Solacium

Ch 25: Blake

I stared at the empty expanse of trees that Vorian had disappeared into, my eyes wide with disbelief. I couldn't believe what had just happened.

Not only did the world still have some kind of military, but they took Vorian.

And there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

The forest fell silent as the sound of the trucks faded into the distance, and my mind reeled with a million thoughts. It seemed that everything I knew was a lie. Clearly, this world still had a military, and if not that, at least a functional group of soldiers with weapons and vehicles.

How could they just sit back and watch as everything went to hell? Where were they when the Deviants rose up and took over the cities?! When people were murdered in broad daylight or slowly starved from a lack of resources!

There was no way, they couldn't possibly be the military. They had to be something else, but what?

I couldn't even begin to think about what all of this meant. None of it even felt real. My thoughts were all over the place, muddled by a barrage of emotions I barely understood. But if there was one feeling that I could pinpoint, it was the aggravating feeling of complete and utter helplessness.

My eyes fell to the blaster in my hand, and I tightened my grip on the sleek silver weapon. Anger rushed through my body and I tossed the blaster aside, running my hands roughly down my face.

How could I just let them take him?!

The potency of my anger surprised even myself, and I couldn't pinpoint what exactly was causing it.. Part of me thought it was due to my own frustration with how helpless I was. I had become the very thing I promised my father I would never be.

But maybe it was something else too. I would never admit it aloud, but I was taken aback by how much it bothered me that Vorian was gone. I tried telling myself that it was because I owed him. That he had saved me back in the city, yet I couldn't return the favor, but I knew deep down it had to be more than that.

"Don't go beating yourself up now," I heard Jada say from beside me. I was so lost in my own self-deprecating thoughts I had almost forgotten she was sitting in the grass beside me.

Letting out a breath, I turned my attention to her. My gaze fell upon her face, her expression was empathetic when she looked at me.

"Are you alright?" I asked Jada while she straightened the breather on her face.

She huffed, waving her hand dismissively. "Are you alright?" Jada countered, her eyes darting between me and the blaster I had thrown a few feet away.

I sighed. I don't even know anymore...

But I didn't tell Jada that. Unsure of what else to say and with no lies coming to my scattered mind, I didn't even bother with an answer. Instead, I decided to change the subject altogether.

"How did this happen?" I asked as I searched around the cabin, my gaze falling on the tire markings ingrained in the soft grass.

I heard Jada grunt as she slowly began to stand, and I immediately held my hand out to steady her. Together we stood, and I held in a hiss of pain when Jada leaned on me for support, forcing me to put pressure on my leg.

"I'm not entirely sure," Jada began, wiping the grass off her pants. "One minute I was in my room minding my own business when I heard a loud chopping sound from outside. I barely had time to put on a breather before those roided-out bozos were at my doorstep."

I frowned. "Chopping sounds?"

Jada nodded, pointing toward a section of the forest behind the cabin. "They had to cut down some trees to get their big trucks here," She replied, shaking her head in disapproval. Following her gaze, my eyes fell upon the part of the forest where General Hoffield's men had cut a path through the forest, leaving fallen trees in their wake.