Page 6

The group mumbled incredulously. Khalani took a step closer, her heart racing at the sheer scale of the raised earth. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed something so immense and awe-inspiring could exist on the surface.

“What’s that white stuff on top?” Serene asked, pointing to the peak.

“Beats me.”

“Oh, Winnie thinks she knows!” Winnie snapped her fingers. “She remembers reading about it in a book. Begins with an s…maybe?” Winnie massaged her temple, mumbling random words under her breath.

“Let’s keep going.” Brock rolled his eyes, marching ahead. Khalani took another swig of water from her canteen as they begrudgingly kept their steady pace.

Only tiny remnants of a once great civilization remained. Signs pointing to mysterious cities. Abandoned vehicles that they carefully maneuvered around. She breathed a sigh of relief when none of the cars appeared to house any corpses. The thought alone churned her stomach.

“How about we play a game to pass the time?” Serene suggested.

“No,” Brock grunted.

“Good thing I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Winnie loves games,” Winnie exclaimed, her smile rivaling the burning sun.

“Perfect!” Serene clapped her hands together. “We’re gonna play the color game.”

Derek coughed out a short laugh, but a single withering stare from Serene made him quickly clear his throat. “So, uh, how does the game work?”

“Simple.” She grinned. “I name the color of an object, and you guess what it is. Easy, right?”

“Sounds boring,” Adan interjected.

Serene kicked a small rock at him. “If it’s so boring, then you should solve it easily. The first color is yellow.”

“That car.” Adan pointed down the unending expanse of broken highway to a small, faded yellow car with all its doors ripped off.

“No.”

“Name something yellow? Derek’s teeth.”

“Thanks, asshole.”

“Nope.” Serene clasped her hands behind her back.

Adan groaned and gestured upward. “Has to be the sun then.”

“Maybe if you’re blind. The sun’s definitely orange,” Brock piped up from the front.

“I thought you didn’t want to play, remember?” Serene scowled at his back.

“If you’re gonna play a stupid game, at least do it well.” Brock flicked a speck of dust off his shoulder as if he weren’t traipsing through a hazardous wasteland.

“You’re such a di—”

“White,” Winnie interrupted. “The light coming from the sun is white. Not orange or yellow.”

“That doesn’t make any se—”

Bang.

Khalani’s head whipped up at the sound of a gunshot.

She scrambled for her bag where her gun was stowed. She glanced back, about to yell at the others to get down, but they kept marching forward as if they didn’t hear the boisterous clamor at all.