Chapter 102

Arriving in Louis City had been disorienting for Adam. Exhaustion had him hallucinating well before he began to realize that the houses, buildings, and other vehicles he was seeing were real. When he looked up in the sky and saw an enormous silver horseshoe, he thought for sure it was just as much a part of his imagination as the fake trucks he’d been seeing on the empty road, the animals he’d thought he’d glimpsed out of the corner of his eyes as he was riding toward the city, and other mysterious elements he’d seen that faded away as soon as he turned his head to look at them.
Now, standing in the grass near the landmark he’d been traveling toward even when his body was about to fall off of the bike, holding Rain in his arms, he knew it had all been worth it.
If it wasn’t for her scent, the distinct mixture of florals and refreshing water he inhaled with every breath, he might think she wasn’t real either.
“You’re here,” she whispered, moving her head back slightly but not meeting his eyes yet.
“I’m here,” he said, his voice cracking. It had been so long since he’d spoken, and his throat was coated in dust from the road, it was a wonder anything came out at all.
Rain took a step back and finally looked at him. “You need water,” she said, taking her arm out of the strap of her backpack and spinning it around so she could find some. He’d had hydration pills with him but hadn’t used them because he didn’t want to slow to look for them. He couldn't remember when he’d finished the water Naomi had sent him off with, but it had been a while ago.
She took the lid off of the water and handed it to him, and Adam choked it down. “Thank you.” The others were coming over now, having given them their moment. It wasn’t much of a moment as far as exchanges were concerned. Adam had been spending as much of the ride to Louis City as he consciously could trying to come up with something to say to her, something that would let her know how he felt about her, but now that she was standing in front of him, it seemed ridiculous to just blurt it out.
“Well, it’s about time,” Mist said with a smile on her face as she hugged him. “Did you get lost?”
“Something like that,” Adam said, careful not to spill any of the water as he embraced and then released her.
Walt hugged him next. “We were getting a little worried.”
He’d seen that they had actually been leaving, that they were headed toward Seth’s truck, but he didn’t mention it. “Me, too,” Adam joked.
Seth offered his hand as Walt stepped aside. “Nice to see you.”
Adam shook his hand. “You, too.” There was a tension there on both sides that let him know neither one of them quite meant that, that Seth would’ve been perfectly content to never see him again, not in a menacing way, just because if Adam never reappeared, he might have a better opportunity with Rain, and it had been clear since the moment the Oklasaw citizen had first seen the girl that he was interested in her. Having Adam there made it a lot more complicated. By the same token, if Seth told them that he was headed home now and wished them well, Adam wouldn’t be heartbroken either, even though that would mean they’d have to walk all the way to Quebec.
“Well, come on. Let’s get loaded up. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Seth said, releasing his hand and gesturing toward the truck. “We need to get the bike in the back.”
“I’ll help you,” Adam offered, but Rain was there tugging on him so that he couldn’t take another step toward the motorbike.
“Let Walt,” she insisted. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”
He felt like he was about to fall over. Rather than argue with her, he walked with her toward the truck as the other two men got the bike rolling. Mist hurried to the back of the truck to make room for it. When she opened the camper, he could see that someone had been sleeping back there, at least at one point. There’d be no room for that with the bike in the back.
Adam knew he needed to tell Seth about the wreck, but Rain was moving him toward the back seat. It was evident that there’d been repairs to the bike. Seth would want to know what had happened. He would tell him, but not at the moment. Adam slid into the back seat, and Rain got in beside him. “I wish there was enough room for you to take a nap back there,” she said. “You look like you can barely keep your eyes open.”
“I’ll manage,” he assured her. He had gotten a rush of energy when he’d seen her, but he was tired again now. The thought of leaning his head against her shoulder and falling fast asleep was appealing. He figured Mist would be joining them in the back seat shortly, probably upset that she couldn’t sit by Walt. He’d try to stay awake.
The truck moved back and forth with the weight of the bike and cart being moved inside. Rain looked over her shoulder toward the tailgate and the back at him. “Did you… lose your phone?” she asked.
“No,” he said quickly, as if that response would somehow make the fact that she hadn’t been able to get ahold of him for days better. “It got broken.” He pulled it out of his pocket and showed it to her. Her eyes widened as she looked at the cracked screen, the shattered plastic where some of the numbers and letters were missing. “I wrecked the bike.”
Somehow, her green eyes managed to grow even wider. “Are you all right?”
“I am,” he assured her. His knee was still a little sore, but he was okay. He hadn’t had time to think about the pain since he’d gotten back on the bike.
She looked relieved to hear that he wasn’t injured. Rain opened her mouth, and he assumed she was about to ask him something else, but she didn’t. Instead, she closed her mouth and took a deep breath. He wanted to tell her everything that had happened, but he’d wait until the others were in the truck so that he only had to say it once.
They sat in silence for a few minutes until Mist got in on his other side. “They’re just making sure the bike is tied down. Did you have a wreck?”
“Yeah,” Adam said, turning to look at her. Again, he waited for the others.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” He sounded so flat, so out of energy, he didn’t even want to hear his own voice. But there was more than that. He couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong with Rain, like the distance still between them was insurmountable, and he couldn’t understand why. He had been on the brink of telling her how he felt about her the last time he’d spoken to her, thinking that there was a possibility that was the last time he’d get a chance to talk to her, and now that she was sitting next to him, the heaviness of that conversation bore down on both of them like one of the metal skeletons they’d seen in Dafo destroyed from the bombing. He wouldn’t be able to say anything else to Rain about how he was feeling with the rest of the party in the cab. But even if he got the opportunity to do so, he had no idea what he would say. She had hugged him. She had missed him. She was sitting next to him, but there was certainly something between her and Seth. Exactly what it was, he wasn’t certain, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Seth and Walt got into the front seat, Walt looking uncomfortable, as if he hadn’t ever sat in that particular seat before, and Adam had to assume he hadn’t. Rain had probably sat there the entire time. He felt bad that he was keeping Mist and Walt from sitting together but kept his mouth closed for the moment.
“Saw some repairs on the bike,” Seth said, putting his seat belt on and turning the engine over. “What happened?”
“I almost hit a truck,” he said. “It came out of nowhere. I spun the bike out. Luckily, the woman I almost hit knew how to fix it. Sorry about the damage.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just glad you're all right and were able to get it fixed so you could ride it here.” Seth started down the road, headed north.
“Who fixed it?” Rain asked. There was an edge to her voice, as if she didn’t like the idea of him spending time with the woman he’d mentioned.
“Her name was Naomi,” he said. “Her house was several hours from where we almost ran into one another. That got me off schedule, and then it took longer for her to fix than she’d thought. I was already running behind because I’d had to hide from the Mothers.”
“Did you see them?” Mist asked.
“Oh, I saw them. They were fighting pretty close to where I dropped the tracker. Then, they chased me, and I had to lose them. It wasn’t fun at all. I kept hearing them all around me and basically had to hide for a while. Then I took a different path…. Anyway, eventually, I got away from them. I was headed back the right way when I almost hit Naomi.”
“Was there a lot of traffic out there?” Walt asked, his puckered forehead demonstrating his confusion.
“No. It was a freak accident. She was the only vehicle I saw on the road for days, until I got closer to Louis City.”
“And you almost hit her?” Rain asked, her eyes wide again.
“Yeah. I know it seems crazy. She was really nice though and a good mechanic.” He noticed the way Rain reacted when he said Naomi was nice. “Anyway… what have you guys been up to?” He asked the question like it was just an innocent inquiry about how they were doing and not an attempt to change the subject.
“We had a little encounter with the Mothers, too,” Walt said. “We had to hide in that seat you guys are sitting on.” He seemed a little bitter that he wasn’t sitting there.
“Really?” Adam asked, ignoring the intonation. “How did you do that?”
“Carefully,” Mist said. “We had to fold ourselves up to fit in there.”
“That sounds… uncomfortable.” Adam couldn’t imagine one of them fitting inside of the seat, let alone three.
“Some of Seth’s friends went out to keep an eye on them, and a few of them didn’t make it,” Rain said, her tone solemn.
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Seth,” Adam said, not sure what else he could say. “Thanks for all of your help.” It didn’t seem like enough, but as tired as he was, Adam couldn’t think of anything more to say.
“No problem,” Seth said, clearing his throat, like he didn’t want to think about it. “You seem tired. Maybe you should get some sleep now, and we can talk more later.”
He agreed--that seemed like a good idea. But before he went to sleep, he had to ask one more question. “What’s the plan now, though? How much further are you planning to take us?”
Seth met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “All the way to Quebec.”
Adam absorbed that, trying not to look too surprised. That was a change in plans, but there were some positives, like not having to walk. Still, it was clear to him that the only reason Seth was helping them was because of Rain. He turned and looked at her, and she gave him a small smile. Adam smiled back at her and then, to Seth, said, “That’s great. That’ll make it… a lot faster.”
Seth smiled at him and then returned his attention to the busy road.
Adam leaned his head back, sinking down in the seat, not exactly sure how he was supposed to sleep under the circumstances, but as tired as he was, he figured he’d find a way.