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THE HILLS LAY BEFORE 62 like the rows of an oversized graveyard. Death screamed out from the landscape and he wondered how he and his friends could possibly survive in the brown on brown monotone spread out before them. Hanford wasn’t pristine by any means, but it was a lush oasis compared to this. Blue’s mottled blue facemask turned to look around, then his hand waved 62 forward. Blue pushed the wheelbarrow full of computer parts toward a crease between two of the giant mounds. From a distance, it looked like nothing but a crack in the desert, but as they drew closer 62 gaped over the green seams around the lens of his own mask at the deep canyon that revealed itself.
The base of the canyon was level enough, but it was riddled with boulders exposed by the harsh winds at their backs. 00 dropped the handle of his wagon beside one of the rocks. His black mask was so covered in dust from the trail that the stitches were outlined in brown. He turned to eye the narrow path that curved around the boulders. He shouted at Blue, “Are we really going to drag this stuff in there?”
62 stopped next, his route blocked by 00’s wagon. He, too, looked over the narrow trail. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to manage this,” he admitted.
“We aren’t too far off from the building,” Blue said, looking at the map. The trio had been walking for as many days, luckily without much incident. Despite the weight of the computer parts rattling around in the wheelbarrow and the heft of food and supplies pilfered from Hanford’s stockrooms, the friends had made good time.
“Can we leave it here for now then?” 62 suggested. “Maybe we could hike the rest of the way up and check things out and come back for this later.”
00 looked with worried eyes at the prized computer parts. The pieces were a jumble of wires, tossed into the wheelbarrow in a hurried attempt at making it look like useless scrap metal as they’d made their escape from Hanford following 62’s banishment. “If we keep the bot covered, it should be okay,” he said in a reluctant tone.
Blue nodded, “Sounds good to me. I’ve got enough food in my pack for dinner, and there’s beds and blankets already up there. If we’re too beat to come back for the rest of it tonight, we can get it in the morning.”
The Boys pushed their supplies off the path, covering them with tarps that Auntie had given them. At Blue’s direction, they pulled some dry brush from nearby, piling it on top of the gear and making it less visible. Not that there was anyone who would stumble across it on this desolate stretch of land. “Better safe than sorry,” Blue had muttered when they’d questioned him about it.
Tired, dirty, and coated in several days of sweat, the Boys picked their way through the canyon. Blue clambered over obstacles with ease, stopping frequently to poke fun at the others while he waited for them to catch up. The sun dipped below the lip of the canyon by the time the structure they were looking for revealed itself. It looked like an exact duplicate of the dorms in Hanford, although it was surrounded by high walls of dirt and stone instead of a bustling town full of people.
“Someone’s been here,” Blue said. “I was expecting to have to break in, since Joan didn’t give us a key when she kicked us out. But look.” He pressed down on the door’s handle and the door swung open a crack. He stopped it abruptly when the hinges started to squeal. “Dang rust,” Blue whispered. “I hope nobody inside heard that.”
“Who could be here?” 62 whispered as he looked around the entrance. There didn’t seem to be a living thing in sight.
The skin around 00’s eyes paled through the lens of his mask. The anxiety in his voice made him stammer. “M-maybe they forgot to lock the door when they left last.”
“Doubt it,” Blue said, shaking his head. “But, there’s only one way to find out.” Blue reached over to 62’s pack and unstrapped the machete that was tied there. He pushed the door the rest of the way open, holding the weapon out in front of him. “Hello? Anybody home?”
A clatter sounded from deep within the building, echoing through the empty lobby ahead of them. When Blue took a step inside to investigate, both 62 and 00 grabbed the back of his jacket to pull him back outside.
“Are you crazy?” 62 whispered. “Somebody’s in there! What if it’s an Adaline patrol? Or the Oosa?”
“Or a bear?” 00 hissed.
Blue rolled his eyes at 00. “There’s no bears here. That’s just fluff grownups tell kids to make them scared to go outside.”
“What about—” 62’s question was cut off by the sound of shuffling feet somewhere inside, out of sight.
Blue tapped the machete against the door frame. He cleared his throat and spoke loud and clear, sounding older and more commanding than the ragamuffin that he was. “Hello? If you’re a friend, let’s have a quick introduction. If you’re not, well, let’s have a different conversation.”
The footsteps came closer and all three Boys took a few steps back from the doorway, instinctively wanting to be out of arm’s reach of whoever emerged from the dark interior of the secret building. The door peeled back, exposing someone wearing the same basic smock that the medical teams back in Hanford wore. There was something odd about how they looked, and the Boys drew back again as the person stepped bare-faced into the late afternoon light.
The buzz of anxiety faded as 62 looked the stranger over. They were thin; thinner than anyone 62 had ever seen before. Lanky limbs crossed over a flat chest and sharp angles pressed against the too-large smock that hung on the stranger’s frame. Their hair was long and matted, greasy strands covering much of their face.
“My name...” the small voice creaked. A hand pushed back a clump of hair and the wild eyes beneath looked surprised at the sound of their own words as they hung in the air.
Blue dropped the machete to the ground and rushed forward. “Sunny?” He pulled a cloth out of a pocket and rushed to wipe his hands before grabbing the frail Woman’s shoulders. He looked down at the flatness of her body, a look of intense worry in his eyes.
“Yes,” her chapped lips curved into a broken smile. Her vacant eyes passed over the hands gripping her, and then suddenly drew a sharp focus when they landed on Blue’s eyes within his mask. “Oh, Blue,” she whispered, “you found me.”