Chase Hatter's Origin of Pangaea

Chapter Nine

Cole Ryan had five full years to observe and study the likes of Axel DeWitt and Jack Richards, but had somehow managed to learn absolutely nothing about them. He looked to the front of the car several times at the two since they had left, having this reoccurring thought. And it was easy to have as the Jeep remained silent for a majority of the time. If Cole had a ticking clock he'd be on his way to an epiphany.

What were those two thinking up there? How did their minds work? Cole would have bet by now that he'd have all the answers to his questions, but it just wasn't the case. He wasn't even quite sure about anything regarding the idea he was fighting for, only that it was called Pangaea. But what exactly was Pangaea? What made it different from everywhere else on Earth? He wanted to find the answers to these questions, but his oath as a Pangaean soldier meant he couldn't ask them directly. Cole started to see the irony in his decisions. He had joined the revolution to ask questions only to be told that he couldn't ask questions. More Pangaean humor?

Funny.

Very funny, actually.

They were passing through Baltimore now, driving on crumbled tar and over pot holes, passing by once monumental buildings now reduced to tilted, rectangular blocks. The sun grew less and less radiant, now at a stage where its rays were not strong enough to produce a single shadow. Cole tried to focus on staring out of the window, but his fleeting thoughts kept bringing his eyes to the front of the Jeep where the two most mysterious men on the planet sat. Somewhere along the way, Axel must have caught Cole glaring at him through the rearview mirror.

"Something on your mind, Cole?" Axel asked.

"...No." Cole said.

"Ah," Axel said, "I get it. Does silence bother you?"

"...Sometimes."

"Well," Axel began, "why don't you and Carl chat?" Cole turned to Carl and Carl smiled at him. Then, in sync, the two let their gaze fall over to Jack. Axel cocked a brow. "What's wrong? Are we afraid that Jack will get annoyed if you interrupt his peace?" Cole shook his head.

"I'm not afraid of Jack." Cole said, trying to keep his tone light so his superior wouldn't take offense. Jack said nothing, even as the conversation about him continued.

"No." Axel said. "Of course you wouldn't be. You spend a lot of time with him. What about you, Carl? Are you afraid of Jack?" The engineer remained silent. This silence bothered Cole. He and Axel gave Carl all of their attention as they waited for an answer.

"I-I suppose... I might be, intimidated."

Axel smiled. He turned to the driver. "Jack," he began, "one of your passengers is afraid of you. What are you going to do about that?" Jack said nothing. Cole could almost see the wild ideas floating around in Axel's head. Axel spoke up again. "Jack, pull over." He demanded politely.

"No." Jack said. "We don't have time."

"Jack," Axel began again, "I think you'll need me in California. I promise to be of no use to you if we don't pull over right this second."

Jack conceded. He pulled over on the side of the road beside a new, indistinguishable pile of rubble. Axel stepped out of the car. Cole and Carl remained seated and confused.

"Okay," Axel said, "everyone out of the car."

They couldn't leave without him. They all stepped out to humor him.

"Carl," Axel began, "why are you afraid of Jack?"

"I suppose I don't know much about him." Carl explained. "I'm not entirely sure what type of person he is." Cole noticed that Axel seemed confused, as if he didn't see why that could be true. In the midst of it all, the radio sitting in the passenger's seat cracked on and a voice came through the other end.