Jaylin woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The small room was dark. She could hear people moving around outside of her door. She remembered what she had to do that day and felt a flutter of nerves run through her.  

She crawled out of bed and crept to the door. Her twin brother Jonah was still asleep. It was good to let Jonah sleep since he was always so mean in the morning. She opened the door and looked out into the hallway. 

 People with puffy eyes walked down the hall with their toothbrushes.  Bright lights shone down on them. Everyone wore gray shirts and brown pants. Even the walls were painted gray. 

The camp was underground, so there were no windows. The only way to come in was through the warehouse above them. Many of the people in the camp had not seen the sun since they went underground before the war.  

Jaylin moved into the flow of people as they went to the mess hall and the bathrooms. Adults and teens shuffled along together. Some chatted quietly about their plans for the day. Other people walked softly.  

Jaylin went into the cafe to eat. It smelled of oatmeal and eggs. This room was also brightly lit and painted grey. The whole camp was the same. After so many years, the people in the camp were just used to it. Still, sometimes Jaylin had dreams about green grass and flowers.  

Jaylin saw that only a small bit of sugar was put in each bowl of oatmeal. She wondered if they would run out of sugar soon. Jaylin took a small bowl of oatmeal. She wasn't very hungry.  

“Jay! Over here!” A voice called to her from a few tables away. Jaylin looked up and smiled. Marcus was waving at her. His big smile was shining out from the grey and brown that surrounded him. He was sitting next to their other friends: Leila and Mike.  

Jaylin, her twin brother Jonah, Marcus, Leila, and Mike had all grown up together in the same part of the city. They had gone to school together. Their families went to the same church and lived near one another. When the war started they all took refuge in their church together. Now they lived in a camp for survivors of the war. The five had become family. At 20, Jonah and Jaylin were the oldest.  

“It looks like the sugar is running out,” said Jaylin as she put her tray down next to Marcus. “There’s definitely less than last week.”  

Marcus rolled his eyes. “They’re just getting nervous. Jimmy was complaining yesterday that the Command was getting on his case about food. But they don’t need to worry.”  

Marcus and Leila worked for Jimmy, the chief of supplies. They kept track of the camp's food, clothes, dishes, and water. Everyone in the camp had a job. Everyone was expected to work hard. There were 2,000 men, women, and children in their camp, and they all needed to try to survive underground until it was safe to come out. Some were soldiers, but most were normal people. 

Jonah came over to them with his tray. He was glaring at everyone at the table. He always looked angry before he ate breakfast.  

“Good morning, sunshine!” Marcus said loudly. Leila and Mike began to giggle and look at Jonah.  

Jonah just started eating his oatmeal. “There’s not enough sugar. It tastes like cardboard,” he said. He stared down at his bowl.  

“That’s because it is cardboard. Don’t tell anyone. We’ve run out of oatmeal. We are all eating cardboard now.” Marcus could not keep from laughing loudly as he said this.  

Jaylin gave a small smile and looked away. Marcus always made jokes about running out of food. Jaylin did not always think it was funny.  

“I’m going out today,” Jaylin said suddenly.  

Everyone stopped laughing.  

Jonah put down his spoon. “What? Why didn't you say anything?" he asked. "Tell them no. Tell them to send someone else.” He looked even angrier than he had a moment ago.  

“It’s my turn. I have to go,” said Jaylin. She looked at her brother. She could tell he was scared for her.  

“Who's going with you?” asked Marcus. He also looked scared. Across the table, Leila and Mike were staring at Jaylin with wide eyes.  

“Sierra and Mary. We're the only ones who haven't been out yet,” Jaylin said. Marcus closed his eyes and rubbed his face.  

“I don’t like it. I’m going to talk to your boss,” Jonah said and started to stand up.  

“No, it’s my turn. I have to go someday.” Jaylin put her hand on his arm to stop him. Jonah sat down, still looking angry.  

Jaylin worked in Procurement. Her job was to go out of the camp and get more supplies. The camp always needed food, batteries, clothes, and medicine.  

Only small people were chosen for Procurement. They had to fit into the special cars the camp used to go look for useful things. Every month a team of three Procurement workers went out.  

Sometimes they did not come back. 

After breakfast, Jaylin and Marcus walked to the Procurement team base.   

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Marcus asked.   

“Because I knew Jonah would try to change my job. I really want to do this,” Jaylin said.   

“You are crazy. I don’t know why you want to go out there,” said Marcus. “I just hope you come back. I'm going to worry the whole time. You're my best friend." 

Jaylin saw tears in his eyes. She took his hand. “I have been training for almost two years." Jaylin reached her face up to Marcus’s cheek and gave him a kiss. “I promise I’ll be careful.”  

Marcus hugged her and held her close. “I love you, you know. I can’t think how I would feel if something happened to you.”  

Jaylin felt her heart skip a beat. It upset her that Marcus was so sad. But she needed to go out with her team. Nothing could stop her.  

* * * 

Sierra and Mary were already at the Procurement base when Jaylin arrived. The three young women looked at each other. They knew they were about to do something scary.  

They got their maps and their bags. The bags contained everything they would need to live for one week. After that, they had to get back to the camp.  

 “You need to look for power cells,” said their boss, Captain Ross. “We think there are some here.” He pointed to a large map.   

Jaylin looked at the map. She could hardly believe it… there was a circle right around her old school. “Sir, I know that area," Jaylin said. "I grew up there." 

“We know that. That is why we chose you for the team," said Captain Ross.  

Jaylin's throat tightened. If she hadn't been scared before, she was now. What would she find when she went back home?  

"Jonah tried to talk me out of it this morning," Captain Ross told her with a smile.  

Jaylin was embarrassed. She knew her twin brother would try to change her team. It bothered her when he tried to take care of her like that.  

The captain continued talking about the mission. “These cars are slow. They use electric power," he said. "If a trip took one hour before the war it can take four hours in these cars. You can’t speed.”  

Jaylin looked at Sierra and Mary. It would take almost eight hours to get to the city. Other teams had already searched all of the towns near the camp.   

"And watch where you're going. Some of the bombs dropped during the war never blew up. They can still explode if you drive over them," said Captain Ross. "Watch out for Rovers, too. There are two groups north of here."  

Rovers were groups of people left after the war. They were almost wild. They killed other people and took their stuff. They did not live in one place. They traveled around. That was why they were called Rovers. 

Some of the Rovers had been injured in the war.  People who had been hit with the gas lost skin or body parts. They didn't look like they could be alive anymore. They looked like zombies.  

"And girls," Captain Ross looked at them seriously, "I don't need to remind you how important this mission is. Each one of the three power cells will give us enough power for a whole year. We need you to find them."  

"Yes sir. We will." The three young women tried not to think about the Rovers as they got into their cars.  The gates around the camp opened. For the first time in years, Jaylin saw the sun. It wasn't very bright, but it calmed her nerves.  

But the green grass she had dreamed of was nowhere in sight. Soldiers and other people stood with guns pointing out of the fence surrounding the camp.  

Jaylin, Sierra, and Mary drove away quickly. The radios turned on in their ears. Jaylin could hear Captain Ross giving orders to shut the gates behind them.