2050: A Time of Courage

Chapter 2: Jason

Sunlight greets me as I open my eyes, causing me to blink and look around sleepily.

I'm curled up on the small bed in the corner of our equally small room, Rose lying with her back to me. The light catches her hair, making it seem even lighter than it actually is. Brynn is sitting on watch, having switched places with Shemik at some point before I woke up. She's facing the door, her back to Rose and me.

I sit up, glancing around the room again. Shemik is sleeping on the floor nearby, head resting on Brynn's backpack. She keeps stirring, twitching as though she's having some sort of dream. I wonder what or who she's dreaming about, if she is equally afraid for Lili, Theo, and Emilio.

I have to force myself to think positively, but I keep wondering if we'll be too late to save them when we find out where they are.

Rose sits up next to me, yawning. The bed creaks slightly, and Brynn flinches. She turns to look at us, relaxing when she realizes we're awake.

"Have you been downstairs yet?" I ask her, fighting a yawn of my own.

Each morning for the past two days, one of us has gone down to give the owner of this small restaurant one of Brynn's father's inventions, the only things she has left to remind her of him. Brynn doesn't seem too reluctant, but I know she has to be upset. If I had something that could remind me of my parents, I wouldn't give it up like that.

Brynn must be as desperate as the rest of us, hoping that the man downstairs can make enough money off the inventions to afford to keep us here and continue to give us food every morning.

Brynn shakes her head.

"I haven't. You know today isn't going to be a good day."

"Why's that?" I ask, looking at Rose before frowning at Brynn.

"I don't have any more. I told you guys that I only had a few of them. The only things I have left in my pack are the tape, my flashlight, and a couple of bandaids. That's not going to do us any good."

Brynn looks a little scared, and I vaguely remember her telling us yesterday that she didn't have anything left to use as a payment. If I were a few years older, I might curse, but I settle for scowling at the wall instead.

Rose sighs, but doesn't speak. I wish she would, but from what I know about her it seems as though she only uses her voice when she has no other alternative.

"I guess I should go down there." Brynn says. Despite being my age, she looks a lot older right now.

"Rose and I can go." I volunteer, "I've only been awake for a few minutes and I'm already getting bored."

It's weird how, even though I'm worrying constantly about whether or not my sister is dead and if I'll ever see her again, I can still feel bored. If Mom were here, she would say I had cabin fever.

I never used to understand that, we didn't live in a cabin and I never had a fever when I felt this way.

Lili thought it was hilarious that, before she explained the expression to me, I had no idea what it meant.

I close my eyes. I haven't been outside for a day and a half, and even that wasn't much of a relief.

Brynn nods.

"Fine. I really didn't want to go." She smiles at me, though it's one of those smiles that looks less convincing than it was meant to.

Rose climbs off the bed, walking across the room to pick up her boots as I move to follow her. It takes us a few seconds to finish pulling them on, but once we have our boots, the two of us head for the door. Brynn looks worried, and I do my best to smile at her. Judging from her expression, I didn't succeed.