Unplugged

This week, SciFiSunday will be a flash fiction piece. Enjoy!

“Are you sure this is the end of the line?” Brian asks as we pull up to a small cutout in the road. 

“I’m sure,” I tell him. Catherine jumps from her chair in the front of the motorhome and wraps her arms around me, like this is the last time that she’ll ever see me. I hug her back, soaking in the warmth of her body. 

This is the last time that I’ll ever see her. It’s the last time that I’ll see either of them. 

“Oh, Emil,” she says, her voice edging on a sob. “I wish you would stay with us.” I look away from Catherine’s wet eyes. I know that my leaving hurts her, but this is something that I have to do. 

“I’ll see you guys around,” I lie to them. 

“I think we will,” Brian laughs, patting me on the back from his captain’s chair, his hand like the huge paw of a friendly grizzly bear. 

Without another word, I shoulder my pack and step outside. As they drive off, I feel the last tendrils of technology reaching toward my brain, fighting to stay connected. Once they’re out of range, I let out a sigh of relief. For the first time in my life, I am completely disconnected. My brain is awash in silence, floating atop the steady thump-thump-thump of my heart beating in my ears. 

I turn away from the road and hurry into the forest before another vehicle comes down the road.