Free Finding Eden by Megan Dinsdale Page B

with dust as well. I didn’t want to journey on tonight. I just wanted to curl up and hibernate for a couple of years, but that crater wasn’t even close to safe.
    I took a long pull from my water bottle and it dulled the gritty, uncomfortable feeling in my throat.
    “ It seems we’ve been to hell and back in under a day.” Tex commented as he scanned the map. “Good news is, we’re over half way to the next safepoint , so we won’t have to travel long tonight.”
    “ That news makes me so happy I could just cry.” I brushed a fake tear away from my eye.
    “ Please don’t.”
    “ How compassionate.” I rolled my eyes.
    “ Compassion died when the world died.”
    I shut my mouth. I had a feeling that world was code for Sarah and Danielle.
     
    [ Tex ]
    After a couple hours, we finally made it to the next safepoint .
    We were beat; it had been both a physically and emotionally exhausting couple of days, but when was it not with us? I laid out the blanket and Blondie immediately took the side closest to the cave wall. She was out within seconds—the last twenty-four hours were etched into her heavy, labored breathing.
    I went to fiddle with the lantern, but I thought better of it. The girl had the right idea. As grimy as I was, I didn’t have the strength or the state of mind to do anything but exit this world for the day.
    The blanket was large enough, so I could take a side to myself and not be in an uncomfortable proximity to her.
    It was halfway through the next night when we both came to. Our stomachs were both bitching at us; the lack of food was our grumbling wake-up calls.
    After devouring every ounce of expired, tasteless food that was buried away in the cave, we cleaned ourselves up. I was pretty sure it’d take years to get every ounce of grime from our pores.
    It was a luxury to feel well-rested for once. Though my muscles were still slightly sore, I didn’t feel like dropping dead of my own accord. Looking back on the events over the last couple of days, it really was an amazing thing that we were both still alive. We should have been meteorite pancakes. Or at the least—buried alive. But, no. Here we were: alive and kicking.
    Speaking of which…
    “ Hey, Kid. Since we won’t be leaving until tomorrow night, how about some more training?”
    She perked up then, pulling her knife from its holster and slicing at the air. It was either this or I was sure she’d come up with some inappropriate question to ask me that I wouldn’t want to answer. I buried those thoughts back into the recesses of my fucked up mind and flashed a smile in her direction. Blondie grinned and disappeared outside.
    I stepped out into the open. For a change, all was still and quiet. It felt wrong, almost eerie. It was like being in the eye of a storm. And that was when, out of nowhere, I was tackled to the ground. My body fell hard with a thud, bringing with it a shot of pain from my head to my toes. It was quickly replaced with adrenaline when I realized who the culprit was. Blondie had one knee digging into my sternum and the other into my neck.
    “ Payback’s a bitch, Tex.” She pulled her knife from its holder once more, stood up, and gave me one of those come-get-me looks. It stirred something in me that I refused to acknowledge.
    She gave me another look. It was one that I couldn’t really place and it made me uncomfortable. It was a mixture of trust and just-you-fucking-wait . And with that, she tossed her Bowie to the side and took off like a jet in my direction. I hadn’t noticed before, but her speed was impressive. Within seconds she was in front of me, flinging her body into the air and I was her target. I was ready this time and before she could tackle me again, I wrapped my arms around her body, turned her around, and dropped her—gently, mind you—onto her back.
    “ Argh!” She hissed as she moved violently beneath me.
    I just laughed. I weighed more than twice as much as she did and she thought she