1: Confusion and More

“Allow me to sing you a song."

Rain pounded on the roof, sounding as if millions of tiny hammers were trying to break the thin metal, drowning out faint music coming through the speakers. Catherine held her foot on the brake as she warily rubbed her face with her hands, her heavy eyes shutting on their own.

“Just a bit longer…” she whispered to herself, opening her mouth wide in a yawn, toque falling on her shoulder and rolling onto her lap.

Catherine quickly shook her head and blinked, but she saw double. Triple even. None of the elven letters and numbers on the gauges were at all legible. Directly ahead of her lay the crossroads leading to the backside of Hades’ Crest and an old road to the high elf lands. Not maintained the best, but there were no scales on the route until she got to the Shimmering Valley where her destination lay deep inside the fortified city.

She leaned back, mouth opening wide a second time as she inhaled deeply and shut her eyes. It was enough. They refused to open, and she didn't attempt to force them either.

She sat there, head leaned against the headrest and eyes shut. The pelting of rain against Stevie’s roof, the wipers moving across the windshield with soft thumps, even the faint exhaust note came through the cab to sing a lullaby to the elf.

With each intermittent pass of the wipers across the windshield, her chest rose and fell. Seconds slowly ticked by until Catherine's hands relaxed and fell into her lap, her body slumping in the seat and everything became quieter. Even the music. A rune on the dash glowed green ever so softly in the dark as Catherine’s foot slipped off the brake and onto the floor.

There was no noticing the gauges as the air pressure steadily dropped all on its own.

A loud buzzing pierced into her subconscious and ripped her from the abyss, sending a jolt of energy throughout her body. Catherine’s pale eyes snapped open as a stop sign fell from the roof of the cab and swung across the driver’s side windshield. 

With all the panicked energy of someone about to sail over the edge, Catherine spun the wheel hard to the left. “No!” she yelled.

But the semi was motionless. The shifter in neutral and the swinging stop sign finally registering as the critically low air pressure warning. She pulled a yellow diamond on the dash. It popped into place and the semi hissed in reply as the parking brake set.

“Dammit,” Catherine hissed. She glanced in the mirror, but saw only darkness behind her. Not that she could see anyone anyway with so many raindrops covering the window. 

She pressed lightly on the throttle to increase the rpm and set the cruise control to let it build air faster. Then she grabbed her phone from the storage compartment above her. Catherine paused when she looked at the name she was about to call: Vic. Her eyes read the clock on the dash displaying one in the morning. Far, far too early to call Victoria on a weekday. She shook her head and dialed a different number instead: Nia.

She waited, and waited until Nia picked up. “Hello?” Nia croaked.

“Long time, no call, eh?” Catherine said quietly, leaning her head against the cold windshield.

“Isn't that supposed to be my line?” Nia asked. She shushed something in the background and whispered softly, but Catherine could hear it clearly. “No, no. My hair isn't food.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Catherine giggled. “Training someone new?”

“Something like that. You sound exhausted.”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?! You sound just as deep as Rosco right now.”

“Really?” Catherine raised an eyebrow. She coughed and tried to clear her throat. “How’s this?”

“Still the same.”

“Damn. Well, I haven't slept in three days,” Catherine said, her voice letting out a croak. “Might be–”

“Go the fuck to sleep!” Nia hissed quietly.

Catherine shook her head and giggled again. “Not yet… The load’s gotta be at Nalia Mall by seven. I’m on the backside of Hades’ Crest and won't make bottom if I keep going. I can reach the top, that's easy, but…” she trailed off to let out another yawn. 

Another voice spoke incoherently in the background of the call.

“You need me to finish the load,” Nia said.

“Yes. And help with the next one? Please? It’s urgent. I'll owe you a favor in return.”

There was another long pause from Nia again, so Catherine rolled the window down and wiped the mirror clean with her sleeve. No bandits, which was a good sign overall. Despite that fact, she felt the holster between the side of the doghouse and driver’s seat, giving the pistol a soft pat.

“Come work for me after we finish the deliveries,” Nia said. “I’ll take that as your payment.”

“Noooo! I can't… I have to keep. I have to keep driving to new places.” Catherine shook her head and blinked a few times. She reached across to the passenger side for her cooler bag and pulled an ice cold energy drink out from within.

“Please? I have deliveries everywhere now.”

“Everywhere?” Catherine cracked the drink open with a loud hiss. She took a long draw from the cold blueberry drink and waited for a reply. “Define everywhere.”

“Everywhere! As in all over the continent, even to the high elves!”

“Uh-huh. You expect me to believe y’all deliver alcohol to them when you didn’t send Telas a case?”

“Yes!” Nia exclaimed. “Look, I couldn’t send him a case because there was a war on. What’s his address?”

“Fuck if I know! All I know is he’s a rich snob from Sonath clinging to chivalry.” Catherine shrugged. She placed the drink on the doghouse and verified the pistol was still loaded by drawing it from the holster next to the seat and dropping the magazine. “Probably in some castle sitting on top of a hill like a dick pointing at the sky.”

“How can I send him the alcohol then!?”

“I don't know!” Catherine groaned and held the bridge of her nose.

“Alright, what’s got you running so hard anyway?”

“Turns out it's a team load.”

“Oh for fucks sake… don't you pay attention to the information they give you?”

“I did!”

“Clearly you didn't!” Nia groaned. Catherine heard the other incoherent voice in the background of the call, which caused Nia to whisper again. “Sorry. Sssh.”

“It changed after I picked it up.” Catherine set the pistol back in the holster and downed a large swallow of the energy drink. The magic of the drink swirled within her stomach, absorbing the glowing liquid as it sent an oddly electrical feeling jolting throughout her body.

“Can't you explain the situation and reschedule the delivery?”

“No.” Catherine looked at her energy drink, slowly swirling the can for a moment. “It's for Nael,” she said nonchalantly. 

“Dad gave you a load…?Are you serious right now?!”

“He doesn’t know it’s me and I can't fail this load. I can't, I can't. I can't. This’ll be my second if I do and you know the rules.”

“By the Dead Gods… I’ll meet you at the top.”