Forgotten

Chapter 20

        ROWAN INSISTS THAT IT'S SAFE ENOUGH TO travel by day, although I privately disagree, afraid that the convenience of daylight to light our path is not worth the risk of being seen by Federation guards.

            "Guards never come out here," Rowan declares. "I've never seen one this far from a residential area. The Federation places all their forces at the edges of towns and the northern and southern borders of the country. They have bigger problems to worry about than a couple of runaway kids."

            The journey is a long and hard one for little Hayley, who begins to tire after about an hour of traveling. We have to take breaks every twenty minutes or so for her, but I don't mind. She's being so brave, and she's very young to make such a long long trek. Even I've never walked this far in my life.

            Rowan has two large canteens of water, but as they begin to empty, Rowan starts to steer us slightly southward.

            "Where are we going?" I ask tiredly, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

            "We're going to have to make a raid," Rowan says grimly. "We need food and water. There should be a small truck stop near here for Federation truck drivers where we can replenish our supplies."

            "You mean by stealing things?"

            He nods. "Yeah."

            My insides begin to twist with dread, but I can't argue with him. There's no other way to get food and water, and we'll need more supplies than what we have if we're going to survive the next couple of days.

            Our new route strays from our previously westward path, taking us farther and farther south. I start to get nervous, wondering if we'll ever be able to find our way to Arlington now that we're off course.

            "It's okay," Rowan says, seeming to read my thoughts. "Arlington is southwest of Darrington anyway. Once we get to the truck stop, we'll be able to go directly west and reach Arlington easily."

            The sun is harsh and unforgiving as it climbs to its full height in the sky, and all of us begin to tire. Although the trees give some shelter from the sunlight, there is no wind to offer relief from the merciless heat and we find ourselves going through our water dangerously fast.

            I'm relieved when Rowan finally slows down and motions for us to hide behind a nearby tree. I press myself against its trunk and peer around the other side, narrowing my eyes to see through the dense branches.

            I can see a clearing up ahead, a break in the endless line of trees that we've been traipsing through for hours. The truck stop is in the clearing—a small, run-down building with a structure beside it that looks like a flat roof held up on poles. Two rectangular machines that I assume to be gas pumps stand under the structure. As far as I can tell, the whole thing is deserted—even the main road that runs alongside the stop.

            "That's a gas station," Rowan whispers to me from behind another tree, pointing towards the poles. "Federation trucks need to stop and refuel from time to time, since they make such long journeys."

            "Okay," I say, taking it in and trying to imagine how we're going to get at the supplies. "What do I do?"

            Rowan grins. "Grab Hayley's pack and follow me."

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         "I still can't believe it," I laugh, swinging my bag off my shoulder and checking inside as we walk, just to make sure that everything's still there. Five bottles of water, a flashlight each, and as much food as we can carry—canned food, like the stuff they ration us when a storm or a lockdown keeps us from farming our own food back in Darrington. At the truck stop, I stuffed so much canned soup, meat, beans, and fruit into all of our backpacks that we're nearly staggering under the weight of them. But it feels good to be resupplied and ready for the rest of the trip to Arlington.