How Things Are

thirty seven

Only Teedo talked to me that morning. The rest of the Mafia was starting to see me as a plague. At that moment I was grateful for their foolishness though. Some distance and quiet time is what I need.
By the time we were all showered, packed, and ready to go a new car was lined up with the other two with two new guys replacing the ones we lost. They greeted the others with open arms all while eyeballing me.
Teedo tried to comfort me. He's the only one who saw me leaving Lucas' room early this morning, which I was grateful for. However, him patting me on the back and telling me 'It'll pass' was only making me more irritated.
Even Joey wasn't his usual morning self. He and Leo fought back and forth but that's just how they were. He lost someone and I was the closest person he could blame so I was ok with that. The others can take my fake sympathy. I'll paint on tears later. They have no idea what I had to deal with last night and they'll never find out.

The trunks were packed and everyone was in the cars. Now that Drake and Leo's seats have been filled I'm sitting back up in the first car with Lucas. We exit the Neutral Zone onto Death Road and my memories are coming back. I don't know how long it takes to drive through by car but it took me four days.

Looking out the window at all the small groups I know have to be suffering from the heat or thirst, this is the first time in a while I feel charitable. Everyone has cold water bottles I wish to throw out the window, though I already suffered the consequences from Lucas. For him to do it again in front of his men makes me gulp.
We passed the spot where me and Winwrey hid the motorcycle. I can't believe it's still there. They must never have been able to find it. Maybe the heat did something to it and they figured it wasn't worth taking back.

I never recognized the beauty because I was too busy dying of thirst. When I turned Lucas was on his tablet. Rolling my eyes I look ahead seeing the driver giving me a not-so-friendly look in the mirror. Again roll my eyes away until I'm back out the window feeling like a pet dog.

I'm not sure how long time passes until we hear the car slow down. Lucas looks up. "What's the problem"

The driver slows to a stop making the cars behind do the same "The gas meter is empty boss."

Well then. On this road of all places. I hold in my smile thinking of how long it probably has been since they did something this dangerous to earn anything. Pulling myself together I get out of the car to tell Teedo what happened.

Someone from the third car comes and opens the hood. "It's been cut, boss." He looks up at us "The gas has been slowly draining."

I have no idea what they are saying. The others check their car, finding other problems that would've stopped them further up the road. While they have fun talking, I start taking pieces of clothes off I don't need. Start putting my car snacks and water bottle in my new makeshift pack. I'm down to a tank top, uniform pants, and boots. I turned my shirt into a pack that holds my stuff and Katana across my back.

Teedo watches me tighten the shirt, making sure it holds, and begins doing a similar thing to his clothes. He's shuffling through his car but the items he grabs aren't as necessary. He takes out everyone's camping gear. Then all of Lucas needy supplies. I run to him and start shoving them back in. "Are you trying to kill us?" I whisper-yell

"What?" He looks at me clueless.

"This is Death Road," I state firmly "We take what we can carry." Then I shuffle through his car and pull out their snacks and water bottles.

The rest of the men start doing the same thing Teedo did with his clothes. Lucas has changed completely into something I've seen him wear around his house with a pair of jogging shoes. The other men follow suit after seeing Lucas do it. He has placed his suit along with his tablet and other supplies that aren't necessary for travel in a separate pack and handed it to one of his men. Which leaves him with nothing. We all realize we are the king's snack carriers. What he leaves us, we shall be grateful for.

"Let's go." He looks at me "You up front."

His men grumble "Boss why? We all have seniority over her." They are still bitter about Leo. Some even liked Drake's deceitful personality for some reason. They just see a parasite if they follow behind me.

"Because she was the last to walk down this road alone." By the expression on their faces, some of them still didn't know that. He sighed in annoyance. "Come." He commands us like dogs. Yet we walk anyway.

Not even within an hour I can hear heavy breathing. I don't stop because Lucas doesn't. We walk at his pace, feeling the burn on our skin yet again. I have so many questions for him. If all of his men went through this? The trial for armada is fearce. So was it worse then this and some of these men have just been pampered a little too much over the years? It's like the urge know the real trial is giving me adrenaline. There have been moments I've swayed back and forth out of boredom from thinking we were going too slow. However Lucas pace is faster then mine was last time.

I can smell the mossy stench of the lake coming up. We can't see it yet but the sun is close to setting. Not everyone has the energy to keep walking halfway through the night like last time. If we reach the lake we'll have to walk maybe two days straight without sleeping all while fighting for our lives. Should I say something? He probably knows.

I clear my throat "um Lucas. We should stop for the night."

He stops and turns to me "why? We still have sunlight." He keeps walking. I can since some of the others want to stop.

"It's just-" I pause when he looks at me with that side eye stair, like a warning. "The lake is coming up. It's dangerous to be near it."

Everyone stops now "There's a lake?!" Someone said with a little too much excitement.

A few of us look at him sideways "how many times have you been here?" I finally ask him.

"This is my first time walking." He says. "But I drove down here plenty of times"

"And you never heard rumors about the lake?" I ask. He's Mafia for crying out loud. I look at him more closely "Where's your armada?"

His face scrunched up. "I'll get mine before you little girl."

I ignore what he says. "Mmm. That explains it." Looking at the rest of the men then at Lucas, "the lake has poisonous snakes along with other such things living inside and nearby. If you go close during the day you die. If you are close to it at night, you'll be eaten." I tell him.

Lucas knows about the lake but I'm not sure he cares. "We'll walk for a while longer." Then nobody says anything. We just walk until the smell gets stronger. If we camp here we'll have to watch out for poisonous creatures. He doesn't think.
Lucas comes to a stop and looks around then back at me. He sees me searching the grass but no, he's the boss and will never admit his mistake.
I ignore him along with everybody else and find the closest area to the road. They all do the same and I close my eyes to the sound of the screaming the lake beast brings the distant travelers.
We can hear the slithering, shuffling, and croaking in the grass as the creatures are being summoned to the lake. I hear the Mafia man who called me 'little girl' shreak and I chuckled. Eventually sleep hits me. Present dreams. Tomorrow we'll walk past the ones who survived.