Nora tapped on the spare hover as she answered, “Naw, the rain really cleared out the dust for a few days. Put them in the back just in case it gets hazy, but let’s start without them. Those jumpsuits itch anyways.”
Simon walked over to her main hover, inspecting it and his reflection in the dented side.
Tilly started making faces in the reflection next to him.
“I remember when these were brand-new displays,” Simon said absently, trailing his fingers over the rusted chrome.
That would be a sight to see.Nora chuckled as she brushed Tilly’s hair with a comb from the counter. She earned another grumpy scowl from Tilly as she tugged her blond hair up in a ponytail to match her own brown hair already pulled back. “Ah, I bet the hover looks a little more used now.”
Simon chuckled, a low, deep sound. “Yes. Just a bit.”
With Tilly’s hair tied, Nora jumped in the driver’s seat, hopping over the side that no longer opened. “I only have two real seats here but . . .” She jumped back out, her body moving fast from the practiced movements, and picked up a plastic container. After throwing it into the hover she climbed in after, overturning the container next to her seat. She thumped it on the floor of the hover, grinning at Simon. “You can ride shotgun next to me.” A second later, she had to suppress a laugh at his stunned reaction. “Right. Well, it works!”
A full laugh followed at his hesitant steps.
Tilly popped up in the back a second later, giving a thumbs-up. “Got my seatbelt on, I’m all ready!”
Nora checked the gauges and gave her a thumbs-up in return. “Okay, got enough gas. Let’s go!” With everything in order, she looked over at Simon, who was staring at the hover as if seeing a ghost. She laughed again. “Simon, hop in! Doors don’t work anymore.”
Simon climbed over the side and sat gingerly on the container, stabilizing the base with rope knotted on the floor and with other boxes behind so it wouldn’t slide. He said haltingly as he braced himself, “I think it will hold. If I remember, these hovers don’t jerk much. Although in the condition it is now . . .”
It runs, that’s enough.Nora waved her hand as she started the ignition and the engine roared to life. “Should be fine. We cart all sorts of things around and stuff barely slides once we get moving.”
Forgetting herself a moment, Nora reached over and picked up the gun from the box she kept up front before they took off.Still there and loaded.She didn’t expect it to be any different, but it released some anxiety inside of her to always palm it briefly before setting out. The metal was hot from sitting in the garage.
“A gun?” Simon asked, eyeing the weapon. “May I see it closer?”
Oh. Right.She forgot Simon was watching her every move. Nora hesitated before she held it up, turning the dull metal side to side. “Just look, okay? It’s loaded. I don’t want it accidentally going off.”
The gun spun around in her hands before she stuck it in her pants, pointed toward the door, away from Simon. She side-eyed him, tapping her pocket where it now lay.I like you, but still not enough to just hand you my gun like that.
Simon didn’t seem offended. Instead, his handsome face turned away from her, and his eyes stayed glued to the outside world as it zipped past once they got moving.
Soon they left the protected little area where Nora lived and she forced herself to refocus on the path ahead. They went down an old highway, the rubble of street signs on the ground in different areas. Simon had a frown on his face the entire way and stayed quiet.
“I wish I could see what you remember,” Nora said absently, watching him out of the corner of her eye. “Must feel like you’re on an alien planet.”
Simon shifted on the box, and Nora saw him brace his feet more fully as she turned the hover. Once they were going straight again he cleared his throat. “It feels that way, yes. I still can’t believe any of this is now reality.” He pointed into the distance, where the haze was still noticeable even though the rain had tamped down a lot of it. “The mountains are the same. Ithink I know where we are. This used to be a major highway before. It went in a loop.”
Nora scanned the distance, trying to picture it herself.I don’t see anything. She only saw dust and the skeletons of cacti as far as she could see. And rubble. So much rubble from destroyed buildings. She grumbled those thoughts aloud, “Don’t look like much of a highway now.”
“It was, though . . .” The dust swirled, matching his wistful tone.
The hover automatically lifted and fell over the rocks, using the ground to thrust off of to stay airborne. There was so much rubble at varying depths that it wasn’t exactly the smooth ride Simon had probably hoped for back at the garage.
“Sorry,” Nora mumbled, gripping the wheel hard. “This part is always a bit harder. That’s why this mall probably wasn’t picked over as much as other places.”
A giggle came from the backseat as Tilly enjoyed the bumps. Nora opened the throttle, hoping to pass it sooner. The road smoothed out and went back to being an empty desert. The only nature and world Nora had ever known was around her now. There was no life around. No large animals or any people.
Simon sighed aloud. “It’s so empty compared to how it was. I know there’s bugs, but are there any animals?”
Nora answered as she scanned the horizon, “Some rats in town. We can hear coyotes calling too, once in a great while.” She paused and then added, “And we got Tatertot. He’s never caught anything outside like the town cats do though. They catch lots of mice.”
“If there’s coyotes, there must be some small game still.” Simon gazed upward, scanning the skies.
“Maybe. Sometimes we see birds. I heard other places there’s trees and forests, but . . . I don’t like to go too far in case the hover breaks down.” Nora glanced to the side at him as she drove. “But as for humans . . . yeah, I’ve only run across a few this far out. Partly because it’s just desert, but also it takes a bit of gas to go this far. There’s others that live out here like we do too. I have seen the same faces a few times.”
“Do you ever meet up with them?”
