Shock

-36-

Night fell, and Nathan, Haley and I each found mats to sleep on. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was better that the pavement of the last two nights. Peter and Haley lay in the middle, joined by Cam, who had dragged his mat next to Peter's. Nathan sat to their left and I sat on to their right. Mum and dad both had cots next to me. One by one, people started to get ready to go to sleep. A lot of them stayed up reading, whispering, but the overall vibe in the gym got more calm. The young ones fell asleep quickly, and within two hours, everyone was sound asleep.

Well, everyone except me. No matter how sleep deprived I was, how badly I wanted to scurry off to never never land, the wheels in my mind kept turning, processing the information mrs. Bennet had offered me. I tried to shut it out and squeeze in a few hours of sleep, but it was no use. The more I tried to focus on falling asleep, the more my mind wandered. I changed positions over and over, trying to get comfortable, but all that did was break the silence in the gym. I settled on my back, staring up at the ceiling. I started counting tiles, hoping that would tire me a bit. The silence returned, but only for a minute. A few feet away from me, Nathan was tossing and turning, sitting up and lying back down.

"Can't sleep?" I whispered.

He looked at me, his eyes glistening in the moonlight. He scratched behind his ear.

"Yeah. You too?"

I nodded.

"I keep thinking about what that woman said."

"What woman?"

"The one that gave that speech earlier."

He sat up a bit straighter.

"I thought you said she was just some conspiracy theorist looking for a thrill?"

"Yeah, but she does make a good point, doesn't she? I mean, an earthquake in this area is not a common occurrence. If there are really people who caused this... Then those people killed Paisley."

"Charlie..."

Between us, Haley sighed and turned over in her sleep. Nathan noticed too.

"Let's talk outside." He suggested.

We both scrambled to our feet and tip-toed around the kids' mats. Then we proceeded to cross the distance to the door, sidestepping cots and mats. It was closed, but the key was still on the lock. I turned it and tried to lift the door as I opened it to keep it from creaking. It still made quite a bit of noise, so I opened it to the bare minimum needed for us to fit through. I snuck out first, Nathan followed right after me. We didn't bother closing the door, afraid the noise night wake people. We walked across the playground so we could talk in peace.

"She was my best friend, Nathan." I said. "They killed her. They have to answer for that."

"Char-"

"They killed Grace as well!" I blurted. Immediately after I'd said it, I regretted my words.

"I'm sorry, we don't know know that. I shouldn't have-"

"No, you're right." he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Those bastards will pay."

After I'd told him what mrs. Bennet had said, about Atkinson & Coles and where we could find them, he seemed ready to fight.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

"Hold your horses," I said, "I want them to own up to it too, but let's think this through first. We're two teens. What are we going to do against a million dollar company?"

"I don't know, I just... I just want them to know what they did."

I nodded.

"Me too. But we need a game plan first. The distance we crossed in the last few days is about about six miles, I think. Without the stopping to sleep and eat and hiding for the rain, I think we could've done it in two to three hours. Plus, without the kids, we'll walk faster. We'll cross nine miles in four hours, max. The only problem is finding our way. Mrs. Bennet didn't give me an exact address, I could wake her up to ask, but even then I can't be sure I'll know how to get there. The network's down so we can't download any maps. Then there's still the question of whether there'll actually still be anyone at those offices."

"So, basically, we've got no idea how to get there or what to do once we're there." Nathan summarized.

I nodded, sure he'd call me crazy. Instead, he smiled mischievously.

"I'm in."

We snuck back inside to get our packs and leave a note so my parents wouldn't worry.

As quietly as possible, I unzipped my bag and took out the chem homework I'd been logging around. I ripped off a piece of paper, uncapped my pen and scribbled a quick explanation.

'Nathan and I are going out for a while. There's something we need to do. Don't worry, we'll be safe. Love, Charlie.'

I put the note on my pillow and swung the bag over my shoulder.

"Ready?" Nathan whispered. I stole one last glance at my family. I'd been so desperate to find them, only to leave them behind again. I'll be back soon, I promised, then nodded to Nathan. We tip-toed through the gym once again, slipped through the door and snuck off into the night.