Together We Survive

Road Trip

I was grateful to be back in the car for a change, still feeling somewhat shaken after the close encounter at the store. We remained quiet as we continued our journey through Arizona, not bothering to stop when we passed a deserted Walmart, Elyza sensing that I was not willing to waste any more time on stop offs.

'Do you have any more cereal bars left?' I inquired, feeling the all too familiar ache of hunger returning. Elyza nodded and gestured back to where the bag lay on the floor behind her chair. I twisted in my seat, careful of the sling as I reached out my other arm in an attempt to grab the supplies. Not wanting to remove my seat belt, I shifted in my seat and stretched even further, feeling my shirt begin to ride up as I tilted my body towards the back seats. I felt the car swerve noticeably and the unexpected movement gave me the reach I needed to grasp the material with my outstretched fingers, pulling the bag triumphantly through the gap between the seats and into my lap.

'Damn Alicia, I'm trying to be a safe driver here as requested and all you can do is distract me,' she teased, reaching out a hand in request for a cereal bar as I located them in the front pocket. With only one hand on the wheel, she skilfully tore into the packet with her teeth and set about eating as I did the same, setting the rucksack down by my feet before turning to face out of the window.

The desert had tailed off into a suburban town which was slightly more interesting to drive through with it's collection of small stores and deserted buildings. Staring out over the landscape was almost peaceful as the car rumbled through the streets and I found my eyes flickering shut despite the lengthy sleep I had only recently had.

'You should get some sleep,' Elyza suggested gently at my side, having noticed my attempts to keep my eyes open. 'I'll wake you in a few hours when we stop for the night.'

Sinking back into a more comfortable position I let my head fall back against the headrest and allowed my eyes to close, letting my tiredness envelop me. It usually took me a while to fall asleep but somehow, even in the moving vehicle, it didn't take long for the world to fall away.

I woke with a jolt when the rumbling of the engine cut out beneath me and with bleary eyes I glanced around to take note of where we were. The daylight was fading but even in the dim light I was able to make out the lack of buildings surrounding us as the sandy landscape stretched out for miles around. Wonderful, I thought bitterly, just some more damn desert.

'Elyza?' I muttered, my voice raspy as I came to from my sleep, turning my head to see the driver seat empty. My eyes quickly widened at her absence and, grogginess quickly overcome, I snapped the seat belt free and staggered out of the car into the unforgiving heat of the desert.

'Elyza?' I called out again, starting to feel slightly panicked as I spun around without seeing any sign of the blonde girl. Had she parked us up in the middle of nowhere just to leave me here? Surely not I thought, pushing aside the ridiculous thought and walked a short distance down the road, calling for the girl as I went. My gaze fell on an abandoned motor home, most likely having broken down on the side of the road. I approached it cautiously, still glancing around for signs of Elyza.

A scream caught in my throat when a figure jumped down from the doorway of the lone motor home, quickly recognizing it to be my traveling companion even as my heart pounded furiously in my chest.

'Jesus, you are going to be the death of us if you keep shouting like that,' she warned, pushing the sunglasses up onto her face as she observed my worried expression.

'You left me,' I accused, feeling my nerves diminishing now that I had found the girl, not knowing what I would have done if she truly had disappeared.

'Hardly, I was just searching this beauty for any leftover supplies whilst you slept,' she retorted, moving past me to where the car had been left unattended. I followed close behind, still irritated that she had not woken me before going off on her own but knew that there was no real reason to hold a grudge. I was just sick of the endless traveling.