Storm

Chapter Twenty-One

I wasn't sure how long this car ride would take, but I was hoping it would be over soon. The awkward silence that'd settled upon our small cramped group of five could not even be cut with a knife.

Elijah, it turns out, wasn't the most talkative person on Earth. He sat silently in the middle seat, as I did my best not to squish him. It wasn't exactly convenient that we had another person in the car. Three of us had to be shoved in the back, while Kyan drove and Max took the front seat.

Correction: January offered Max the front seat.

I guess she justifiably felt bad for him. I did, too. I'd judged him too quickly when he was quickly willing to stay behind in an unpredictable territory for the rest of us. Even if he claimed it was simply because he was scared of the rest of the journey.

Which was also probably true.

What mattered was that we got the supplies. The trunk of the car was filled with everything we could need: food, water jugs, snacks, backpacks, weapons...you name it. Oh, and we had plenty of formal wear. We couldn't exactly walk into this extravaganza wearing our dirty old t-shirts and ripped jeans.

"So, can we go over the plan one more time? Just to be safe...," January said from the front seat, staring down at a white sheet of paper that she'd been scribbling across for the majority of the car ride so far. That'd been the only reprieve from the silence: going over our makeshift plan on invading the ball and getting Asten out. It wasn't exactly the safest, but there was no way to make it foolproof.

Elijah nodded politely even though he hadn't been given any part in the plan except to sit behind in the car. Max, too, would be driving, ready to get us the hell out at a moments notice. January and I would enter the actual ball, look around a bit and try to find him. When we did, we'd sneak him away and get back. Lastly, Kyan would be our eyes, making sure nobody questioned the car or looked too much in our direction.

It shouldn't have been too outrageously difficult. It was definitely not the most dangerous thing I'd done.

"Max and Elijah, you two will stay here. Kyan, you wait just outside the car and make sure nobody questions us. And then Calestia and I will go inside. Still sounds good?" she asked, looking over at me from the other side of Elijah. It was unhelpful that he also happened to be the tallest. I wondered why we'd put him in the middle seat. I guess some habits never die.

"Maybe if you say it one more time Asten will appear in the car," Kyan replied, sarcastically. He'd been progressively grumpy with each passing second. I think he was starting to regret that we were literally throwing ourselves in danger. There was no way we could be sure we wouldn't be recognized. I didn't remember half the faces down in the Equator, but that didn't mean they wouldn't remember me.

"We'll be fine," I reassured. I wasn't really reassured myself. I was pretty sure something would go wrong.

Things didn't tend to go right when it came to us.

We drove along, following no actual road. I hadn't seen pavement in decades. Everything outside was dry, icy sand. Clouds lay overhead, but they didn't look dark enough to break into rain. Instead, they hovered, casting everything in a deep gray.

I squinted at the horizon, suddenly noticing something that broke up the sandy landscape. We were driving towards it, and it hit me that that was probably our destination. From afar, it merely looked like a gray square. I knew that it was probably a lot bigger than that.

"What exactly are we walking into anyway...?" I mumbled, not expecting anyone to know the answer.

To my surprise, Kyan responded. "I'm assuming it'll be a ball of some sort. Why else would they hold it at a mansion?"

That made me a little nervous. How were we just going to fit in with a bunch of wealthy people? I hoped the outfits we'd picked would be good enough.

"Just keep a straight posture and nod at everyone that walks by as if you know them. That'll give the impression that you're meant to be there," Elijah said, speaking for the first time during the car ride.

The group of us fell into silence at that. For some reason, Elijah's words made the experience all the more real.

"We'll be okay," January muttered, her voice unsteady. I really hoped we would be. Even if I wasn't the greatest fan of Max and barely knew Elijah, I truly didn't want anyone to get hurt. How could I? Humans were becoming an endangered species and every life lost was another life closer to the end. Beyond that, I also genuinely didn't want to witness anymore death. I didn't think I could stomach it.

Sometimes, I thought back to what I'd gone through. Sometimes, I thought about my home back in New York and how it would be if things had been different. Most times, I avoid the topic all together.

It hurt too much to think about it. It was easier to be numb to all of it and focus on a goal.

And our goal right now was to infiltrate this base and save one of my few friends left alive in this world.

I looked out the window again, staring at the gray square.

Then, my seat exploded underneath me.