Breaking Utopia

Chapter Four | Dunton

The Crowned Road spanned all the way from Lowry to Blightham. Though halfway through their journey, Soren took a small dirt path towards the west. It was surrounded by trees on all sides, the branches hung low. Tucken bobbed and weaved in his seat trying to keep himself from being taken out by twigs. It didn't seem as high trafficked as the Crowned Road. The dirt had many tracks of wheels and Kelgrif hooves, but they seemed weathered and worn.

Tucken could tell Soren had been here many times in his past. He took the winding dirt path with ease, dodging rocks and trees as if he had seen them a thousand times before. This was no temporary hideout, this was a safe house for him.

"Soren?" Tucken asked turning towards the rugged rebel beside him, curiously.

"Yeah?" Soren answered halfheartedly as he kept his eyes locked on the dirt path ahead.

"I was wondering...Well, we have been on the road for a day and a half now and yet I still don't know where we are heading."

"You'll know soon enough." Soren answered as he sharply turned around a hollow tree. Plumes of steam sputtered out the back like a wheezing old man.

"Well, with this much canned food, are we maybe going to a bunker of some sort?" Tucken began to guess, trying his best to narrow down the location.

"No." Again Soren answered coldly.

"Maybe a cabin, like the one Ginn had?"

"Nope."

"Ah, I see a rebel encampment, hidden in the woods!"

"Are you really doing this?" Soren finally turned to Tucken, who already after a day looked shaggier than when they met two days ago.

"It seems so." Tucken said with a cocky grin. Soren already didn't like how comfortable Tucken seemed to be getting.

"Welp, you picked a bad time to get childish." Soren said pointing back to the road. "Your answers in front of you." Up ahead beside the road stood a quaint little sign, perfectly shaped by a carpenter's hand and painted with warm coloring. The sign read: "Welcome, Friends to our small village of Dunton!" 

"Little much for such a small sign, don't you think?" Tucken said with curiosity stewing in his mind.

"They're good people here. Hard workers. Luckily the Arkins haven't caused to many problems for them yet." Soren said slowly the car down as they came closer to a small farm at the edge of town.

"I've heard of Dunton, an old colleague of mine wrote about them once. It was a piece on agriculture and the people who keep the Territory fed. The Arkins don't really see them as a big threat, not to many people for them to worry about an uprising here, plus they don't supply that much to Huxwell like Lowry or Falmis to care about keeping the peace much. It's insignificant in the Tiso's eyes."

"Exactly what we need." Soren said pulling up to the small farmhouse. "Never underestimate the power of insignificance, Tucken." Soren said, with a soft smile beginning to grow along his face.

Tucken began to smell the sweet scent of a fresh peach pie as they lingered outside. Soren went to the back of the buggy, maneuvering around the hot steam engine and picking up a crate of canned food from the back. Suddenly a giddy squeal erupted from the farmhouse and two figures burst from its door, rushing as fast as they could to Soren.

"The FarWithers!" Soren called out in pure joy to the pair.

They were an older gentleman and his wife. The man had a very thin hair, but just enough to comb back. His stomach was round, but Tucken could tell it was due to the woman beside him stuffing him with pastries of all sorts. His arms were thickened by large muscles from working the small field outside that grew wheat and corn.