Thomas Flair: encouragement
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81vR31GLdh
Something wasn’t right.
I felt it as soon as I woke up.
The sun had just begun to peak over the trees. My arms and back felt sticky from the dew that had collected on the ground. The fire had long since burned out, now a pile of pale white ash.
Blinking, I sat up, trying to take in my surroundings.
The other teens were still asleep.
Except for Enoch.
Enock was crouched on the roof of the bus, his gun out and pointed down the road, back down the way we came.
He was so focused on his target that was beyond my notice that he didn’t even notice when I stood up.
Walking closer to the bus, I strained my eyes to find what he saw through his gun’s scope.
Suddenly, he pulled the gun away from his face; his jaw dropped.
“James!” He yelled as he crossed the roof of the bus in two strides, jumping to the ground instead of using the ladder. “Start the bus now! Everyone inside!”
Teens scrambled up from their sleep, grabbing their blankets and hobbling to the bus, not entirely awake but understanding the direness of the situation.
I watched as Enoch crossed to the back of the bus, opening the emergency door.
Standing behind the bus, he froze with his gun rained on something none of us could see.
“James! Start the bus now!” He yelled again, not taking his eyes off his scope.
The teens were now all on the bus, trying to find what Enoch was watching.
“James!” Enoch screamed louder this time.
“I’m trying!” the brown-haired boy yelled back. “It won't start!”
Some of the teens gasped in fear.
Enoch tightened the grip on his gun.
“Everyone move out of the way!” Hunter forced through the teens who refused to sit down and climbed out of the bus. Popping the hood of the bus, he balanced on the bumper reaching into the engine.
Mere moments later he called out, “Try it now!”
James restarted the bus, now followed by the choppy rumble of the engine.
Hunter jumped back into the bus as Enoch swung into the back.
“Go, go, go!” Enoch commanded as he grabbed onto a chair for balance.
James maneuvered the bus as fast as he could, away from the terror that had spooked Enoch.
“Enoch,” Noel spoke once we had put plenty of distance between us and our old camp. “What was it?”
Enoch took a deep breath, finally relaxing enough to collapse into the last open bench.
“Defendants. Dozens of them.”
ns 15.158.61.21da2
