Part 3: Disconnected

The Promised Land: 

(Part 3) Disconnected 

Black let out a long, exhausted sigh. “Look, you’re obviously not from around here.” He jerked a thumb in the direction of the ruins. “This was a medical facility before it was hit. It might have been a school before then, but who knows. It’s been abandoned for a while now and probably raided a few times. You’re likely to see a lot of spots like this. Many places were hit during the war. Few have recovered.”

“War?” Eden’s mind was fuzzy as she tried desperately to grasp how the pieces of her shattered life fit back together. Or if they ever would.

“It’s a long story. I’m Caden.” Black motioned to Silver with a nod. “He’s Shiloh.”

Silver, apparently named Shiloh, inclined his head in return. To be honest, Shiloh had been so quiet that Eden entirely forgot she was sitting next to him.

Shiloh handed the mug, now empty, back to Caden. Eden wondered why Shiloh hadn’t said anything up to this point, but Caden interrupted her thoughts.

“Now, do you mind telling us what a healthy drifter is doing in these parts? You a gypsy or a maverick or something?”

“Maverick? Gypsy?” Eden was almost insulted. “You don’t get it!” she blurted out, cheeks already heating with frustration. “Last night, I went to sleep in my dorm room and today I wake up to smoke and gunfire! I’m not supposed to be here! I don’t know where I am or how I got here. I don’t even know what day it is!” She ended by folding her arms in a huff and glaring at the ground. Eden tried her best not to start crying. She was quite flustered with the turn of events, dream or no dream.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Shiloh ever so carefully tapped her shoulder and handed Eden a scrap of paper. Scribbled in pencil was the date.

“Saturday. October 25, 2102… that’s today?” she asked.

Shaggy silver hair fell into Shiloh’s eyes as he nodded. Tears finally overflowed their banks and rolled down Eden’s cheeks. Shiloh’s green eyes widened and he looked back at Caden, unsure of what to do. Caden, who also had no idea how to handle the situation, simply shrugged.

“It was 2012 when I fell asleep!” Eden’s body shook as she started sobbing. “That’s 90 years!”

Shiloh ever so slowly reached over and awkwardly patted Eden on the back, hoping to console her. Caden simply started packing the guns and other various items into his bag.

When Eden’s sobs diminished to mere sniffling and an occasional hiccup, Caden ventured to speak. “If it makes you feel any better, you don’t look 90 years old.”

“I’m 21, you dork!” Eden snapped. She wiped the tears from her puffy eyes, but was unable to squelch the hiccups.

“I was only trying to help,” Caden muttered to himself, taken aback by Eden’s hostility. He stood up and tossed a round object into the fire. Eden squeaked when the fire exploded in white dust and tendrils of smoke. Whatever the object was, it put out the fire, as well as Eden’s hiccups.

Caden pulled on a dark green coat and picked up his small black backpack. “Time to go,” he said as he slung the bag over his left shoulder. Shiloh also stood up, brushed off his grey and white camo pants, and zipped up his light grey hoodie.

“Wait, where are you going?” Eden asked as she watched Shiloh pick up a large backpack and the long black case. “You’re not leaving me here, are you?”

“That was the plan,” Caden muttered as he and Shiloh began walking away.

“Wait! You can’t leave!” Eden panicked. After all, she was now 90 years into an unknown future with no food, shelter, or any foreseeable way back to her own time period. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, these two were all she had.

“We’ve wasted enough time as it is.” Caden said without turning or stopping. “If it’s any consolation, those soldiers were probably after us, not you. They’ll send more.”

“More?” Eden caught up to the two and walked alongside. It was then that she noticed the height difference. Caden and Shiloh were the same height, but she was taller than both. Eden wondered at herself for placing so much stock into these two. They were just kids, but already they had more experience in surviving this world than she did.

“Who were they?” Eden asked as she walked along.

“Who? The soldiers? They’re Atari troops.”

“Atari, like the video games?”

“No, like the soldiers who tried to blow a hole through your head.” Caden sounded annoyed. “If you’re so determined to come with us then you might as well make yourself useful.” He yanked the big backpack away from Shiloh. Shiloh was caught off guard by the action and nearly fell backwards. Caden then shoved the bag into Eden’s arms, much to her distaste.

“But this is the heaviest one!” she protested.

Caden stopped and turned to glare at her. “Do YOU want to try taking out those soldiers next time they come by?”

When Eden didn’t answer, he turned around and kept walking. “Didn’t think so.”

Eden exhaled loudly, but weaved her arms through the straps anyway. At this point, Eden felt she had enough excitement for one day. Time traveling, almost getting shot at, and being rudely treated by two punk teens was quite enough. Her emotions were drained and her mind was fried. Reality could set in later. Right now, Eden just wanted a cold soda, a soft pillow, and a warm blanket. If getting any of those meant putting up with this sort of treatment, it had better be well worth it.

“I want to get back to my own time period,” Eden said after a sigh.

“Believe me, so do I,” grumbled Caden.

“Will you help me?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Do I look like a time traveler to you?”

“You look like a short kid with a big mouth,” Eden said plainly. She could hear Caden mutter unintelligibly. They walked along in heavy silence as Eden waited for an audible answer of some kind. They had already walked out of the field and behind some small structures, probably once houses. The sky had turned from reddish green to greenish grey. It was a sickly color, ever growing darker. The wind, which before had only kicked in every now and then, grew to a steady stream of cold air. Eden hugged her arms and wondered where she could get a decent coat in this forsaken country. While her jean jacket provided shield from the wind, it wasn’t suited for cold weather.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“For now, we’re going to find shelter.”

“After that?”

“After that, we’ll take the jeep and take you to the next town.”

“Can you drive?”

“Yup.”

“Is that legal?”

“You sure do ask a lot of questions.”

“Are you two brothers?”

“Twins.”

“Twins?!” Eden’s voice suddenly hit three octaves higher than normal. “That’s so CUTE!” she squealed.

Both Shiloh and Caden stopped short and stared at each other. They both turned to glare at Eden.

“What?” she asked innocently.

“It’s not cute,” Caden grumbled. The brothers turned and kept walking, seemingly at a faster pace.

“It’s adorable,” Eden whispered under her breath.

“Are all girls like this?” Caden whispered to Shiloh, who only shrugged.

“Where’s the jeep?”

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“Not if I can help it.” Eden smirked.