Young Writers Society

Saturday, December 12th—10:13 AM

We meet Jay at a rest stop.

North Eastern rest stops are nice. There’s a high, glass atrium in the center of the building, with kiosks and food counters lining the edge. Tables are arranged in the center, with sleek, plastic chairs. There’s an energetic buzz as travelers come back to life, revived by food and semi-clean bathrooms.

We settle around a table and I send Matt to the convenience store to pick up food. All of us are hungry, but one look at the food court prices made us lose our appetites. We’re already down to $700. I didn’t know food could be so expensive.

A kid wanders towards us, clutching a tray containing a pile of food. He looks lost, like new kids do in a new school cafeteria. The rest of the tables are occupied by families and groups of adults. He glances uncertainly around and then puts his tray down on our table. Kaylah looks at the tray, and then at the kid. “Um… hi?”

He pushes a mop of black hair back, looks around the court, and answers. “Do you mind if I sit with you guys? All the other tables are taken.”

We nod and he plops down into a chair. “I’m Jay, by the way.”

He extends his hand for a handshake and I take it. We both nod and pump once. Jay starts laughing as he unwraps a burrito. “You guys are cool. Where you heading?”

Alicia jumps in and answers quickly. “New York. We’re on a camping trip.”

Jay scrunches his face. “Camping? With the Novites and all that crap? You guys aren’t running, are you?”

I say “no” at the same time that Alicia says “yes”. Jay laughs again, his almond-shaped eyes crinkling, and then says “Let me guess: you’re a group of teenage renegades who decided to strike off when the chipping mandate was announced and now you’re just realizing how screwed you are.”

“Yeah, that’s about right,” I respond carefully. “But what about you? You’re all by yourself.”

Jay puts down his burrito and leans back in his chair. “Well, that’s a bit complicated. My parents were… are… big conspiracy theorists. When the Novites came, they packed up the minivan and we’ve been traveling ever since. And then, a few days ago, I came out of the rest stop bathroom and realized that they left without me. I’ve been living around this rest stop for a few days now.”

There’s a tinge of earnestness in his voice. I look over at Alicia, whose lips are pursed. She’s studying Jay, like she’s trying to pick apart the story and call his bluff. “So where’d you get the money, Jay?”

Jay digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cash. “My parents forgot one thing. They gave me the money to go stock up on food.”

We all goggle at the amount in his hand. “Dude, how much is that?” asks Raymond.

Jay returns the money to his pocket. “Enough to get by on.”

Matt returns to the table, his arms full of groceries. He nudges Jay with his arm. “You’re in my seat.”

Jay jumps up and brushes off the chair. “Sorry mate. You can have your chair back.”

Matt settles back in his seat and leans over to tell me “We have six-hundred dollars left.” He then turns to Jay. “And who are you?”

Jay extends his hand for another handshake. “Jay Sultap. Sixteen years old. Hailing from the good state of Connecticut.”

Lauren nods at Jay. “Nice shirt.”

Jay is wearing a slogan tee-shirt that reads “Han Shot First”. He smooths out the shirt and says “Why thank you, Miss…”

“Lauren.”

Jay piles his trash on his plastic tray and turns to leave. “Well, nice meeting you guys. Don’t let the Novites get you.”

We wave, collect our belongings, and head out of the rest stop. “He was cool,” says Gavin.

I nod in agreement. “Yeah. Wonder what he’s gonna do. You can’t live at a rest stop forever.”

Alicia climbs into the driver’s seat, but she doesn’t start the RV. “Maybe… maybe… we should go back for him.”

Kaylah slams her hand on the table in outrage. “He can’t join us! We just met him! And hellooooo we’re on the run!”

“He has a ton of money, though,” I say. “That may be useful.”

“What if he’s a spy?” asks Raymond.

We sit in silence, until I say, “Alright, here’s what we’ll do. We let him join us, but we don’t mention the radio show. If after a week we still trust him, then we let him in.”

Gavin eyes the radio equipment warily. “Oh yeah, because that radio stuff isn’t obvious or anything. He’ll ask too many questions.”

“I’ll tell him that it’s my mom’s and she was hoping to jump start a music career.”

I climb back out of the RV and turn back to my crew. “I’m going to go get him.”

I head back into the rest stop and I spy Jay sitting by a wall, charging his phone. “Yo, Jay!” I call over the chatter in the atrium.

He looks up startled. “What are you doing back?”

I wave my hand towards the RV parked outside. “Want to join us?”

Jay looks dumbfounded. “Wait, really? Are you sure?”

“Yep.”

He stretches his legs to stand, and then stops. “Prove to me you’re not a Novite.”

I’m taken aback by his request. “Well, prove to me that you’re not a Novite.”

I offer him my hand and he stands up, brushing himself off. He grabs his charger and phone. We start to leave, but then he stops. “Are you absolutely sure? I don’t want to burden you guys or anything.”

I shrug. “Nah, it’s not a burden.”

Jay’s face lights up. “Woohoo! Okay, let’s go!”

Twenty minutes later, we’re cruising down the highway again. We all introduce ourselves to Jay, who still can’t seem to get over the fact that we took him in. He is excited about everything, from our pantry food supply, to our choice in road-trip music, to—

“Winnebago! I’m traveling in a Winnebago! Super cool.”

I see Raymond sitting on the counter, muttering “Winnebago… Winnebago. Jay, what’s a Winnebago?”

Jay motions to the vehicle. “A type of camper.”

Raymond turns to me. “Olivia, can we call this the Winnebago from now on?”

Lauren scrawls Winnebago onto the wall of the RV in permanent marker. “Consider it done.”

Monday, December 14th—8:04 PM

We stop at a mall so that Jay can buy a couple changes of clothes. After Jay wanders off, Matt shells out ten dollars to everyone else. “Consider it a Christmas present,” says Matt.

We all split up, Raymond sticking with me. We wander through the mall, peering into the varied department stores, boutiques, and food courts. “I want an action figure,” declares Raymond. “You didn’t pack any toys when we ran.”

“You have your finger skateboard,” I point out.

“Yeah but that’s it,” he whines. “What am I supposed to do in my free time? Read a book?”

“Oh you deprived child,” I say sarcastically. “Let’s check this store.”

Raymond runs into the store and I follow him. Sometimes, I forget how young he is. To him, being on the run is like a game. It’s not real. It’s not permanent.

When I enter the store, Raymond shoves two packages into my hand. “Look! I can get two tubes of WWE wrestling figures for ten dollars! They have Mysterio, Undertaker, and Joooohnnn Ceeee—”

“Okay, Raymond,” I interrupt. “I have no idea who those guys are but if you want those figures, then go for it.”

Raymond runs to the cash registers and hands his ten dollars to the cashier. As we continue walking through the mall, Raymond narrates different fights he plans on playing out.

“And then, Undertaker will slam him with—”

“Hold up.” I point to a hipster-y kind of store. There’s a hat in the window, the type that aviators wear, with the leather on the outside and the fur on the inside. “I want that hat.”

I go into the store and pick up the hat. The fur is soft and warm, which will come in handy, considering the cold winter we’ve been having. “Yep, I’m getting this,” I say. I buy the hat, and also a cheap pair of sunglasses with the leftover money. Merry Christmas, Olivia.

When the gang regroups, we all start comparing our purchases. “I got ten pins for five dollars,” announces Lauren, “And then I got this Supernatural bracelet.” She shows us the thick, silicon bracelet, etched with a quote from a TV show I’m not familiar with.

Gavin holds up a computer game. “Got it secondhand at GameStop.”

Jay meets back up with us, his arms filled with tee-shirts. “Slogan tee-shirts were a steal; I got, like, ten. And then some pants. And a shark tooth necklace for the heck of it.”

Kaylah pulls earrings out of her bag. “Got these. And a box of Junior Mints.”

Alicia and Matt return last, Matt with a couple DVD movies, and Alicia with a box of chocolates.

We hit the road again, all in high spirits.

“Are we going to do anything for the holidays?” asks Gavin as we drive. “I mean, I’m Jewish—”

“And I don’t celebrate Christmas,” says Lauren.

“But I still want to have, like, a Christmas party or something,” finishes Gavin. “Ya know?”

“Yeah,” says Kaylah. “I want to do something. My family always does a Kwanzaa, Christmas, and family reunion sort of thing. It’s a good time.”

“We can do like a generic holiday party,” I offer. “Celebrate all the holidays and good tidings at once.”

“Please tell me this doesn’t involve presents,” says Matt. “Our budget can’t handle the festivities of gift giving!”

We all laugh. “Let’s all write letters to each other,” says Alicia, looking back at us through the rearview mirror. “Secret Santa fashion. We’ll read them out loud and we have to guess who they’re from.”

Jay punches the air. “Yes!”

A Christmas song comes on the radio and Alicia turns it up. We rambunctiously sing along. Flying down the highway, singing carols with some of my closest friends, it’s easy to forget about the Novites. I take a mental snapshot of the scene, determined to preserve it forever.

Thursday, December 17th—8:26 PM

Our good times come to a screeching halt at the Green Light Diner on the outskirts of New York City. We’re sitting in a booth, not ordering dinner, just drinks, as we take a break from driving.

“Could we have Ginger Ale, all around please?” orders Matt. I smirk; he picked the cheapest thing on the menu, besides the iced water.

The waitress nods. “Coming right up.”

Alicia slouches into the booth. “My back kills,” she says. “Driving isn’t nearly as fun as I imagined it being.”

“I could drive for you.”

We all turn to stare at Jay, who pulls a driver’s permit out of his wallet. “I’m not technically legal but as long as we don’t get pulled over we’d be okay.”

I expect Alicia to object, but she just smiles tiredly and says “Could you Jay? That would be great.”

Our drinks are placed on the table and I’m about to take a sip when Jay pulls my drink away from me. “Wait a minute. I wouldn’t drink that.”

“Why?”

He points to a small tablet sitting at the bottom of my drink. It’s dissolving rapidly, but its particles are still slightly visible as it disappears, turning the ale a slightly more reddish color. “I have no idea what that is but…”

We all peer into the glass, watching as the tablet finally disintegrates into the Ginger Ale. “What the heck?” I murmur. “What is that?”

Kaylah pulls the glass closer. “I’d say it’s like some sort of knockout drug, but those are supposed to be invisible. Sooooo…”

“What about poison?” I say, the hairs on the back of my neck starting to prickle and my stomach feeling like hot lead. “Could it be poison?”

Kaylah pulls out her phone and starts doing research. “It could be… actually yeah that’s what it’s looking like.”

We all start to stand up and I do a quick 360 of the diner. “Okay but why?”

“Radio,” says Matt simply.

“Wait what?” says Jay as we gather our coats up.

“No time to explain Jay,” I say. My eye suddenly catches a group of people in the corner booth of the diner who are watching us carefully. There are two women and a man. All are in heavy winter coats. I scan their clothes for the Novite symbol, but I don’t see it. Undercover agents?

“Guys we need to go,” I whisper. We all start to walk quickly to the door, determined to slip out without being noticed.

There’s a scramble in the corner booth, and it’s at that moment that I hear a pop! The glass window behind me shatters! Multiple screams fill the diner and my crew starts a mad dash for the door.

I dive for the door, pushing it open with my shoulder and sprinting towards the Winnebago. My feet slam the parking lot pavement as I run, the cold air filling my lungs. Several more shots ring into the night. Please don’t let those bullets hit their mark.

We leap into the Winnebago, slamming the door behind us. My hands shake as I fumble with the lock. There’s a popping noise outside. They’re still gunning for us! “Alicia, go!” we all yell, crouching on the floor to get away from the glass windows. Alicia steps on the gas and we fly back as she tears out of the parking lot onto the main street. I stand and watch as our assassins fade into the dark.

“What the hell just happened!?” yells Jay as Raymond sobs. “Who was that?”

No one responds as Kaylah checks the map for a campground we can park at.

Jay’s easygoing persona has disappeared, replaced by an almost maniacal attitude. “Why did someone try to kill Olivia?! You guys aren’t just runaways, are you?”

“No we’re not, Jay,” I say, deciding to come clean.

Jay settles onto the Winnebago’s couch. “Okay. So who are you guys?”

I raise my hand. “I’m Singularity.”

Matt raises his hand, too. “Ajax.”

“Special Kay.”

“Sting Ray.”

“The Scream.”

“Grim Seeker.”

“Raven.”

Jay goggles with disbelief. “Wait… you’re Lone Voice Radio?!”

“Uh… yeah.”

He slams his hand into one of the throw pillows. “Aw man, I should’ve known that! You had the equipment and everything!” He stands. “Well, I’m Agent Jay. Nice to meet you all. Big fan.”

With re-introductions taken care of, another eerie silence settles over us. No one wants to discuss what went down in the diner.

11:20 PM

I suspect that tonight will be another sleepless night.

“Undercover Novite agents,” I tell Matt and Alicia. “It has to be.”

Alicia shrugs and snuggles into the fleece blanket she pulled out of one of the Winnebago closets. “No necessarily,” she says. “We don’t have proof of that.”

“Well, then who else?” I ask.

“I don’t know.”

Matt shakes his head. “We could’ve died tonight in that diner. We were beyond lucky that they didn’t hit any of us. What would we have done if someone had been shot?”

“Start planning the funeral service,” Alicia says dryly.

Friday, December 18th—11:00 PM

Another week. Another broadcast.

We haven’t been able to identify the assassins at the diner. We stayed at the campground today, too scared to leave the safety of the snowy woods.

I read on the DAMCOM that everyone at our school had been chipped. There was nearly a riot in my town and I found out that more small mandates had been put into place.

The curfew, the chips, Toz and the other military leaders, the missing people, it all adds up to something. I feel as if I can almost snatch up the answer; it’s so tantalizingly close. And yet, we still don’t know exactly who the Novites are.

Jay is great on the radio. “Agent Jay.” is a pretty decent addition to the team. He recounted the story of our diner escapade, leaving out the location of the diner. “And then, once we drove away,” he said, “I realized we forgot to pay. I guess we really put the dash in dine and dash.”

Since it was his first broadcast, we let him pick out the music. He played “Badlands,” by Bruce Springsteen.

“What?” he asked as Kaylah gave him a weird look. “It’s good stuff!”

“Yeah,” responded Kaylah. “Twenty years ago.”

A/N

I’m so sorry about the delay! My computer crashed last week.

As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, leave a like, comment, or recommend this story to a friend! If you didn’t enjoy it, drop a comment and let me know what I should work on!

The keyword for this week’s cipher is “aviatorhat”

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