Permafrost [COMPLETED]

Luke

I give Griffin a fist bump and ruffle Cade's hair.

"We'll be back soon. And if we're not then there's no one you can call." Levi chuckles, but it's a little more to ease the tension than anything. "And don't cry either because you are all too cool for that."

This time they all offer me a little bit of laughter as smiles break out onto their faces.

"This is the first supply run," Marcus cups his cheeks and blows out a big puff of air. "We'll tell you how it goes and the easiest routes to take. Hopefully, we won't be too long."

"The longest it takes to get to the other side of town is a day and a half. You guys have what you need. All the supplies. You'll be fine." Levi tries to be comforting as he places a hand on my shoulder.

"Look after my sister," I tell him softly and he nods once, staring as if I'm going to say more. "She needs it."

"Of course."

I walk over and kneel next to my sister.

"I'll see you soon, Kat. Okay?" She nods and wraps her arms around my neck, causing a smile to appear on my face.

I stand up and glance at Marcus. He stands with both of his hands wrapped around his backpack straps. "You ready?"

I nod then turn back to everyone else.

"Bye guys."

I hear a chorus of bye's from each of them and before I regret it, I turn without looking back and crawl out of the basement window.

We start our trek on the road and I take a deep breath.

"I feel like we're never going to see them again," I say, reaching for the gate that takes us to the outer circle of town. "All together."

"It's possible," Marcus says, ducking under the bar and placing his feet on the dark dirt. "We could get caught by the Reepers. We could both die in a tragic way. We could never find our way back."

"Well, aren't you looking on the bright side." I say dimly, shaking the fence as I hold on to it, the only thing keeping me from falling.

"And you are? C'mon Luke, this isn't Brookwall anymore, it's a frickin' horror movie now." He moves a branch as we continue walking. "Bradley has Reepers out roaming the streets, kidnapping children and practically throwing them in jail with their deranged parents, after a few weeks he's having the Reepers just shoot us on sight. Does that sound like a regular episode of Sunnyvale? No. That sounds like the frickin' apocalypse just came to town. I mean, look at the street already! Tires, abandoned cars, people locking in their homes to stay safe, no sign of civilization for miles! This is not normal! So excuse me if I think we might die within a few days of leaving home."

For more than half the walk, it's quiet. Birds in the trees, rustling leaves in the wind, no roaring car engines or sounds of bike pedals.

It makes me wonder what this town would have ended up like if Bradley hadn't ruined it all. If the buildings were just houses and the wall didn't exist.

Would I still be living in my house with both my parents? My sister and her sparkly clip phase, her dress getting covered in sticky maple syrup handprints?

My mom laughing so loud that it traveled throughout the entire house, making the dog bark an uncontrollable amount of times.

That summer was certainly one to remember after I got my car and got to go up to the mountains, taking my friends in the woods and getting lost among the wild.

I ruined so many flannels.

I took an extra credit class that first week of June and passed with flying colors.