A New Hope

A New Hope
104

Zandra

I roll my eyes and playfully whack his chest when he makes the techno comment, but quickly relax as he leads me away, though I can tell something is up. It doesn’t take too long to reach our usual meeting spot, I hadn’t even realised I had been this close to it. I never came here unless it was on the day we were meeting because I could easily been found if I came on the wrong day.

I let out a small laugh as he wraps his arms around my waist and pressed my head against his chest for a moment before lifting my head back to look up at him “You were just about to tell me whats going on, we’re not due to meet for another two days… And I’ve seen the activity near the cage, I didn’t go close” I quickly add as he looks at me. As tempted as I am to get up to our usual meet up activities I needed to know what was happening and if I was still safe.

@Moz

105

DEBIAN

Hearing her question I shake my head slightly, “close enough to notice the activity” I point out. I knew she took food to the prisoners, I wasn’t stupid enough to have thought she’d keep it to herself but I wasn’t sure she understood the risks to both of us if she was caught. No, I didn’t think she’d give me up but they had technology that made people talk.

“There’s been another escape.” I comment before stepping away from her, “whole cage earlier in the week but two are still missing.” Running my hand through my hair I sigh, “there are teams searching the island. I managed to get up here alone but that doesn’t mean this area won’t be searched again. The commander said they were prisoners of interest, whatever that means.”

Part of me wished I could just act like this wasn’t happening and enjoy the distraction her company usually brought but I couldn’t risk being caught with my pants down, however tempting it was.

@Zandra

106

Zandra

I shook my head “I’m not going to go back, I know it was risky before but it’s gotten a whole lot more dangerous” I tell him “You saved me from there and I’d prefer to be dead than back in that cage so I will stay away from there”

My eyes widen as he tells me there has been another escape “Whoever these prisoners are they must be important to be sending out search parties” I chew my lip “Where can I hide where they won’t find me” though its a question its more realisation that I wasn’t safe anywhere if they were searching so thoroughly. I can’t stop my face from showing worried I actually am.

@Moz

107

DEBIAN

I really want to believe her when she says she won’t go back but part of me isn’t sure. The truth was I didn’t know the woman in front of me as well as I’d like to think and moments like this made me worry i’d made a mistake. “Don’t say that,” the thought of her choosing death doesn’t sit well with me although I knew the alternative, I’d been around long enough to know what happened.

“I didn’t ask,” I tell her honestly. “It’s a need to know and honestly all I needed was my orders.” It probably seemed strange but even now I didn’t question my orders, even after betraying my tribe for a pretty face.

Turning back to her I move and wrap my arms around her body, I wished I could answer her question and tell her a safe place but I couldn’t guarantee where they would look. “Right now the woods is your safest space. You know this area well enough to stay hidden but you’re going to have to keep moving. Until the prisoners are recaptured or the search called off I’d say no more than one night in a space.”

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108

Zandra

I notice he doesn’t give me an exact answer as to where would be safe. He really just needed orders to do as he was told. I have always been too nosy for my own good.

I press my head back against his chest and close my eyes, I feel oddly safe in this moment but I know that that feeling isn’t going to last because before long he will need to return and I will be alone again.

“How long until you need to leave?”

@Moz

109

DEBIAN

Hearing her question I sigh, “I have to check in in about an hour, so we have a bit more time.” I know it doesn’t offer her much reassurance but it’s all I can give her in this moment.

I wished I could offer more security, some form of safety to prevent her from being recaptured but escaped prisoners weren’t viewed too kindly. Part of me wished she’d join us, become a techno and make things so much easier, no more sneaking about or risk of being caught but she’d made her views on that very clear.

“We need a plan, somewhere for you to hide so I can still bring you food and stuff.”

@Zandra

110

MOZ

Every footstep sounds like it’s coming for me, that that’s going to be the one that drags me back into the water. I’ve managed to back against the wall, my arms wrapped tightly around my legs trying to hold myself together. I wasn’t going to let them know my fear but at the same time, it was hard to hide.

Closing my eyes I think back to home, to the city. My family, my Mozzies. I missed them more than words could say, they’d become my family, my confidantes and the people I would walk through fire for. But the thought that I’d never see them again was one that haunted my days and nights.

I don’t know how much time has passed; it’s hard to measure time when there is no light, just constant darkness. The loneliness of being alone, so completely alone that the only sounds I can hear now are the ones inside my head, is terrifying. It’s a new experience, this silence, one I wish I could escape from.

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111

Zandra

“I haven’t ventured too far, just moving around as we spoke about, though I somehow got turned around at some point which is where I found you” I tell him “Are there any parts of this Island you guys don’t use or go to?” It felt weird saying ‘You guys’ but in the end it was his Tribe and he is still very much part of that tribe regardless of how he is helping me.

I wasn’t sure how much I should trust him, though he did save my life and continued helping me he was still loyal to his Tribe at the end of the day.

@Moz

112

DEBIAN

Listening to Zanra’s question I think for a moment, “honestly, i’m not sure.” I knew it sounded awful that I couldn’t give her any more information about where she would be safe, and I wished I had more to give but my rank meant I didn’t get to ask questions, I just got told what to do. “Majority of the efforts will probably be around the other end, which is why I was sent up to the shipwreck.” I tell her, “people aren’t likely to use that to hide so it could be a good base. It’s stable enough that you could go inside it, with enough places to escape if you needed to?”

It felt like an impossible situation, I wanted to keep her safe but at the same time I didn’t really know how. Maybe she’d have been safer if I hadn’t helped her escape but I couldn’t bear to see her in the cage. Usually I could ignore the prisoners but i’d never been able to ignore her, no matter how hard i’d tried.

“I wish I could give you more,” I tell her honestly. I knew she didn’t believe me, why would she, after all it was the Techno’s who had imprisoned her, but the view had always been the needs of the few outweighed the needs of the many. Unfortunately, looking into her beautiful blue eyes, that motto became harder to follow.

@Zandra

113

Zandra

I stay still as I listen to him. Maybe the shipwreck would be a good place to hide out for a while, after getting turned around in the woods it was in the back of my head that I could get caught if I didn’t stay focused.

“Ok, the shipwreck sounds like the best idea for now” I said with a small nod “I will check it out a little later on, but for now let’s just forget about everything else going on and enjoy the short amount of time you need to leave” I said smiling up at him.

@Moz

114

Luke

“Luke”… the sound of my name on her lips makes my world spin for a moment.

Before I get a chance to respond she is gone, off to do what I asked of her.

It feels like forever ago when someone last said my name out loud.

Yet it never felt like this.

What is this feeling, so sudden and new…

I had felt something the moment I first laid eyes on her, but this… it was something new entirely.

It wasn’t like with Ellie at all.

Ellie needed me, for her safety, and I had been fooled by thinking she might be swayed to our cause, even if it had meant winning her feelings over first.

But this… this was something else entirely.

Danni didn’t need me, she was perfectly fine in reaching the right path on her own.

She had that rare spirit and determination.

For a moment I regret sending her out there, yet I know she’ll be fine, she can take care of herself… right…

Maybe I should… or shouldn’t I…

What would the others think?

On the other hand, how would they know?

I go to the computer on my desk and stare at the screen as my hands fly over the keyboard.

//tracking activated//

My eyes focus as Danni’s coordinates flash on the screen.

115

DANNI

I knew calling him Luke had been a mistake and yet, somehow saying it had made me smile more than i’d smiled in a long time.

Focusing on the task at hand I turn the buggy away from the camp, its been a while since I’ve been in one and although they are quite fun my driving skills are pretty horrendous. I feel like i’m being bounced about like a yo-yo or something equally bouncy and its not the most pleasant feeling.

Slowing to a near stop I scan the surrounds, I knew this was close to the building i’d been reading about earlier, the military base we had yet to explore. I doubted Alice and KC would have made it this far, and yet, they were both so bloody stubborn maybe they had.

Bringing the buggy to a complete stop I remove the keys and slip them into a pocket of my uniform before pulling one of the torches out of the buggy. I’d just go and have a quick look and then at least I could report back that everywhere had been checked.

116

DEBIAN

Hearing her words I can’t help but smile, my arm sliding around her waist, “and how would you like to forget about everything?” I ask her. Sure, I knew we could be caught but that almost added to the excitement, almost.

I knew we had a bit of time before I had to report back and it would be a wasted opportunity not to enjoy it. Leaning down I very gently press my lips against hers before pulling back and looking at her with a coy smile, “I mean, I can think of a few distraction techniques but it really depends on what you’re in the mood for.”

@Zandra

117

Zandra

I licked my lips and paused for moment before grinning and pushing him backwards towards the bench against the wall of the shed. I remember when we first came here and the bench had been covered with random screws and trinkets that had rusted… They hadn’t last long.

When his legs touched the edge of the bench, I stepped in between his legs before learning forward and whispering in his ear.

@Moz

118

KC

Finally i got enough coconuts, so i sit down for a moment and watch the wild life just right in front of me. This is what paradise must have look like as the adult have been still arround and i think the beach here looks like that one dad has talked about in our last summer together. He wanted to bring us to a beach, it should have been a big holiday… i feel like my thoughts are drifting away as i spot a little in the corner of my eye. I wasn’t to make it out completly but i feel i shiver running dowm my spin and that enough for me. Especially after we killed a Techno just some minutes ago…

Slowly i stand up and walk back into the building as quiet as i could. Nervously i start to count my steps to our room and to the place Alice is sleeping. " Hey!" i carefully place my hand on her arm " Get up, something isn’t right here."

@Jack

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119

Alice

Suddenly I find myself jolting up out of my sleep from a hand touching my arm.

At first fear kicks in, but I hear KC speak softly telling me to get up. I breathe a sigh of relief that it is him but then his final words sink in and I realise we could be facing some more Techno trouble.

“KC, what is it? This big bird was enjoying her afternoon siesta … are we in danger?”

This probably wasn’t the time to talk daft but I was still trying to wake up … I actually was relieved KC had woken me up as I was about to marry The Guardian …

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120

KC

" No time for jokes. Something isn’t right here, i can feel it…“i grap her arm and help her to get back to her feet. " Come on, we need to go:”

121

Zak

Rather then following the group that were heading away I decided to stay on the beach, there were a few of them going and anymore was more likely to cause problems then be a help. I headed over to Lex, I was curious as to why he wanted to stay close to the beach, there wasn’t much left on there worth steeling so it couldn’t be that.

“So Lex whats the plan in your head? I mean you cant really think another boat is going to turn up and take us somewhere else do you? Because one… We have nothing to trade, two if they are here they likely have no where else to go and three… Well I think the first two points are good enough” I tell him.

“There could be anything on this Island why don’t you want to be the first to find it?” I asked.

@Lex

122

LOTTIE

Lottie ignores Salene’s pleas to stop. Only yelling behind her, “I get it, okay? I’ll stay where I can be babysat.” She rolls her eyes, continuing further down the beach away from everyone, just along the edge of the vegetation. She can still be seen by her companions which gives her comfort even while she’s upset with them.

Huffing, she kicks at the sand. “This bites!” She studies her surroundings, wondering what kind of shelter can be made from what is both littering and growing out of the ground. She picks up a dried, dead palm tangled with coconut husk and begins her pile of potential.

SLADE

Paying more attention to his girlfriend or maybe-not girlfriend, more than anything else, Slade actually misses what’s decided. There’s movement by Trudy first, he thinks, or Lex. It seems everyone has agreed to disagree. Ebony’s gone off with Trudy, Jack too and Lottie has trotted off with Salene calling after her. In the end he’s left standing at a crossroads.

He steals a glance at Ruby, Ram, and then Zak following after Lex as he contemplates himself how most he can be of value. “What can we salvage from the boat that can help us set up camp?” He asks those still on board.

@Catha @Ram

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123

DANNI

Checking the stunner is secured at my waist I lift the torch and move away from the buggy and through the trees towards the building. The undergrowth wasn’t particularly dense, so I had a pretty good view. Pausing I look down at the grass, I’d had decent tracking skills before the virus, thanks to hunting with my dad, so was always conscious of broken grass or other things that might have been caused by an animal or, in this case, something bigger.

There are signs that something has been through here, although its hard to tell if it was recently or if it was just another Techno exploring the island. Biting my lip, I contemplate whether I should radio for backup or just go ahead and explore the building. The desire to prove myself urges me forward and I start walking towards the bunker. The area is over grown but the fact the entrance is clear suggest something, or someone, has been this way quite recently.

Pausing by the doorway I peer into the darkness, it’s hard to see anything in the black, but the temptation to explore overwhelms the sense of self preservation. No, walking into a dark building without backup wasn’t my brightest plan but it was too tempting to wait for anyone to get here.

Flicking the switch on the torch I shine the light in front of me before heading into the darkness.

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