Storm

Chapter Two

A dimmed bulb lit up the inside of the tent. Although the space was massive,  a small fraction was actually put to use. A table in the center. A chair behind that. Some assorted papers and a large cabinet.

All that, and the other people.

Claire stood by the table, her chair vacant. A few older men and women hovered near the tent's entrance. Each carried a gun strapped to their waistband and wore heavy gear.

It seemed like a lot of protection given I was merely a girl with amateur proficiency in combat.

"You're quite late," Claire commented, looking down at one of the papers astray in front of her. "You were supposed to be here a half hour ago."

The temptation to shrug it off nearly overtook me. "I'm sorry," I said, with little intonation.

Claire released a hefty sigh. "This shouldn't be too much for you. You're the last to go through this, so I'm sure you've heard some murmurs about what is expected of you." She eyed Asten who stood by the wall of the tent next to a few other familiar faces; January and Beau, our trainer. "General rules: listen to the group leader. Don't break off from everyone else. And don't get anyone else killed," Claire explained, her voice deep and raspy.

"Okay. But what am I actually doing?" I asked. 

She held up one of the many papers from her desk. It had a map scribbled onto it with a few larger haphazard circles drawn amidst sand dunes. "You'll be helping out with a supply run. You'll be driving to Talc with a few others. Should be pretty simple." She handed the map to me and I gingerly took it. Much of the writing was difficult to read.

I stared up at her, eyebrows scrunched together. "That's it? A supply run?"

She was already back behind her desk, reorganizing her piles of paper. "Yes. It shouldn't be hard."

"Okay." I should have been grateful. After so much time spent worrying, all I had to do was accompany a few people on a trip. It didn't sound bad at all. "So, when is it?"

"Tonight at sundown. You'll meet the rest of your team on the outskirts of camp, near the trucks." She was already engrossed in her work, scribbling something on one of the papers in front of her. She had unofficially dismissed me. The guards at the door moved aside, indicating it was time for me to go.

After a moment's hesitation, I headed out the door into the light of the sunny desert day. I heard Asten's footsteps behind me.

He patted my shoulder as he reached my side. "See? Not bad."

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I spent the rest of the afternoon doing manual labor. A couple days after we'd arrived at the encampment, we'd been assigned daily chores. My job was taking care of the crops in the desert fields. The changing climate had made it so certain plants could still survive in the desert. The gardens were our main food supply.

I often got bored, so I'd found ways to entertain myself. Sometimes, it was coming up with rhyming poems in my head. Other times, it was by running through the alphabet and thinking of words to fit each letter, all connected by some theme.

Sundown came faster than I expected. I was in the midst of anxiously picking green beans when I heard the truck come in from out of camp. I knew that it was meant for me. I'd been nervously and impatiently checking for it for a while now. The only distraction I had were the plants.

I quickly ran back towards the tents and dropped off my basket just outside the door of the first one. It was the tent intended for cooking. They'd figure out what to do with it. Then, I rushed towards the truck where there already was a group waiting for me. I wasn't sure where they'd just come in from, but I also wasn't sure I cared.

The driver hopped out of his seat as he saw me walk towards their truck and held out a hand. He was tall with brown eyes and a buzz cut. "Nice to meet you. Alyssa was it? Clarissa? California or some shit? Hell, who cares? Welcome."

His blunt molestation of my name didn't bother me. I was used to it. "Calestia. Nice to meet you, too." I shook his hand. It was firm, a lot stronger than I was expecting. He acted like a bodybuilder despite being as lean as Asten.

There was a line of a few other people next to him. There were two girls, the first one blonde, the other brunette, and a short red-headed boy. They were all somewhat intimidating. It was hard knowing I was the only newbie on this trip, and that they'd be paying close attention to my actions to make sure I was trustworthy. I just had to hope I didn't mess anything up.

The driver quickly went through names in the order that they were standing. "Natalie." The blonde gave me a small wave. "Gina." The other girl just nodded. "Max." The boy smiled. "And I'm Sean. Keep your eyes open, and don't do anything unless your told. It won't be too difficult."

I nodded and took a deep breath. Those were words I'd been repeating to myself for a while. It wasn't like they were doing this to kill me. It was for my own good.

Sean opened the door to the truck as the other three piled inside without a word to me. He then looked at me impatiently. "All right. Get in."