Eliza had never remembered a week without the 25 mile trek into the town of Vivand, nor did her father or her father's father. It was the norm since the water had dried up everywhere, leaving the government the option to drive in water on a weekly basis. The many trails leading to Vivand zigzagged over each other and were frequently populated by bandits. Luckily, in her younger years her father had ridden the same, relatively safe trail and taught it to her for when she would make the trip in his place. Only once had her and her father encountered any sort of bandit on their trail. Long ago her grandfather had founded this trail for his benefit. The long, unending journey brought Eliza back to her front porch so many years ago. Her most distinct memory being the chipped white paint on the house and the dried up pine tree in the front yard.
"Do you remember what Grandpapa told you?" Her father had asked, balancing the small girl with blonde hair and an even brighter smile on his shoulders.
"...Tree?" She had said simply.
"Yes, yes. There is a tree. Grandpapa taught you how to get to the dropoff didn't he?"
"Tree?"
Her father let out a small chuckle, either from genuine happiness or exasperation, to this day she wasn't sure which it was, and he walked over to the small pen near the house. Two horses were inside, a white mare (a dull shade of yellow from the constant onslaught of dust) and a dark bay foal with a wild look in his eyes.
She remembered waiting to the side, feeding the foal small handfuls of hay while her father saddled the mare. He had mumbled to himself about learning the paths and how cars had once driven on the roads over a hundred years ago.
"Papa, what did cars look like?" She had asked.
"When you memorize the trail into town, I will show you one. Now come over here so we can go." Her father had said briskly before hoisting her off the ground and onto their horse.
"Papa what kind of car are we going to see?"
"The car is over 100 years old and was made by a car company by Pontiac. I think you will like the name too.." Her father trailed off.
"What is it, Papa?" She eagerly asked.
"We better wait. Why give away all of the secrets now?"
"Okay..." She whined. "Papa what are we going to name the baby? Can we name it Pontiac? Like the car? Papa..."
"That sounds like a good name. Good choice." He said with a smile.
That was the start of weeks of riding around with her giving directions until she found the way into town consistently. Something both of them enjoyed for a long time, until she graduated from his horse to riding Pontiac.
The memory suddenly vanished from her as they heard the cheers from town: the water trucks had arrived. Her horse obviously recognized the water cases and ignored the secretive trail they took into town, making a beeline for the throngs of people. Not many people lived in Vivand still, just government workers and a couple of people who refused to move out to the country. But each time they brought in the water shipments, the streets became crowded with those waiting for water.
"Hey! Hey!" She yelled, pulling back tightly on the reins.
In this moment she could be compared to Moses, parting the sea of people with the power of a horse refusing to stop. The barrels tied to the saddle rattled against the haunches of the beast as it kicked up a pile of dust in its sliding stop. Even once he had stopped for the most part he continued to meander in the people.
Eliza swung her leg over and jumped off of the massive animal. Her feet hit the ground with a soft crunch on the cracked ground. Around her, the eyes were trained on her and there was a 10 foot radius around her, the girl who managed to almost crush 14 people at a charity event. She let out a little huff and pulled her horse along behind her to head towards the far side of town. She could hear them whisper among themselves.
