#9

Evelyn stirred on the ground, darkness enveloping her vision as she heard herself groan. The ground underneath her was, for some odd reason, vibrating. There was a dull pounding in her head and her right eyelid seemed as if it was glued shut. With herculean effort, she managed to open both eyes at the same time and found herself sprawled out on the floor of some kind of vehicle. Looking at the edges and the amount of space, she deduced that they were in a pick-up truck.

She kept her movements subtle so as to not alert the guard who was standing a few feet behind her, assault rifle at the ready. Laid out and still unconscious in front of her was Scarlett, the companion she had met just a few hours ago. Evelyn had no idea whether or not she could be fully trusted but she was certain that they would both be more than happy to co-operate in order to escape their predicament. Unfortunately, a gentle rotation of her wrists told her that her hands had been bound together.

The pick-up truck was travelling at a steady speed, cruising along a mostly empty highway. Their was devastated farmland surrounding them on both sides, filled with the long-dead remnants of what once must have been a great harvest. A quick glance upwards at one of the dilapidated, blue highway signs told her that they were almost in 'Danville'.

"How much further?" called out the raider in the bed of the pick-up truck. 

Evelyn immediately shut her eyes once she heard the man speak. If she was going to get the drop on her captors, she couldn't risk the guard knowing that she had woken up and was plotting against them. Considering how boorishly she and her fellow women had been treated in Wheaton by these marauders, their abilities were clearly being underestimated. That was an advantage; the element of surprise would be even more devastating.

Evelyn waited anxiously for the car to move left or right. They had been travelling in more or less of a straight line because they were on the highway, but hopefully some obstruction would force the driver to switch lanes. After what seemed like an eternity, the vehicle switched to the right lane and, seizing her opportunity, Evelyn rolled to the right and crashed into Scarlett's unconscious form. She laid there like a statue, completely unmoving. Although her eyes were still shut, an unpleasant and prickly feeling on the back of her neck told her that she was being closely scrutinised by the guard.

"Easy!" he yelled, presumably to the driver.

Evelyn opened her eyes by a tiny fraction, gazing to her left at Scarlett.

"You... need... to... wake... up..." she whispered, lips barely moving.