in practice, cause in my head they sounded amazing.

This story is also just beginning, so to those of you that followed and/or voted, much appreciated!

To first time readers, definitely definitely read the intro.

Thanks for reading! See you next time!