Dead End World

Chapter Eight: Roadblock

     Eve and Spencer gathered whatever weapons they thought they'd need for Iris' house. Eve kept her pistol since she didn't know how to work any other type of gun, and she didn't trust herself to learn and use it so quickly. But she took a tactical knife and a holster for it. She hooked it to her belt.
     Spencer took a rifle and strung it around him like a crossbody, it hung behind his back. He also had a pistol, but didn't take a knife. They were both physically ready to go. Mentally was another story though.
     Eve was not mentally ready one bit. She knew that Spencer in mentally ready for basically anything, so she didn't want to slow him down by her complaints and worries.
     "Let's go!" Spencer called to her, getting into his truck. She was falling behind, nervously closing the front door and stepping through the yard towards the truck. She shakily sighed and got into the passenger's seat.
     "Spencer, I only have a pistol! What if they have, like, canons or something?" Eve fretted, buckling up.
     Spencer tipped the cowboy hat on his head up. "Iris Alvarez is not going to have a canon, I can guarantee you," replied Spencer, starting the truck and pulling out onto the road. "The best she got's probably an AK."
     "I still only have a pistol!"
     "And you got a knife. You good with close-up combat?"
     Eve swallowed and felt her pride fill her body. "Yeah."
     They rode down the long, straight road, the only sound being being the truck's engine. Eve had just lied to Spencer. She said she was good with up-close combat, but in reality, she wasn't too good with any combat. A 15 year old threw her down and was able to keep her down, after all. She felt anxiety churn her stomach, and she leaned her head against the rattling window of the truck.
     Only a few more miles until Aston, they came up on a stone barrier on the road. A sign was attached to the barrier that said 'Road Closed'.
     "What in the.." mumbled Spencer, slowing the truck until it stopped before the barrier.
     "This wasn't here yesterday," said Eve, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
     "Iris' house is just over there, not even a mile away," Spencer said, looking out into the dusty horizon.
     "Just drive around the barrier, then," suggested Eve.
     Spencer shook his head. "No. I'm turning around."
     "What? Why?"
     "Aston put this here. They're on the lookout." Spencer started to turn the truck around.
     "Then how are we supposed to get to Theo?" questioned Eve.
     "We'll have to think of another way, something that won't get us easily caught."
     Frustration replaced Eve's anxiousness. She wanted to save Theo as soon as possible, but this literal roadblock was stopping them. She didn't care that Aston was on the lookout behind the barrier, she just wanted to get to Iris' house and take back her teammate.
     They rode back to Marcadia.

The Next Day

     Threatened by the possible exposure to the so-called dangerous Anton Le Roux, Theo stayed at Iris' house another night. When he woke up in the morning, it was just like the morning before. He swung his legs out of bed and stood up. He walked into the kitchen. Iris was nowhere to be seen. He looked around, then heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. Iris emerged from the hallway door and walked over to him, in her arms were some clothes. She handed the clothes to Theo.
     "Here. These will probably fit you," she said. "I don't think you should wear that outfit another day."
     "Thanks.." Theo took the clothes. He went to the bedroom to change. She had given him a dark green button-up and black cargo pants. He slid them on and put his old clothes aside, which consisted of a tight pale green top and dark blue denim jeans. He walked back out to the kitchen.
     Iris grinned when she saw him. "You look good in green, so I decided to give you another green top."
     "It must be my color," said Theo, pulling down on his new shirt. "Are we gonna be able to go back to Marcadia today?"
     "I'm not sure yet," said Iris. "But I do want to get you outside today."
     "What do you mean?"
     Iris led him outside and to her side-by-side. It was dusty from driving in the sand but it looked fast and sturdy. Iris got into the driver's seat and Theo got into the passenger's seat. Iris turned the vehicle on.
     "This thing is my baby," Iris loudly said over the running engine. She pressed the gas pedal and the ATV started moving.
     They drove through the sand and dirt quickly, flinging up sand and dust as they went.
     "I wanna show you something!" Iris said, pressing further down into the gas pedal. They came up upon a steep cliff. It looked down into a huge canyon, at the bottom of the canyon laid a river. She stopped the vehicle and turned off the engine. They both got out of the side-by-side.
     Theo walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing down at the breathtaking drop below. "Wow.."
     "Amazing, isn't it?" said Iris, standing next to him.
     He looked to her and nodded his head.
     "I come here to clear my head," Iris mumbled, adjusting the sunglasses on her face.
     "It's beautiful," said Theo, still gazing upon the view.
     They sat there in silence for a few more moments before turning back for the side-by-side. They both got back in, but Iris didn't start the engine.
     "Y'know, Theo.. you're the first person I've talked to in a really long time," Iris said, looking to the man beside her.
     Theo exchanged her glance. "You must live a pretty boring life."
     "I do," she replied. "I really do. And you've made it so much more exciting."
     "I've been here for two days."
     "And those two days have been the best two days of my life."
     "I'm not that fun.."
"Quit it, Theo. You're literally the best."
Theo sighed and shook his head, looking forward.
Iris sighed as well, fidgeting with her fingers. "I don't want you to ever leave."
Theo snapped his head back to her. "What?"
"I want you to stay with me forever.."
"But you said you'd help me!"
"I know, and I will!" Iris closed her eyes gently. "I will."
"Then what're you going on about?" asked Theo.
"I just wish you never had to go back to Eve, or whatever her name is."
"I'm sorry things are the way they are."
"It's alright," mumbled Iris. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry for being so controlling.. it's a jerky thing to do."
"I understand how you feel," Theo told her in an utter.
"You do?"
Theo nodded his head. "Down in the bunker, I didn't have anyone. I never talked to anyone either, I was completely alone and my life was so boring."
"So you do get it," said Iris. "You know how this feeling is."
"Very much so."
Iris looked to him, gingerly blinking her brown eyes. Theo looked to her, licking his cherry lips. Iris slowly leaned in and pressed her lips against Theo's. Her eyes closed, but Theo's remained open. He pulled away and looked at Iris with a calm look on his face, but at the same time, his expression had a hint of disapproval in it.
"I'm sorry," Iris said under her breath.
"It's okay," Theo replied.
They both looked forward again. Iris started the vehicle and began to drive back to her house.

     Spencer and Eve got into the truck once again, ready to try to go to Iris' house one more time. Spencer had made up a plan. Instead of following the road the whole way, he'd turn off the road somewhere before the barrier and ride off-road until they arrived at Iris' house. But, there still was a possibility of them getting spotted by Aston. That was a risk they were willing to take though.
     They rode down the road, just like the day before. Exactly like it, actually. The only sound was once again the engine. They rode on the road until they were about a mile from the barrier. Then, Spencer slowed down a tiny bit and turned off the road. He rode on the sandy earth now, running over cacti and plants, birds flying up right before the truck could hit them.
     "I got no clue where I'm going, if I'm bein' honest," Spencer said, the steering wheel shaking his hands.
     Eve looked from the windshield to Spencer. "Do you have a clue on where it could be?"
     "Yeah, I got a hunch," said Spencer. "I got good intuition, ya know."
     Eve slowly nodded her head and looked forward again. Suddenly, a small pellet whizzed by, shattering Eve's window. She gasped, her heart skipping a beat.
     "Woah!" Spencer exclaimed, leaning back in his seat, the truck wobbling a little as he almost lost control of the truck. "That thing almost clipped my nose!"
     "Oh my god!" Eve shouted as more bullets flew at them. One hit their back tire, the tire popped and their backside started dragging on the ground.
     "Get down!" Spencer told Eve. She slid down below the window, breathing heavily. Spencer had lost control of the truck, turning the steering wheel left, then right, then left again, then right again. This continued until they slid to a stop, a huge dust cloud surrounding the vehicle. "Hurry, let's go," Spencer said sternly, getting out of the truck. Eve also bursted out of the truck, and they both sprinted out of the dust cloud. No more shots were fired, at least not towards them. They ran until they found a bush to duck behind. They both peered out of the bush towards the cloud. As the cloud started to fade, an FBI van was revealed. It was parked next to the broken truck. FBI agents surrounded the truck, looking inside and all around.
     Spencer started inching towards the truck, coming out from behind the bush.
     Eve looked to him, holding her breath. "What're you doing?!" She spoke in a harsh whisper.
     "Hold on," he told her. He started working his way over to the truck more quickly. Once he was close enough, he pulled out his rifle. One of the agents pointed over to him and shouted. Spencer quickly put up his rifle, looked through the sight, and fired. His bullet pierced the gas tank, lit a spark, and ignited. The truck suddenly exploded, debris flying into the air and hot fire blasting, making a ball of flame and dust. The agents all got caught in the explosion.
     Spencer stood up and ran back to the bush. He had a smile on his face. "Now that's how cowboys do!"
     Eve just looked at him with disbelief written on her face.
     "Now let's keep goin'," said Spencer.
     They both kept trekking through the desert towards where Spencer believed Iris' house was.
"You hurt?" Spencer asked, swiping some dry dirt off of his pants.
"No," replied Eve, pulling up her hair.
"There," Spencer said, the figure of a dark shack coming into view.

Theo got out of Iris' side-by-side and started walking towards the front door. He was still confused from what happened at the canyon, he had spoken minimal words since. Iris was quiet too, her cheeks red in embarrassment. As Theo reached for the doorknob, a faint explosion was heard in the distance. He looked over to where the sound came from. He could see a plume of black smoke contort and rise along the horizon. Iris looked at it too, halting in the middle of her front yard.
"That's on the way to Marcadia," uttered Iris.
"Eve," mumbled Theo, his hand on the doorknob. He ran into the house and started gathering his things. He hurriedly strapped on his vest.
"Stop!" Iris told him, watching him.
"I'm going over there!" Theo told her, putting on his knee pads.
"You can't!" Iris grabbed his shoulder. "Anton, remember?"
"I don't give a flying damn about Anton!" he exclaimed.
"Ugh!" Iris angrily groaned.
He looked to her, seriousness making his face resemble stone. "You have to drive me over there."
     "But—"
     "You said you'd help me, Iris."
     Iris sighed. "I know."
     "So please, help me."
     Theo's face was close to her's. She could feel his hot breath on her face, it made her eyelids flutter. She clenched her jaw and slowly let go of his shoulder.
     "Let me get fuel for the side-by-side," Iris told him.