Cold Shoulder

    Lea took another gulp of her coffee as she pressed down harder onto the gas pedal of her truck. She peered outside the window to her left, there was hardly enough light left at this hour to see anything clearly but she could distinguish the vague outline of the typical corn stalks she had become accustomed to in the last sixteen hours of driving. The long, tedious journey had started early that day and she knew that she would have to stop at least once before completing her trip. But boredom was the least of her concerns, considering what she had been assigned to carry.

    The longer she held down the pedal, the further she was from the only home she'd had for long enough to remember. The capital of Novamira was less crowded than some of the world's other great cities, like Moscow or London, but occasionally it had still felt overwhelming. She had been born in the East Coast but spend most of her childhood in the city of Houston, surrounded by the Southern District, which hosted the largest population of the five. There she had made friends and lived a comfortable life despite having no family. All things considered, she had a good life in Houston, at least until yesterday.

    Yesterday she had received orders from the government-in-hiding of the Atlantic states to return to her native country with whatever information she had on Novamiria, and the cargo was lengthy. She had a good life in Houston, but it didn't mean anything. Not the way things were. After the conclusion of the Third World War, the North American continent was forever changed as the ravaged governments of the world made their best attempt to ensure that no nation possessed a significant advantage over another. The former United States had received its fair share of damage during the war as well, however most of the bombing was concentrated on the coasts. The largest portion of the country, what would be known as Novamiria, had turned a cold shoulder to its former allies and to democracy itself.

    The border between Novamiria and the Atlantic states encompassed several hundred miles, however Lea was careful to avoid any roads leading into the Southern District, where there were more restrictions and therefore a greater chance of being caught,. Her absence had likely aroused suspicion by this point, considering the connections she had been forced to make in order to retrieve as much information as possible. One of her friends was particularly difficult to dislodge from her memory, a boy her age whom she had befriended knowing that he was the son of the Chief of Police in Houston. Novamiria was notorious for keeping secrets from other allied countries, including the Atlantic states. The two countries have had a rocky existence since they broke apart following the last World War, with more conflicts between them following in the years since. Despite their common enemies, Novamirian intelligence had been reluctant to disclose any information to the benefit of their allies.

    "They didn't want to help us when the coast was invaded," Lea muttered to herself.

    Her brief thought was interrupted by the sight of a fork in the road. She hadn't come across this in the map she studied and there was no way to know whether or not one would lead into the Southern District. Lea stopped and checked behind her truck to see if any cars were approaching, all the while cursing to herself. The correct road would mean a few more hours of driving until she reached the border, the wrong road could mean anything from a mild delay to capture and failure of her mission.

    A growing light from several yards back began to illuminate the pitch-black surroundings, Lea went with her better judgement and took the road to the right as it was less likely to lead southward. From this point forward, the unnerving absence of cars made her increasingly anxious to the rendezvous.

    Driving for nearly another hour, she stopped at a diner at the side of the road to phone her contact on the chance that she had in fact taken the wrong path. As gloomy as it sounded to her, Lea was required to meet with someone before crossing the border on the chance that she wouldn't make it herself in order to authenticate and share her information. That meant they wouldn't be travelling together.