Page 40 of Shattered Love

“We need to tell everyone. Tell the world about the meteor. About the bunkers.” The words spilled out of me with excitement, my feet continuing to carry me across the small room.

Murphy stood up then, halting my movement with hands on my shoulder. “I wish I could tell my mom, you know I do. But, Alessia, that’s not realistic.”

I shook my head in denial. Maybe it wasn’t easy, but it was possible. And I knew exactly how we could do it.

“How many times did you hack into that radio tower in the woods?” I demanded of Murphy.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe a dozen times.”

“There’s a radio in town. Why not hack into that one? Send a message to the entire world.”

Murphy shook his head. “Alessia, hacking into a radio to hear a broadcast and sending one out are two very different things. We’d need access to a central line where I could speak over the radio. We won’t find that at a tower.”

Again, the wheels turned in my head. And once again, the idea was the epitome of insanity. Hadn’t I just thought that I never wanted to step foot inside that camp again? But what were the other options? None. There were none.

Rainer caught on to my idea, the two of us speaking over each other.

“There’s a broadcasting station in the camp.”

“No fucking way are we going back there.”

Murphy’s gaze bounced between of us as we stared each other down. Rainer’s stare was fury and ire, mine hope and pleading. Didn’t he realize this was the only option?

A fourth voice joined our group. “I say we do it. What do we have to lose?”

Looked like Warner was back and he was on my side.

Chapter Twenty-Two

There were multiple debates over the next few weeks as our time ticked down. Mina had found a handful of notebooks in the children’s bedroom and we used those to track the date. As of this morning, we had exactly nine days before the first set of trains left.

According to Mina, the train station was on the outskirts of the university. Which, by our estimation, was a three-day hike away. We wanted to give ourselves one day of leeway, which meant we had five days left to make a decision.

Unfortunately, our group seemed to be split almost down the middle. Rainer and Aiden were adamant that we didn’t attempt breaking into the camp again. Warner and I were convinced that it was the right thing to do.

Although, I wondered if Warner leaned more toward the idea for the excitement. He didn’t seem to shy away from the adrenaline rush that came with multiple people shooting at you.

Murphy was down the middle. On one hand, he didn’t want to risk our lives. On the other, he desperately wanted his mom to know the truth.

Sasha seemed to be leaning my way, although she was tight lipped on giving an outright opinion. Which left Mina.

“Hi,” I said, taking a seat next to Mina on the bed she and Sasha had been sleeping in.

Sasha was downstairs with the guys, prepping our dinner for the night. To no one’s surprise, it consisted of several cans of vegetables and a few cans of soup. There weren’t many options when there was no way to freeze or refrigerate food.

“Hi,” Mina responded.

The two of us leaned against the headboard, our feet stretched out in front of us. Both of us wore long pants, hers slanting over her feet, the size too big. I hadn’t been too picky when I had rummaged through the clothing section of the store.

“You’re here to ask me what I want to do,” Mina stated instead of asked.

I knew it was futile to lie, so I shrugged my shoulders, crossing my ankles. “As much as I hate to put you on the spot, you’re the deciding vote.”

She let out a heavy sigh, resting her head against my shoulder. “I want to help others, I really do.”

She paused, fiddling with the hem of her thermal shirt. I rested my head against hers, asking, “But?”

“But,” she continued, “what if my family is already safe? They’re from the East Coast, where the bunkers are. They could be waiting for me. What if I die?”

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