Republic of Omisha

Chapter 52: Sandra

 The three of them make their way into the woods. Sandra and Brin find themselves stumbling as they travel in the dark. They follow Eliza closely because she knows the woods and is the only one who has any idea where they're headed.

Since it is dark out, they are forced to walk and they move slowly. As they walk, Eliza asks, "why did they attack so suddenly?"

Both girls are hesitant to respond. Sandra is naturally more shy than Brindle, but quite bright. She speaks up. "They wanted their leaders back." She shares a glance with Brin before continuing. She catches the shine of the moonlight off of her eyes. "One third of the land is gone. There is no land above the great lakes, not anymore, or past what was once called central America."

She hears Eliza let out a shuttering breath so she refuses to go on.

The awkward silence that ensues is tortuous so Sandra decides to change the subject. "Where are we going?"

"And how far away is it?" Brindle quickly adds.

When Eliza answers she continues to look ahead, not even caring to look them in the eye. "The flying vessel is hidden in the Corey and the seaworthy vessel is in the factory."

"And how far away is that, exactly?" Brin asks again.

"What do you- oh, sorry I forgot. You didn't grow up in Edina. Not far The Corey is about another half mile and the factory is twice that."

Sandra nods, and Brin chimes in again, "If they are in such open places why have they not been discovered?"

"Because the vessels are hidden. The one in the Corey is actually in underground facility and the entrance is sealed in the Corey and the other is in a hidden basement under the factory."

"You sure know your stuff." Sandra adds.

"I did my reading." Eliza replies.

They walk the rest of the way in silence. They get to the Corey. They drop down to a ledge that is seven feet below ground level. Eliza scans her hand and a door slides open. The three girls file in and the enormous room lights turn on, row by row until the vessel is fully shown.

"By any chance can either of you fly this thing?" Brin asks with her usual perkiness.

"Actually, " Sandra answers, "I can." Wow, I have been training to be a pilot for years. I'm eighteen and have been taking many college courses. I can't believe that my ambition to be a pilot might just save our skins tonight.

They waste no time. Sandra climbs into the pilot's seat with Eliza sitting in the copilot seat. Brin sits at a nearby chair. The vessel is huge. It has full living quarters for two thousand people and it has a greenhouse and recycling system to be fully self sustaining.

Sandra takes off with little trouble. It is, however, a tight squeeze to leave the cavern and ascend straight up from the Corey. It is a tight squeeze, but she manages.

They quickly make their way to the factory. It is abandoned and falling into decay. Brindle and Eliza leave the ship and disappear into the darkness and into the factory. Sandra keeps it hovering. It's very different from the other aircrafts. This one uses electromagnets. It maneuvers a lot more gracefully and easily that the other aircrafts.

After a few minutes pass, the roof to the old factory opens up and the floor falls away. She sees Brin and Eliza surface. They climb back aboard and Sandra activates a tractor beam. Eliza instructs her on how to activate it because it was designed to tow the ship.

Dawn is approaching behind them as they arrive back to the outbuilding. Sandra turns on the speaker so Eliza can talk from the ship.

"I kept up my end of the deal, now you keep up yours." And they do The rebels all aboard the ships along with the rioters, who have now become oddly peaceful since they have now realized that they are on the same side.

Eliza leaves Sandra's side. She claims that she is going to greet the others, but that doesn't fool Sandra. She's clearly going to be with Clay. Valerie would talk endlessly of those two every day during their calculus class. That thought of Valerie sends a wave of sadness through her. She was Sandra's closest friend. They became distant once Eliza showed up. Sandra wasn't jealous, but she found herself alone more and more often.

Sandra shakes her head, willing her painful thoughts away as she focuses on the task at hand. She has to patch the coms through to the whole republic. They need to announce the boarding of the vessels to the people. She just hopes that there isn't a panic as they board. Although that is likely because the deterioration of the land masses have unexpectedly escalated and many people died.