Day Seven Hundred Forty One #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Tomas had been making as many trips back down the trail as forward. A fact that had not escaped Elijah’s notice.

Tomas just returned from a long absence in the rear and Elijah stopped him before he could set off into the advance again. Instead he dispatched him to trace our path all the way back to wherever Lung and Mei may be.

I accompanied him. And Elijah and the Captain set up camp to wait.

We came to the brook, a torrent of rushing water. And there ran into Lung descending off of the mountain. He begged us to return with him to help rescue Mei. She had slipped into a crevasse they had opened accidentally with the flamethrower.

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Day Seven Hundred Twenty Two #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Two caravans passed by us today, and unlike the first, these in their turn tried to interest us in their wares. The Captain was drawn to the fruit they were hawking, but balked at the price. After haggling he passed.

Elijah congratulated him afterwards. And pointed to a hazy speck on the horizon. He said we would find a city at the edge of the desert. No doubt fruit would be cheaper at its source.

We kept on in order – Tomas far to the front, the Captain walking and conversing with Elijah, and I brought up the rear, thinking about many things.

Did that satellite crash accidentally or was it shot down?

Neither Tomas nor the Captain offered an opinion.

Day Six Hundred Thirty Three #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Although it is difficult to measure how much ground we are covering each day, both the Captain and I feel it to be less and less. I made another plea to switch to night time travel.

This time the consensus was favorable, but we will wait until the day after tomorrow to implement.

We were crossing a flat expanse with Tomas in the lead, when the young man caught a flash of silver in the sky. He followed its path as it passed our position, circling to our rear.

Tomas ordered us to take cover.

However, Elijah stood his ground, raising his staff over his head. And the diving machine crumpled and fell to earth as though striking a wall.

Day Six Hundred Twenty Three #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Another brilliant blue day. We’ve made good headway and have come abreast of certain units of the army, left in the rear for some reason or reasons. Probably to recruit or coerce conscripts as Tomas has conjectured, or see to the supplies needed by the army at large.

We decided to keep our distance. To observe and not be observed.

The Captain reported that a narrow valley lies ahead and believes that the army’s progress will be greatly slowed. This impacts the schedule that Elijah had in mind. Since the lead elements are now in that area, we may have to wait until after they have all passed through. Meaning we will have to hold up somewhere on this side.