Chapter 3
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Somewhere in New Hampshire, around seven A.M., with Cameo at the wheel, they quietly pulled the minivan into the vacant campsite. As the threesome tumbled into the empty trunk and bundled into the heavy blanket Infinity wisely brought, the fiery orange sun rose high in the pink- and gold-tinted sky. As the sun streamed through the windows, the trio slept, exhausted from the endeavors of the night.
Sometime around noon, Cameo was awakened by a very slight sniffling noise. He sat up and looked around. Infinity was crying softly. She was drained, she missed her parents, and on top of all that, she was sleeping in the back of a minivan with a sixteen-year-old boy and his cousin! He knew all this. He also knew that he had done the right thing.
He lay back down and wrapped his arms around Infinity, trying to comfort her. It must have worked, because a few moments later, she was asleep once more.
When Cameo woke next, it was dark. He gently unwrapped himself from both girls, who, at some point during the night, had curled up on either side of him as a source of security. As he crept to the driver's seat, he typed directions into Infinity's phone, which he had discovered the password to the previous night. Rolling out of the campground, Cameo thought about Infinity, Harley, and himself, all joining together on this harrowing journey of survival and wits. Driving down the highway in the dark, he thought about the billions of teenagers that, come Christmas, would be stuffed into a massive arena and bombed. As snow began flurrying around the car as they drove past the Maine-New Hampshire border, he thought about the parents that would be bereft of their cherished, beloved sons and daughters. So many things he knew, so many things he couldn’t tell anyone. His load was heavy, and taking on two innocent, ignorant girls made that load so much heavier.
As he mourned the world’s loss, Infinity slid into the chair next to him.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered.
So are you, he thought, blushing. Not that he’d tell anybody. Ever.
Out loud he said, “We crossed over into Maine a few minutes ago. It’s getting kind of hard to see, so I thought we’d pull into a hotel. It’s only, like, ten o’clock. Keep an eye out.” Ten minutes passed in silence. The blue-and-red sign of a Hampton Inn glowed through the storm, and Cameo sliced into the driveway. He donned a large hat, goggles, and a buff to conceal his face, instructed the others to do the same, grabbed his backpack, Harley's bag, and Infinity’s suitcase, motioned for the other two to follow him, then traipsed into the hotel. Walking up to the elderly man at the front desk, he asked for one room in which to shelter from the storm. The man took the credit card, typed a few things into the computer and handed Cameo a room key and the card.
“Come on, guys. We’re on the fourth floor.” Once they had all trekked into the elevator, Harley finally broke down crying. She sank onto the floor and sobbed. The other two rushed over to her and tried to comfort her to no avail.
“I miss my parents!” She wailed. The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival at their floor. Cameo hoisted the girl onto his shoulder and carried her to their room. Infinity opened the door and they rushed in, double-locking the door behind them. Cameo threw Harley onto the nearest bed and shook her.
“Are you CRAZY? ALL OF OUR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE! Not just yours. You have to pull it together! We are so close to Canada. Once we’re safe in Alaska, then you can cry your heart out. But until then, keep it together, or I'm letting Jaidin throw you in his pen and explode you. In fact, I'll turn you in myself. So shut up and stop crying.”
Cameo stalked over to the door and attached a strange looking black box to the door.
Oh my word. That girl is going to be the death of… the teen race, I guess? Who cares. I kinda just want to take Infinity and go, but Harley’s my cousin. And she’s helpless. She comes with. The distraught boy shook his head. “Nobody leaves this room until morning. I mean it. You can do whatever you want here, but no one goes out.” Harley leapt into the chair by the desk. She grabbed her backpack and pulled out a small laptop.
“What’s that, Harley?” Infinity wondered. In answer, the smaller girl unfolded multiple large screens from the first screen. She plucked a little cube from her backpack, and, placing it on the floor next to her, pressed an all but invisible button, causing the contraption to grow much larger, about the height of the desk and long enough that it pressed up against the bed. After the machine, out came a toolbox.
Pointing to each in turn, Harley identified the objects. “Coder screen, video feed screen, comm links screen, and 3D print screen; 3D printer; toolbox filled with my tools and a billion scrap parts.” Turning back to her work, Harley brought up the link for her 3D printer.
Infinity took the hint and walked away, toward Cameo. As she came up behind him, the boy threw the black box onto the floor and slammed his hands onto the door. He leaned his head against the door and muttered words Infinity couldn’t catch. She crossed the few feet between them and gently put her hand on his shoulder.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Huh? What? Oh, no. That’s ok.”
“Okay.” She grabbed a clean change of clothes and headed into the bathroom for a shower.
Cameo picked the box up again and fed wires through the inner matrix of the device. Infinity stepped up next to him.
“Harley and I are going to bed. It’s late. Don't stay up too long.” He nodded and Infinity turned and left.
A few hours later, she heard a creak and opened one eye. Cameo, illuminated by his phone’s flashlight, came into her line of sight. She looked closer and saw two faint trails left on his cheeks; he had been crying, and she knew that, while this was hard for her and Harley, it had to be much, much worse for him.
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