After about an hour of driving, the snow had slowed to intermittent flurries, and the clouds had darkened significantly, the lack of sunlight deepened by the overcast sky. During the drive, Ava and Kéron hadn’t spoken much, only exchanging a few short sentences that I couldn’t quite grasp. Ava glanced in the rearview mirror every seven seconds, frustrating me so much that I turned my attention to the roadside.
She’s so paranoid, I thought, watching as we passed yet another rusted-out car. How can she be so vigilant all the time? I caught her glancing in the rearview again, and we made eye contact. Her gaze hardened and she turned her attention back to the road, her brown eyes simmering with anger. The entire situation was absurd to me. I save Kéron from getting his snout smashed in, offer them more money than they’ll ever see in their lifetimes, and listen to everything they say without any complaint. And somehow I’m the villain. I snorted and rolled my eyes, fogging up the window. Ava’s hatred of me was completely unwarranted. I’d expect an apology, but I doubt I’d get it from her—especially with her behavior.
“Ava,” Kéron said, breaking the silence, “we need to find a place to stop. The field’s beginning to give out, and it’s nearly nighttime.”
“We can stop to redo the spell, but I’m not gonna stop for the night,” Ava muttered, not taking her eyes off the road.
“No. Today’s been hard as all hell, and I’m sure you’re exhausted,” he protested. “Besides, you know Hitchhikers like to pick off weary drivers.”
“There’s three of us. We’ll be fine.”
“It’s better to be safe than s—”
“What’s wrong with hitchhikers?” I asked, confused. “I mean, I know they’re grimy and whatever but that’s not too big a deal for you, right?”
Ava glared at me through the rearview mirror, as if she could melt a hole through my skull via sheer will. “He was talking, estúpida. And of course, you wouldn’t know what Hitchhikers are, rich girl. You’ve probably never seen a homeless person before, huh? Sitting in your goddamn mansions, completely unaware of the bullshit we go through,” she spat.
I didn’t exactly know how to respond to that, aside from reprimanding her for her use of language. I opened my mouth to say "language," but Kéron decided to derail the conversation, saving me from Ava’s comments.
“Hitchhikers, capital ‘H,’” he said. “They’re nasty bastards, sitting in that twilight zone of myth and reality.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Well, no one’s ever seen a Hitchhiker,” he muttered, watching the husk of an abandoned semi-truck pass by. “Not anything substantial, anyway. There’s always talk of dashcams picking up flashes of jet-black eyes, or glimpses of mangled limbs.”
“I don’t believe in them,” Ava announced as if she had any part in the conversation. “They’re just a bedtime story to scare gullible people, that’s spread way too far.”
“What about all the disappearances?” Kéron asked. “All the drivers gone, without a trace?”
“They were probably drunk, or high, or something like that, and just wandered off into the desert,” she said dismissively.
Whatever the case, I didn’t like it whatsoever. The concept of disappearing into the night, never to be seen again, filled me with dread. “I think you should listen to his original idea,” I spoke up. “It-”
Ava groaned. “Don’t tell me you believe it, too.”
“C’mon, Ava,” Kéron prodded. “We have to stop eventually anyway. Might as well get some good rest, too.”
Ava was silent for the next mile or so, rubbing the steering wheel with her thumb. “Where’s the next populated town?” She asked begrudgingly.
Kéron quickly consulted his map with a loud rustling sound, tracing his finger along one of the lines. He clicked his tongue as he squinted at it, before planting his finger on a small dot. “Looks to be Richfield,” he replied. “Though it’s more of a city than a town, based on this map.”
“A city? Out here?” I asked.
“Well, yeah. There are cities out here. Not as big as Salt Flat City, I’ll give you that, but still.”
“Huh,” I mused. It hadn’t ever occurred to me that cities could be out here, in the southern portion of Utah. I thought it was all desert, labor camps, and oil fields.
The next half hour was spent in silence, and we passed half a dozen more abandoned towns. Occasionally, there would be a house with its lights on, tucked away behind a wall or fence. It made me curious as to who would want to live in the husk of a dead town, but after Ava’s demeaning comment about my lack of knowledge regarding Hitchhikers, I opted to keep my mouth shut. The sky had darkened even further, prompting Ava to turn on the headlights. Eventually, the first signs of life appeared in the form of a sign mounted on a tall concrete wall, topped with barbed wire.
Welcome to Richfield! Founded in 1864. “Bastion City.”
‘Bastion City’? I thought, as our car came to a stop at what looked like some sort of toll booth, except with floodlights that blinded us as we drove up. A barrier stopped us from continuing forward, and three armed human guards watched us quietly.
“Keep your hands on the steering wheel and do not exit the vehicle,” a voice blared from a loudspeaker nearby. “Wait for further instructions.”
We waited as a pair of guards came around a corner, carrying odd-looking objects that resembled staffs. They went along either side of the vehicle, holding their staffs parallel to the car. I tugged my hood further over my head as they passed the rear window. A strange yet familiar tingle passed through my body, making me shudder. While they did so, I caught a glimpse of small, glowing blue symbols up and down the length of the staff. Some sort of scanner? I thought. How rudimentary. Couldn’t they get an automatic security gate? Satisfied, the two guards returned to their original positions.
“What are they doing?” I asked, to no one in particular.
“Checking for weapons and dangerous shit,” Ava said, tapping the steering wheel. “Y’know, spells, explosive ammunition, drugs. Whatever.”
Before I could ask why they needed all that, I was interrupted.
“The driver will now step out of the vehicle and enter the main building,” the voice commanded. “All passengers will remain seated. No warning shots will be given.”
Slowly, Ava unbuckled and stepped out of the car. She followed the guards’ directions and disappeared around a corner. Kéron and I sat quietly, listening to the idle hum of the engine. The guards didn’t appear interested in us, talking to each other instead.
“What is this place?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Richfield,” he responded. “‘Bastion City.’ According to my trusty little guidebook, this city’s been fortified to protect against unwanted visitors and monsters—though this is from, like, 2142, so it’s not incredibly reliable.” He tapped the small book’s cover with his claws for emphasis.
“This seems like a lot for unwanted visitors,” I remarked.
“Well, it’s really not that much, when you consider who and what they’re trying to keep out,” the Umbrite shrugged.
“That is?”
“Raiders and bandits, first and foremost. Bastards are almost as bad as Hitchhikers, with how they’re absolutely everywhere. At least you can see raiders coming, most of the time.”
I sat back in my seat and mulled over his words. Raiders, bandits, and monsters. It was all foreign to me. I felt like I’d been dropped into some kind of fantasy novel. The most absurd part of all of it was the fact that Kéron spoke about it all so matter of factly as if he wasn’t describing some of the most outlandish things ever. How anyone managed to live out in these wastelands was beyond me. Glancing out the nonexistent windshield, I noticed the three guards were staring at Kéron, talking quietly to each other. Their shifty looks vanished as Ava returned, and I wasn’t sure if the Umbrite had noticed or not.
“All good?” Kéron asked as Ava got in the car.
“Bueno,” she responded, shifting the car into drive as the barrier lowered. I watched the guards as we drove past, noting how their gazes stayed fixed on the passenger seat. An odd feeling lurked in my gut, but I blew it off. Surely they were just curious, or something along those lines; Umbrite weren’t always awake during the day.
Turning my attention to the city, I wasn’t very impressed. It largely consisted of small houses, weathered by time, and buildings taller than three stories were a rarity. For a city, it looked a lot like a podunk town that you’d easily forget, if it weren’t for the entrance gate, barbed wire fences, and watch towers. By now, the sky had gone completely dark, and I guessed it was roughly 6 PM. Driving further into the city, we found ourselves on the main street. Small shops and stores lined the road, and I spotted a few signs that looked like the type of place I’d go if I wanted to lose faith in God.
Ava pulled across the road and drove up to an Ethernol station, and muttered as she pulled up to the pump. “Eight dollars a gallon? Jesús. I’d rather try my luck with the raiders.” She sighed and turned to Kéron. “Go inside and ask around for where a motel is, okay?” He nodded and headed into the gas station. “And rich girl?” She glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t try running away.” I wrinkled my snout, fixing her with a glare as she stepped out of the vehicle and began fueling. Smokers lingering next to the station’s doors whistled and catcalled her, but she ignored them.
Now that we had pulled over, I was able to catch a better glimpse of Richfield. I scooted to the right side of the vehicle, pressing the side of my face against the glass. All in all, it was nothing special. All the buildings looked weathered by time yet well maintained, and only a handful of streetlights were out. I expected more dumpster fires and random shootouts, I thought, turning to look in the direction we had come. It felt odd for somewhere so far removed from governmental control to be so peaceful. I always heard about riots in Chicago, Nashville, and other such places—not to mention what was happening on the East Coast. I guess all the terrorists like to converge in big cities.
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My ears perked up as Ava slid back into the car, followed shortly by Kéron’s arrival. “I’ve got this,” he said, showing a small piece of paper to Ava, which looked like it had a crude map drawn on it. “It’s not much, but I think it’s enough to get us there. Cashier said there’s a big neon pink sign outside. Can’t miss it.”
“Let’s roll, then,” Ava muttered, shifting the car into motion, and putting the catcallers behind us. The human and Dragonborn muttered to each other as we drove, Kéron pointing out the directions while Ava followed. We were nearing the edge of the city when the sign emerged from behind a three-story building, flooding the entire car with pink light. I blinked at the sudden brightness, trying to make sense of what the sign said.
“The ‘No-Tell Motel’?” Ava asked as we pulled into the cracked parking lot. “I can smell the STDs from here.” She wrinkled her nose at the dilapidated-looking two-story building, with doors and windows open to the air. It certainly didn’t look like any hotel I’d stayed at.
“What’s an STD?” I asked. Ava and Kéron stared at me as if I had asked why we couldn’t stand on the sun’s surface. “What? What did I say?”
“Kéron, vamos,” Ava grumbled. “I don’t want to hear anything else from this cabrona.”
The two of them exited the vehicle, heading for the main office, leaving me to wonder what I had said wrong. I swear. She always finds something wrong with me. Seems like she hates me simply for existing. I crossed my arms and glared out the window. If her goal was to be as unlikable as possible, she was passing with flying colors. I couldn’t see why she hated me so much. The two didn’t return for a short while, allowing me to endlessly speculate as to how I messed up. Of course, I couldn’t think of anything. My train of thought was interrupted by the pair returning.
Ava opened the driver’s side and leaned over. “Get out, rich girl. We’re gonna be staying the night here.”
“Wait—here?” I asked incredulously, fully taking in the stained concrete walls, rusted support pillars, and general decay.
“What did you expect? The Ritz?” She sneered. “Now move your ass or else you can sleep out here.”
The concept of sleeping in a car seemed much more terrifying than sleeping in a grimy hotel room, so I obliged begrudgingly. As I got out, Kéron was at work drawing new chalk lines across the pillars of the windshield. Once again, he had pulled off his gloves, and this time around I got a better look at his hands, which were most definitely pale orange. I had always thought that his horns were strange, and the ashy gray of his scales was odd, but I hadn’t thought twice about it. Not until I had seen him ignite a fireplace with his bare fingers. Kéron caught me staring while he was casting his spell, and he looked like he wanted to shove his hands into his pockets. I wrinkled my snout at him and turned away.
Once Kéron had done his part, Ava finished the job, placing a crude-looking locking device on the underside of the car. It hummed faintly, and turquoise blue ropes of energy wrapped themselves around the car, filling the air with the scent of Ether as they flashed brightly before slowly fading away. The pair began walking off without waiting for me, heading for the stairwell. I motioned exasperatedly and began following them before I heard a strange metallic scraping noise behind me.
My ears perked, and I turned to investigate the noise, which appeared to have come from across the street. There wasn’t a streetlight, making me wish I had an Umbrite’s night vision. I could make out the outline of a dumpster, teeming with garbage. Upon further inspection, the dumpster had moved, somehow. Dumpsters don’t just change positions, do they? I thought, squinting at it. I considered moving closer to investigate, but the stench permeating the air dissuaded me.
“Hey, Isabelle, you coming?” Kéron called from the second floor.
“Hold on,” I replied, shooting one last glance at the dumpster before hurrying over to the stairs, the back of my neck tingling as if someone was watching me. The stairs clanged noisily under my feet as I climbed, giving me the impression they could fall apart at any second. Catching my breath, I leaned against a wall, my fingers brushing against some sort of dispenser. It seemed to be advertising odd small plastic squares, with a weird circular bump. I didn’t pay it any mind and hurried forward to join Kéron and Ava at the room. A strange musty smell lingered in the air, making my snout wrinkle. The room was tiny, with two queen-sized beds practically sandwiched next to each other. An absolutely minuscule bathroom was crammed into the corner as if it was an afterthought. At least there are beds, I thought, trying to keep some semblance of optimism. The TV had been turned off, but I assumed it had been playing some sort of broadcast. I wonder if it mentioned me?
Kéron locked the door behind us, deciding to add his protection spells to the mix. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to rob someone so desperate that they stayed here, but I supposed it was better to err on the side of caution. I made a beeline for the bathroom, while the pair slunk over to the far side of the hotel room as if they were discussing a secret. A gasp escaped my lips as I finally pulled off my goggles and mask. Somehow, my fur had gotten smudged, and the makeup I had put on that morning had smeared. I turned my head from side to side, inspecting my appearance in the grimy mirror. Certainly, I had seen better days.
“Ugh,” I groaned, turning on the tap. Nothing came out, except for a metallic groaning. A few more tries yielded no results. Frustrated, I smacked it with the palm of my hand, and water finally poured out. To my surprise and relief, it was clear. I set to work, cleaning the filth out of my fur, not wanting to imagine what the rest of my body looked like. As I rubbed away a particularly tough spot on my cheek, I heard Kéron whispering. I froze, and my ears perked up.
“…I woke up, and I was in space, or something,” he said quietly. “And then I turned around, and I saw the earth, and a dragon, and it was insane.”
“Did the dragon say anything to you?” Ava asked in the same volume.
“He told me I wasn’t dreaming.”
The two of them were silent for a moment, but I remained still, my ears straining to hear over the sound of running water.
“What else?” She prodded.
“He told me that everything was going to change. To follow the ‘daughter of deceit.’” His voice was slightly shaky as if he was scared.
“Shit,” Ava muttered. “You think that refers to Isabelle?”
A shiver ran down my spine. Why would the daughter of deceit refer to me? My thoughts strayed to the fact I was lying to them about their destination, but I pushed them away. I was doing what was necessary. Surely that justified twisting the truth a little.
“I don’t know,” Kéron replied.
But if it’s not referring to me, who else could it be referring to? Are we going to meet someone else who betrays us? I thought. That’s it. Someone else is going to come along and lie to all of us.
“Mierda,” Ava grumbled, her voice becoming muffled as if she was putting her face in her hands. “Why did it have to be us?”
“I don’t know. But if it weren’t for her, the both of us would’ve been leaving that hospital in bags.”
The two of them went quiet once more, and after a moment to make sure they weren’t continuing with their conversation, I hurried to clean the rest of my face off. After drying my face off as best I could with a rough-feeling towel, I exited the bathroom to find the pair sitting with their backs to me.
“So,” I said, breaking the silence, “what’s the plan?”
“Go to sleep,” Kéron replied, rubbing his eyes. “I’m exhausted.”
“But it’s only…” I glanced at the clock on the wall, which was frozen. “Only, like, 6 PM.”
“It’s about seven now, actually,” he held up his wristwatch. “‘Sides, we could all use some rest.”
“Amen,” Ava agreed.
Without another word, the two of them got into bed, not bothering to remove their shoes or coats. I thought it was odd that they’d share a bed, but a sudden wave of tiredness washing over me prompted me to leave the topic alone. It’s not like you’d want to share a bed with one of them, anyway, I thought, lying down. Light from the street filtered in through the thin curtain, tinting the room yellow. Ava lay facing me, and it surprised me how different she looked while she was resting. The wrinkles and stress lines had faded, and the constant frown she wore had softened, making her look younger and kinder. Even the scar through her eyebrow looked less severe.
I turned the other way, settling my head into the pillow that was much too thin. I guess beauty sleep isn’t just a saying, I thought, feeling myself drift away into unconsciousness.
—/—|—\—
The sound of somebody banging on the door startled me awake. Before I even had an idea of what was happening, Ava and Kéron had leaped out of bed, their hands hovering over their holsters. Blearily, I glanced at the broken clock, as the banging continued.
“Hey, skink!” A drunk-sounding male voice shouted. “We know you’re in there, you fuckin’ shifty bastard.”
“Shit,” Kéron hissed quietly. He glanced around the motel room, looking for another exit, but there wasn’t one. There was the front door and the window beside it, but those were the only ways out.
“Come on out, and we won’t hurt your lady friends,” a second man said. “We’ll treat ‘em real nice.” That got a round of laughter from the rest of them, which sounded like there were maybe three or four. I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t exactly know what that man meant, but I had a sinking feeling it didn’t involve taking us to a five-star restaurant.
“Fucking hell,” Ava muttered, unholstering her pistol. She checked the chamber and trained it on the door.
“Wait, what’re you doing?” I cried, taking a few steps back.
“Shut up,” she muttered. “Hey, cabeza de mierda! I’ve got a shotgun aimed right at that door. If you don’t fuck off within the next ten seconds, you’re gonna meet your deity of choice.” Kéron and I both glanced at Ava’s pistol but held our tongues.
“Oh, she’s a fighter!” The first voice chuckled. “This is gonna be fun.”
Ava scowled and tightened her grip on her pistol. “Kéron, open the door.”
“What?”
“Just fucking do it.” She glanced at me. “Go hide in a corner and get as low as you can—shit’s about to hit the fan.”
I obeyed, flinching as the banging on the door became more forceful. I crouched along the wall the door and the window was connected to, and covered my ears as Kéron approached the door. He glanced at Ava as he undid the locks and protection spells, pausing as he grabbed the doorknob.
“Now!” She barked.
The door swung wide open right as the guy was attempting another kick; he stumbled forward and faceplanted into the filthy carpet. I recognized him as one of the border guards from his uniform. He curled into a ball, holding his nose, whining as blood began pouring onto the carpet. I couldn’t see out the door, but Ava tensed up and dove to the side. The next thing I knew, gunfire erupted, peppering the spot she once stood. Ava and Kéron returned fire, and I immediately wished I had something other than my hands to protect my ears. One of the men cried out in pain, and the others began shouting furiously. I curled into myself, wishing I was anywhere else.
“Shit!” Kéron shouted, prompting me to look up. I watched in horror as a bottle with a flaming rag attached flew through the doorway, landing directly on top of the guy who had fallen. Heart-wrenching screams escaped his lungs as fire ignited across his body. Kéron and Ava stared in horror for a second before coming to their senses. The Umbrite rushed across the room, pulling me to my feet. My legs felt weak as he dragged me forward. The man rolled around on the ground, spreading fire across the room. Ava unloaded a few more shots, making me flinch.
My mouth tasted like bile as Kéron dragged me out of the room, forcing me to step over the bleeding bodies of the border guard’s friends. The three of us hurried down the stairs, the meta rumbling like a thunderstorm. My ears rang as we ran across the parking lot, and every inch of my body felt shaky. The owner of the motel had come outside to inspect the cause of all the noise and was staring at the fire raging from the room we had just come from.
“Call the fire department!” Ava shouted, jumping into the driver’s seat of the car. The woman didn’t need to be told twice and ran back inside. The second Kéron and I were in the SUV, Ava peeled away from the motel, the tires screeching as she drifted out of the parking lot. I resisted the urge to throw up, buckling myself in as fast as possible. The engine roared as we sped away. I turned to look at the motel and caught a glimpse of dark smoke rising into the sky, painted pink and orange by the motel’s sign and the raging fire.
Quietly, I muttered a quick prayer of thanks to myself and tried to shut out the images of the burning man and the crumpled bodies. My ears still rang, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. But despite it all, I was still exhausted. I wanted to keep my eyes open, but my body had other plans. Please let us make it out of this alive, I prayed, my eyelids drooping.
Sleep took me once more, to where dead men could not follow.