The Extinction Trials(65)

Owen spotted it as the sun was setting: the thin line that divided the sea from the sky. Land.

The coastline looming on the horizon grew thicker as Owen called out, “Look!”

Maya was beside him, staring, a hand held at her brow to shield the sun. Owen felt her hand slide up his back and grip his shoulder.

Behind him, the others called and shouted, and he wrapped his arms around Maya and lifted her up as they spun to the group, where Alister was hugging Cara, and Blair and Will were beaming.

They had made it.

Quickly now, the shoreline came into view. There was no city here, or any that Owen could see, only an expanse of blue-green trees dotted by rock faces every now and then, sheer cliffs that looked out like faces watching the ocean waves break upon them.

Owen couldn’t see the end of the coastline, so he wasn’t sure if it was an island, but it looked far larger, like a primary landmass.

“We need to find a place to put ashore,” Alister said.

They brought the ship close enough to make out a small opening in the tree line.

“I think we should put ashore there at first light,” Owen said.

Alister reeled back. “First light? What are we waiting for?”

“Light,” Cara said flatly. “Owen’s right. We should get some rest. Based on how far we’ve still got to go, this will be a hike. And I don’t want to do it in the dark.”





The next morning, they loaded the duffel bags with the food they had left, their flashlights and blankets, and beached the boat at the narrow opening in the tree line.

Will carried his makeshift radio in a shoulder pack that also had the medical supplies.

“Wish we had a key to the boat to take with us,” Cara said.

Alister smiled. “It turns out we do.”

He went below to the engine compartment and returned with a handful of parts. “She can’t run without them, and I think all the marine supply houses are closed these days.”

Owen thought it was a good idea—one that hadn’t occurred to him. But Alister had realized it effortlessly. That was interesting.

Owen was surprised at how good the ground felt beneath his feet.

“Over here,” Will called out. He was crouching at the ground, holding up a rock, which Owen soon realized was a piece of pavement.

“There was a road here,” Will said.

“That ran into the sea,” Alister added.

“I think the sea rose up and swallowed it. There’s probably a city out there under it.”

“If there’s a road, it once led somewhere,” Maya said.

Will held up the GPS. “For now, it leads where we’re going.”





PART IV





The Wasteland





Chapter Fifty-One





On the road, there was nowhere to hide.

The group of six walked in silence as the sun rose behind them, peeking through the trees and slowly warming them until Maya swapped the thick sweater for a long sleeve shirt she had found on the boat.

The pavement was mostly gone, buried by the trees and shrubs that had grown up through it over time, like the hands of the planet rising up to reclaim its land.

Maya kept watch for road signs—or signs of any kind.

She saw none.

They stopped for lunch, and Will turned the radio on and listened. There was only static, but the young man seemed encouraged by it. Where Owen saw connections no one else did, Will seemed to hear something nobody else could hear.

They trekked on in the afternoon, still in silence, watchful of their surroundings. What struck Maya was that there seemed to be no animals out here—none big enough to make a noise in the forest. Bugs crawling on trees were the largest living creatures she saw, besides their group.

She worried that Blair would grow tired as the day stretched on, but the girl kept pace with the five adults admirably.

Further from the shore, the terrain grew hilly, and Maya found herself taking deeper breaths and felt a slight burn in her legs. They stopped to rest more often then, typically at Alister’s request.

He was bent over, gasping. “So, this is how the world ends? Hiking through the woods until you drop dead?”

“We are vulnerable out here,” Will whispered. “We should try to keep quiet.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alister muttered.

When they stopped the next time, they weren’t out of daylight, but they were out of energy.

“We’ll make camp here for the night,” Owen said. “And start again at sunrise.”

With that, they laid out the blankets and prepped a meal.

“Based on our progress today,” Owen asked Will, “how long until we reach The Colony?”

“Possibly tomorrow.”

At Will’s words, all eyes turned to him. He cocked his head. “However, it may be the next day if our rate of travel slows, which I count as likely. The way forward looks even more mountainous.”





When night fell, it grew colder. Maya slipped the sweater back on and snuggled under the blanket with Blair and Cara. She desperately wished they could start a fire, but it was too great a risk. So were the flashlights. They lay in darkness, waiting for the sunrise and another day of marching toward what they hoped would be salvation.