Episode Twenty- Three - The Supply Run

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Hands shaking, Alex tightened the laces to her boots. If she had to run, at least she wouldn't lose a shoe or die tripping on her own shoelaces.

She could hear the faint echoes of everyone talking around her, but her mind focused on one thing. The outside was waiting for her. The Wildlands were waiting.

"Ready?"

Alex jumped as a hand slapped onto her shoulder. She looked up to see Cicero. He looked a little less enthused than he did when he convinced Edric to let them go.

 "Always," she replied.

A deep breath calmed her nerves. With a little more focus, Alex tucked a pistol into its holster at her hip and a knife on the other side. Her hands were steadied.

Just in case, she thought.

"Not the truck," Cicero said, stopping Alex in her tracks when she started her walk over to the vehicle. "I got us a better one," he added.

She followed him over to something much flashier—a Glider. A whistle escaped Alex's lips as she walked over to the car. Luxury and practicality combined into one. The vehicle would be difficult to lose control over sand; the Achilles', before it focused on producing only war machines, designed its tires to keep traction over any surface.

Alex dragged her hand over the sleek metal. It felt as tough as they said it was in the advertisements.

"I've only seen these on the television," Alex admired. 

The vehicle looked brand new, it even smelled like fine leather. She hopped over the door into the passenger seat, the top of the car down already. 

"How did you score this?" Alex asked.

Cicero opened the opposite door and sat in the driver's seat, familiarizing himself with the high-tech controls. He turned the engine on, which ignited to life silently.

A toothy grin adorned his face as he looked over to her.

He reminded Alex of a kid in a candy-store.

 "With the top up, this thing becomes a bullet-proof tank. It was easy to convince Edric it would be the safest vehicle for us," he said.

 "I can't believe you sometimes." Alex laughed.

She sat back, eyeing the controls in front of her. Everything was illuminated, holographically appearing off the dash like a small television screen. All Cicero had to do to switch to reverse was flash his hand over a glowing 'R'.

The car eased backwards. Cicero maneuvered the vehicle around a couple people still loading supplies and started for the ramp.

 A mixture of feelings bombarded Alex. It had been too long since she breathed real, fresh air. Since she'd felt everything she had taken for granted. Humidity, the sting of blowing sand on her skin, sunlight, or dry air that could crack a coconut open. Things she would always complain about, but now she longed for.

She plucked at the edge of the holster at her hip. "I'm nervous."

 Cicero looked over at her, still bearing a giddy grin. Somehow, the ridiculous smile made her feel a little better. She laughed, squinting her eyes as the sunlight from the open door ahead blinded them.

"Me too." Cicero topped the edge of the ramp and pulled off to the side.

 The desert was as empty as she had remembered. Yet, it also bustled with life. Small things that held more meaning than it did before. Bugs chattered, unseen. Every grain of sand was as important to her as each breath she inhaled. The air smelled livelier.

Two more vehicles joined them. Ace and Rollo were in a doorless SUV with Edric at the wheel. Alex wasn't sure if Edric felt so secure in his own driving skills that he didn't make Ace and Rollo climb in the Glider, or if he was more confident in both of their fighting abilities.

The truck, loaded with empty boxes and bags, pulled to the lead as the three vehicles took to the desert. Dust billowed out in massive clouds. Cicero pulled the car farther off to the side so they wouldn't become doused in the falling grains of sand. Edric did the same off to the other side.

They continued until dunes turned to asphalt.

It would be easy to get lost in the desert. Miles of untouched road, barely littered with sand, unraveled in front of them.

Cicero looked over at Alex with a mischievous grin.

 "Oh, no," Alex said. She knew all too well what trouble he was looking to get into. 

Before she could convince him otherwise, the Glider passed the truck in seconds. The vehicle's engine roared beneath the hood.

They barreled down the road, leaving the truck and SUV barely in sight behind them.

Alex shouted, stunned how rapidly the car reached such a speed. Her hair whipped around and blinded her, but in an instant she had it up and out of the way. Clear vision allowed her to see how fast they were really going. Everything passed by in a blur, as if someone were smearing paint on an easel. Tans and grays intertwined into a mess of colors.

"Put your hands up." Cicero tried to imitate the action with one hand.

"Are you crazy?"

Cicero reached over and unbuckled the seatbelt that kept her from following his directions.

Who is this guy? Alex thought in complete astonishment.

He would have never let her do something so reckless, let alone be the one to convince her to do it. However, she didn't want to question too much why he had abruptly grown a fun side.

With knees tucked up under her backside, she knelt on the leather seat. Her head surpassed the windshield, and the wind whipped at her face even more. Alex gripped her fingers around the top of the glass. She wished she had glasses to keep her eyes from being bombarded with what felt like a wind tunnel. But even the pain couldn't keep her from laughing.

She found herself taken over with complete, child-like joy.

Fingers spread out overhead. Opened they allowed wind to pass by, then they closed to get blown slightly back by the sheer force. Alex let another yell out, but not out of fear like before. She yelled out of delight, out of happiness and relief.

Every emotion that had weighed her down the past weeks carried off behind her in the wind. The uncertainty, the doubt and worry. Gone. They all crashed on the windshields of the other cars behind them.

  Eventually, Cicero slowed the car down, but only enough to allow the others to catch up. He was still coasting at nearly eighty miles an hour.

Pulling the SUV up next to them, Edric drew his eyes from the road. Alex was expecting him to show disappointment in leaving them behind, but he too had a smile on his face. Rollo and Ace stood up in the back seat, holding onto a bar that crossed over the top of the vehicle.

Their ululating shouts joined Alex's; a chilling howl that expressed every emotion they'd all been holding in. They were all transported to a day when they didn't have to worry about anything. All they had to think about was the abandoned road in front of them.

"Do you feel better?" Cicero questioned.

"Hmm?" Alex stopped her shouting and looked down at Cicero.

"Do you feel any better?" he reiterated.

Slowly, Alex lowered herself into the seat.

She understood why he had tried so hard to let her go on the run. He wanted to make her happy. Cicero had apparently weighed the risks, and decided her joy was more important when he'd convinced Edric to let them go.

Alex bit her tongue, holding back every bad thought she had conjured up about him.

I'm the absolute worst, she cursed to herself.

 "I do." Alex smiled, a genuine display of the emotions she was feeling. She hadn't felt that way in a long time, and she had been a fool to assume the worst of Cicero.

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