Over Again

Chapter Four - December 19, 2062.

-Jacob-

Conclusion: Elinor and Natalie are so hard to plan things with.

"Come on guys. We can't stay here forever," I tell them, leaning back in my chair. I look across to the bed they're sat on. Natalie may be the oldest, but somehow I've ended up in charge, since all she wants to do is act without thinking about the consequences. "We'll need to fight at some point. Not every survivor is going to be as awesome as we are."

Elinor giggles at that. "Geez, you're so pretentious," she laughs. After a few more seconds, she calms down enough to say something useful. "There's an army base about twenty miles away from Astrakhan. I think it's called Frostford?"

I nod in recognition while Natalie shudders. "Heard of that place," we say in unison. I look at her strangely, but I know better than to question it. I stay quiet for ten or so seconds in case she wants to give a reason why we shouldn't go, but she doesn't. "Sounds good then. We'll go to Frostford!"

Natalie stands up and starts packing our bags with whatever dry food is left in the cupboards and a few bottles of water. I go to help her, but Elinor finally decides to speak up. 

"It takes a week to walk to Lullin. Another day on top of that to reach Frostford. We won't make it," she says worriedly. 

I smirk. "Sure we will. We'll drive."

After the bags are packed, I lead them to my old house. In the corner of the garage is a car that hasn't been used in years. It'll be safe to take it. I climb in the driver's seat as the girls glance at each other. They look afraid.

"Never been in a car before?" I ask them, and they shake their heads. "Trust me. I can drive. It'll be fine!"

By the time they gather enough courage to get in the backseat, it's about 4am. The roads should be almost deserted now, making the journey a lot safer. I pull out from the garage onto the road, heading out of the city towards Lullin.

I'm thankful it's one long road, as I'd be so confused driving on the right that I have to drive on the left. At least I'll be able to see any approaching cars from a distance so I can switch lanes.

We drive in silence for an hour and a half. We pass a turnoff to a small rural town, and Elinor sniffs slightly. She sounds like she could cry. I guess we just passed Lullin.

"Do you want to stop for a bit, visit people?" I ask her, looking at her in the rear-view mirror. She shakes her head. I expected she wouldn't want to visit, but better to ask just in case. We continue on, and about twenty minutes later I spot the sign for Frostford.

I turn, parking the car on the roadside. If it's an army base they'll be guards at the entrance, and I know they can't see us, but that means they won't be able to lift the barrier and let the car in.

I lead the girls through the pedestrian entrance. It leads out by the firing range, and I wait in the shadows. When they're done practising, we can follow them back to where the guns are kept.

I watch them, suddenly incredibly interested in shooting. One of the soldiers there looks young, even younger than Elinor. I move along the wall of the building we're standing against to get a better look at her.

She's a good shooter, bullet holes appearing in the centre of the target each time.

It takes a moment for that realisation to click.

On everyone else's targets, the holes disappear as bullets fly back into the guns. But on hers, each time she shoots, another rip in the card appears.

She's just like us.

She steps away from her gun, appearing to be out of ammunition. I run out from our shelter, grab her arm, and pull her back towards where Elinor and Natalie and waiting.

"Oh great. I was having the time of my life actually being able to fire a gun and now you've ruined it," she mutters, rolling her eyes.

I glare at her jokingly. "What are you, fifteen? Shouldn't be doing that, young lady." She looks really offended, but after a second I burst out laughing. "Just kidding. Practice some more. We could use you on our side. I'm Jacob." 

I hold my hand out for her to shake, and Natalie does the same. I realise then that Elinor has been quiet for this whole thing. "You okay?" I ask the normally chatty girl.

The new girls turns around to face Elinor before freezing. "Elinor Sellwood," she spits, glaring up at my friend. Well, obviously these two know each other. "I bet you can't even remember my name. Does Raylene Meadows ring any bells?"

I see anger flare up in Elinor's eyes - and in Natalie's, to my surprise. "Whoa, okay, let's all get this sorted before we get the guns. What's going on between the three of you?"

Natalie answers first. "Her parents were security guards at some point. They forced my family out into the wilds, after my older sister Caroline decided it would be fun to sneak into the Geffin house and steal a candle."

Well, that explains a lot. I remember hearing from Krist five or so years ago about that. It didn't occur to me until now that the Caroline Lawson he kept going on about was related to Natalie.

Then Raylene speaks up. "Her father shot my parents."

That escalated quickly.

She carries on. "He went all crazy all of a sudden. Grabbed a gun and started shooting. Hit my dad at the bottom of his spine and blew off one of my mum's legs. Thankfully, the rest of the team managed to get him under control, and took him back here."

Ah yes. Another one of Krist's excellent tales. I thought that one was made up, but obviously not.

Elinor gasps, pushing Raylene over. "They took him? Is he still here? I thought he'd been kidnapped, left to die! Oh, you effing-"

Natalie has the sense to restrain Elinor before they start actually fighting. Raylene shakes her head rapidly. "No. He died a month after."

Elinor drops to her knees and begins to break down crying. I give Natalie a look that means 'stay here with her, we'll be back' and I'm assuming she understands, as she nods. I pull young Raylene off the floor. "Do you know where the weapons are kept?" 

She smiles and leads me to a door in the building. The walls of the small room inside are covered in rifles. I grin. "How many can you carry?"

She grins. "How many do you need?" she asks in response.

I think for a moment. "Let's take ten for now. We can always come back for more." She nods and takes down five, and I do the same, slinging one over each shoulder and carrying three.

"While we're here, I may as well teach you all to shoot," Raylene points out, and I beckon the other two other to the range as we leave the room. The soldiers are finishing now, and we pass them as we walk to the end of the line of targets. "Grab a gun everyone. Target practice!"

I load the gun like Raylene shows us, stand as she does, look down the sight and pull the trigger. I don't hit the centre, but hey, at least I hit the target. I reload and fire nine more, hitting around the edge of the target each time, sometimes closer to the target.

Raylene, of course, hits near the centre every time. Natalie is inconsistent, but I count seven holes in her paper. Elinor misses all but once.

I put an arm around Raylene's shoulders. "Well done, Lieutenant Meadows. You've earned your role as head of the Anomaly Protection Squad."