RADIO

chapter 28

The hours passed and the sun had set. 

Rider fell asleep on the floor In front of Duchess with Jane beside her. Rocky was asleep on Dibbs legs as he rest in Monty's arms on the couch across from them. Tris on the other hand was still unconscious. 

Though after a few dilation checks she was still responsive so Duchess said that she would wake in a few hours or maybe even a day. 

Monty helped board up the shop a bit more, seeing as they were probably gonna be looked for. 

Duchess sat up, finally not feeling nauseous but not being able to stand without passing out and having an irregular appetite. She leaned over on Haze's shoulder as his arm wrapped around hers. 

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Duchess asked. 

“Today we found people” he started, taking a deep breath before continuing. “When we found them there was this guy named West, he wanted our weapons in exchange for the medicine” he gestured to the blue bag sitting not far from them. 

“Yeah?” Duchess spoke to encourage him to keep talking. 

“So when we went to trade, a sniper came around and tried to get us…but we didn't let it, as you can see, but then we were surrounded and I ended up finding Leo” he explained.

Duchess perked up, “your older brother” she gasped.

“Yeah” he said, sniffling softly. Duchess sat up and crossed her legs, looking over at him. “I thought he was gone” tears arrived in the man's eyes. 

Duchess felt sympathy for him and pulled him down into a hug, letting him cry into her shoulder. “This means they're ok, Alice too” he hugs her tightly, happy that a bit of his family is alright. 

“But now the question is, where are they?” Duchess asked, excited for him. 

“I don't know” he pulled away and wiped his tears, a broken smile appeared on his face. “But I think they're heading to Oregon too,” he said. 

Duchess cupped his face, “that's great! We'll meet them there okay?” She spoke. He nodded and pulled her into another hug. The smaller woman wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close to her heart. 

“I'm so happy” he chuckled softly. 

“Me too” Duchess said, though no smile came. She thought of her family and couldn't help but miss them as well. Although his family was like her own so she thought maybe, just maybe, being around them would help her loneliness. 

The morning came and Duchess was able to get up and around again. 

“It feels amazing to walk again” she sighed, stretching her arms up and smiled a bit. The stretch felt nice and she looked over at Tris, Brownie was resting on her lap and refused to move. She was still unconscious. 

“We need to do something about this” Rider put her hands on her hips and looked down at the unconscious girl. “Maybe we can find something like a wagon to help transport her,” Duchess suggested. 

“ill carry her till we find something” Dibbs volunteered. 

“Okay then, we'll look for something on the way” Rider added, watching as Dibbs lifted the injured girl and Rider helped position her on his back. Brownie jumped off of her in the process and Duchess took Tris’s bag and let Brownie settle down inside it. 

“Let's get this show on the road,” Duchess said, throwing her bag over her shoulder and placing her forearm blades in the duffle bag. She patted the cats head and the teens set out for Oregon once again. 

The sun rose into the sky and they walked through the dry and ghostly city. The tall buildings looking abandoned and everything else covered in greenery like they've never seen before. “It's amazing how quick nature takes over,” Jane commented. 

“Tell me about it,” Duchess chuckled, grabbing her camera and taking a picture of the city line. 

A small photo printed out of the bottom and she added it to her collection. “You just gonna be taking pictures the entire way?” Monty asked, the sound of his mechanical leg creaking a bit as he walked. 

“Yep, and once we go to Oregon, I'll be able to look through it and remember all of this” she grinned with pride. 

“Count me in!” Haze gasped with a smile. 

“Dibbs! Come take a picture of us!” Duchess said. Tris was strapped to his back like a child, still unresponsive. Dibbs was able to walk normally but had to pass on his luggage to Monty. 

Dibbs smiled, “okay” he took the camera and they all positioned themselves in the grass that had grown up to their ankles. The tall buildings behind them. 

A small flash rang out and the others unfroze to run up and see what the picture looked like. “That's awesome,” Duchess chuckled, looking over the picture. 

“Let's keep moving,” Monty said, nudging them forward and turning to the mountains behind them. 

“Okay okay” Jane laughed with the others. 

They continued to travel through the city. As they passed through, Duchess spotted the familiar graffiti scattered around. They hopped up onto cars and passed through the abandoned city, avoiding Wanderers and successfully making it through the city by sundown. 

They reached the other side and Duchess looked back, getting the attention of the others. 

“Woah” she breathed. 

The sun had an orange and hot pink hue in the clouds, making the city line just a black silhouette. A shadow of something that would glow with artificial lights, something that was always busy and loud…something that was alive was now so silent.  

She snapped a photo and shook out the Polaroid that printed out the bottom. She glanced down at the photo but then put it in her bag. 

“They're looking for others” Dibbs said, noticing the fires that started in the city. 

“Well good luck to them because we are out of here” Jane scoffed. 

Duchess just hummed. Fear pricked at her heart and her anxiety started to rise immediately. She had finally come to terms of having to kill to survive. She never thought she'd have to stoop so low or commit such extreme actions…in fact she’s always feared it, scared she may hurt her loved ones. 

Monty noticed and placed a hand on her shoulder. “don't worry about this too much, okay Duchess? You can't control this” he comforted her. She looked up at him and nodded, “alright, I'm done with this fuckin city, let's go” she spoke in a rather soft tone. 

Everyone followed her lead and headed away from the large city.