The world is ever changing. There is no point in learning about other countries because they may disappear tomorrow.
—American Gazette
They traveled on through the mountains. Mia sat right next to Andrew, putting pressure on his head wound. He thought the stranger in the front seat was more deserving of medical attention but didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to sit so close to her. She was alive; focusing on that was enough to get him through anything.
Mia leaned forward and signaled for Carter to take another left. They turned and Mia’s hair hit Andrew in the face. She had long hair again. His final memory of her was with short hair. It should have taken months, if not years, for the length to grow out again. Andrew wanted to question her about how long he was really with the militia, because he was certain she wouldn’t lie to him. Time wasn’t making much sense to him.
The car started to slow down. Carter tried to rev the engine, but the speed didn’t increase. This was a familiar situation.
“Pull over,” Andrew said. “You’re running out of gas.”
“What?” Carter asked.
Andrew moved forward until his mouth was next to Carter’s ear. “You’re running out of gas,” he said.
He looked at the dashboard. There was no fuel light; he assumed it was broken. Mia looked over at the gauges.
“There is no gas,” Mia said.
“Well then, what’s wrong?” Carter asked.
“I’m not sure,” Mia said.
“How far away are we?” Andrew asked.
“Not far,” Mia said. “According to the map maybe another five kilometers.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Andrew said.
“Three miles, give or take,” Mia said.
Andrew had never bothered to ask where she was this whole time. How she had managed to learn how to operate a vehicle or a new system of measurement. Nothing had seemed important at first, only the fact that she was here and breathing. The car slowed to a crawl.
“How are you doing?” Carter asked the man in the passenger seat.
“I’ve been better,” he said. “But worse too.”
Andrew looked at Mia; her nose was crinkled up. Andrew could tell she was struggling with her feelings toward the man.
“It was an accident,” Andrew said.
“I was trying to stop the militia from hurting you,” Mia said.
“Enough with the apologies,” the man said. “Is there a doctor at this place we’re headed?”
“Where are we going anyway?” Andrew asked.
The sun was all the way up in the sky now. Andrew felt his forehead sting as the sweat rolled into his wound. The car came to a complete stop.
“Can you walk?” Mia asked.
“I’m fine,” Andrew said.
“Don’t mind me,” the man said. “I’m the one with the life-threatening injury.”
“I’m sure you’ve been shot at before,” Mia said.
Andrew almost wanted to laugh. It’d been so long since he’d felt that urge. Before the sound escaped his lips he realized Mia had ignored his question.
“Where are we going?” he asked again.
“There’s a sanctuary for Americans here,” Mia said. “We’ll be with people like us.”
She picked up his hand and replaced her own with it. Andrew felt the sting as he pushed the piece of fabric over his wound. Mia opened the car door and climbed out. She was covered in scrapes, but even with the tears in her long red dress she still looked beautiful.
“Why are you so dressed up?” Andrew asked.
He climbed out of the car. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed her appearance when he first saw her.
“It’s a long story,” Mia said.
Andrew noticed she wasn’t wearing any shoes. Her feet were covered in scratches. He started to take his off.
“Don’t,” Mia said. “They’ll never fit me.”
“Then I’ll carry you,” Andrew said.
“You look like you’re going to pass out again,” Mia said.
Andrew locked eyes with her. She was tired, but he recognized she’d never accept the shoes. He stood up again.
“Wait in the car,” Mia said to the man. “We’ll come back for you.”
He started to open the door.
“I promise,” Mia said. “If we were going to let you die we would have left you by the cliff.”
He seemed to accept her answer and leaned back in his seat. Carter climbed out of the car and joined them.
Mia looked away from Andrew and started walking. She was clutching a plastic bag. Andrew and Carter followed her. The three walked in silence for a few minutes. Andrew tried his hardest to hide the difficulty he was having walking in a straight line.
“I can’t believe you shot someone,” Andrew said. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
“It’s not funny,” Mia said. “I was trying to help.”
“I can’t believe you wanted to leave him for dead,” Carter said.
“You weren’t in Saint Louis,” Mia said. “That man killed Whitney. And I wouldn’t have left him. It just took a moment to come to the right decision.”
The right decision; Andrew didn’t think there was such a thing. Every choice carried significant repercussions that led to a series of uncontrollable events. This man’s presence could be dangerous for them.
“How do you know about this place?” Carter asked.
“I made contact with someone here,” Mia said.
“Man,” Carter said. “We’re busy taking up with the enemy and you’re making all the plans.”
“I found these people before we left America,” Mia said. “I met them online. Through the same website your dad found us on.”
Carter stopped walking.
“Before we left America? Do you mean before my house was invaded by government employees and my dad died in the car accident?”
“Your dad didn’t die in the accident,” Mia said.
“He’s dead though,” Carter said. His voice was getting louder. He took a step toward Mia. “This is all your fault,” he said. “You thought you could contact strangers online and it wouldn’t get traced back to us?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Mia said.
“Yes it was,” Carter interrupted. He took another step toward Mia. “My father is dead because of you. I wish I never met you.”
Andrew stepped in front of Mia. He didn’t know what Carter was doing.
“We don’t know that,” Andrew said. “Stay calm.”
“You’re going to side with her?” Carter asked. “I know you’re thinking the same way I am. You try to remember what happened and that noise comes crashing through. That’s because of her.”
“She saved us,” Andrew said.
“And the militia found us wandering the desert,” Carter replied sarcastically.
Andrew moved his eyebrows together. Carter turned and stormed off.
“Wait,” Mia said. She started to walk out from behind Andrew.
“He’ll be fine,” Andrew said. “He’s staying on the road. Let him walk alone.”
Then Andrew started moving his feet. Carter’s anger was misdirected. He was mourning his father, and Mia was an easy target. Still, Andrew didn’t think it was wise for her to have contacted people over the Internet.
“I didn’t mean any harm,” Mia said.
“I know,” Andrew said.
The two walked along the road in silence. Andrew thought about the previous day’s events. He had been happy as a soldier. It made him sick to admit that, but life had been easier. He thought about the decisions that were in front of him, ones he’d have to make for himself. Up ahead Carter stopped walking. Andrew hoped it was to make amends. The three needed each other too much. As Andrew and Mia approached him Andrew saw Carter wasn’t stopped; he was frozen.
“Carter, I’m sorry,” Mia said. “But we don’t even know how we were detected.”
Andrew looked at Carter’s eyes and followed them down to what he was staring at. Andrew took a step back as a man with a gun walked out of the trees. Mia gasped. Andrew spun around and more people with weapons drawn walked onto the road. He held his hands in the air. Lifting his hand off his wound caused a sting; Andrew felt the warm blood drip down his forehead. The three of them were surrounded.