SHE | Marvel's Avengers [10]

Chapter 5 - The Road Back

I passed some money to the bus driver, walking with my head down to the back of the bus, taking an empty seat. Shortly after, another girl my age got on, coming and sitting next to me.

The bus hissed, starting to roll away from the bus. "Hi! My name's Kamala! Who are you?" the girl asked cheerfully.

"Uh...Abila," I said.

"Why are you going to Utah?" she asked quietly. I flashed her the sticky note I had removed from my map, with UTAH scrolled across the back in big, bold letters.

"Oh, me too! AIM, they...they found me out. I have to go, to protect my Abu," she said.

"D-D'you wanna work together? Two heads are better than one,"

"Sure!" she chirped.

"Alright then, Kamala. Let's go find the Resistance,"

-

I leaned against the side of the phone booth, watching her hang up the phone after speaking with her dad.

"Do you need to call someone?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Allegedly, I'm at a retreat with really bad phone service and no phone booths within a ten-mile radius. It would make me look suspicious,"

-

"Here. Let's sit a little. We've been going for hours, and my legs feel like they're going to give out," I said, pointing to a small ridge, where we sat down, thankful to get off our feet for a bit.

"So, what are your powers?" she asked, swinging her feet. I shrugged, leaning on my hands behind me.

"Uh...split personality. Trust me, you don't want to see me on a bad day,"

"Well, mine doesn't seem as cool in comparison now. I'm a--a polymorph, I think. I have stretchy hands!" she chirped.

"Dude, that's cool! You can punch enemies from ages away and I can...turn into an octopus and turn out the lights," I said, and she laughed.

"Well, turning out lights can be useful. What if the Avengers needed to infiltrate a top-secret HYDRA base in broad daylight? If you turned out the lights, they'd never see you coming!" she pointed out.

"Well, we should keep going. I don't want to be out here when night falls. I mean, there are plenty of dangerous nocturnal animals. Cougars, Rattlesnakes, Sidewinders, Mosquitos, Gila Monsters,  Coyotes. Moose," she chuckled at the moose part. "No, seriously! Moose are dangerous! I saw one total a car once," I exclaimed.

"Okay, then I guess we'll have to look out for the highly dangerous and evasive Desert Moose,"

We got up, hopping into the creek below and continuing our trek. "All the conspiracy theories online point to this canyon as the Resistance home base. They're the only chance we've got,"

We ducked--and by we, I meant me-under a log, finding another pile, this time formed into a blockade, not far after.

"At least we know someone's been here," I commented, hopping through and helping Kamala squirm through. We landed in another pool, having to wade through and climb onto a ledge before moving on. A security drone passed by, a green light shining from the center.

"A.I.M.? Seriously? We have to hurry," Kamala said, and we ducked through a tunnel, spotting a rusty metal sign on the other side with some wire and wood around.

"Finally! Something not made of rock," I said, glancing at the WARNING: Infectious Area sign. "IS it a good sign, or a bad one?" I mused, looking at it.