Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 121

NADINE’S P.O.V

It wasn’t the best idea, but it was the only one we had at the moment.

We did the quickest and possibly shabbiest cover up job in the world as we struggled to drape the covers over both trucks.

Once we were content, we all piled into the vans. It was easier to split into two groups, that way one group could get away if the other were to be attacked.

Rowan, Amy, Jennifer and I stayed together, while Joshua stayed with the others. I made sure to separate Jennifer and Joshua, the last thing I wanted was for someone to end up dead.

I’d have preferred for Joshua to be with us, but I knew they wouldn’t hurt him, not when he was the most important person on this mission. He was the only one who knew how to connect to their frequency. They would do anything to keep him safe. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"So what?" Jennifer asked into the silence. "Are we just going to sit here? I can’t hear anything outside. It would’ve been better if we just kept moving."

She was right about the first part. I couldn’t hear anything.

I listened out for any signs of a threat, for growls or snarls, but there was nothing. Even the air was still.

"We never should’ve stopped," she continued. "We could’ve made some good progress by now. Do we even have air inside this thing?"

I pointed towards the windows on either side of the truck. They were high enough that we couldn’t reach them on our own, but the downside was that they were mostly covered by the material we threw over the trucks.

"We’re going to fucking die," she whispered. "Why did we even listen to you?"

"What was the other alternative?" I snapped. "Driving? What if we were wrong? We’d all be dead. At least we’re alive. We just have one more night, okay? Just go to bed and stop complaining."

Her lips pursed in annoyance, but at least she had the decency to also look embarrassed.

I had no interest in fighting with her. I didn’t even have the energy. This mission was more draining than any journey we’d ever been on and it had less to do with the physical strain and more to do with the mental,

I started to head for the doors to keep watch when Jennifer stopped me.

"You kept watch last night. I can do it."

I hated how I hesitated at her words.

The last time she’d kept watch for us, Dan had ended up dead, and after that, she’d knocked Rowan and I out and stolen from us.

Even though so much time had passed since then, I still felt myself hesitating to trust her.

She must have noticed because she rolled her eyes. "I’m not going to run. Where would I go? If I tried to drive the car, you’d wake up and I can’t drag all three of you out of here."

I glanced over at the door. "You could drive the other one. All three of you could overpower Joshua or you could even take him with you."

At that, she laughed softly. "As much as I’d love to beat the shit out of him, I won’t. I’m not going to jeopardize this, Nadine, and you need to trust me."

"Why?" Rowan cut in. "Why should we trust you?"

"Because if we’re going to save the people in that bunker, then we need to work together. Don’t you think?"

I relented after a long beat of silence and settled at the far end of the truck with Rowan.

I didn’t fall asleep immediately though.

It must’ve been hours before I felt sleepy enough for my eyes to drift closed. Each passing second only brought more questions and worries to plague my mind.

"Are you awake?" I heard a voice whisper and I realized it was Jennifer.

Amy was softly snoring next to us and Rowan was so quiet that I couldn’t tell if he was faking or not.

"I am," I responded after a few seconds. "Do you want to switch now?"

I couldn’t see her figure, but I could only imagine her shaking her head as she whispered no.

"You said you hadn’t forgotten about Dan. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"You’re lucky. Sometimes I find myself trying to remember what his laugh sounded like. I was so focused on hating you that sometimes I took it out on him. We spent most of our time fighting."

I had no idea why she was telling me, but I stayed silent and let her speak.

Sometimes, that’s all we needed.

"I still have his picture," she continued. "I carry it with me everywhere. I’m scared that if I don’t, I’ll forget what he looked like."

"I carry his picture too. Technically, Rowan carries it. I’m scared I’ll lose it."

She chuckled softly. "I wish he was alive."

I didn’t even need to think about the words before they slipped out. "Me too. He’d love it at the community."

"He would. He was a good person." She paused before speaking again. "That’s why we have to kill Trent."

"Jennifer-"

"No more good people have to die, Nadine. How many Dan’s are dead? How many people have suffered because of what that man did? It is our civil and ethical duty to end his life. Why can’t you see that?"

I sighed. "I never said I didn’t."

"Then help us kill him. The others and I were talking. If we can hold off on alerting the bunker, we can sneak in and kill Trent."

"That’s a suicide mission. Trent is well guarded."

"Not if we send out a decoy message. We can distract them and draw them out. We can do this, Nadine."

The plan was half assed at best, and I knew it was more than likely going to get us all killed, but I knew her desperation, I’d felt it too.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

I could’ve sworn I felt her disappointment. "Yeah, sure. Goodnight, Nadine."