Chapter 97

How Seth was still driving, Rain wasn’t sure, but he had to be exhausted. After she’d woken from a nap of about three hours, she’d offered to let him pull over and sleep while she watched out the window for any approaching threats, but Seth had refused. Now, two hours later, she could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open. They were on hilly roads with large drop offs on either side. While they hadn’t seen anyone coming in the other direction for most of the day, Rain was still worried.
“Really, Seth, the sun is going to be up soon,” she said, reaching over and touching his arm. He jumped, as if he’d forgotten she was there. “You need to get some sleep.”
“I’m fine,” he said again.
“I don’t believe you,” she replied, tugging on his sleeve. “Pull over! You’re going to wreck and kill all of us.”
Reluctantly, he grumbled again that he didn’t need to pull off, but then he did it anyway. Seth didn’t stop directly by the road, though. Just as he had earlier, in order for Mist and Walt to get in the back, he found a secluded spot under some trees.
Rain thought the others might wake up and ask what was going on, but they didn’t stir. Seth looked at her for a long moment. “Well?” he asked. “What do you want me to do? If I get in the back, and we need to drive off really quickly, you’re going to have to drive.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen,” Rain said, making him chuckle. “I guess I can get in the back, and you can lay across these two seats.”
“Do you have a jacket in your backpack?” Seth asked, without replying to her statement.
“Yes….” Rain reached down and unzipped her backpack, pulling out her jacket. It certainly wouldn’t fit him, but then, it wasn’t cold in the cab, despite the fact that the truck was turned off now. She handed it to him, and Seth rolled it up and put it on her lap. The next thing she knew, his head was there, too.
“This way, if you need to wake me up quickly, you can just poke me or something,” Seth said, his voice groggy already.
Rain wasn’t sure this was the most conventional way of handling the situation, but she was content to let him rest that way, if that’s what he needed in order to go to sleep. Seeing that the windows would probably fog over from their breath pretty quickly, Rain stretched her arm over to the driver’s side window and pressed the buttons to roll all four of them down just a bit while the battery was still slightly powered. Seth readjusted slightly with her movement, but within a few seconds, he was out.
And she was all alone, in the middle of nowhere, a gun in her hand, and the sounds of the early morning calling to her from outside of the window.
She wasn’t tired, despite the fact that everyone else in the vehicle was sleeping. Everyone else in the world could’ve been sleeping, for that matter. Her senses were on high alert as she listened for anyone outside approaching the truck. All she could hear was Seth’s breathing, and the occasional snore or murmur from the bed of the truck.
In the quiet, it was easy for her mind to wander. Where was Adam? Was he okay? Had he gotten lost? What had happened to the phone he’d been given? Could he have broken or lost it? Surely, the Mothers didn’t have him. If they did, wouldn’t there have been reports from the various Oklasaw forces? It seemed like someone would’ve noticed them taking someone prisoner.
But then, it was possible they hadn’t taken him prisoner. What if they just shot him outright? For that matter, it wouldn’t have even had to have been the Mothers who killed him. He could’ve stumbled into friendly fire.
Or fallen off a cliff. Or fallen into the river and drowned….
The longer she sat there, the more her mind attempted to convince her that Adam was dead and that she’d never see him again. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but Rain hadn’t come all this way to show her weakness now. She couldn’t cry for him when she didn’t have any reason to assume he was gone.
Her eyes fell to Seth’s face. He was so handsome, even while he was sleeping so awkwardly, his mouth slightly open. Despite the fact that she didn’t have a lot of experience to draw upon when it came to men or people outside of Michaelanburg, Rain knew that Seth was a good person, that he was a kind soul. She didn’t have to have a lot of experience with people to know that.
Seth was going to make a good husband someday. For someone. But… she didn’t think it would be her. It was true, she’d been confused recently, especially when Adam had been acting aloof. But that had been her fault. Missing him, wondering where he was and not knowing, thinking there was a chance he might be dead, left little doubt in Rain’s mind that she loved Adam, that she wanted to be with him. If she couldn’t be for some reason, either because he never came back or because he found he wanted to be with someone else, she’d have to find a way to go on with her life. That might mean finding someone else someday, but even then, she didn’t think that person would be Seth.
He had feelings for her, though. Clearly. He probably wouldn’t be lying in her lap if he didn’t. And she didn’t want to do anything to hurt him. So… she’d have to be careful. Especially if Adam wasn’t in Louis City, and Seth took them the rest of the way.
“Maybe I’m just tired,” she thought, her fingers reaching to brush his hair away from his forehead but then stopping. Maybe--but she didn’t think so. Something had changed in the hours since she’d said goodbye to Adam on the phone and then found out that she couldn’t contact him. The questions she’d had about whether or not she wanted to be with him were all answered, and it became clear that a future without Adam in it was still worth fighting for, but it would be empty and emotionless. Better than what she’d left behind in Michaelanburg because at least she’d still be able to make her own choices--but nothing compared to what she thought life could be like in a small home with Adam and a few children with her hair and his smile.
“Come back to me, Adam,” she whispered, her heart singing it louder than her lips. “Come back.”

* * *

“You’re all set,” Naomi said, wiping her hands on a towel she had strategically stuck in her back pocket. “I’m so sorry it took so long.”
While Adam was also sorry he hadn’t gotten on the road nearly twelve hours ago, at least the bike was working now, and the trailer was straightened out so that it would tow in a straight line. “That’s okay,” he said, since there was little he could do about the lost time now. “I’m just glad you were willing to fix it. You must be exhausted.” She had worked through most of the night. The sun would be coming up soon.
“No problem,” Naomi replied, stifling a yawn. “That’ll be six hundred dollars.” She stuck out her hand, her eyebrows raised expectantly.
Adam looked at her outstretched palm and back in her eyes. “I wish I had that kind of money.”
Laughing, Naomi dropped her hand. “I know, right? Just be careful. Don’t run into any more trucks.”
He threw his leg over the seat as he strapped on his helmet. “Technically, I didn’t hit you, thanks to that lovely spin out.”
“True. If you had, my truck would’ve needed fixed, and I’m afraid the bike would've been totaled. You, too, for that matter.”
She was probably right. Luckily, that wasn’t what happened. “Seriously, Naomi, thanks a lot. If I can ever repay you, I will.”
With a shrug, she smiled at him. “It’s all good. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
“Maybe.” He hoped so, but it wasn’t likely. “By the way, Naomi, if anyone does come by your house looking for me, it would probably be best if you said you hadn’t seen me.”
She stared at him for a long moment and then nodded. “Because… they might try to take me to Michaelanburg?”
So she did know? Had she realized all along that he was one of the escaped rebels, or had she just figured it out? Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to ask. “Whatever you do, don’t let them take you there.”
“It must be a pretty awful place to have you risking your life to escape.”
Adam started the engine. Maybe it wasn’t so bad if you were a woman. Rain and Mist could’ve likely lived there contently for the rest of their days. But if you were a man…. “You have no idea,” he replied.
“Take care, Adam Blue.”
“You, too, Naomi Beckham.” He gave her one last smile and then headed out, following the line on his navigation back toward the road, and eventually, Louis City.
It would be a long, dangerous trip, and he would need to go as fast as he could. If the navigation calculation of how long it would take him to get there was right, he would miss the rendezvous time by at least twelve hours. That was if he could find the Gate, which he still thought might be difficult, despite everyone telling him he couldn’t miss it.
He found the road and headed out, looking around him carefully. Naomi had been listening to the news on the radio while she worked, and it sounded like the Mothers were far to the east and to the west, and much further south of his current location, but he wouldn’t be shocked to see a drone overhead or hear the rumble of the land riders. There was no way to know for sure when they might show up again. All he could do was ride as fast as he could, keep his eyes open, and pray that he didn’t have any more run-ins with Mothers or speeding vehicles.
As he rode, his mind went to Rain. She had to be so worried about him since she hadn’t been able to call him. Would she wait for him at the Gate, or would she just assume something had happened to him and go on north without him? As much as he’d like to think she’d wait indefinitely, that wasn’t practical. There was a chance he wouldn’t ever show up, after all. Even though he had survived the crash, that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t run into more trouble in the next couple of days and end up dead or otherwise detained. As much as it pained his heart to think about it, he had to hope she wouldn’t wait too long. A few hours, a day more, maybe…. Anything beyond that put her in danger, and he didn’t want her to be at risk on his account.
The road stretched out ahead of him, a few trees lining either side from time to time as he drove along a dirt road with small hills and fields of grass and some sort of crops on either side of him. It would’ve been nice to slow down and enjoy the countryside, but right now, all he could think about was closing the distance between himself and Rain. He had to find her. He had to see her again. Otherwise, none of this would be worth it, and he may as well let the Mothers take him back to Michaelanburg or end him.