Free Finding Eden by Megan Dinsdale Page A

situation like this.
    “ What are we going to do?” I groaned, standing just outside the cave. That’s when I realized my pack seemed too light. It should have been heavier.
    I had forgotten a few of my water bottles that I had carelessly taken out. Without looking at Tex, I quickly ran back towards the cave. A meteor catapulted out of nowhere into the side of the mountain, filling the mouth of the cave with tons of rubble. Dirt and rock exploded into the sky, pelting every inch of my body. I fell flat onto the ground and covered my head. Dirt blanketed me, creating a layer of filth across my body.
    Tex was immediately by my side, but not a second later another meteor came barreling out of the sky.
    And another.
    Each one brought with it the sound of a gunshot. A trail of smoke followed behind the flying boulders, mixing with the dirt and debris that convulsed from the desert with each thunderous impact.
    The cannon fire was relentless, a constant detonation. There was absolutely nowhere to run. All we had was hope—hope that we’d survive this onslaught of deadly projectiles.
    The desert exploded around us into hundreds of dirt geysers that continuously rained down on us, stoning us and turning the air around us into a dusty veil.
    “ Tex!” I pleaded. I had no idea what to do or where to go to from here.
    His hand wrapped around mine and I instantly felt safe, though never really out of death’s promising grip. We just ran for it, not entirely sure where we were running to. We just ran in hopes of escaping the heavy artillery produced from the skies.
    There was no point in speaking, for even screaming was drowned out by the sonic booms. The skies were masked with cloud-like contrails—so gray and thick they canceled out the moon.
    We had ran for over an hour when we finally stopped. The attack had mercifully halted. The clouded sky had yet to dissipate, but I could almost make out a brightening behind the smoky substance. We had less than an hour to find safety.             
    I rested my hands against my knees, trying in vain to catch my breath. Tex was at my side immediately, examining me for any fatal wounds.
    “ I’m fine,” I shrugged him away, which caused a bolt of pain to shoot through my arm. My entire body was sore. I felt like I had barely escaped a stoning by an angry mob. “How are you?”
    “ I’ve been through worse.” The side of his mouth curved ever so slightly. His answer left me wondering about his blinded eye all over again.
    The desert was newly scarred, covered in both deep and shallow pits that we had to find our way around.
    He grimaced and looked towards the sky. “We don’t have too much time left. The next safepoint is too far away. We’re going to have to head in that direction and hope to find something to shelter us from the day.”
    God must love me; we found a crater that had been newly formed in the side of a hill. It was deep enough to hide us from the daylight, though I wasn’t too sure how we’d fare against the higher temperatures; we were so used to the caves and the cooler climate they held.
    Tex led us about thirty-five feet into the hole when we were met with a wall. We were pressed against it, watching as the world outside of our substitute safepoint brightened. Every minute, the light grew closer and closer until it was almost biting at our toes.
    Tex broke the silence. “I have a feeling we won’t get much sleep today.”

Chapter 8
    [ Elle ]
    Night fell and I was dog tired. Sleep had come in short intervals all throughout the day. The unimaginable heat mixed with the light that threatened to consume us kept us both awake and too afraid to sleep.
    “ I’m not saying I regret coming with you, but holy crap!” I stretched out all my limbs and stepped out into the night.
    “ I won’t lie. Your little bunker would be the equivalent to Heaven right now.”
    I laughed and it hurt. My lungs ached from overuse. I was pretty sure they were coated