Dawn Of Rebellion Collection

15. Dawn

Another abandoned road greets us. Surprise. Everything in this damn country looks the same. I"m tired of walking through woods and fields. I can"t ever tell how far we"re moving. Sometimes it feels like we"re getting no closer at all. Hell, we may not be.

I stop walking when I see something shining from the grass off to the side of the road. Walking over, I bend down to uncover it. “Drew, come here.” He turns, walks back, and crouches down next to me.

“What is that?” he asks as I try lifting it to get a better look. It"s heavier than it looks, so I have to lay it back down. “Looks kind of like a door. To a car or something.”

He"s right, it does. I brush away more of the grass and dirt that"s covering it and find the handle. That"s when I notice the writing on the door. I scrape my nails against the metal to remove as much of the mud as possible. I don"t know why, but I just have to know what this says.

United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service“Long live the USA,” I whisper.

“What?” Drew asks.

“That"s what that man yesterday said to me.”

“So, you think he was actually an American?” he asks the same question I have on my mind.

“There aren"t supposed to be any of them left,” I say.

“Who else could he have been?”

“I don"t know,” I mutter, almost to myself.

Just then, there"s a noise coming from a little ways down the road. We frantically look around, at once both realizing how exposed we are. We begin moving slowly, so as not to attract the attention of whoever is out there. It doesn"t work, because it"s not a who that"s out here with us, it"s a what.

I"m paralyzed, unable to make myself run as I stare at the largest bear I have ever seen. “Dawn! Dawn! Come on, we need to get out of here.” Drew pulls my arm, but I"m frozen to the spot. It"s huge, with brown fur and dark menacing eyes. It isn"t until it"s coming straight for me that I"m able to start running. Drew is just steps ahead of me and we"re going as fast as our tired legs will take us.

The uneven road is littered with rocks that slide under our feet and slow our escape. Suddenly, pain shoots up my leg and I tumble forward. By the time Drew realizes I"m no longer behind him, the giant animal is standing over me. I try to get up and move, but the pain in my ankle is too much to bear. I fist rocks in both my hands and pelt the bear, but to no effect. I faintly hear Drew calling my name as he runs back for me, but I know that there"s no way he"ll reach me in time.

The animal rears up on its back legs and lets out a long roar. I close my eyes as a whimper escapes and tears roll down my trembling face.

I"m waiting and nothing happens. The roaring abruptly stops, but I"m still too scared to open my eyes. “Now, that is one hell of a bear.” This unfamiliar voice breaks me out of my trance and I open my eyes. The animal is lying near where I sit, with an arrow through its head.

The newcomer looks down on it, grinning from ear to ear. I don"t say anything because my mind is still reeling. Drew has reached us out of breath and looks at the man with an odd combination of relief and distrust. “Who are you?” he asks. After yesterday"s attack, we can"t trust anyone. Who knows what kind of people live here?

“Well, I could ask the same thing of you folks.” There"s a strange quality to his voice; some kind of weird accent, but not one that I"ve heard before. “Name"s Anderson, Samuel Anderson. Call me Sam. This here is Beth.” He taps the bear with his foot. “Been tracking her for days, till y"all led her right out here in the open. Thanks for that. Now, let"s get under some cover and we can take a look at that leg of yours, miss.” He walks towards me, grabs an arm, and looks back at Drew. “Don"t just stand there, help a lady out.” In spite of the circumstances, I can"t help but smile.

With help from the two of them, I"m able to hobble my way into the patch of trees to the side of the road. “Where are you taking us?” Drew asks.

“Well, sir, this little lady needs to see Ma. She"ll get that leg right taken care of. It"s not much farther.”

With me leaning on both men for support, we make it a few kilometers before reaching a small, ramshackle house that looks like it was cobbled together with random materials. It"s shelter, something we have been without since we touched down in the colonies.

As soon as we"re close, a woman appears out front, hands on her hips, looking narked.

“Samuel Anderson! Where have you been? We have been worried sick.” We? I wonder how many people there are out here. Nerves flutter in the pit of my stomach.

“Ma, I got her! I found Beth. Get Lee and Jesse to go get her. She"s just a few miles away, out on the road.”

“What"s a mile?” I whisper to Drew. He shrugs.

The woman called Ma finally notices us next to Sam. “Oh no no no. Who are these people? We don"t take in escapees. You"re going to get us all killed one day, Sam.”

Sam turns to us and asks, “Are you slaves?”

Drew responds with a quick “No.”

“See Ma, it"ll be OK. This lady needs your help. Beth was trying to gut her good when I found "em.”

Ma sighs and gestures us in. She doesn"t say anything, just points to a table. Drew lifts me onto it and hikes up my right pant leg so that Ma can get a better look at my ankle. She walks over and begins putting pressure on various spots.

“Tell me where it hurts.” She says quietly.

“Right there.” I wince as she finds the spot. She then begins turning my foot left and right and then rotates it in a circle. The pain is intense, but not unbearable.

“Well, it"s not broken. It"s probably just a sprain. There"s nothing we can do about the pain, you just need to give it a rest for a few days.” She walks away without saying anything more.

Drew walks up and grabs my hand. Sam comes to the other side of the table and says,

“I guess you"re staying here for a few days. Might help if I got your names.”

Drew looks at me before he speaks and I nod. “I"m Drew and this is Dawn.”

Sam smiles, “Well good, now that we got that cleared up, let"s eat.”