Evolution

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

the sun beat through the sealed glass magnifying its intensity. Alex awoke from her dream drenched in sweat. Her throat was drier than the Sahara desert. She slowly opened the plastic bottle of water and took a large swig, feeling it slide down she took a moment to enjoy it. Conservation! that was what they were down too.

She matched threads on the bottle and replaced the cap. Cramming it back in her pack, Alex peered out the window for a brief second, taking in the visual wonders of a newfound place. She seen a bizarre mix of red, blue and green dot the oak trees. With the seemingly harmless threat of flying pod creatures aside, she could truly appreciate the rather normal scenery she was lucky enough to witness.

Life, life in its truest form. Through all the horrible atrocities that took place, innocent creatures managed to not only survive, but went on with their existence like nothing at all happened. Alex watched the blue bird dive for food that lay between the wreckage and wondered if they were even aware of the changing structure taking place in the food chain. Oh to be that blissfully ignorant. She thought to herself.

“Wake up!” She pushed my sweaty body and watched it wiggle before resting in its original position once more.

“Wake up I said!” Pushing me harder this time, my head pinged off the glass and a muffled distorted grunt escaped my lips. I rubbed my eyes and felt my soaked shirt.

“Wha? Alex what’s going on?”

“You are trying to kill us that’s what’s going on!” I watched a cute scowl cross her face and smiled.

“What are you smiling at you dork? Roll down the windows I’m dying”

“No”

I dangled the keys in front of her face and smiled once more.

“I do believe Boomer put me in charge of driving, and technically holding the keys that unroll the windows would be my responsibility. What if I enjoy being sweaty? What if I adore the feel of a wet shirt clinging to me for dear life?”

Alex frowned deep

“Don’t be gross Trevor, just roll down the windows okay?”

She rolled her eyes, turning her back to me I could hear the the “harrumph” she tried to hide. Snickering to myself I started the engine and hit the power window bottom. A quiet hum made audible by sliding glass freed us from our stagnant smelling enclosure. A soft breeze came wafting through, almost immediately soothing our discomfort. A loud snore followed by a tiny cough came from Boomer as Alex shook him. Boomer opened his eyes and made a shooing motion with his hands.

“Oh no you don’t you big lug! Get up”

Boomer tried to roll over in the back seat, curling his legs to his chest and clenching his eyes shut tight.

“God I don’t know which one of you is more stubborn.” Alex declared.

Reaching her slender arm in front of me, she slammed her palm against the horn, not only startling me, but nearly giving Boomer heart failure. I felt the vehicle bounce as the large man shot straight up, whacking his head on the metal roof. I  heard the skull thump the metal and couldn’t help but cringe at the sound.

“Oh good your awake. Good morning Boomer” Alex boasted

I watched the man shoot daggers through his eyes as he glared at his sister, trying to soothe his no doubt pounding head with his hand. I handed a bottle of water and a bag of chips back, hoping to make peace.

“Here you go big guy, the breakfast of champions!”

Not even a fake smile. Nothing. This was going to be a long day I thought to myself. The only sounds filling the car were that of the occasional crunching of undesirable junk food. A very long ten minutes passed before Alex broke the silence.

“I spotted some pod creatures in the trees this morning, We probably have maybe an hour before we are noticed. How much gas do we have?” She spoke like an expert, all I could do is stare at her.

“Hello? Earth to Trevor” She waved her hand in front of my blank stare. I hate when she does that!

“I-I-don’t know” I muttered, still waking up

“Well don’t you think you ought to look?” she said sarcastically

I take a deep breath and released it slowly before looking at the gauge. It really is going to be one of those days. I thought to myself

“About a half a tank of gas. Do we have any more in the trunk?”

“Bone dry”

“I hate to say it Alex, but we haven’t really seen many vehicles since the state line .We may be on foot soon.” I looked down hoping my sneakers would save me. Wishing they would. I always hated giving bad news, especially in situations where you are somehow deemed the leader of a group you never planned on joining.

Alex just sighed and slowly fastened her seatbelt.

“Maybe we will get lucky.” She stated sarcastically

“Lets just make the most of it and try to get out of Pennsylvania before dark.”