clipped an open door and slammed on
the accelerator. Everywhere, people jogged. No one was walking anymore, even if
there was no reason to jog. The air was filled with an infectious anxiety that
seemed to be cured only be movement.
Liam wouldn’t let go of Jaxton’s
shoulders, though he struggled like a strong child. “Easy now. Easy. Everyone
is too busy trying to pretend they aren’t scared as fuck.”
Jaxton relaxed slightly, which was
enough for Liam’s large hands.
“And the worst is not knowing. Having
no idea what’s really going on makes the mind spin. And that just takes you to
places you’re better off not visiting. Know what I mean?”
Jaxton nodded, breathing a bit easier.
“Alright. Troy’s gone. He’s not as
tough as he seemed, and he’s gone. Everyone else is panicking because we don’t
have a plan. We need a plan, Jaxton. And we need it now.”
Jaxton’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Are you with me? We make for Cold Spring?”
Liam remained calm. “If I had to
guess, and I don’t fucking know much at all, but I would say within 24 hours we
are evacuated to the southern states. I don’t trust that. I say we go with what
we can control.”
“If all hell breaks loose, our
families will expect us there. We make for home.”
Adira forced herself to sit straight,
even though she wanted to slink back into the crack in the couch. She felt
anxious, a feeling that was strangely foreign to her. If her skin hadn’t been
the color of bronze, it would have been flush red with embarrassment. Those
around her attempted to make phone calls and scour the Internet for any
information on the crisis. Often they got nothing; the systems were overloaded.
Adira didn’t even know who these people were, truly. She had met most of them
at a party a few nights before. As much as she could make it on her own, she
couldn’t deny the feelings of relief she felt looking around the room. They
felt capable, and confident, and Adira could see they had a fierce, unspoken
loyalty to each other. The images on the TV would make her shake at night, she
already knew. How could she get back to her family? She looked to her phone
again. No messages. Until she could reach her sister or mother, she would stay
with Bennett, and his friends.
She sighed. How had she gotten here?
Her eyes drifted to Bennett shaggy blond hair and soft face. She knew at the
heart of it, she was using him to feel better about herself. How many other
boys had she chewed up and spat out, despite her own best efforts? There had to
be something else she left behind. That had been the plan, anyways.
Adira had thought the boiling crisis
in the north would have abruptly removed human sexuality from the equation.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth. She eyed all the men in the
room, looking for any distraction from her panic.
Elvis seemed a silly plaything, a
peacock that was both charming and amusing at the same time, though the latter
impression was not of his own design. Liam lorded over the group like a
concerning uncle. Jaxton seemed to be the leader, of sorts. She wasn’t sure if
it was just because he was the center of the wheel; the common denominator that
all of them knew best. And her sweet Bennett was the eager school-boy.
Jaxton returned to the room. She saw
the way he carried himself, and couldn’t fail to note a well-built musculature
under that t-shirt. Those kinds of thoughts seemed to come unbidden to her, now
that there was so much fear and tension in the air. Primal instincts had been
elevated.
“Our parents aren’t going to reach
us,” he started, and Adira saw his eyes lock on her own for a second too long. “I’m
pretty sure Elvis’s are the only ones that aren’t stuck in transit right now. It
sounds like air travel is being grounded. No one is going to be able to move on
the highways,” he explained, looking around with fierce grey eyes. “I, for one,
do not want to stay here. The government is
the accelerator. Everywhere, people jogged. No one was walking anymore, even if
there was no reason to jog. The air was filled with an infectious anxiety that
seemed to be cured only be movement.
Liam wouldn’t let go of Jaxton’s
shoulders, though he struggled like a strong child. “Easy now. Easy. Everyone
is too busy trying to pretend they aren’t scared as fuck.”
Jaxton relaxed slightly, which was
enough for Liam’s large hands.
“And the worst is not knowing. Having
no idea what’s really going on makes the mind spin. And that just takes you to
places you’re better off not visiting. Know what I mean?”
Jaxton nodded, breathing a bit easier.
“Alright. Troy’s gone. He’s not as
tough as he seemed, and he’s gone. Everyone else is panicking because we don’t
have a plan. We need a plan, Jaxton. And we need it now.”
Jaxton’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Are you with me? We make for Cold Spring?”
Liam remained calm. “If I had to
guess, and I don’t fucking know much at all, but I would say within 24 hours we
are evacuated to the southern states. I don’t trust that. I say we go with what
we can control.”
“If all hell breaks loose, our
families will expect us there. We make for home.”
Adira forced herself to sit straight,
even though she wanted to slink back into the crack in the couch. She felt
anxious, a feeling that was strangely foreign to her. If her skin hadn’t been
the color of bronze, it would have been flush red with embarrassment. Those
around her attempted to make phone calls and scour the Internet for any
information on the crisis. Often they got nothing; the systems were overloaded.
Adira didn’t even know who these people were, truly. She had met most of them
at a party a few nights before. As much as she could make it on her own, she
couldn’t deny the feelings of relief she felt looking around the room. They
felt capable, and confident, and Adira could see they had a fierce, unspoken
loyalty to each other. The images on the TV would make her shake at night, she
already knew. How could she get back to her family? She looked to her phone
again. No messages. Until she could reach her sister or mother, she would stay
with Bennett, and his friends.
She sighed. How had she gotten here?
Her eyes drifted to Bennett shaggy blond hair and soft face. She knew at the
heart of it, she was using him to feel better about herself. How many other
boys had she chewed up and spat out, despite her own best efforts? There had to
be something else she left behind. That had been the plan, anyways.
Adira had thought the boiling crisis
in the north would have abruptly removed human sexuality from the equation.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth. She eyed all the men in the
room, looking for any distraction from her panic.
Elvis seemed a silly plaything, a
peacock that was both charming and amusing at the same time, though the latter
impression was not of his own design. Liam lorded over the group like a
concerning uncle. Jaxton seemed to be the leader, of sorts. She wasn’t sure if
it was just because he was the center of the wheel; the common denominator that
all of them knew best. And her sweet Bennett was the eager school-boy.
Jaxton returned to the room. She saw
the way he carried himself, and couldn’t fail to note a well-built musculature
under that t-shirt. Those kinds of thoughts seemed to come unbidden to her, now
that there was so much fear and tension in the air. Primal instincts had been
elevated.
“Our parents aren’t going to reach
us,” he started, and Adira saw his eyes lock on her own for a second too long. “I’m
pretty sure Elvis’s are the only ones that aren’t stuck in transit right now. It
sounds like air travel is being grounded. No one is going to be able to move on
the highways,” he explained, looking around with fierce grey eyes. “I, for one,
do not want to stay here. The government is
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