Alamort | Troy Otto

2.0

[2.0]

It was a selfish act.

But she was consumed by guilt. The sweet girl the Clarks first met was long gone, replaced by a cold woman, consumed by anger and guilt, a little crazy too, maybe more than she wanted to admit.

That evening, the sun was shining bright in the sky. The birds were singing, the wind was blowing, and they were breathing. They were awake, their dazzling eyes blue and hazel, looking around at the changing scenery with awe. There was no sign of the end of the world, not in that part of the countryside. It was a beautiful landscape, one that Troy hadn't seen before.

The powerful engine was humming as Thena's dirty boot pressed on the gas pedal. The front seat windows were open, making powerful gusts of wind ruffle the woman's dark hair. The man in the passenger's seat was staring at her as she drove, no words being uttered from his mouth. His head was wrapped in white bandages that she would change every few hours or so, but his clothes were still the same he ever wore, a military uniform, even though he wasn't military.

His eyes didn't leave the side of her face, his eyes never really left her anyway. He always found time to look at her, even if he knew he shouldn't. Sometimes, he would search for the long gash on her face, slowly healing and leaving a scar, but sometimes it would be enough for him to just look at her eyes. Just the sight calmed him.

"You're staring again," she whispered, her hazel eyes switching from the road to his face for a mere second.

He looked away without a word, and the silence that was broken by Thena's unusual soft voice took over them again.

Five days ago, the man was almost dead. Five days ago, Thena compromised her position of safety by Madison's side for him, and for her family. She took him, convincing the Clark woman to let them go, and fled, stealing numerous supplies and a jeep from the dam's provisions. They left Mexico through the border with Tijuana and went East.

They went through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, then completely crossed the state of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The first few times they encountered any cars on the road, they stopped to stock up their fuel, and so, for almost five days, Thena drove without any problem. There were no herds or gangs or group of people to stop them from getting to their destination, or Thena's destination. Troy didn't really have a choice. It was either with the woman, or alone. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, her company wasn't the worst. She took care of him in a way no one ever did.

Each night they would stop, hiding away from the main streets. They would stay in the car, eat one or two cans of food and then Thena would change the dressing of Troy's head wound. Not many words were exchanged between them, and whatever was in Troy's brain that made him stare at Thena every time he had the chance made her anxiety spike up. None brought up what happened at the ranch or after, in El Bazar or at the Gonzalez Dam.

But then, on that beautiful evening of their fifth day on the road, smoke started coming from under the hood of the truck. Thena's eyebrows turned into a frown when her vision started getting obstructed by the heavy dark smoke and she pulled over. They were on a small road next to the highway, about an hour away from the border between Alabama and Georgia.