As they left the city the rain began to lighten up. The clouds split and the rising sun was able to break through. The buildings behind them looked so different in the light. They looked like the buildings they remembered seeing in zombie movies and dystopian video games. Windows were shattered and some buildings were already being consumed by the vines that constricted them. The cool morning air felt nice on their surprisingly warm skin. Most of them were sleeping for the first time in days resting gently nestled in the fur of the large beasts they mounted.
Miles sat unphased by the passing of time admiring the beautiful plant life growing rapidly along the grassy path that they rode on. Amanda sat behind him fighting her heavy eyelids fearing the dreams she had been having. She wondered why her mom's glowing spirit had appeared to her in one dream and she feared the serpent she had seen in the next. She knew they were dreams but something about them felt all too real. The feeling of never-ending suffocation as if someone had placed their knee on her chest while she was inhaling a steady lung full of anesthesia.
No matter how hard she tried she couldn't wake up, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't fight the urge to fall asleep as she was rocked steadily by the bumpy path below. Selena twisted several strands of Thicket's green fur between her fingers as Eden rested their head on her shoulder. She was entranced as she caught herself stuck in deep thought. She wondered what was next. She thought about what they might find at the military base once they got there or what they wouldn't. Her emotions felt dampened at this point, after everything she had seen and gone through sadness felt futile.
Anger was just a concept that wouldn't solve anything. Numbness was the only thing that seemed to make any sense. Behind her at the tail end of Thicket's abnormally long body was where Boulder and Ashure snored loudly. They found no issue sleeping. Amanda envied them as Selena grew tired of the noise. Abel scratched behind Hyde's ears softly just like he had done with their family dog when he was younger. He could smell Hyde's foul breath as he panted loudly. Saliva dripped from his parched tongue and strung between his massive teeth.
Ari rested her head on Ace's shoulder finally feeling a sense of peace knowing she hadn't lost the only person who had ever looked out for her. The blood now crusted over his brow and his swollen face had seemed to fade leaving a few small yellow welts on his cheek and jaw. His eyes wandered as he watched the morning breeze ripple through the leaves on the tall trees. He could smell the morning dew drops as they slid down the blades of grass where they rested. His mind filled with positive memories of summer mornings when he and his brother would play in their backyard.
Beck stared at the ground far below her in awe and amazement. Her mind couldn't fathom the reality that she was living. She knew she was riding on a giant mutant dog with five of her peers, and directly next to her boyfriend who was controlling a giant mutated buck with five more of her peers, but she couldn't conceptualize it in her mind. She thought back to the assembly where everything happened and knew if she were to go back in time and tell herself everything that was about to happen she'd laugh in her face.
She knew everything she had seen and experienced was crazy she viewed it the same way she would a fever dream. She caught herself wondering what she would've been doing at that moment in her old life. She'd probably be getting ready for school and warming up her temperamental car for the ten-minute drive down the road. She couldn't help but wish her reality was a nightmare, maybe she had been in an accident on her way to school and this was all a dream her comatose mind had created.
Even though she had hoped this she knew it wasn't true, everyone she knew in the past was most likely dead, and she was living her worst nightmare.
"How does it feel?" Amanda asked, leaning toward Miles' ear.
"How's what feel?" He asked, confused.
"Riding a buck," She said, smiling largely.
"When we were younger, Dad took us up into the mountains on a camping trip. When we woke up in the morning there was a large buck standing down by the lake," She continued.
"Oh my god, I remember that. Abel and I asked if we could ride it, and when Dad said no we got so mad," He laughed.
"So, how's it feel?" She asked again.
"Magical," He said, smiling and staring past Thicket's mossy antlers at the path in front of them. The wildflowers grew in front of his eyes sprouting from what seemed like nothing and becoming fully bloomed flowers in a matter of moments. His eyes widened as he watched them, he had always seen time-lapse videos on his phone of flowers blooming but he never expected he'd see it happen in front of his eyes in real time.
His head wandered as he stared at the trees and grass. His eyes began to swell with tears from not blinking. He couldn't help it the world seemed so beautiful and so new. Roads that were once paved are now grassy paths with small chunks of tar to remind him where the road once was. Street signs were covered with moss and flowers covering the names of the towns they were entering. His favorite thing out of everything was looking over at Hyde. His mind couldn't fathom the idea of Hyde. His large body but his playful demeanor and the spines that stuck out of his back would sit flaccid across one side and would erect when he was nervous or on edge.
Then he thought about Thicket, the way his fuzzy antlers felt in his hands. The way his long fur swayed below his knees like grass riding the gentle summer breeze. He always fantasized about magical creatures and what his life would be like in a dystopian world. He never expected to live that fantasy. He wondered if he was crazy for finding light in their tragic situation, and thought maybe he was losing it, but once he looked over at Abel riding Hyde with Ari and Ace cuddling happily he knew he wasn't the only one feeling this way.
"Look!" Abel shouted, startling the sleeping passengers who rose to a groggy half asleep state staring out in front of them. Down the trail at the bottom of a small hill were large chain-link fences covered with black fabric and barricaded with barbed wire along the top. Behind the fence was what looked like a large community with neighborhoods, restaurants, stores, and even a school. All of the buildings were close to brand new only being fully built a few years back. However they all looked over hundreds of years old, they were covered in foliage and vines and their windows were shattered and some doors sat open.
"That's it!" Miles shouted excitedly, kicking his heels into Thicket's side prompting him to speed up. Abel followed closely beside his brother as they raced down the hill toward the large fences. Everybody held on tight as they were bounced around. The wind brushed across their faces and whipped their hair around. The vines that grew from Thicket's antlers whipped around smacking Miles in the face.
"How are we getting in?" Ace shouted, gripping one of Hyde's spines firmly.
"You know, I didn't think that far ahead," Abel responded.
"Miles, how are we getting in the gates?" He shouted, turning his attention to Thicket.
"Hopefully these two are tall enough to jump over," He yelled back gesturing to their large furry companions.
"Oh god," He mumbled.
"What did he say?" Ari shouted.
"Get ready to jump!" He yelled.
"Did he say jump?" Boulder asked.
"Now!" Abel and Miles shouted, pulling up on Hyde's fur and back on Thicket's antlers. The two beasts kicked off of the ground launching high into the air with everyone holding on tight hoping they wouldn't fall. Miles closed his eyes and prayed that Thicket wouldn't gut himself on the barbed wire as they hurdled over it. Abel stared on in disbelief as Hyde leaped over the tall fence with his tongue hanging out playfully.