Miracle City .

Chapter 7 - Left Behind .

None of us traveled anywhere the next day as we had enough to live off of, and that evening I finally got what I had been waiting for: a call from Samantha.

I was relieved that she was finally in an area where she could reach me.

“Reagan! I was beginning to lose hope that anyone was still out there! I want to let you know that I’m not in any danger. Those… aliens began attacking the airport just as I left the plane, and I hid with a few others until help finally arrived. These soldiers showed up and transported us to a bunker located in The Hollywood Hills. It’s safe up here, Reagan, I promise.” she said to me.

I told her about all I had been through up to that point, and she made the bunker sound like the safest place in the L.A. area, so I guaranteed her I would find a way to get everyone over there.

“The sooner you get here, the better. I’ve been told we’re going to be moved soon, but we don’t know where yet. Hurry, Reagan, I love you.”

Those words inspired me to cook up a plan, and I knew I needed Tobey’s assistance.

After convincing Tobey that the bunker was our salvation, he and I, along with Vic and Celeste, talked for hours in private about the best way to get the group away from the city, keeping in mind that our options for transportation were very limited.

After going through a couple ideas,

we realized what we had to do: steal the bus.

Since the bus’s riders were currently the deadliest creatures known to man, the plan would have to be both complicated and suicidal, and would take a miracle to pull off, but we had to try or we would just be sitting around waiting to be found by the shape-shifters.

The plan took a while to perfect, and would be tough to break to the others, so Tobey offered to explain it. We gathered around to discuss a most unusual plan.

“Okay, guys, here’s the deal. There’s a bunker on Hollywood Hills that will give us protection. There are troops there who will do everything to ensure our safety. Since most of the vehicles around this area were lost in the big battle, we figure our best shot of pulling this off is to take that bus that keeps patrolling around, and drive it as far as it can go till it runs out of gas. As you all are aware, you can’t get too close to these things, so we’ll have to be really clever about this.” Tobey explained, holding everyone’s attention.

“Now I’ve done some spying missions, and I’ve observed their tactics. The way their system works is, when the driver sees people by the road, he immediately kills them, and anyone who manages to get away is hunted down by his minions. It’s very important that we get all of them off the bus, so Reagan here has volunteered himself as bait. He’ll stand in front of the building directly across from us, wait for the bus to see him, and then get the minions to chase after him. As for the driver, he’s all mine. My sniper-rifle is very high-powered, and one shot should knock him right out of his seat. Once that happens, Vic will be standing close by to take control of the bus. When Vic revs up the engine, the rest of you make a run for that bus, and don’t stop for anything. No one gets left behind, and make sure to only take supplies that won’t slow you down. Come morning, we’re leaving this place behind for good, all of us, so rest while you can.” Tobey concluded.

“So much for me being the insane one.” Ray said.

Lisa looked over at me and said, “I also volunteer to be the bait.”

to which Wes responded, “For crying out loud, Lisa, don’t do it. The whole thing’s a suicide mission.”

Lisa glared at her director and snapped back, “Oh now you decide to show some compassion? It’s too late, Wes, I’m done listening to you.”