Hinterland (The Aftermath #2)

Chapter Eight

Well, most of it anyway.

It was still there, but not lucious and green anymore. It was a ring of dark... something. Levelled out with the ground. It looked almost as if it were... burned down.

"They really didn't think about how the fire would react to the Forest," I said.

"No," Zenon said. "I guess not." I could almost hear a hint of sadness in his voice. It made sense to me, though, because it was his home for more than a year. His safe place.

"This is only the beginning," Jamison said. He swerved the helicopter downward, angling at the city. There was one thing I noticed. Although I couldn't see such a distance, there weren't the usual hundreds of people walking to and fro. The pavement ground that surrounded the buildings was tinged darker in areas. It looked like the training centre behind Heuglin when I had called her on my COM watch.

Fire.

"I don't know what you expect to do," Jamison started. "But it's not safe."

"We're finding Len," Zenon said triumphantly.

"Finding... Zenon, please, please be careful. If your friend here wasn't holding a gun to my head, I'd bring you back to the Asylum. Don't get yourself... killed...."

"We're not gonna die!"

"You're my only son, Zenon. I'll take your word, but I'll keep in contact with you," said Jamison, raking a hand through his hair nervously, still keeping the other on the controls.

"You're lucky you still have one son," Zenon said. "Your other one almost put a bullet in me!"

"We're here," he replied quickly. My stomach dropped as we descended, and I clutched whatever I could beside me to keep my balance, ending up holding Erin and Zenon's shoulders. Adelyn almost flew right out of Terri's lap.

"Sorry," Jamison muttered, levelling out the machine. "I don't fly this very often."

"Whatever," Zenon said. "As long as we get there."

The helicopter landed, sending a cloud of brown dust at the windshield and blinding us. When it settled, Jamison turned the helicopter off, turned around and removed his headphones.

"You sure you want to do this?"

"Is there some special way to get in?" said Zenon. He pulled open the helicopter's sliding door, and a brisk gust of wind blew dust into it.

"Actually, yes." Jamison pointed to the ground, right at the area where the dirt met the burned-down trees. There wasn't anything apparent in the direction where he was pointing.

"Down there, there's a tunnel. Push the dust aside and you'll find the hatch door. You'll have to do a little searching, I can't see where it is. From there, just follow the tunnel until you find another ladder. Go up and you'll be in the city. We used to use it to get under the barrier, but..."

"It's destroyed now," I finished. "What's the point of using it now, then?"

"The Forest's still burning. Safety, I suppose." I don't won't my son getting hurt.

Zenon leapt out into Hinterland-or maybe the city. We were practically almost on the border. Just up the large hill was where the 'Forest' started. I hadn't noticed it before. We'd approached the city from a seperate side before, so this hill wasn't visible. Zenon started trekking up it.

"I'll keep in contact," I said, also letting my feet settle in the dust. The others followed me, like I was their leader or something. Maybe I looked intimidating, with the gun held in front of me. Or maybe it was because I'd saved them. Who knows?