Pandora's Trials

The Calm Before the Storm

Despite Elijah's insistence on going forward to Gogebic Colony, I convinced him to let us spend the night in Iron Colony. Mayor Jackson let us stay in a room in the old townhouse that used to be a bed and breakfast before the Virus. The nice old lady who ran it, Nancy Jung, gave us some homemade muffins for dinner and packed extra muffins for us to take. Her kitchen was amazing; it was stocked with plenty of fruit, vegetables, rice, and spices. After I told her about my passion for cooking, she gave me a small notebook with traditional Korean dishes. She told me that cooking was good for the soul. I was thankful for the new recipes.

We left before the sunrise, the air was cold and sharp. I could feel that fall had settled in completely and noticed that the leaves were beginning to fall from the trees in showers of red, yellow, orange, and brown. The leaves stirred in the wind that the bikes created while we sped down the highway to the north.

By mid-morning, we were surrounded by nothing but trees and the occasional rundown farmhouse. Over the roar of our motorcycles, I could hear the chirping birds and rustle of dry leaves in the wind. When a scream cut through the quiet sounds of the forest, I thought I had imagined it. I slowed to a stop. Elijah and Anthony swung back around and stopped beside me.

"What is it?" Anthony asked.

"Did you hear that?" I looked around the forest. The boys seemed confused, then Elijah sighed.

"No. Let's keep moving—" Another blood-curdling scream interrupted him.

I drove my bike towards a thick bush on the left side of the road and turned it off.

"I have to see what's going on," I said while laying the bike down carefully under the foliage. I could feel Elijah's disapproving stare on my back.

"Pandora, we don't have time for this. It's probably just a fox or something." He revved his bike's engine.

"It'll take ten minutes tops, I'll be fast," I told him. Anthony hopped off Elijah's bike and joined my side.

"Maybe we'll find something cool," he said. Elijah huffed, then conceded and hid his bike next to mine.

I led us through the forest towards the scream. Through the trees, I could make out a small, white house. As we got closer, I could see that despite the dilapidated shed a few feet away from it and the rusting cars in the driveway, the house itself seemed like it was in decent condition. Someone was living there.

As if confirming my suspicions, another scream came from inside the house. I sprung forward, but Elijah grabbed my backpack and pulled me back.

"What are you doing? It could be an ambush. Or a trap."

"If you want to stay here and be a lookout, that's fine. I'm going in. Anthony?" I said, ripping away from Elijah's grip. The boy shrugged.

"I'll go with you," he said.

Anthony and I crouched down and ran across the lawn towards the house, leaving Elijah in the woodline to watch the surroundings. The door creaked open with the slightest touch and we entered.

The inside looked messy but liveable. Clothes and papers were strewn about the floors and floral-patterned turquoise furniture.

"The 80s called, they want their furniture back," Anthony joked. I smiled briefly at his comment, but I was intent on finding the source of the cries. Upstairs, I could hear creaking and another scream of pain rang through the house. We raced up the stairs. I was prepared for the worst. The sound came from the room at the end of the hall. I pulled the door open and was shocked.

A woman lay on a dirty mattress on the floor, her skin flushed and gleaming with sweat. She writhed and gasped; she was seizing. I slung my bag full of medical supplies into my hands. Before I could take another step into the room, Anthony ripped me back with more strength than I thought he could muster.