By the time they headed away from the road, it was late morning.

They all decided that the quickest way to get there is a straight line. They also reasoned that until they knew the situation of the general public it would be smart to stay off roads, least they run into jimmy again or worse.

The hills they now hiked down had obviously not been walked through in any of their lifetimes. Besides the light trash that had been blown in the wind, it all seemed untouched. The Blonde grass came up to their knees as they slowly followed Bryans lead down the hillside with Jack ack taking up the rear.

The boys stayed pretty silent as they went, both deep in thought of current events. The girls walked side by side talking idly about their parents and what they were sure their reactions would be to the chaos of the night before, both quietly knowing it was all speculative but it made them feel better so they ignored it as best they could.

When coming upon the dark green bushes that where at times even taller than Bryan, they gave them a wide berth. Sara seemed to think it was a probable hiding spot for snakes. Jack and Bryan seceded in agreement, not knowing the wild life well enough to know for sure.

Further down the hill there where full grown trees that from the heat of the sun that bared down on them all and harshness of the ground you would never realize were possible to exist.

Finally they came to a trail that wasn’t on the map but looked well maintained.

“Looks like a bike path,” Jack thought out loud.

“There is the genius chiming in!” Bryan chided, all this through the dry bushes and grass was getting to him. “Statements like that let me know your still you. Is it strange I find that comforting?”

Jack scowled at the first comment but the second he could help but laugh, “Glad you’re concerned but I’m fine, I told you.”

Bryan just shrugged and picked a place on a fallen tree that at some point must have lost a battle with the wind and fallen ones to the trail.

Carefully looking for bugs and critters he sat down and slung his back pack around. “Lunch time,” he declared.

At that, the girls huffed and sat on the far end of the log from Bryan, quietly talking to each other in Japanese again. They each pulled out and energy bar and started to munch quietly.

Seeing the girls want for privacy, Jack sat next to Bryan and found an energy bar of his own. The boys had let the girls have first pick of food, trying to be chivalrous, but Jack was now regretting that decision. His energy bar was supposed to be flax seed and berries but to him it tasted like cardboard with fake sugar on top. He read the label and saw that it was supposed to be organic and good for him, but at that moment he just wanted it to taste better.

Knocking back the rest of his water, he was surprised to find Rachel and Sara standing in front of him and Bryan.

“We want to take the trail,” Rachel boldly stated. “All this through tromping through the bushes like boy scouts is exhausting, one of us is going to turn an ankle or get bitten by a snake. And if that happens, it’s not going to matter if we are safe from people now, because once we get to the city we will be weak and easy prey. We don’t even know if anyone is out here other than us.” Her body seemed to deflate after blurting it all out in one go. He face still held an expression that dared them to challenge her.

Bryan nodded seeing the logic, but it was Jack that spoke up.

“Your right, but I don’t think that jimmy will give up so easy. Sure he ran like a little girl, but it was probably only to get reinforcements. What if he’s not the only one in his group that can throw cars? Or if they have someone that can stop them like me?”

Sara shook her head in dismay, “But don’t you see? That’s why we need to get out of here as quick as we can. With the bike trail we will make much better time. Besides even if they do find us and have more people with powers, I’ve got them too remember? You’re not the only one.”

Jack couldn’t quite discern the tone of her voice. Was she jealous? Her eyes had glowed to, but her power hadn’t surfaced yet. Does that mean that his are stronger? Is that what she thinks? Jack’s thoughts started to swim in the growingly familure fashion, which disappeared when he felt a sharp sting on his cheek that threw his head to side. Sara had smacked him he realized.

“Don’t you do that, don’t you trust us? Or are you going to fact check us in your head every time we make a suggestion of something you two haven’t thought of?” Sara exclaimed as stamped her foot and shot a look at him that could have burned through steel.

Jack was in shock from being slapped, speechless from Sara’s accusations. He looked at Bryan for help, but he was looking the other way, obviously trying to keep from laughing at his brothers’ position.

What he didn’t see was the glare that came from Rachel at him that could have just as easily killed.

Jack looked back to Sara and broke down, “Of course I trust you! It’s not that... I really... I wasn’t..,” Jack stammered, “I didn’t mean to do the power thing, honest, I still don’t know how it really works or what triggers it. I... I’m sorry if it came off like me and Bryan didn’t trust your opinions.”

Sara’s look broke, she looked on Jacks face with a mix of relief and acceptance of his apology. Turning her head to Rachel, she shot her a look that to jack looked almost like an I told you so. How could girls communicate so much with just a look? Jack wondered. How in the world am I supposed to read all these things properly? Jacks head started to spin but it had nothing to do with his powers.

Bryan stood and packed away his trash, they had agreed they would burn it all. It might be the end of the world as they knew it but they should still be responsible, they had agreed. “Your right, if we do come across more hostel people we are going to need our strength. We’ll take the bike path down. Judging by the maps and the direction of the trail, if it stays in the same direction it will take us out not far from where we wanted anyway.”

Jack snapped from his thoughts and nodded in agreement, taking his last bite of his lunch. He looked to Sara who smiled back at him.

I’ll never figure this out. How canto sentences and a look turn me into a blabbering fool. I just met Her! Although it was the happiest night of my life, up until the meteor of course...

Walking the bike path was significantly easier then walking through the brush. Jack kicked rocks as he was deep in thought. The path winded back and forth around thicker patches of the now far more common trees, but it still slowly sloped downwards making it much easier now that they didn’t have to worry about their footing.

While walking, Jack walked with Sara and Bryan with Rachel. Jack and Sara where back to enjoying each other’s company. Jack had tried to apologize again but Sara would hear nothing of it, saying it was already forgiven and she knew it wasn’t intentional.

Bryan’s advances on Rachel were meeting far more resistance, it was apparent to all but Bryan that she had no interest in him romantically and that their friendship to her was to be strictly plutonic. To change the subject she talked about where they were headed and had him bring out the maps so they could plan together.

Bryan thought it a situation he could capitalize on so he became adamant about the change in group dynamics. By the time they reached the trail head they figured they had a well formulated plan.

The trail head surprised them all, it really wasn’t a trail head but just where it opened out to an open road. They weren’t exactly sure where on the road they were but they felt strongly they knew which one they had reached. Stopping for a water break, Rachel went over the plan.

“So by Bryan and I’s figuring, we are here.” She said gesturing to the laminated map booklet, “The last mile or so of the trail actually took us south, but this road runs east to west and should take us to a road that heads almost due north all the way to more populated areas. We could go back to going through the brush but even from here it looks steep and would not only be dangerous but probably take us far longer to get where we want.”

Bryan stood next to her, nodding with each statement. He had a smile on his face that almost made him look goofy, proud that they had worked together on the plan. “So what do you two think?” he said.

Jack looked to Sara and shrugged. Having not looked at the maps themselves since lunch time, they had no idea what half of that meant.

“We trust you guys, let’s take the road.” Sara said with certainty that earned a smile from Rachel.

The road was only two lanes wide but it was more than enough for them to walk side by side together. It slowly curved north as they walked along, with a chain link fence on their left to keep people from falling down an embankment so steep it was almost a cliff. The bottom of the embankment opened up to a ravine with the same vegetation they had now become accustomed to.

On the far hill there was a house, marking their first sign of being back in civilization. There were a few cars as they went, but all were already visibly rooted threw with doors and trunks open wide. They hadn’t found any bodies, and they all found that assuring. They hoped that the people that had been in them had made it to safety.

The right side of the road raised into an embankment, almost as steep as the one on the other side but was more the twenty feet over head.

Making it to the intersection to take the road north was much shorter than they thought it would be, only taking fifteen minutes they figured. But rounding a corner as the intersection came into view, Jacks stomach dropped when he read the street signs.

“Is this the bottom of the road we drove up last night to the lookout?” Jack asked with apprehension, stopping dead in his tracks.

Bryan glanced around and nodded affirmative, and Jacks eyes grew wide, “We have to get out of here NOW!” he asserted quietly with authority. At the same time he grabbed Sara’s hand and hurried back around the corner.

Seeing his reaction, Bryan and Rachel hurried after him.

“Hey, stop!” Bryan called out, Jack had almost broken into a jog. “We have to go that way, there is no other road north for miles that direction.”

Coming to a stop, Jack shook his head, slowly he walked back toward Bryan and Rachel who had stopped right around the corner safely out of sight from the intersection. Both looked completely and utterly confused by Jacks reaction.

Sara managed to look concerned more than confused as she followed Jack back to the others. “Don’t you remember what Jimmy said?” Jack started in quietly.

“Jimmy? No, what? I was a bit distracted by the car throwing, I must have missed something,” Bryan mused.

“When he tried to take Rachel, you dolt. Figured you would for sure remember that!” Jack cut back, making Bryan’s cheeks flush redder then sunburn. “Jimmy said that the rest of his crew was at a house at the bottom of the hills.”

Bryans face blanched, “No way, I didn’t see a house though, did you?”

Jack pictured his look at the intersection in his head, trying to remember all that was there.

It was vivid as if he was looking at it now.

“Yes,” he stated, “there is a gate right at the corner of the intersection.”

Rachel gasped as she ducked her head around the corner to look and pulled back, flattening herself against the embankment as she pulled back. “He’s right, it’s there!”

Daring herself another glace, she leaned and peered around the corner, looking for anyone in the vicinity of the house.

It took less than a minute when she whipped back around. “There are people there! I saw someone that looked to be guarding the walk way to the house. He walked up to the gate, looked around and then walked back up the path.” Shaking, she slowly dropped herself to the ground.

Sara was shaken as well, but seeing her cousin in such a condition she went to her side. “It’ll be ok, we’ll find a way around this.” She sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. As her shoulders started to bob, Sara knew she was sobbing.

Looking up Sara gave Jack a pleading look.

Jack looked to Bryan but he was staring at Rachel trying to think of a way to comfort her. “There there, it’s ok,” he started.

Rachel looked up at him, eyes red from tears. “Okay? OKAY? You call all this Okay?” She shouted, warranting a hush from Sara so that the noise didn’t reach the intersection. “This is not okay,” Rachel went on, “Aaron is dead, God knows if our parents were ones to wake up after that damb comet, there is no electricity, our phones don’t work, we have no way to get around and we are being hunted by an asshole I had to tutor in high school! Things are not okay!”

P

Her words struck Bryan like a physical attack, taking a step back to take it all in. He knew it all was true. Aaron was the first thing she listed, did she have feelings for him? The thought struck him that in all that she had said, that was what first popped in his head. He felt ashamed. So much had happened in the last day that he realized he hadn’t really processed any of it just pushed it aside.

He felt the fear of the uncertain bubble up inside him, his eyes start to tear. No he told himself. I must stay strong for Jack, I must keep it together to get him back to our parents. Bryan steadied himself and looked to Jack.

Jack was frowning, watching the girls. It was obvious he felt bad for her and knew what she said was all true. But he also couldn’t shake that he felt responsible for them all, that it was his job to make sure they were ok. I’ve got to have these powers for a reason, he told himself.

Whatever had happened to him in that eco box, had changed him forever.

In the moment when he thought of all the ways to handle the situation, the calm that came over him he found had never really left. He had accepted in that moment what had happened and decided what needed to be done. “Your right, it’s not okay. Everything is royally screwed up. But, if we on dwell on what has happened and things we can do nothing about, it will only be worse.”

Sighing and moving towards Rachel, who had looked up to hear his words with tears still slowly streaming down her face, and crouched to her level and continued, “We must remember Aaron and his values as a person, we must remember what our parents have taught us, sure things look bleak now but we will find a way. We will find your parents and we will all be ok.”

Rachel’s tears came to a stop, staring into Jacks eyes, she found solace in his words. Wiping her eyes, she assured Sara she would be fine. Standing up she went to jack and gave him a soft hug. “Your right, we have to keep it together.”

Jack knew that in 'we' she meant herself but he wasn’t going to correct her now. He was horrible with girls but he wasn’t stupid.

Glancing to Bryan, he saw a look of shock on his face. “What?” Jack asked.

“How is it that a shut in like you always knows what to say?” Bryan asked with a hint of awe in his voice that only Jack caught.

Jacks face reddend a bit and he looked toward the road. Sheepishly he explained, “What can I say, I read a lot of books and have played a lot of games. In both, the people that worked together and kept their cool in tuff situations always prevailed. Well almost always.”

“Whatever the reason, I’m glad for it.” Sara commented, squeezing into Jack giving him a kiss on the cheek. Making Jack blush, turning almost magenta in color.

“Too bad you didn’t read much about girls!” Bryan threw in with a laugh.

Everyone seemed to catch a laugh at Jacks expense at that, even he couldn’t bring himself to glare at Bryan like he wanted to.

As the laughter subsided Jack remembered the task at hand. “Sooo anyone have any ideas on what to do?”