The next morning, Caleb came to wake me. He told me to get my things ready and meet him and his dad out front. I didn't have much so I took what was necessary for a 3-day trip, like a few extra pairs of clothes and some miscellaneous but useful things. 10 minutes later I met them in the living room. Ervin was busy packing some food in his backpack and Caleb was checking over his items. They both looked over when I came in.
" Ready?" Ervin turned asked.
" Yeah "
"Good, let's leave if you've got everything"
He then led us to the door. He looked out a secret peephole and listened quietly for a few minutes. He then confirmed that the place was clear and led us out. I first noticed that it was still dark out but little lights were flying around a far distance away.
" That's the Nimmeans scouts. They search around at any time of the day, so we to be very careful when moving around," said Caleb on my left. He was a little to close so I took a step forward.
I then noticed the dumpster from my first night when I arrived in the future. It was just as I'd left it.
Ervin then told us to follow him. We slinked around noiselessly, heading to what Ervin had called the tunnel. Which when I got there found out it wasn't a tunnel.
We climbed in an abandoned house through a window after walking and hiding for 40 minutes. Ervin then pried open a floorboard with a crowbar making as little noise as possible. After getting it open he ushered Caleb and me in quickly. After we were all in, he placed back the board in its position.
" This is the tunnel, it will take you to the other side of town unnoticed. This is where I leave you though. Good luck and Caleb" he pauses and looked at his son," Keep her safe" They locked eyes and Caleb nodded in agreement. He turned to leave.
" Be safe" I called out behind him. He turned back and gave me a slight smile ad continued on his way.
" Come on. We've got to get there before nightfall."
" Is it that far?" I asked as we walked in a single file because space wasn't that wide.
" Yeah, its at least a day's walk to get there. Of course in a car, it'll be a few hours, oh how I wish we still had those." he sighed in dejection.
"wait- what happened to vehicles?" I asked confused. Now that I think about it though I haven't seen or heard any vehicles pass.
" Humans stopped using them a while back because the Nimmeans would always target them, I mean it was just a big target driving around.
I sighed as that made sense. It also meant that traveling anywhere would be very tiresome, as it all had to be done on foot.
We continued walking, making small talk as we went along. It surprisingly wasn't awkward like the beginning. It was.... easy.
A few hours passed and I was extra tired. My calves were numb and I couldn't feel my feet.
Wheezing hard I reached out my hand and grabbed Caleb's shirt from behind.
" We-we need to stop. I need a break" I finished as my body collapsed on the ground.
shocked, Caleb rushed to help me up. " I'm sorry, I didn't notice you were tired. well take a break and continue in an hr ok?
I managed a nod and focused don taking deep breaths. I started feeling better around 20 minutes later.
" Better? " Caleb asked as he saw me sit up.
" Yeah. A bit better." I took off my shoes and watched my blistered feet. It was cracked and bleeding slightly in some places. Rubbing it gently I winced a little.
Caleb looked over and chuckled a little bit.
I looked up and narrowed my eyes," Is this funny to you? huh?"
at my serious and questioning tone, he stopped.
no, it's just that you looked like you were coaxing a baby but it was your foot that why I laughed, lighted up will you, it was a joke.
"Hmph!"
' she so childish' Caleb smiled and thought.
After another 7 or so hours we arrived at a rundown house filled with cobweb and spiders. Caleb continued to walk towards it with a slight pep in his walk.
" This is it. I managed to find this house on my last run by accident." he looked back to see Amelie still at the gate.
" Come on. don't waste time. You're out the open and if a patroling scout passes you are toast. so stop wasting time." I said trying to convince her.
after hearing that she sped towards me, "Let's go why are you sticking around?" she said smartly.
I smiled at her silliness.
Inside the house, I tried to walk softly not wanting to wake any creature inside. From behind, I heard Caleb come in.
" Follow me. The stash is in the basement. It looks like the previous owners were either preparing for a zombie apocalypse or a mass bombing because the food down here could last us another 3 years." he said walking deeper inside. I quickly followed him. we continued walking inside till we reached a silver steel door that was labeled 'my stash'.
" Pretty coincidental," I thought ironically.
He opened the door and my mouth hung low.
' Jackpot ' I grinned gleefully.