The Hill: A Short Story (Voices of the Apocalypse Book 3) (2 page)

Lynn stood up to leave. “Calm down. It’s just a stupid game. Where are you going?” I grabbed Lynn’s elbow. “Andi and I still have another twenty minutes until curfew.”
 

“I don’t feel like sitting around dreaming about shit that’s never going to happen.” Lynn looked right at me, implying something else. She waved goodbye and walked down the hill.

“Are you talking about the news channel idea?” I yelled, though I knew she was talking about Matt.

The four of us watched her disappear into the night. We didn’t chase after her. What was the point? Our moods were turning darker and darker. None of it made sense. The Repatterning was tearing apart everything and destroying the threads of society. They kept feeding us lies and telling us it was for the greater good, to get society back on track, but nothing jived. We had trusted the government, and now it was too late to fight back.

“I want another smoke.” My voice broke the lingering silence.

“There’s not enough time to find some more. We gotta start walking home,” Andi said.
 

“Your dad’s worse than the Planners,” Lee joked, but nobody laughed.
 

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Kristina asked.

“Who knows? Is the pool even opening this summer? Or is that too much fun?” I stood up and started walking down the hill. My stomach hurt and I wanted to cry, but I was too angry to let down my guard.

“Wait for me.” Andi followed behind.
 

###

On the way up the street, I sensed a presence, like someone was watching us. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed a light blue minivan trailing us. I looked closer. It was too dark to see who was driving, but I knew that minivan.

Andi tugged my arm. “Come on, Dad’s waiting.”
 

“Go on ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.” I nudged her along.
 

She didn’t waste any time, running the rest of the way up the street.
 

I walked to the minivan, my heartbeat picking up speed with every step. I hoped that Matt was inside, but I was also terrified. I got to the curb and the passenger door flung open. Under the dim glow of the overhead light, I recognized Matt’s face. My heart leapfrogged into my throat and I couldn’t breathe.

“Get in,” he said.

“Is that really you?” I whispered, thinking maybe I was hallucinating.
 

“Get in!” he said, with a little more force.

I jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. It was Matt all right. Those pretty blue eyes were gleaming right at me. My insides got all twittery, and I bit my lower lip to keep from saying something stupid.

“I got your letter,” he said.

I tried to act casual. “The one I left with your mom a week ago?” That didn’t sound at all casual.
 

“Yeah.”
 

I sat like a lump, hoping he didn’t notice my heart trying to thump its way out of my chest. “What did you think?” I couldn’t stop smiling.

“I had to figure some shit out. Decided I’m not shipping off to be in some pretend war.”
 

I took in a deep breath and felt my chest unhinge from its vice grip. “No, I mean, what’d you think about the letter?”
   

He took my hand and squeezed it. “I loved it. Every word. That’s why I decided not to go.”

“Wow. Maybe I should write more letters.” I smiled.

“Maybe you should’ve told me how you felt two years ago.”

“I didn’t think a sixteen-year-old would be interested in a fourteen-year-old.” I paused for a second. “And
you
could’ve said something, you know?”

“I thought I had more time.”

We all thought we had more time. That’s why we were in that mess. “If you don’t show up at the location on Monday, they’ll hunt you down. You could end up dead.”

“I’m dead either way.”

We stared at the desolate street for a few tense moments. My hand started sweating, so I pulled it away and wiped it off on my shorts. Not very ladylike, but it was better than sweating everywhere.

“I almost didn’t recognize you.” He motioned to my head.

“Yeah, I did it in protest.”
 

He laughed and lifted my chin so we were staring directly into each other’s eyes. This was
way
better than staring at his reflection in the rearview mirror. I had been dreaming about him for such a long time that the moment didn’t seem real. I had an entire diary filled with fantasies, but this was
actually happening
. I didn’t want to lose it. I wanted to cling to every single second. Matt held my face––with the hands I had pictured touching my body––and I prayed that he’d hurry up and kiss me so I could breathe again.
 

“I want you to come with me,” he said in a very serious tone.

“With you where?”

“To Shenandoah. There’s a bunch of people hiding in the woods. The end is coming for all of us. I’ve heard things.”
 

“What kind of things?”

“Mandated viruses that will kill off a lot of people. Dropping bombs on every city and neighborhood across the country. Messed up shit.”

“That won’t happen here. It’s the nation’s capital. The White House and all that.”
 

“I’m surprised it wasn’t first on their list.”

“What list? What are you talking about?” I jerked away and leaned against the passenger side door. The moment I’d been dreaming about for the last two years had just turned down a dark road. I didn’t want to believe him, but I knew he was telling the truth.

“Listen, Toni. There’s not much time. I came to get you so we can get the hell outta town. Tonight.”

“What? I can’t just leave my home. My sister and friends.”

“If you stay, you’ll die. They’re gonna wipe out everything and everyone.”
 

I didn’t want to cry in front of the boy I’d been crushing on. I wanted to be a strong woman capable of handling anything, but I was cracking right down the middle. How could I leave my little sister and my best friends? What about my parents? They were annoying and strict, but I loved them. I couldn’t leave them behind to die. But I also wanted to be with Matt. Could I have it both ways?

He took my hand again. “I’m sorry to break it down like this, but it’s better to know the truth than get blindsided. These pricks are using the Repatterning to kill us off. We need to fight back and try to survive this genocide.”

I wiped away some tears with my free hand. I was a slobbery mess, but Matt didn’t seem to mind. “Genocide is a strong word.”
 

He kissed my fingers and then my wrist, sending ripples of endless chills up and down my arm. My chest swelled and I could’ve burst wide open.
 

“Wait, Matt . . .” I mumbled, making a half-assed attempt to stop him.
 

“We’ve waited long enough,” he whispered.

He was right about that. And if he were running off to the Shenandoah Mountains, I might not ever see him again. I wasn’t going to miss my chance––again. He pulled me closer and kissed my wet cheek. His soft lips gently made their way to my mouth. My body quivered from the top of my shaved head down to my toes. The energy sparked between our bodies.
 

“Do you feel this?” I leaned back, letting his lips move down my neck.

“Oh, I feel it.”

Our energy was like a gale force swooping down from the mountains. He pulled me through the small opening between the front seats. We landed in the backseat, where there was a lot more room to spread out. I had kissed a few boys at dances and parties. I had even come close to giving myself to them, but nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the ecstasy that accompanied Matt’s touch. I stretched out on the backseat, ready to let him take my dangling thread of virginity. His lips moved from my mouth to my neck, while his fingers reached under my shirt, caressing my waist and inching lower. The zipper of my shorts went down.
 

But then he stopped.
 

He pulled himself off and jumped into the front seat, leaving me sprawled out and unfinished.
 

“Holy shit.” He panted, smoothing his hair back into place.

I sat up, extremely irritated. “What’s going on?”
 

“You father’s here!”

My heart froze. “Oh, man.” I zipped my shorts and readjusted my bra.
 

The rap at the window rattled the glass. Matt slowly opened the door.

“Hello, sir.”

“Is my daughter, Antonia, with you?” My father’s voice remained steady, but I could hear his blood boiling.
 

Matt looked back at me and I nodded. I wasn’t getting out of that one.
 

“Yes, sir.”

“Send her out, please.”

Matt opened the side door.

“Hi, Dad.” I got out and stood in front of him.

“You’re past curfew. Not just mine, but the mandated curfew. What the hell are you doing out here, Antonia?”
 

“I was, um, I was . . .” I couldn’t stop thinking that I was about to have sex in the backseat of the minivan before he interrupted the moment.

“She was helping me, sir.” Matt cut in, taking my father’s attention off me, so I could pull myself together.
 

 
“With what? Fleeing before you’re supposed to ship out on Monday?”

“That’s pretty accurate. I’m not about to go forward with that crock of shit draft. Pardon me, sir. But I’m not going out like that.”

“And you thought you’d involve my daughter?”
 

“Well, I guess I wanted to, um . . .”
 

“He needed me to help sneak his mother out of the house, Dad,” I blurted. “He can’t be seen in public. Not with the Planners watching.”
 

My father eyed us both for a few moments, assessing the situation like any ex-military man would do.
 

“I’m not buying it. I’d bet my last dollar that Matt came to get you and make a run for it.”
 

Damn, he was good––a human lie detector.
 

“Not entirely true, sir. I was hoping to convince a bunch of people to make a run for it. I came for Toni first.”
 

My father’s stern eyes bore into me. “And you were actually considering this plan?”
 

“I hadn’t made my decision yet. I wanted to make sure he was a good kisser first.” I tried to break some of the ice frosting the air.
 

My father didn’t find my quip funny. Instead, he grabbed the back of my neck and pushed me toward our house. I looked back at Matt. He mouthed something, but I was never good at reading lips. My father shoved me along, not saying a single word, which was way worse than when he yelled. Before we got to the front door, I glanced down the street one last time, but the minivan was gone.
 

Matt
was gone.
 

“Consider yourself on restriction for the rest of the summer.” My father slammed the door and bolted the lock.
 

“But summer hasn’t even started.”

“Call it a preemptive strike.”

“I hate you,” I muttered under my breath.

“No you don’t. You hate rules.”

He was right about that. Especially rules that were completely ridiculous. Like mandated curfews, or young boys being shipped off to fight in some fake war.
 

In my room, I fell onto the bed and cried into the pillows. After a few minutes, the door quietly opened and Andi came in.
 

“Sorry.” She sat next to me. “I’m not a very good sister leaving you like that. But I didn’t wanna get in trouble.”

“It’s not your fault. I should’ve come home first, then snuck out.”
 

“Was it Mrs. Wesson? Or Matt?”
 

“What do you think?”

She smiled and we both laughed.
 

“What did he want? To bang you before he ships out on Monday?”

“He’s not going. He’s going to Shenandoah with some other people. They’re hiding in the mountains before . . .”

“Before what?”

She was too young to hear the truth, but I couldn’t lie to my sister. “Before the end of everything.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The Planners are going to use some mandated vaccine to kill us off, then they’re going to burn everything down.”
 

Andi started crying. “Why? For what?”

I put my arm around her shoulder. “I don’t know. Matt didn’t get to tell me that part. We got kinda distracted.”
 

She looked up, grinning through her tears. “Did you do it?”
 

“Almost. Until Dad showed up.”

“Gross!” She laughed, shoving me away.

Something clicked against my window. The sound was familiar, like a small pebble hitting the glass. Lynn had used that tactic many times to get me to sneak out with her. No way would I leave the house again and risk getting caught; I was already in enough trouble. She’d have to turn her skinny ass around and go back home. I gently opened the window and peeked down to the grass.
 

Matt stood there, waving for me to come down.

“You’re crazy,” I whispered through the screen.
 

“Is it Lynn?” Andi poked up behind me. “Oh, no,” she groaned.
 

“Quiet, or the sergeant will hear you.” I pinched her arm.
 

“Ouch!” she shouted.

We froze, waiting to see if our father had heard us. I held up my finger, instructing Matt to chill the hell out for a minute. Andi tiptoed out of my room and back to hers before we got caught. A harsh silence filled the room. There wasn’t any other movement in the house, so I figured my father was either asleep, or consumed by the news channel. I went back to the window and peered down to Matt.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He folded his arms across his chest, smiling. “I’m not leaving without you.”
 

The moonlight beamed in his eyes, and I was right there with him. It was like we were being sucked into a tornado that was spinning across the galaxy. The feelings were unstoppable. We
had
to be together. Nothing could get in our way, not my ex-military father or the dipshit Planners.