RADIO

chapter 19

The train rolled loudly on the tracks as they passed a sign set up high above the ground by two pillars.

"Welcome to Utah" it read.

"We're here guys" Haze announced.

"It's about time" Duchess chuckled, walking up to his side. Haze put an arm around her back and rubbed her shoulder a bit. "You excited?" He asked.

"Little bit" she smiled.

"Good" the brown haired boy placed a small kiss on her cheek and she smiled brightly. "Okay you two don't need to remind some of us how single we are!" Rider groaned in a sarcastic tone while sprawling out on the boxcars wooden floor.

The sunrises light peered through the broken boards of the cart and spilled over the flatland they rode through. Haze sat down on the carts floor with Duchess in tow.

"We should be passing through a place called Green River here soon, once we pass through there then we'll stop at Price and then we'll be on our own"  Tris informed, looking down at a map that was laid out on the floor. Brownie slept in her lap and she stroked his soft fur.

Meanwhile Rocky was asleep over Dibb's legs. Dibbs leaned on Monty's shoulder and Monty watched as we examined the map for possible towns or cities.

Jane was still dead asleep and Rider layed on her back, facing the bare ceiling that was littered with cobwebs and dust. "How far till Oregon?" She asked, fixing her glasses onto her face and sitting up with her small blanket still draped over her lap.

" a while I'm afraid" Tris answered.

"Let's just try to keep it all together, the more patient we are the more our mentality will be intact by the time we reach the sanctuary" Duchess said in a half sarcastic tone. Rider laughed a bit.

"Who's going to go and find a place to stay and who's gonna go and find supplies this time?" Monty asked.

Duchess thought for a minute, "well, Monty and Dibbs can go this time" she arranged.

"Fine by me" Monty shrugged, accidentally waking up Dibbs. "What?" He mumbled.

As the hours passed and the sun got higher in the sky the train came to a stop. The teens gathered their things and hopped down from the train cart. "Got your radios?" Duchess asked.

"Yep" they all spoke in unison.

"Great, don't lose them" she said, tucking her device into her backpocket underneath her hoodie off-white that was tied around her waist. The teens split into pairs and went off to explore.

Monty with Dibbs, Rider with Jane and Tris, Haze with Duchess.

"This has been quite a trip hasn't it?" Dibbs huffed, walking shoulder to shoulder with Monty. He watched as Rocky went a little ways ahead, chasing after rabbits, squirrels or any other sort of small wildlife that turned up.

"Tell me about it" monty reflected his tone, "I still can't believe we got this far, I thought after I lost this thing I was a gonner for sure" he said, looking down at his mechanical leg as they walked over the dirt covered concrete.

They walked throughout the small western town and behind a fence they could see a hoard or wanderers. "Shit" Dibbs gasped, taken by surprise at their sudden appearance. "That would explain the reason why we haven't seen any yet" Monty spoke.

"But now the question is, has this always been fenced up?" He continued.

"Maybe" Dibbs shrugged, "let's head back" he suggested. The hoard hadn't noticed them as they passed by the shoulder high chain link fence. The sun was still high above them and it looked as if the hoard had been there for a while, noticing their sun bleached clothes that barely clung to their corpse that wasted away. The parasite had only the senses the host did so some hosts were poor navigator's to the next healthy body.

"Wait look!" Monty gasped. He pointed over to a small building.

"What is it?" Dibbs asked.

"There might be stuff in there, it looks locked up, none of the others do so that means one of two things" he started to briefly explain, "either people are in there or there's a stash of supplies that someone doesn't want us to get" he listed on his fingers.

"Why would we loot something someone doesn't want us to touch?" Dibbs crossed his arms over his chest.

"Because they're most likely dead and aren't gonna be here to keep us from it anyways" Monty approached the boarded up door and grabbed the planks nailed into the doorframe. He pulled with all of his strength but they didn't budge.

Dibbs rolled his eyes a bit before going up to help him. They both pulled and the board snapped in two, making the both of them fall back. "This might take a while" Dibbs mumbled.

Meanwhile Tris, Jane and Rider left to find more supplies along with whatever could help the group and their survival. "There's nothing here!" Rider groaned.

"There has to be something, the hoards here aren't even that big so there wasn't a lot of people" Tris huffed.

"Maybe they took everything and left, I mean there were supposed to be two trains here but it's only ours" Jane commented. Rider ran a hand through her blonde hair, adjusting her ponytail, "I wouldn't say that, seeing as the hoards here look as if most of the people here were caught up in all of it" they huffed, "not as many people are as lucky as us"

"Hey look, there's some canned stuff in the back here!" Tris gasped, diving into a closet behind the two other women.

The other two sprung towards the sandy blonde haired girl and their faces lit up at the sight of the food. "Finally!" Rider breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's get this to Haze and Duchess, maybe they found a place to stay already" Tris suggested.

Jane stuffed a few of the items in the bag, "who's taking first shift tonight?" She asked.

"I can with Tris" Rider volunteered.

"Sure, the hoards creep me out so I probably won't get any sleep anyways" she shrugged, as brownie meowed from her bag. "I'll get you food in a little bit buddy" she pat his soft fur.

"Alright, let's go" Rider ordered, throwing her heavier backpack onto her shoulders and adjusting the straps just a bit. "Right behind ya" Jane answered her, reflecting her actions.