Chapter 333
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During this day Eve talked with Jane and Natalie. Telling their stories made this day a little easier. Jane and Natalie were refugees from the Arks. Although they'd both been selected back in January, their respective parents weren't. Adapting during the initial period with the survivor guilt was difficult enough, then the military took over. Each person was given exactly what food they needed to survive, no more. No music, the instruments were kept under lock and key, to be used only once or twice a year. Any crime, however small, could be punished with long periods of solitary confinement, banishment, even death. With strict population laws, some women were forced to have abortions. Some were even dragged kicking and screaming as guards beat them until they mis-carried. No fresh air or fresh water, just recycled imitations. Some couldn't take it anymore. Natalie and Jane were amongst those who left the Arks. They decided to take their chances in the upcoming frozen wasteland rather than the Ark. Eve told them her story, they actually admired her service to the collective. Hearing what Gardner was doing, Eve began to wonder. Maybe her side had the right idea after all. Maybe she should've kept on fighting.
From what Eve and her friends could tell they were close to an Ark site. The noise was loud, even here. Many desperate people hoping to sneak onto this Ark, even rush it. Gaines' guards all kept watch on their prisoners in the van. They all stayed inside a circle, weapons at the ready and plainly visible. The message was clear, others were to stay away, everyone obeyed, noone was coming to their rescue. Gaines had at least six others in his group, four men and two women. All eagles who didn't like wolves being let into American Arks. From the way Gaines reacted to certain news, it was clear that others from their group had been killed. For all their faults these people were very loyal to each other, it was clearly greater than their loyalty to the cause that they'd fought for. Gaines and his friends would be trigger-happy after this. If Eve, Jane, or Natalie tried to escape, they'd shoot them. But death was better than gang-rapes or torture. The large crowd might tolerate what was happening to them, but they wouldn't tolerate them bribing their way inside and depriving this crowd of their own survival. If they could escapeinto this crowd, they'd be relatively safe.
The night of April 29th Eve, Natalie, and Jane made their plan. They weren't tied up, but they were locked in the car. Gaines' team needed to rest, there were often just two guards. They tried unlocking the car door manually. They planned to escape around sunrise, when the guards were tired. The prisoners couldn't see much beyond the trees. Always the possibility of encountering more guards during the escape, it was the chance they would have to take. The plan was simple, escape when their backs were turned, run like hell to the crowd, try not to get caught. They would take off in three different directions, make it harder for Gaines to find them. It was a simple plan, their lives depended upon it succeeding.
It was the morning of April 30th, 81 days until impact. From what Eve remembered, living alone in the woods, sunrise was coming very soon. There were two guards, Gaines and the others were sleeping. The girls had un-locked the van's door. As the sun rose the two guards were making breakfast for the group. It was now or never. Eve slowly opened the door on the other side. The girls tried to slowly sneak away without being seen, but the guards saw them. They yelled for their sleeping comrades. The girls then quickly ran like bats out of hell in three different directions. The only thing they could do now was to put as much distance from Gaines' team as humanely possible.