Reverie [Bruno Mars - Editing]

Chapter twenty-four

Chapter twenty-four

I was falling in and out of consciousness. We had been driving for about an hour now, and the rain had gone to reveal the blue of the sky and the hot rays of the sun. Everything was so bright when my eyes cracked open a little bit to see Bruno still driving. I offered to take the wheel plenty of times, he never said yes, he told me that he wanted to.

In my dreams, I could hear the banging of my mom down in the kitchen, preparing her morning coffee and toast with extra butter. I tried moving to go see her but I was stuck at the top of the stairs. Then I would hear her pad away into the study. When I heard the door shut is when my eyes opened. I tried remembering her face, and gasped a little at my amnesia of her. It still shocked me.

There was a toolbox on the floor, and the paper which we unfolded to be a map. I could read maps, Mom taught me on our days on the road, but this one was odd. It was just thick, black lines on a piece of white paper. On the lines were dime-sized circles. There was an arrow pointed to one of the circles, YOU ARE HERE, it read. Then a little beyond that circle, passing other circles, were the two letters GS, and then more circles and lines. I was sure Rev had left this for us, but why did he have to make it so complicated? There was nothing left in the truck, well at least in this part. We hadn't checked the back, not wanting to waste any time of going home.

If we were even headed in the right direction.

When I sat up from my slumped position Bruno glanced at me. His voice held a rasp to it. “Nap good?”

“Decent.” I looked out the window. Red land and horizon. “You should let me drive. You need to rest.” 

“I'm all right.”

I peered out the window more closely, which was covered in a thin layer of dust. “Bruno, stop!” The truck jerked forward as he slammed on the brakes. I got out the car, instantly hit with heat. My clothes were damp. My throat went dry. I heard Bruno get out too as I inched closer to the rocks protruding from the earth about ten feet away.

Rocks of all kinds of sizes were delve into the sand, what looked like concrete between them to make them hold together, forming a shape. Definitely hand-made. I looked back at Bruno who had a hand on his forehead, shielding his eyes. “What the hell is it?”

I smiled. “Circle.”

*

The circle of rocks appeared every mile or so. Those were the circles on the lines of the paper. As long as we followed them, we were heading towards GS, to wherever Rev was leading us.

*

After about three hours of driving, we ran out of gas. We checked the back just in case Rev left us some gas or water for our thirst but it was empty. We were both too weak to push and have one steer, so combining our strength we both managed to push the truck and hopefully stayed in line with the rocks. The air was getting cooler. The sky was a darkening blue. That's when we saw it. GS.

Gas station.

*

There was a road that began from the gas station to the horizon, it was made by the tires of travelers, Bruno told me. We rolled the truck into the desolate area, in front of a pump. We were sweating, even though the air was cool. 

The gas station was dark and empty looking, a place I wouldn't ever want to step foot into. But we were driven by a hope that we'd find something useful inside. The glass door was unlocked. The bell overhead still jingled as we entered. “Is there a light?” I whispered. 

“Hold on.” I heard Bruno's shoes on the linoleum, then the lights on the ceiling flickered to life. I remembered when I first came here, what seemed like a thousand years ago. Bruno had asked me if I wanted something. I was scared of him, then. Technically he had kidnapped me. Funny. Now I'm in love with the guy.