Chapter 8

As we drove closer to Atlanta we began to collect bits and pieces of information that slowly showed how big this whole thing was. Old newspaper clippings from the days leading up to the attacks gave us some of the answers we were looking for. They told us who was responsible for everything; Senator James Weatherby Jr. a devout Christian with some whacked out ideas of how America should be run. Daria told us that he had been elected into federal government a few years ago; he was originally from Texas and once he was elected, his extreme right wing political beliefs immediately caused conflict within the government as well as his own party. During his time as governor he instigated countless amounts of protests and rallies. Once in power he used the aftermath of the September eleventh attacks and the declining financial state of America to strike fear into his peers as well as allied parties until he had enough support to strike out and over throw the government.

How he did it, we're still not sure. Daria said that she had heard rumours that after building his army in the Senate, he had ordered that all of the state governors that were with him demand that their respective National Guards take no further orders from the federal government. Whether or not those rumours were true, we can't be sure the only real information we were able to collect was from the soldier we captured who told us that all of the capital cities were nuked but even that information was sketchy at best. At that point we hadn't come into contact with anyone else. That was until a week later when we reached the outskirts of Atlanta and decided to make camp in an abandoned house for the night.

"I'll go on look out duty." Nick said after they checked the house to make sure it was empty.

They had chosen the last house in a quiet dead end street. It was a small three bedroom cottage that was shielded by the overgrown garden that took up most of yard. Although there were no streetlights since the power had been cut to the suburbs that were closer to the major cities, the dense trees and vines provided extra protection from the street. Nick picked up one of the shotguns from the back of the Tank and took a few rounds of ammo in his pocket. He waited for the group to enter the house before he began to search for a decent lookout point. He chose a small gap in the bushy hedge at the far right side of the block; from here he had a clear view of the house and the entire street. As he crawled into his chosen nook, he heard the sound of water gushing from the main into the house and guessed the girls had found the bathroom.

Quinn groaned as she held her hand under the stream of water that beat down from the shower head.

"It's cold," she moaned as she turned to Daria and Jane who were standing in the adjacent bedroom.

Jane shrugged, "I don't care what the temperature is. I'm having a shower. Who knows when we'll get the chance for another one."

Quinn huffed and closed the bathroom door gently to make sure the action wouldn't blow out the candle she was holding.

Jane turned to Daria and smirked, "Princess Grace isn't dealing too well with her new environment."

"She's actually taking this a lot better than I thought she would. I guess some good has come out of the collapse of the Fashion Club last summer," Daria responded. "I just hope she doesn't take too long in the shower, I need a decent night's sleep in a normal bed." She added as she flopped backwards onto the bed.

Jane looked around the room and hummed, "Who do you think lives here?" she asked absently as she began to investigate the items that sat on top of the large chest of drawers on the opposite side of the room.

"I don't want to know. All I care about is that they aren't here." Daria said quietly.

The usual variety of knickknacks were strewn across the drawers; a jewellery box, old photos, a large ornate lamp. They could have been in any house in America. Jane opened the jewellery box and picked up a golden earring, as she did so a chill ran up her spine and she quickly dropped it and shut the lid. Jane was thankful when she heard the water stop, as the door opened she quickly ran in and shut the door.

"What's wrong with her?" Quinn asked as she removed the towel from her head and ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to untangle some of the knots.

Daria sat up and shrugged, "She's just on edge I guess, can't blame her." Daria responded.

***

Nick guessed he had been sitting in the bushes for an hour or so, his joints had begun to cramp and he could feel a numbing tingle beginning to invade his leg. He yawned and stretched out, wincing as the light tingle morphed into sharp stabbing needles.

He repositioned himself and took the shotgun from beside him. He cradled it in his arms as he inspected it; he had never held a gun before, it was heavier than he thought it would be. The cool dark metal gleaned and he frowned. As he looked up a yelp caught in his throat as two headlights lit up the opposite end of the street.

He sat dumbstruck, his mind said run but his limbs were jelly. After a few seconds the adrenaline kicked in and he quickly moved into the house. He raced from room to room, waking the rest of the gang, he was thankful that they had confined themselves to only two of the rooms.

"Nick man, what's going on?" Trent asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

Nick turned to Trent wide eyed, his face filled with terror, "Lights, run, now!" he hissed.

"What?" Jane asked warily, more alert that her brother, "There's someone coming?"

Nick nodded and ran toward the door, but stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a black SUV park in front of the house.

"Jesus Christ!" Max hissed as he ran toward the back door.

"Shit Max," Jesse breathed as he followed the bald drummer, "There's no escape from the backyard!"

Quinn turned to Daria, "What do we do?" she squeaked.

Daria shook her head, "I don't know. Hide?"

"Where?" Jane hissed.

"There's a hidden door, under the staircase," Trent said. "There's enough room for the three of you. Go now!" He whispered.

"What about you four?" Jane asked.

"We'll find somewhere; this isn't the first time we've had to hide from the cops." He said with a cheeky grin, even in the dim light the girls could tell the smile was forced.

The three girls ran to the staircase and Trent shut them in before following the rest of the boys out side.

Minutes passed and the girls heard nothing. They thought they may have evaded the intruders until heavy footsteps sounded out from the front door. Daria felt Quinn stiffen beside her as the footsteps grew closer.

They heard the latch of the door slowly unclick and the door opened with a small creak. A flashlight lit up the three girls, huddled in under the stairs, the sound of the gun's safety latch unlocking filled them with dread.