Read Online Embattlement: The Undergrounders Series Book Two (A Young Adult Science Fiction Dystopian Novel) by Norma Hinkens - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Norma Hinkens
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around for a moment or two, unfocused and glistening, and then she closes them again like a newborn too weak to participate in what’s happening around her.
Jakob tucks the coats tightly around her trembling body. “She’s in shock. If we don’t make it to Shoshane City before infection sets in, she has no chance.”
I reach for my pack and buckle the straps. “I need you to stay by her side. I’ll lead the way. Sven can take up the rear with Rummy and Won. We’ll keep Panju between us so we can better protect her if we come under attack.” I watch as Buck and Elijah reach for the stretcher. Owen’s harrowing trek to Fort Lewis on the Rogues’ combat stretcher flashes to mind. I’ll never forgive Rummy for what he put my brother through. No matter how hard he works to redeem himself.
O ur pace is frustratingly slow . Rummy and Won complain constantly about anything and everything, which increasingly grates on everyone’s nerves. Between Izzy and Panju, we’re forced to stop too many times to have any hope of making it to Shoshane City by nightfall. And Tucker’s not great at long distances either now that he’s older.
“It’ll be dark out soon,” Jakob says, gesturing at the faint red of the waning day striping the horizon.
“We have to push on,” I say. “Panju’s deteriorating by the minute.”
“She needs antibiotics,” Jakob says, throwing me a rattled look. “And what if there’s no one in Shoshane City after all? We’ve nothing but the word of a six-year-old that the Undergrounders are even fleeing there.”
I trace my fingers across my forehead. “They’re fleeing somewhere. Our camp, Frank’s. Izzy’s. Other bunkers too. Where did they all go?”
Jakob throws me a curious look. “I wonder if my parents are there.”
I avert my eyes. “Maybe.”
Truth is, I’m not sure I want them to be. The Millers were none too fond of me before, and they certainly won’t approve of me now. Not that I need their blessing anymore.
T he hills are flush with dawn, the morning crisp and overcast, when we reach the outskirts of Shoshane City. We huddle wearily just inside the tree line, staring through the foliage in utter disbelief at the sprawling canvas of devastation. Shoshane City was once a cool place to live. Not anymore. I peer through Trout’s binoculars at the acres of rubble and debris piled high from one end of the city to the other. Tangled steel girders and metal signage jettisoned all over like instruments of war. Carcasses of buildings with shattered glass fronts, burnt out vehicles strewn like discarded casings from the awful savagery that went through here. A once proud city shelled and shaken.
A light wind kicks up a thick cloud of swirling dust over the gutted remnants of concrete buildings. The few still standing are heavily cracked, sagging like giant sacks of wheat.
I shiver at the awful memories of tales told by bunker light of flames whipping hundreds of feet into the air, the sky bleeding for weeks. I swallow hard, hoping Ma didn’t suffer too much.
The lucky ones, or unlucky ones—only time will tell—made it to the bunkers before the air became too thick to breathe. It was a year before we saw the outside world again. But it wasn’t the one we had left.
I slowly pan the grisly scene. A sinking feeling drags me down like wet sand. There’s no indication at all that there are any Undergrounders living here. This isn’t what we’d hoped to find. I throw an anxious glance at Panju. She’s ashen and sweating profusely. If she doesn’t get antibiotics and fluids in the next hour or two, she won’t survive another night out here.
“It doesn’t look very promising,” I say, passing the binoculars to Trout.
He peers intently into them for several minutes and then sucks in a breath. “I see someone!”
My heart pounds like a leaden weight against my ribs. “Is it Undergrounders?”
Trout shakes his head. “I can’t tell from here. I only see one
Jakob tucks the coats tightly around her trembling body. “She’s in shock. If we don’t make it to Shoshane City before infection sets in, she has no chance.”
I reach for my pack and buckle the straps. “I need you to stay by her side. I’ll lead the way. Sven can take up the rear with Rummy and Won. We’ll keep Panju between us so we can better protect her if we come under attack.” I watch as Buck and Elijah reach for the stretcher. Owen’s harrowing trek to Fort Lewis on the Rogues’ combat stretcher flashes to mind. I’ll never forgive Rummy for what he put my brother through. No matter how hard he works to redeem himself.
O ur pace is frustratingly slow . Rummy and Won complain constantly about anything and everything, which increasingly grates on everyone’s nerves. Between Izzy and Panju, we’re forced to stop too many times to have any hope of making it to Shoshane City by nightfall. And Tucker’s not great at long distances either now that he’s older.
“It’ll be dark out soon,” Jakob says, gesturing at the faint red of the waning day striping the horizon.
“We have to push on,” I say. “Panju’s deteriorating by the minute.”
“She needs antibiotics,” Jakob says, throwing me a rattled look. “And what if there’s no one in Shoshane City after all? We’ve nothing but the word of a six-year-old that the Undergrounders are even fleeing there.”
I trace my fingers across my forehead. “They’re fleeing somewhere. Our camp, Frank’s. Izzy’s. Other bunkers too. Where did they all go?”
Jakob throws me a curious look. “I wonder if my parents are there.”
I avert my eyes. “Maybe.”
Truth is, I’m not sure I want them to be. The Millers were none too fond of me before, and they certainly won’t approve of me now. Not that I need their blessing anymore.
T he hills are flush with dawn, the morning crisp and overcast, when we reach the outskirts of Shoshane City. We huddle wearily just inside the tree line, staring through the foliage in utter disbelief at the sprawling canvas of devastation. Shoshane City was once a cool place to live. Not anymore. I peer through Trout’s binoculars at the acres of rubble and debris piled high from one end of the city to the other. Tangled steel girders and metal signage jettisoned all over like instruments of war. Carcasses of buildings with shattered glass fronts, burnt out vehicles strewn like discarded casings from the awful savagery that went through here. A once proud city shelled and shaken.
A light wind kicks up a thick cloud of swirling dust over the gutted remnants of concrete buildings. The few still standing are heavily cracked, sagging like giant sacks of wheat.
I shiver at the awful memories of tales told by bunker light of flames whipping hundreds of feet into the air, the sky bleeding for weeks. I swallow hard, hoping Ma didn’t suffer too much.
The lucky ones, or unlucky ones—only time will tell—made it to the bunkers before the air became too thick to breathe. It was a year before we saw the outside world again. But it wasn’t the one we had left.
I slowly pan the grisly scene. A sinking feeling drags me down like wet sand. There’s no indication at all that there are any Undergrounders living here. This isn’t what we’d hoped to find. I throw an anxious glance at Panju. She’s ashen and sweating profusely. If she doesn’t get antibiotics and fluids in the next hour or two, she won’t survive another night out here.
“It doesn’t look very promising,” I say, passing the binoculars to Trout.
He peers intently into them for several minutes and then sucks in a breath. “I see someone!”
My heart pounds like a leaden weight against my ribs. “Is it Undergrounders?”
Trout shakes his head. “I can’t tell from here. I only see one
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