Rise

Smile

A bump in the road provides an abrupt and harsh awakening.

When did I fall asleep?, the girl wonders, rubbing her eyes and blinking a few times as her eyes adjust to the morning light. She yawns, stretching her arms and legs out in front of her. Thank goodness for short legs, she smirks as she's able to stretch them out to their full length. Her seat being adjusted back slightly did help, however.

"Good morning." She turns as she hears the boy's soft greeting. Her smile diminishes upon laying her eyes on him. The shaky limbs and dark circles around his eyes tell a tale. He must have stayed up the whole night, driving. She cannot help but feel guilty.

"Dez...Do you want to pull over and get some rest?" she inquires, softly. Driving while drowsy is just about as dangerous as driving while drunk, after all.

"Oh, I'm fine," he smiles, glancing at her.

"Dez..."

"I'm fine, Trish," he insists, his smile vanishing. Why is he being so stubborn?, she wonders. Silence befalls them as they continue down the interestingly empty road. Where are all the people? There were a few cars parked off-road here and there, but nobody seemed to be occupying any of them. A thought hits her.

"Have you been driving all night? Miami's only three hours from Orlando. What's taking so long?"

"Detour. The road was blocked. Was able to find another route off-road, but it took me backwards. Got a little lost. I'm back on track now...I think."

"Oh. But what about the gas? You've definitely driven more than fifty miles."

"There were some gas cans in the trunk."

"Lucky us."

"We're running low again, though. We'll have to find more soon." She nods, having no more questions. Silence falls between them as they watch at the road ahead. Dez, focused on getting home, and Trish trying not to distract him. His drowsiness would do enough.

Trish finally breaks the silence by letting out a small laugh as they pass by a particular billboard.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I just saw an ad for that new Zaliens movie that was supposed to come out in a couple months. It was on that last billboard we passed," she explains. Just as soon as she finishes, Dez steps on the breaks and they screech to a stop. Trish groans, her seatbelt pressing hard onto her chest as he did so.

"Really?! How'd I miss that?!" the boy enthuses, putting the gear into reverse. He twists himself around to see behind him, while keeping one hand on the wheel, and begins back-tracking towards the billboard. Trish laughs out slightly louder, relieved to see him donning that look of pure enthusiasm again. It was all too rare these days; she had missed seeing it.

Dez stops the car, putting it into park. He bursts out the door like a child rushing towards an amusement park. The most basic thing brings him such joy – she wonders if they had both really gotten to that point. Appreciating the small things in life wasn't something she did often – she always wanted more; she always wanted better. And now, even finding cold water to drink would be the highlight of her day. She exhales her worries away and hops out of the car soon after him, making sure to take her cleaver with her.

Dez stares up at the billboard, hands on hips as he examines it with a smile. "I remember hearing that they constructed entire cityscapes in this just using CG. Can you believe that?"

"Are you serious? It looked so real in the trailers!" Trish states with disbelief as she walks up beside him. She looks up at the billboard. "I was really looking forward to this one. They were going to bring back one of my favorite characters from the third movie. I really wanted to watch it, but I guess..." Dez turns his head to face her, his gleeful aura suddenly losing its glow.