We had been on the road since dawn, and we both desperately needed a break. My backside had lost all sensation; no amount of wriggling would relieve the pins-and-needles I felt in my limbs. I gazed into the distance, my eyes following the line of the road as it headed towards the vanishing point on the horizon, hoping to see something in the monotonous landscape.
"You'll be lucky," Jay said to me. "There hasn't even been a sign in the last hour."
"You think we're lost?" I asked.
"On this road?" Jay gestured at the flat, dusty plains around us. "There are no turnoffs, no junctions, not even a corner. So there is no way we're lost."
"Alright." I looked out of the car window. Jay was right. The road lay ahead of us and behind us, unchanging. "Pull over."
"Here?" Jay reached for the turn indicator.
"It's as good as anywhere."
Jay turned the steering wheel to the right, pulling the car onto the stony shoulder at the side of the road, and brought us to a crunching halt. "There you go."
I popped the door. The dry desert air tasted of hot dust. It wasn't any better than the metallic tang from the car's air conditioning, but the difference was welcome after hours of being caged up in the car. My limbs protested at their new-found freedom, reminding me how long it has been. "Gah," I muttered. "Ack. Ow."
Jay came to join me at the side of the road. "Give it ten minutes, then we'll get back on our way."
"Ten minutes? Are we in that much of a hurry?"
"Like there's a reason for staying longer? We can if you want. Otherwise?" Jay shrugged and kicked at a rock, sending it into the scrub.
I stood there, swinging my arms around me and unkinking my spine. The act of moving cleared my head, and I felt the tension of the day fading away. From somewhere in the distance came the sound of something moving, but I couldn't see what it was.
"Hey!" I called out to Jay. Jay had returned to the car and was sitting in the driver's seat, nursing a bottle of warm off-brand cola. "Do you want me to drive?"
Jay shrugged in response. "Why not? Catch!"
I grabbed at the keys, snatching them out of the air, and waited for Jay to shift across to the seat I had vacated. Then I got into the car and readied myself for the next stage of our journey. "Ready?" I asked.
"Let's go," Jay said.
The engine turned over, then caught. I released the brake, and the car rolled back onto the road, heading for the horizon.
