Chapter 1: These Tears That Burn

I awoke with a start. My mom was shaking me telling me to get up quickly, she sounded in a near panic.

"Hurry and wake up! Go and wake up Jess and start putting your packs together."

"Why what's going on ?" I slurred as I picked at the sleep in my eyes

"Jess get up, you need to help your brother with the packs" He just mumbled and rolled over.

"JESS!"

He shot up "I'm up, I'm up!"

"Wait didn't we go scavenging yesterday? Why are we going out again today, I thought we got enough supplies to last a few weeks?" I said as I tried to pull my shirt on.

"We did but thats not the problem. I was on the roof making sure It was safe to do my gardening when I saw some cars coming and they looked like raiders."

"Are you sure it was raiders? It could be just a caravan going through."

"I would rather be safe than sorry, and besides sometimes theres not much of a difference between the two. How did you think the caravans got all that stuff hmm?"

I decided to look out the window to see for myself. I could see the dust cloud the cars were leaving behind. There wasn't enough cars for it to be the caravans so it was probably raiders.

"Does that mean we have to leave this house mom?" Jess said as he looks out the window to.

"I don't want to leave, I just started to like this house after the last time we had to move."

"I'm sorry Jess, I know you don't want to leave but we have to, now go and make sure you have plenty of food in your pack."

"Percy, make sure you have plenty of supplies because its a long ways till you can fill up again. Jess stop dragging your feet I want to be out of here before they get here."

Jess is four years younger than I am and is not a morning person. He for some reason is not use to the early mornings and long days even though we have been doing it our whole lives. Much like everyone else now.

"Jess, go make sure our canteens are full, and load up some extra jugs. When you are done with that pour the water from the reserve out, we want to make sure that the raiders can get as little as possible from this place."

Sometimes I underestimate how resourceful my mom is. Her and my dad must have made quite the team way back when.

I took some time to look at this house and all it had. The pealing flower print wallpaper to the stained and ripped up carpet. I didn't like this house very much, it was a small one bedroom house that didn't even have a bathroom. Jess and I had to sleep on the floor with pilled up blankets as bedding. So far I don't think I will miss this house too much.

"Mom mom, they are here. They are almost to the hill!"

She swore under her breath. "I thought we had more time. Percy come here. Look at me. Take Jess through the back door and down the hill. Do you still have that compass your father made for you?" I nodded.

"Good good, now when you get to the bottom of the hill head north until you get to a road, that should take about a day. When you get to the road follow it north east, in about two days you should arrive at a town named Grokery. Ask around for a man named Lee and have him tell you everything he knows about Tonsofoo. Do everything he tells you to and you will be fine."

"Wait why are you telling me all this, aren't you coming with us?"

She shook her head, I could see tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "No, I have to stop these men, they are after something very important and I have to stop them from getting it. Now Percy this is where you have to be brave for me, can you do that?"

I was starting to get confused and my head started to spin but I managed to nod my head.

"Thats my boy. Ok now I want you to take this key to Tonsofoo and find a man named Kirk. He has the box that this key goes to. I want you to steal that box from him, I don't care how you do it just make sure you get that box. Then take the box out of town and make sure no one sees you leave with it then open it. Take everything out of it, then bury the box so no one will find it. Then I need you to read the papers that are inside and I promise you everything will make sense."

"But mom I don't understand, why can't you come with us? We need you, I need you."

She was crying now, I tried not to but after all the stuff she just told me it was hard not to.

"I just can't sweety I can't. I wish I could but I can't. Now look me in the eyes, both of you. I love you both so very much and I promise this will all make sense soon. Now hurry up and get going I don't want you two to be here when He shows up."

I nodded, trying to keep from crying for Jess. I nudged him out the door and as I was about to close it I heard the front door get kicked in. I turned around to see and tall lean man with a red mohawk and crude armor standing in the doorway. With his deep cool voice he said, "Well well well, what do we have here? Stacy, it really has been too long."

"Not long enough in my opinion," she said as she tried to keep her voice as cool as his but it cracked.

"Always with the unpleasantries with you. Are you still mad about what I did to your hubby?"

She spit in his eye, he just stands there blinking for a little bit then reaches up and wiped the spittle from his eye.

"Now now, manners Stacy. You don't want to end up like poor little Jacky now do we? Now do me a favor and tell me where that precious key of yours is."

"Over my dead body!" she cried out.

"Well that can be arranged."

I looked down at the key she gave me and looked up at Jess and mouthed "We need to get out of here now." We silently climbed down the hill but when we were halfway down I hear the man scream in pain.

"Oh now you are really going to pay for that one Stacy, how would you like to see Jack again, ya would you like that? Good." Then a gunshot went off and the man laughed.

"MOMMY!" I had the grab Jess around the chest to keep him from running back up the hill. half crying I managed to get out "No Jess, its too late. We have to get going before they find us."

We ran the rest of the day and some into the night, then we made camp and set up a campfire.

Jess made it look like he was sleeping but I could hear him weeping. Through the tears I sat there in the moon light staring into the fire and I vowed that I would make That man suffer for everything he has done to my family.