Withered

California had always been a lot of desert further east from where they were. At least that was what Sydney could deduce from the old, worn books she had managed to scour from cracked concrete buildings and splintered bookshelves. Now, though, what would’ve been something more of a light forest better matched the descriptions of cactus and prickle weeds that would’ve been in something called Joshua Tree.

She hadn’t gone that far out before to see if it was still like the books said. They didn’t have the resources for that trip, especially if it had suffered the same as everywhere else and only got hotter and more desolate. Though she had never known it and could hardly imagine it, the area they were in now at one point would’ve had so much more green and been cooler. Full of life maybe, and not so quiet. Busy streets and occupied rooms all along. Chatting friends and connected communities, at least that was what the film-like papers and books would make it seem like.

That was the work she kept herself busy with now, but she didn’t always like it. Sometimes, with her cargo pants and flowing coat, scouring through the remnants of furniture and rubble like some treasure hunter looking for hidden memories, she saw the joy in her work. Other times, the crumbled concrete halls and echoes of whistling wind through cracks were eerily more like a ghost town, a dead city, and it felt as though the very rebars were the gnarled fingers of the old ruins reaching out to clutch at her and drag her with them.

For now, she could ignore those thoughts and focus on her current task. The people needed supplies, and if she came back empty-handed, she would have to go back out, and they would go again without security. She had already failed once, and Damien stressed the importance of never doing so again.

“We’re all in this together. As much as you rely on us, we rely on you,” he had said to her. Damien had become the leader of their ragtag group by necessity and practicality. There was no official vote on it, but with his repeated guidance and decision-making, the rest had fallen in line behind him, and none since had truly desired to take up his heavy burden. Now he had entrusted this task to her.

Find guidance for the structure and placement of their build. If time or opportunity permitted, find a spot for their official settlement and map it out. That was what brought Sydney out to the abandoned city, to this crumbled building. Grasses and weeds littered around the premise and in the damaged walls, and even in the center of it all, she could see a tree had managed to grow straight through the middle of it. It all made it difficult to get through, but that gave her hope that maybe it was less picked through and more rewarding.

Through a thicket of bushes, Sydney pushed through, her cargo pants scratching against the dry twigs. Inside was a little cooler from the minimal shade blocking the scorching sun rays, but no less dry. She took a sip of water from her canteen, a relic she was told was a rare find, but she would never know. The rest of her water would need to be rationed.

She got to work, picking through cabinets and desks, shelves and drawers, and even a few wastebaskets had some things to rummage. She hadn’t been there for very long, though, before she heard a noise from inside the building. A sort of scraping, quick and silenced as soon as it had come.

“Hello?” she asked calmly, though her hand shakily went for the knife she kept at her side. Sound too confident, and it would be threatening. Not confident enough, and it would be too inviting of trouble. There was only silence, though, and that meant that if someone was there, they didn’t want to be found. “Come out, I don’t want any trouble.”

There was no answer, but she became more certain someone or something was there. She unsheathed her knife and slowly crept further.

“I said come out, I don’t want any trouble.”

There was not an official response, but Sydney could hear shuffling, narrowing down the location to behind a tall filing cabinet.

“D-don’t hurt us!” came the voice at last. A kid’s voice.

Sydney sighed and sheathed her knife again.

“I won’t hurt you,” she said softer, moving around slowly to move into their view. It was two of them, huddled together. A little girl, maybe twelve years old, and a younger boy maybe eight or nine. They were dirty, their clothes splotched and stained.

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you. My name is Sydney,” she said, holding her hands out invitingly. They didn’t answer right away.

“Are you…from New Jantico?” the girl asked.

“No, my people don’t have an official settlement yet, but we’re working on it. That’s why I’m here actually. Did you want to come with me back to them?”

The two looked at each other, their eyes focused and questioning. Sydney looked at the two of them and guessed they were siblings. They had the similar features and mannerisms of a brother and sister; the way he looked up to her, the way her scabbed and dirt hands held him closer, and in their quiet looks she could see they were also communicating without words.

“They’re coming for us. We need to leave New Jantico,” the girl said.

“We’ll get you out of there,” Sydney said going down to their level. “Are you hungry? I don’t have a lot of food on me, but there’s some back at our camp.”

The girl tried to hesitate, but her brother nodded, turning more toward Sydney.

“Come with me then. What’re your names?”

“I’m Tania, and this is Marcel.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Sydney said as she helped them up to their feet. Gathering the supplies and plans would need to wait, it would be even slower with these two, and they needed help sooner. She would drop them off and then return quickly. “Follow me.”

She led them out of the abandoned ghost city, creeping through alleyways or under trees when possible to avoid the oppressive sun rays. She let them have what water she had left, but they were still slow going, and the road was not easy. They had to pause for a quick break twice, but then she could see the hidden markers they had left to guide back to their camp.

“We’re almost there.”

When they entered the camp, there were a few of them there as well as Damien, but most of the others were out on their tasks.

“Sydney, you’re back?” Damien asked.

“I found these two. They needed help, and I couldn’t leave them out there.” Damien took a deep breath in.

“We’re barely scraping by as it is…” he started to say. “Did you find what we needed?”

“I was going to go back out once I dropped them off.”

“Back out? It’s past midday now. By the time you get back out, you’ll have barely any daylight for a proper search.”

“Was I supposed to just leave them there?” She asked, crossing her arms and flipping it onto him. She felt bad for doing it, she knew he would take it upon himself, but the longer they talked about it the less time she would even have. Damien sighed, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and scratched his head. “I’ll get what we need, I won’t fail us, Damien, but I won’t just leave kids out there either.” Sydney glanced quickly over at the two of them. Tania’s eyes darted back and forth, questioning and wondering what her fate would be after all this.

“Just, go back out tomorrow for the guides. Earlier the better, but it’s too late today for that. See if you can just help the gathering parties and bring something back for today,” Damien relented.

Sydney nodded. “I’ll get it done,” and then she turned to Tania and Marcel. “Don’t worry, you’ll have to help some, but you’ll be safe here with us.” She could hear Damien grumble.

“Promise?” Marcel asked.

It hit her harder than she expected. Something in how his tone sounded hopeful made her realize this boy now trusted her, but that was the worst part. She couldn’t make any promises of safety. She herself had broken limbs, and their group had lost people to animals or rivals or even just being lost. These were just two kids, and they were more vulnerable, but she couldn’t leave them there. She couldn’t walk away from them, just as she couldn’t fail her people now for their settlement. It wasn’t an option.

“I promise I’ll be there for you, and I will always try to help,” Sydney said, looking at the two of them and finally at Damien. “I promise.”

Before too long, Sydney had gone back out. Damien had said it would be too late to focus on their next build for today, but she felt it eating at her and couldn’t resist going back out for it. She brought her flashlight with her just in case. What battery it had left was not going to be used lightly, but if it could help her come back with something workable, then it would be worth it.

She went back through the overgrown thickets and forests, picking through ruins and remnants, always keeping one eye on the sun, and not in vain either. She tried new routes now, harder to reach buildings that raiding parties would’ve struggled to get in, and she found some supplies like a measuring tape, a dirty but still intact hammer, and maps. The maps were what she was looking for, and it made sense why these ones were left behind. Half of the papers she found were too damaged to even be used or recognized, but there was enough salvageable to start working further with. The sun was almost set, the streaking red light hitting the buildings.

She was about to consider heading back before she heard a clamor. A growing sound, rumbling, and getting closer. Sydney found a place to take cover, and as it grew closer, she managed to find a place to peek at what it was.

Trucks and boots, what looked like a raiding party, but large and well organized, following a clear direction along one of the few paths that were maintained. Those paths weren’t used unless you were willing or able to deal with the attention they brought. She didn’t recognize their insignia, but she saw where they were heading. The road they were taking would bring them close to her camp.

It had been long enough. She got her maps and the sun was setting, the lights of this caravan now switching on; she needed to get back. To warn Damien and to regroup, hopefully their scouts would see the caravan and they would quiet down without being discovered, but she couldn’t take that chance.

It kept going though. Sydney counted at least twelve trucks, and she lost count of their personnel. That wasn’t good.

By the time the end of their line passed, it was nearing dark. She had to hurry back, switching her light on low and keeping it down to the path. The side roads might be more direct, but it would take her longer to pick through them, and they had a head start. It was slow, but she made progress.

Not enough. Sydney heard a crash in the distance, and then the quick staccato pulses of bullet fire.

“No…”

Sydney moved faster, trying as best as she could to pick through the brush, and the sounds of bullets moved around. The two kids had asked her if she was from New Jantico, they must’ve been looking for these kids, or at least nearby. She had to get back fast.

Then the sounds died down, little by little till she hadn’t heard them for several minutes. Maybe they found someone else, maybe they moved on. Maybe they found everyone already…

At last Sydney came to the clearing of their camp. It had been hit. There were no supplies, broken branches and crates, and she had to step past what felt like a limb body.

“No…no, no, no!”

She couldn’t believe it. She searched around the camp, and she found more. She started counting, and with each dead face she found, another knot in her gut tightened. There was some missing though. Some people she couldn’t find, and among them were Damien and the two kids.

If she had just gotten her people what they needed sooner, days earlier, they might’ve avoided this. Now she had them, and no people to bring them to.

I promise I’ll be there for you, and I will always try to help.

She had said to them. She had gotten the supplies they needed. If there was even a chance any of them escaped, she would uphold her promise and find them.