Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,301

old town wasn’t quite what I remembered. Back when Cyler had taken me to see it, the place seemed run down. I was viewing it through the lens of someone that had the new Dormas to compare it to.

But now, I noticed that the bones of this town were excellent. There was a hidden optimism in the moss-covered brick and abandoned rooms. It was the things that looked the most beat down that brought the best hope. There was potential.

"It's still here," Jules said in shock. We had all filed out of the transport and were looking around, part of us not knowing where to start but also feeling thankful for something to do and a place to be.

Tallis pulled his white hair back into a ponytail and adjusted his shirt. He looked at Jules with a small smile, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. I wondered if he was worried about his people. I realized then that we should have offered to go see his old camp. It would take a good full day to get out there, but maybe some of his people fled to the familiarity of their former home. He took his job very seriously, and I was sure that not knowing where they were was worrying him.

"We should probably check for Walkers," Tallis said. Although we hadn’t seen any in Dormas, there was still a good chance that people camping out here could have gotten infected. Those infected with X were hit with random bursts of violence and agony. But sometimes misery congregated in groups. It was mostly circumstantial. X was like a sweeping punch, attacking entire assemblies of people with one fatal swoop and leaving them all to die together in abandoned buildings.

"We also need to check for any other refugees," he added. Most of the survivors we’d encountered during our three weeks of searching the empire for Payne were just hell-bent on surviving, but some used their need for survival like an excuse to do deplorable things.

Jules pulled the knife from her boot as if preparing for battle. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her theatrics. She was always so eager for a fight.

I grabbed the hand closest to me, smiling when I realized it was Jacob. His mindspeak went wild, "Fuck yes, she picked me." I’d come to appreciate the monotone voice that gave me uninhibited access to his thoughts. Everyone started laughing, the sound a little too cheerful for the old ghost town.

"Let's split up, meet back here in an hour. Whistle if you come across anything dangerous, and no one go too far," Cyler said with an air of authority. It felt good to hear him in leadership mode again. I had fallen in love with his ability to take care of those that he cared for. And now that we were all together again and finding our new normal, we were starting to slip back into our roles, combining who we were previously with the new parts of ourselves.

"You got it," Patrick said in a bright voice before looping his arm through Maverick’s and pretending to skip off. Maverick quickly detached himself and rolled his eyes before chasing after his boisterous friend, mumbling under his breath something about needing coffee.

Cyler paired up with a bored looking Huxley as Kemper joined Jules and Tallis. We all went off in our different directions, and I let Jacob guide me towards an old building. His mindspeak started explaining things to me, and I was comforted by the history lesson.

"This used to be the old clinic," he explained. "I remember chasing Maverick and Cyler around the flashy equipment while their dad yelled at us to get out. Mr. Black was crazy smart, almost scarily so. He worked a lot, too." Inside was dark, and Jacob shined a flashlight he produced from his pocket as we walked around checking for signs of people or danger. I trailed my fingers against a dusty shelf that was empty, reflecting on his words.

"That sounds like Maverick. Must be where he gets it from," I said. Maverick was intelligent and dedicated. It’s what I loved most about him.

"Must be." After we found out that the old clinic was cleared, we went across the street to what Jacob’s mindspeak explained was once the general store. I walked inside, half expecting to feel that familiar flutter of excitement I felt at the bakery in Dormas, but the reality of the abandoned building made those flutters fall flat.