Free New World Order by S.M. McEachern Page A

leafless forest, and branches whispered against each other. It wasn’tan unfamiliar sound, but I was used to hearing it as part of an orchestra of traffic on a busy street, the incessant chatter of people, and the hum of electricity. On its own, it sounded hollow and lonely, and I was suddenly aware that we were the only living creatures for miles.
    Summer and I stood watch when it was Jin’s turn. “Are you feeling any better?” I asked. Summer looked pale.
    Sheshrugged. “Drinking water is helping a lot.”
    I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to come. Maybe it’s too soon.”
    Only seven days ago she had been hooked up to an IV, kicking the alcohol in her system. She was strong in her fight against her addiction, stronger than I had ever seen her, and I had thought taking her away from the temptation of booze would help.But she was on medication Doc had prescribed to take the edge off her cravings and keep her withdrawals in check, and now I was afraid she was vomiting them up.
    “No. I’m glad I’m here,” she said, putting her hand on mine. “I’ll get used to the raft. Don’t worry about me.”
    Jin-Sook finished, and we returned to the shore.
    “There’s no sign of them,” Jin said to Eli.
    “It doesn’t mean we’regoing in the wrong direction,” Eli said. “They won’t stray too far from a water source, but traveling the riverbank with wagons is difficult. They probably kept to the higher trails.”
    This was a river valley. The shore on either side of the river ranged from somewhat flat and pebbly, to sheer cliffs, to everything in between. Our current position was relatively flat, but the terrain on eitherside of the river crept steadily upward to eventually tower over the valley.
    We stowed our packs in the raft and pushed it back out onto the water before we all hopped in. Although I was still uncomfortable being on the water, I was beginning to trust that the raft would stay afloat. Summer didn’t look any more comfortable. It took only twenty minutes for her to lose her lunch.
    The currentwas swift and, I was pretty sure, stronger than it had been before we had stopped. We navigated our way through some rapids, and eventually the current slowed as the river widened into a lake. Reyes and I dug into the water with the paddles, using the boosted strength that our exoskeletons gave us to power across the lake. The calmer waters gave Summer a brief reprieve, but soon enough the waterwaynarrowed and we switched from paddling to repelling away from rocks. Even taking turns, the work was exhausting.
    Occasionally I looked up from my task to scan the mountaintops on either side of us, wondering if recruiters were watching our progress. Oddly, the thought didn’t scare me. It gave me hope that Jack might still be in the area and I could bring him home sooner than anticipated. Yet,as the day wore on, all I saw were rocks, bare trees, and the occasional small animal getting a drink at the river’s edge.
    When the water became too rough to navigate, we pushed our way back to shore. Summer jumped out of the raft as soon as we were in shallow water.
    “We’ll need to go on foot for a few miles at least,” Eli said.
    “Thank God,” Summer whispered and sat down on the groundwith her head between her knees.
    I grabbed my backpack and Summer’s, took out our flasks, and filled them with water. Eli and Jin attempted to help Reyes get the raft ashore, but he waved them away, picked it up, held it aloft, and carried it up onto dry land. Setting it down, he fumbled with a mechanism on the back of it, and a whirring started as the raft began to deflate. Summer looked atthe boat with detest.
    “Are you going to make it?” I asked, handing her the flask.
    “Would you believe me if I said I was getting used to it?”
    Pulling my mouth into a wry smile, I dropped down to sit next to her. “No.” I took out a freeze-dried food pack, mixed it with water, and offered