Divergent Elements

Chapter 31

"Natalie hurry up! We have to get there in twenty minutes!" Mom yells. 

I shove a few more things in one of my bags, and close it. We are taking a trip to the old Florida experiment, where they have reopened a lot of cool things. They have beaches and something called a "water park" which I think is just wet slides or something. It's a whole family trip, but we will be gone for a week. 

I grab my phone and carry-on bag for the plane, and head into the living room. Ashlen and Eliza are crawling around the floor, and rolling around, while Mom and Dad are locking up and turning off lights. 

"Are you ready everyone?" Brutus asks, putting his gun in his holster. 

"As ready as the Eaton's can be for anything." Dad jokes, picking up his bag. 

I have two suitcases, and a carry on, so I grab Ellie's bag as well. We shove our way out the apartment, and head the easy way out of the compound. Mom has the girls in her arms, so Brutus grabbed her bags, and his own. Our guard has to come with us on the trip. 

We have a car waiting for us, and we load all of our bags into the trunk. Once everybody is piled into the car, we start driving. 

"I'm so excited!" I admit, buckling in. 

"We all are. I haven't been on a family trip with my girls since Natalie was 5, so this should be fun." Dad says. 

"Frrfrr." Eliza blows bubbles from her mouth, and claps. 

"I agree with her." I joke. 

Dad secures Ellie in her seat, and the car starts moving. After the war, they reopened the Chicago O' Hare airport so we could travel around what is left of the United States. 

The drive is quick, surprisingly, and we rush out, bags in hand, to security. Dad gets stopped, for having a pocket knife, but we get through. 

When we get onto the plane, it is huge. There are eight seats in each row, with two near each window and four in the middle.

I sit on one of the edge seats, and we set up Eliza's plane seat next to the window. I set her down, and she looks out at the plane wings. I sit down, and shove my carry on bag underneath my seat. 

The plane slowly starts to fill up. I take out a bottle for Eliza, and heat it up in my hand. I hold it up for her, and she grabs it with her pudgy hands. 

"Attention passengers!" The attendant calls from the front. 

I look forward, "Shortly, we will be starting our ascent into the air. But first, I have to go over some basic procedures." 

The second I hear that I just ignore what she is saying, because I know how a seat belt works. I strap myself and secure Eliza next to me. I am very curious about how she will react to flying, but since she is drinking her bottle, I am hoping she will fall asleep. 

I tuck a blanket around my self, and then one around my sister, and pull out my phone. 

A text from Blake pops up on my screen. 

Have fun! I'll miss you babe! 

I smile, and text back. 

I'll miss you too! <3 u

<3 u 2

I set my phone on airplane mode, and set it down. Mom, Dad and Eliza are sitting in the middle area, with Brutus falling asleep beside them. Ashlen is fidgeting in Dad's lap, trying to steal his phone. 

I laugh, "Have fun!" 

Dad shoots me a death glare, "Watch it Natalie Rose." 

I roll my eyes, and look at Eliza, "You are the quiet one aren't you."