Rowan Ellery was fuming; he knew that the anger was simply rolling off of him in waves as he drove home through the decaying streets of the once-glorious city of New York. He had gotten to work earlier in the morning, only to find out that he had been replaced, and for no other reason than that the man who had stolen his job had known how to spin a good sob story, about his young wife's recent death and being left alone to take care of their two tiny children.
Everyone's wife was young and dying! Everywhere you looked in this godforsaken city, there were orphans crawling about! Why was this man so special? His wife was already dead! Rowan and his sister, Rhine, were not! Or at least not yet; thanks to his currently unemployed position, that might be swift in changing, though.
As it was, he had been angry enough to steal the delivery truck that he had been using just for the pleasure of it. He would return it later, once he had taken it for a drive long enough to cool down over this another one of life's injustices.
Rowan stalled about ten yards away from his parents' house – the place where he and his sister still stayed in the basement. He was not looking forward to telling his twin what had happened to his job, and so he stayed where he was for a few minutes, allowing himself to ponder the issue of how exactly he should break the news.
As he watched through the windshield – for he was always watching, even when he was thinking about something else – he saw his sister slip out of the house. His brow furrowed. Why would she be out right now, going into the outdoors without him to watch over her? He took a step forward, intent on getting answers to those questions, and only then did he notice her odd behavior. She was nervous, starting out at a jog, and then breaking into what was almost a run, and always looking over her shoulder as she went. Well, at least she was conscious of the fact that she shouldn't be out and about alone.
Rowan decided that for once it would be alright to keep his distance, but follow her all the same just to make sure that she stayed safe and to see what would happen.
He would always regret that one mistake.
She never saw him behind her, and by the time that he realized that she was in trouble it was too late. By the time he finally got inside the building that she had entered, the gray truck was already locked and backing out of the building. No amount of pounding on the side of the vehicle or screaming would get it open. All the noise that he made was drowned out times at least ten by the noise of the girls inside of the truck. And one of those girls was Rhine, his twin sister, the only person that he had left in this world.
He had to get her out.
Rowan darted back to the delivery truck, swinging up into the driver's seat and flooring it as he followed that horrid Gatherer's truck.
The first time that he got right beside that vehicle was when he got his first glimpse of what he was dealing with. Guns, tasers, and cans of gas littered the back seat of the truck, sending out a clear but ominous message that sent ice into his very bone marrow.
Rowan took a deep breath and sat back in his seat, realizing that he was simply going to have to bide his time; wait until the Gatherers stopped on their own and then he could get a better look at that truck see about getting his sister out of there.
So he drove, following them at a distance. The first time they stopped – after not even an hour of driving – Rowan pulled over on the side of the road and watched for a moment to try and figure out what they were doing. Although both men left the cab of the truck, they did so only to go around to the back, blotting out any hope of his being able to even examine the truck up close.
He watched, feeling a sickening wave of disgust as he realized what was happening. The two gatherers were approached by a third man, also wearing a gray coat. This third man was herding three bound and more than likely drugged teenage girls – sisters, if Rowan had to guess – in front of him. The three men spoke for a minute before one of the men who had been driving the truck gave the third guy a few dollars from out of his coat pocket. Third guy counted the bills and looked at his two cohorts in disgust. An argument that Rowan couldn't hear, full of angry gestures and eyes, ensued. Eventually the third man stalked away with his paltry earnings while the other two men unlocked and opened the back of their truck – Run, Rhine; get out of there! – and shoved the three willowy brunettes that they had just acquired in with the other girls.
Just like that, they were on the road again with Rowan still trailing them every step of the way. Within another couple of hours, the gathers stopped one more time and picked up two more girls in the same way that they had acquired the trio of brunettes, and then they were on their way again. Eventually, Rowan lost track of the miles, the hours, he spent on that road following those horrible men and their gray vehicle. The scenery outside of his deliver truck changed over time into something warm and so much more alive than New York City, and yet he didn't even notice.
Finally, the gray truck pulled off of the highway and parked. Rowan did the same thing, staying at such a spot that he could still see what was going on without anyone noticing that he was there. As he watched, the gatherers got out again, but this time the man that they met was different – wealthy – and this second generation had none of the familiar markings of a gatherer. He realized then that they had reached their destination at last.
At this point I have eleven chapters of this story written and I'm not sure that the story's even a third of the way finished, so hopefully you guys are interested! It does get better! Reviews make my day, if you feel so inclined! Thanks!:)