บททั้งหมดของ FLUX: บทที่ 181 - บทที่ 190

They walked through the rest of the night. At sunrise, the carts started up with only a few issues which Ellie and Weylin were quick to fix. The carts rolled forward at a man's pace as they followed the road through the flat desert.By the time nightfall hit, another city lay on the horizon. This one looked much smaller than the last, but Jimmy kept them still when the carts ran out of power."Hybrid! Smart-girl!" Jimmy beckoned.Alex slid out of the cart. She joined him and Ellie at the front of the caravan."What do you think?" He asked. "Should we go around or through?"Ellie tapped her lips as she thought. "This is a pretty small town. There are no other major roads straight through it. On the other side is a bunch of mountains. I would recommend the straight approach.""Hybrid, risk assessment?" Jimmy asked.Alex looked through her scope and scouted the town ahead. "Looks dead." She turned around to look at the surrounding hills and the smooth desert behind them. I'd say mo

Tom sat in the cart as it climbed the hills. It was supposed to take only a day if they looked at it distance-wise, but the mountains were too steep to push the carts and make much progress. The first night they pushed through for a while, but gave up and just made camp. It looked like it would be another two days of travel just to get to the next city.Ellie and Weylin spent each morning checking the motors. They had already lost one and the cart had to be towed by two others until Ellie was able to repair it. Luckily, she did get it fixed, but it was only a matter of time before they lost one for good. He hoped they would get back to the cities soon, not because it was safer, but because they held more materials to salvage.Brooke snaked her arms around his waist. "How's it going?" She asked, her breath tickling his ear."It's the same. Just more mountains and more wind turbines. Not much has changed yet.""Aren't you getting bored of this? It's always the same. Sit here, watch f

They walked through the green grasslands dotted with solar towers, sunflowers, and blackberry vines. The sun was just setting over the mountains in the distance. The sky was seeping dark pinks and purples that lit up the entire sky. Tom had never seen anything so beautiful and majestic in his entire life.Brooke had been trying to abscond with him secretly for the last few nights, but with the wide-open space, there really was nowhere to hide. The best he had been able to manage was some long kisses behind the cart, but it was never long before someone interrupted them. He could see Brooke getting more frustrated. She was starting to get that look in her eyes. He knew that whatever she was cooking up was going to be disastrous for him.He finished filling the pot from the water barrel in the back of the cart and headed back over to the chemical heater at one of the circles. Brooke avoided his gaze but he saw her smiling wickedly. Whatever she had planned she was going to do it soon.

The carts pulled on for the rest of the day while they crawled up and down the sloping road along the river. Tom was entranced by the grass blades rippled like ocean waves in the wind. Short sunflowers dotted the landscape and even small shrubs started growing. Blackberry bushes with prickly vines and pointed leaves sprouted up everywhere around them.The sun sank over the mountains, casting its dazzling sunset yet again, but this time the clouds looked heavy and dark. They broke for another meal. Tom joined his usual circle. He set a burner simmering a pot of tomato pasta."How's she doing?" Tom asked as he sat down next to Jimmy.Alex lay in his lap covered in blankets. Dark circles were heavy under her eyes. She was barely conscious as Jimmy tried to coax a scoop of mashed potatoes down her throat from an open MRE pouch. She swallowed them so painfully slowly it made it hard for Tom to watch.Jimmy shook his head. "Not well, she's barely been awake for the last two days.""How

Tom knocked on the door to the new medical wing before entering. Brooke shot him a smile as she organized medicines in a cabinet. He strode up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her neck."I missed you," he whispered in her ear."You were only gone for three days." She turned toward him and looked up at him with her golden hazel eyes."It was a really long three days.""Did you get the carts?"He nodded. "They are getting unpacked as we speak. How is she?""Ellie has her hooked up to some brain monitor stuff. She says that without Jack's input, it's hard to tell what is really going on. So pretty much, we still don't know anything.""How's the baby?"Brooke looked surprised and then looked at Alex. "Oh, fine. Still too early to tell the sex, but it seems healthy enough.""You're keeping something from me."Brooke looked away and smiled. "Maybe."He pulled her closer and kissed her ear. "What is it?""It's too soon to be sure.""You can still tell me."Bro