Chapter 14: Solidarity

Solidarity

It was the beginning of a new dawn.

The previous night's rains had left the paved streets with a light dew, brightened by the rising sun, and a soft, damp scent in the air.

In that desolate neighborhood, the only sound was the closing of a compartment; the school bus, stranded in the middle of nowhere, had no gas to leave the place.

It turned out to be Earlene Gresham, the young blonde woman no longer wearing her high school's light blue and black uniform, but instead an off-shoulder blouse and a long skirt that reached her knees. Even though the early morning felt freezing, she preferred wearing that to the uncomfortable, tight clothes she'd worn before. She was feeling suffocated.

They were no longer on the field trip or at St. Ramael High School. The entire curriculum for that matter was dying the moment they witnessed that plane crash, only to perish completely upon returning to the capital.

There was no direction to follow. No more.

She couldn't remember what happened yesterday clearly, nor did she want to. Unfortunately, events don't disappear simply by forgetting them. The uncertainty, discomfort, and fear she felt were proof that something really happened that day.

Still, she made the effort. Otherwise, she would never have been able to get off the bus.

She then returned, carrying a bag over her arm.

Upon entering, she noticed that everyone was still asleep except for the driver, Jevo Deems.

He had just woken up and looked exhausted and didn't take long to check the gas level again. It was a fact that the tank was empty, but he didn't remember it completely.

"Good morning, Jevo," Earlene greeted, continuing on her way to one of the nearby seats.

"Morning..."

With a half-hearted response and a doubtful grimace, he looked up at her from head to toe.

"... What?"

"Did you change clothes out there?"

"Yes. I'd never do it here, in front of all of you, Jevo.”

"...Did you really prefer to do it in the middle of a neighborhood?"

"Mhm... Yes. I didn't see anyone," Earlene replied innocently.

"Please avoid repeating something like that... So, I assume you checked every apartment next to us... to see if anyone was there or not..."

"I did, but... I couldn't see or hear anything. The lights were off and the doors were locked... Uhm… Jevo, are you okay?"

"Hm... Just a little exhausted. I didn't even get half the sleep I should have..." the boy declared, massaging his eyes and his large eyebrows. "Next time, tell me your secret."

"I didn't sleep very well either..."

"So what the hell do we do now? Tsk... (My whole body hurts...)"

They were interrupted by Chase, who had woken up along with the others. But he was the only one who approached the pair in front.

Brawell, the foreigner, and Rousset, the new face, sat back in their respective seats in silence, while Vines was still snoring profusely.

"I still don't have a signal. Quite a novelty, don't you think?" he continued sarcastically.

"Chase, the best thing we can do right now is stay on the bus," Jevo recommended. "The surrounding area is uninhabited, and beyond it there's complete chaos. I don't want to even imagine the core of the capital... I think with the supplies we brought up from the mountains we can wait a couple of days until the conflict dies down."

"Days of waiting here? Shit..."

"That's the only option we have... Let's use this time to think about what to do next."

"…”

They certainly had two options: hope for a miracle or risk looking for one.

It was predictable that after what happened at the San Ramael Institute, the second option wouldn't even be on their minds.

They were free and cornered at the same time, in the quiet suburbs of Matria.

The frustration this provoked would soon make them impatient.

"...Speaking of food, let's have breakfast," Chase commented, avoiding the topic, though it wasn't as if they could do more than that. "I'll go see what I can find."

"I did that already," Earlene replied, holding up the bag she was carrying in front of her.

"So? What are you waiting for to share?"

"Well..."

"?”

After a few moments, she discovered the reason for her companion's hesitant expression.

She knew it well, even though her own lips soaked with powdered milk made it difficult for her to speak clearly.

There lay Jevo, Chase, and Earlene, sitting close to each other in the front seats of the bus, staring blankly at the ceiling, a spoon in their hands.

"Powdered milk... Earlene," Chase stammered. "Are you going to tell me you only found powdered milk for breakfast?! Cough... cough..."

"I feel sick..."

"Don't even think about throwing up again... Explain to me what happened to the rest of them, I want to know now."

"Yawn... Hm... Heh, why does everyone have a white mouth? Don't make me misunderstand the situation again."

Yawning and scratching his large belly, Vines had finally emerged from his slumber.

He paced between the seats, looking out the windows at the outside of the bus as he did so.

"It's 9 in the morning. Why isn't anyone outside? That's not normal at all”.

"Vines, do you know anything about this?" Chase snatched the bag of powdered milk from Earlene and held it up to him.

"And that's...?"

"Breakfast. That's what it is."

"THE ONLY THING!? ...I already knew that."

"..."

"Didn't I tell you yesterday? Some guys from the Institute came up to the bus asking about the food, and that they had permission to take it out or something. I don't know, they woke me up in the middle of a good sleep," Vines complained. "I just told them where the compartment was. I have no idea what they did next."

"Permission to rob us!? When…? Who the hell would say something like that?!"

"Don't look at me," Vines shrugged. "That's what they said, and that's what I did."

Jevo remained silent, taking back the bag of powdered milk and eating from it, trying to hide his guilt over the whole situation.

"Tsk, this blows the whole idea of ​​waiting here out of the water."

"Chase... I don't want to eat this anymore... Is there really no more?" Earlene said. Despite feeling disgusted, hunger prevented her from stopping.

"Well, I don't know. Ask the kind soul who gave away all our food," he expressed with complete sarcasm again.

Jevo still remained silent.

"You're all a lost cause; not a single solution on your part," Vines chimed in, nodding. From the pocket of his tight jeans, he pulled out a wallet with some bills. "Let's see... I'd need more to order express food..."

"You couldn't anyway," Jevo added. "Chase's cell phone is still dead."

"Hm... I have enough for some snacks. It's something." Vines persisted.

"So where do you think you'd buy them?"

"There's a place, but you'll have to come with me; I don't intend to walk there alone."

"I'll go. Otherwise, we'd have beer and fries for breakfast this morning." Chase stood up and dusted off his school uniform. "Who else is up...? What about you, foreigner?"

Hidden in the darkness at the back of the bus, the holes on the side barely allowed a glimpse of the boy with the long hair above his somber face.

He looked up, shaking his head before returning it to his seat.

"…"

Normally, Chase would have repeated the question to such a vague answer, but this time he didn't.

Like the young woman who hadn't said a single word since they were integrated, and after what they'd experienced, it was so obvious, even to someone like Chase, that they would be unavailable.

"Earlene? Jevo?"

Meanwhile, Jevo had no intention of accompanying Vines wherever he went, and Earlene, well, anyone who saw her expression would realize she was in no condition to go out again.

"I'll just walk you to the door," Jevo replied, leaving his seat. "I guess I'll have to change clothes somewhere nearby too... Chase, someone has to guard our bus, after all."

After listening to him, the three of them prepared to get off the bus, Chase in front.

"Whatever... At least do something to make sure Earlene stops eating that while we head back."

"Now that I notice, where did she change her clothes?" Vines asked.

"She did it in the middle of the street... If you're going to do it, have the decency and a minimum of respect for others and do it behind a tree, where no one else can see you."

"He he, nah, let everyone appreciate the beauty” Vines massaged his own belly with pride.

“Please don’t.”

To be continued…