The Surrendered by Case Maynard

Author:Case Maynard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ya action adventure, ya dystopian, politics and government, dystopian america, teen coming of age, ya dystopian fiction, dystopian fiction young adult, apocalyptic for teen boys, apocalyptic young adult, ya politics
Publisher: Blaze Publishing

Chapter Nine

Understandably, John William is hesitant about letting me ride with them to Town Square, but after multiple promises that I’ll stay hidden in the truck and won’t communicate with the Southies, he finally agrees. I think he somehow understands it’s impossible for me to sit idly by while others plan Oliver’s rescue.

We’re now only one day from the execution, and I’m both excited that I may soon be with Oliver again and nervous that I may not. Matthew and John William chat in the front of the truck, while Cason sits quietly at my side in the back. There’s plenty of space to spread out in the backseat, but rather than placing his pack between us, he’s set it to his right so we’re forced to sit shoulder to shoulder. Close enough that our thighs brush when we run over rough road.

Neither of us has spoken of the kiss again, but there’s been a definite shift in our relationship. His eyes follow me wherever I go. Intent, watchful, beautiful eyes. He makes me breathless. He makes me confused. How can someone so willing to help others also participate in child slavery? He’s a conundrum.

Through the windows of the truck, I’m able to truly witness the devastation that’s been caused by the collapse of our nation. Even though I’ve seen it all before, somehow the way I viewed it with my childhood eyes is so different than the way I see it now. All along the two-lane roadway, the hulls of cars and trucks long forgotten sit, abandoned by owners who most likely drove them as far as the gas in the tanks would allow and then left them to continue on foot. Most of the metal and glass has been stripped from these vehicles, taken and transformed into other goods that can actually be of some use in a world with a limited fuel supply.

The homes in our lonely community have not fared much better. The ones that haven’t been burned by looters and vandals stand, their exteriors worn and sad-looking, amongst the rubble of those that have. In all the time since the collapse, little has been done to clean up the destruction in the outlying areas of town. Our community is a small one, made up mostly of fields and Farms and small brick buildings that now stand empty for the most part. I wonder if things are different in the bigger cities or if they are just larger versions of the ruin here in the sleepy south. I suspect the mess may be viewed as irrelevant, the sole concern of the population being to simply survive.

The ride from the Farm to town takes nearly three-quarters of an hour, and for most of this time, I lose myself in thoughts about what life might have been like before The Black Forty. It’s hard to imagine a world where children get up and go to public schoolhouses every day, dropped off by parents who rush to get to jobs that pay wages in real dollars.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.