We packed up Coop's truck in less than an hour and were ready to head out. Seth, James and I stood by the truck waiting to hear our assignments on the trip. James leaned against the side of the truck tapping his fingers to on the metal as his internal clock ticked. His steel colored eyes held steady allowing no trace of emotion.
"What's taking Coop so long?" James growled.
Seth shrugged.
"Said something about stopping in to see Jane while we loaded the truck."
James eyes lit up momentarily at the mention of my sister Jane. A small smile made its way to his lips. I knew they'd been out a few times in the last few months. Jane had somehow managed to get inside when no one else had. She was good at that though. It was what made her such a good healer. She was able to look past what was on the outside and help her patients feel comfortable enough to get treatment in the first place.
I met James eyes and smiled at him. I put a finger to my lips to signify my silence. He nodded at me in affirmation before pushing his emotions back down again.
"Any idea what he would want with your sister?" Seth muttered.
"None. Jane left before I did this morning."
"Did your dad say anything about it?"
"If he had, I wouldn't have said none."
Seth's pale green eyes met mine and a silent battle of the wills began. After a few moments James cleared his throat and Seth dropped his gaze.
"I'm sure he'll be back any minute." Seth grumbled.
Sure enough, Coop showed up less than two minutes later with none other than my father. The two were deep in a heated conversation which they cut off when they saw us standing by the truck.
"We'll talk about this later, Cooper."
"I'll find you as soon as we're back. Think about what we've discussed Finn. Our future depends on it."
My father nodded.
"Julia, remember our chat this morning and be safe."
I opened my mouth to answer but he cut me off before he could.
"I need you to do this for me. Just try, okay?" He pleaded.
"Yes, sir."
He walked away quickly with the weight of the world clearly on his shoulders. Coop squeezed my shoulder reassuringly after throwing his bag in the truck. I handed him the list I'd been given and backed up to stand next to James.
"Alright, assignments. James, you're our scout. Watch for government agents and the wild tribes. Julia, you're on supplies. Find what food you can and whatever is on your father's list. Seth, your Julia's backup. I've got a few things of my own I need to find and a few places I need to scout out for tools. We'll establish a rendezvous point with the truck when we get there. We're going to have to split up at some point so when we do, I'll take James with me. Got it?"
James and I both nodded. Seth looked at his father with a scathing look.
"You will follow orders, Seth. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir."
We all climbed into the truck and headed out. The noise from the truck was loud enough to drown out any attempts at conversation. I kept track of the time as we traveled since that was the only way to gauge which city we were heading to. After three hours, Coop hollered at us to be ready which meant we were going to one of the safer cities. They had all used to have names that attested to their greatness or something like that. Now we just called them what they looked like. The truck jerked to a stop and we all made our way out.
"Welcome back to Orange City." Coop said in a falsely cheerful tone.
The entire city was coated in a red-orange dust that blew up whenever you took a step. It somehow had managed to coat even the taller, intact buildings. I let out a deep sigh and grabbed the large duffel bag that we used for supply runs. James climbed further into the back to grab our weapons.
"Silent or minimal noise weapons only. If you need a gun make sure it has a silencer. We don't need to draw attention to ourselves." Coop ordered.
"Seth?" James asked.
"The throwing knives and give me at least one pistol with a silencer."
"Anything else?"
"My bow and arrows."
James handed him what he needed quickly and efficiently.
Coop grabbed various knives which he strapped to his utility belt in a practiced motion. I watched as he loaded the one pistol he always carried with a precision I could only hope to one day match.
"Julia?"
"My usual. Bow, arrows, knife. That's all I need."
He handed them to me and then armed himself. James was the most proficient with firearms so it wasn't surprising when he loaded up on them. He also pocketed the scope we used to scout. Coop raised an eyebrow at him and James shrugged.
"I made sure they all had silencers. No one will hear me or see me."
"Alright. Let's do this."
