Hazel sighed. Now, an hour later, here they were, trudging through the desert, and Hazel still contemplating whether he made the right choice.
"I swear! The car is just a little farther!" Kaitlyn exclaimed. The aforementioned car being the one she'd used to get to the middle of said desert.
According to her, we're somewhere between Cairo, El Saff, and Suez… I've never heard of the other two but I know roughly where Cairo is. Top right corner of the country… last time I checked.
"There's a rough road around five to seven miles from here. If we keep at this pace, we should be able to make it there by nightfall."
"What happened to it being 'a little farther'?"
"Seven miles at the most isn't that bad, if I was running I could make it there in probably an hour and a half."
Factoring the sand and dunes… how is that even possible? I don't know if I could do it in two and a half! And the heat as well!
"How—"
"Remember the agreement, Hazel."
He shut his mouth, apologetic, but still intrigued. An hour passed, and then another came and gone, and yet another after that. They walked. And walked. And walked. So much so that they'd freed themselves of the earlier storm cover and were now facing the harsh punishment of the sun. Hazel had torn off more of his pants and wrapped it around his bare feet. The sand was so hot it was burning his feet with each step he took, even with the makeshift shoes, it was still a struggle.
"If you had to estimate, how much longer till we get there?" Hazel puffed. Walking through the sand wasn't easy, let alone doing it for hours under the scorching sun. His body was drenched in sweat and pink with a terrible sunburn. Kaitlyn had given him sunscreen and forced him to put on his clothes earlier, "I don't feel like looking at your junk all day, and you're gonna get sunburned walking around like that," but the effects were still showing. After all, he'd walked for hours after he'd woken up.
"One hour, just one hour and it'll be dark. Just three more miles." Kaitlyn sighed. The statement seemed more directed at herself than Hazel. The sweat caused her black bodysuit to cling to her body even more than it had been, Hazel had to force himself to look away. I wouldn't mind one of those though, it looks like it'd be good for mobility.
Three miles… only three miles, I can do that.
"Let's run it." Hazel said with a smile, if I'm gonna be better, I've got to work for it!
"You're on." She replied, starting into a jog with Hazel in tow.
Each push felt like his legs were going to fall off, but he kept running. One dune, three dunes, five, ten, twenty, Hazel kept pushing, the sun slowly descending towards the horizon.
The pair reached the crest of a large dune, below lay a long and decrepit road. It looked like the path hadn't been maintained in the past thirty years. Parked on the side of the road was a black car, almost invisible in the darkness. The earlier heat was now gone, replaced by a bitter cold only emboldened by fierce winds.
"Finally!" Hazel whooped, feet chattering loudly. He forced himself to sprint down the other side of the dune, almost losing control of his speed in the process.
"Uhh, Hazel… that one's not mine."
"Wha?" Hazel froze, his mouth nearly dropped to the ground, "are you kidding me?"
"No… y-you should have seen your face!! You looked like your entire family just died! Of course I'm screwing with you! C'mon, I'm freezing." Kaitlyn began waking down the dune, soon she was at Hazel's side, helping him up.
Hazel flipped her the birds, both of them.
"I probably deserve that."
"Yeah. You do."
Kaitlyn whipped out the keys with a clink! Unlocking the car with a tap of her finger. Hazel approached the vehicle appreciatively, after closer examination he could tell the car was on the higher end of the spectrum.
"Is this… a Mercedes-Benz?"
"Ahhh, a fellow Mercedes appreciator!"
"How did you get this?" Hazel inquired, running his hand over the sleek finish, looking for the little indents signaling the door handles.
"I'd been saving for a while… and this was my big splurge. Bulletproof parts all over, bomb resistant from the bottom and custom built!"
"Dang," Hazel sighed, jealous, "can I drive it?"
"Once you've earned my trust, then yes. To be frank, we're still complete strangers."
"Yeah, you're right. I asked a dumb question, I'm sorry."
"It's nothing to worry about. We'll sleep inside for the night, the seats recline and have pillows."
That has to be cheating.
Hazel found the finger pad and pressed down, the handle swiftly rose from the door and he gave it a tug, hopping into the passenger side. Kaitlyn started the engine and turned on the heated seats. Although she didn't show it, Hazel could tell the cold had gotten to her too. Kaitlyn seems like the type of person to always hide behind a mask—never truly revealing what she is thinking or how she feels. I really hope I made the right decision by partnering up with her.
Kaitlyn was kind and powerful, Hazel knew that much. But she was still a complete stranger he'd randomly met after stepping on the corpse of a murder victim in the middle of a desert. The same desert he'd woken up in, the same desert that was literally across the world from home. It's almost as though the events of today haven't sunken in fully. For Pete's sake I saw a dead person, unalived, murdered, gone, nonexistent. I can't even fathom being dead, that man had his life, his entire existence, taken away from him in such a brutal manner. And… tons of people die in similar ways each day. I might die like that someday considering the path I have just chosen, gone, completely wiped from this world. And thats not even the strangest event today… I just… don't know what to think right now.
"Thanks. For… all of this, I mean." Hazel muttered.
"…Yeah, no problem." She replied in a tired tone. Hazel reclined his seat and rolled over on his side, facing the door. This is it. The real test, either one of us could kill the other if they fall asleep. So which one will risk their life? I'm so hungry and tired, I feel like I'm about to fall apart… so… tired….
* * *
Kaitlyn stared at Hazel's sleeping body. The car was dead silent, the lights setting the car aglow with a warm reddish color. His chest slowly rose and fell, he's so… peaceful, and I could end that peace in a second. Impulsively, she stretched out a hand and poked his cheek, it was soft and smooth. She gave it a light pinch, I wonder if he was really stupid enough to fall asleep, to trust me—a random person he just met, one who tried to kill him—but… if he's going to be stupid… Kaitlyn sighed and lay down, facing Hazel, and slowly, her eyes fell shut, then I guess I can too.