Blackout World Chapter 2

“OK, I’ll tell you!”
“Finally,” L sighed.
“It hasn’t been that long,” I countered. “But anyway, I only know the type of place to look. You guys will have to help me.”
“Sure, just hurry up already!” L fumed.
“Well, the Grid Center has to be somewhere people seldom visit, because hardly anyone knows where it is,” I started, “and that’s good, because there aren’t many Systems around here, so it might be around here. That narrows it down already.”
“I already have a few suspicions,” D announced.
“Wait, though,” I broke in. “I do actually have a spot in mind, now. In fact, you said it D.”
“I did?”
“Hey, B, how about you just let me in for once. Where?”
“OK, OK. The Reserve. Almost no one goes there, and all transmissions are prohibited there.”
“Then how does it control the Grids?” D asked.
“I thought about that a bit, and it could be on a new frequency, or even Technology, so that no one could detect it.”
“Ok, good, and the Reserve is only a bit away.” L pointed out.
“Alright everyone, gather here!” Someone shouted.
“This better not take long,” I said, “we have to get away and fix it ourselves. The Seconds and even other Firsts would just laugh.”
“Come on, we need to have a discussion.” The voice yelled again.
“Let’s go, and see what he has to say,” D suggested.
We walked over and sat down next to the elevation strips with all the other Firsts. “So, you must have noticed that something has gone wrong. We do not know exactly what the problem is, but we are attempting to figure it out. We should all stay together, so no wandering off. We have shelter and a small supply of nourishment. It will not last very long, but it should be enough for help to come.”
About then, I beckoned to D and L to follow me behind one of the Transports. “This is bad. If we are not allowed to leave, we cannot help anything.” I stated. “Plus, people could die! They have no idea what actually happened, or are hiding it from us. The radio would not even work. If they were like older radios and still used radio waves, I could understand it being damaged. I don’t believe these could be damaged by a crash, though. We have to sneak away.”
“You know, I actually agree with you, even though we would disobey a command. The Reserve is even on this side of the Transports, so the group would not notice our absence for a while. Let’s go.” It showed just how nervous D was that he used a contraction.
L shrugged and we started to back away from the group. It was only about the middle of the day, so there was still a lot of light. I am amazed that we were able to sneak away, though. The Seconds must have been extremely distraught.
After we had gotten a good distance away from the wreck, we began to run. We followed the strip to where it branched. We followed the branch until we got to the reserve.
It was set up like a settlement, in that it had a dome over it, except that items from the Reserve were scattered around the dome and the dome was extremely thin. Most likely, it was only to prevent any unexpected precipitation. This presented a challenge. However, it was thinner than most domes, so we could try to break it.
“Let’s using one of these rots,” L suggested.
“’Rocks,’” D corrected, “and we should try it around back so the hole will not be visible if someone comes looking for us.”
“Good idea, now lets move.” Said ever-impatient L.
We moved around back and used one of the rocks to smash a section of the dome. I went in first, because I was the smallest. As I grabbed the edges of the hole and hoisted myself in, I felt that strange feeling in my hands again. I looked at them, and there was more of the reddish liquid oozing from them, exactly where I had grabbed the hole. “Be careful, guys,” I yelled back through the makeshift entrance. “It doesn’t feel good to grab the edges.”
They both entered, but more carefully, and we looked at our surroundings. Tall objects surrounded us. There were more, smaller, objects lower down that seemed to be sticking out of the ground.
“Plants!” L exclaimed.
“Correct,” gasped D.
I refrained from calling out. “We don’t actually have much time,” I said. “People are in danger.”
“Right,” D agreed. “We have to look for the Grid Center.
We walked farther into the Reserve. Eventually we came to water. It was more water than I had ever seen. It was deep enough to cover me, and it must have been several 100 long. However, ‘Restricted’ signs surrounded it.
“Doesn’t that seem the least bit suspicious?” L asked.
“There is some land in the middle,” D stated, “the Grid Center is most likely on it.
“But how do we cross it?” L wanted to know.
“I have an answer for that.” D replied.
“Please tell me now, D”
“OK, have either of you ever heard of a ‘boat’?”
“Sure,” L replied.
“I know how to make one.”
“Great, let’s start. Only, what do we used?” L pondered.
We sat thinking, until L burst out with “We can use the biggest plants, which I think are called trees. They’re made of wood, and I once read that wood floats.”
“Brilliant idea, L!” D responded.
“We can probably only use the smallest trees, and then only the ones near the water.” I pondered.
“We still might have enough, and I think I can remember the plans well enough.” D put in.
“You mean you don’t know if it will work?” L shouted
“We will see.” D said.