Once we left Zircon City, the landscape and road quickly returned to normal.
It seemed as if the Scourge Wind had targeted Zircon City as its destruction endpoint and had run out of steam after having destroyed the entire city.
For the rest of that night, we kept driving. It was as if we were chased by the very demon Scourge Winds itself.
We passed a few vehicles on the road but since it was dead of night, the roadway was mostly deserted.
By early Tuesday morning, Abe stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank once more.
The sun had not quite made it up above the ridge of the mountains to the east but the sky was gradually brightening.
We got out to stretch our legs and found ourselves in a semi-arid desert-scape.
Around us was the endless heather green and sand color of scrub grass and greige sand. The air was dry and brittle and hard to breathe, even this early in the morning.
The guys all trooped into the men's restroom while I had the run of the women's room all to myself.
I took full advantage of the fact that I did not have to share the restroom with anyone and stripped off everything. Then I took my time and cleaned off as much of the accumulated travel stains as I could.
I even managed to wash my hair as best as I could in the sink with the provided hand soap. Then I pulled it back, still damp, into a long braid down my back so it would stay untangled and clean for as long as possible. Heavens knew when I would get the chance to wash my hair again.
The weather was fairly warm, but the loose blue jeans and white tee-shirt the guys had bought for me was thin and cool enough to keep me comfortable. I threw on the fresh clothing and then went out to look for the guys.
They had also taken the opportunity to change out of their travel-stained clothing and were wearing their new camouflage cargo pants and black tees.
"Looking great!" I called out to the twins and tried to hide a smile.
Since all the new clothing had been purchased at the same outlet in Helene, all the guys looked like they were wearing some type of military uniform.
Connor smirked. "It was a good idea at the time to get the two-for-one specials, especially since we didn't care what we wore as long as it was clean."
"But then Simon had to go and buy the exact same thing we did for himself and Tarzan." Corwin rubbed his head in exasperation.
I glanced back and forth, between Corwin, Connor and Simon. Even Tarzan had gotten into the act, looking like a burly chap with orange hair and wearing the same outfit. It was a strange and funny sight to see all four of them in camo cargo pants and black tee-shirts.
"You guys look good in the new clothing." I tried not to laugh. "What's the problem?"
Connor laughed and tapped my nose. "We're identical twins. We can get away with wearing identical clothes."
His face scrunched into a comical twist. "But you add a little blonde squirt and an orange orangutan with the same outfit on and all of a sudden, we're the working security guards and you're our boss."
I laughed. They certainly hadn't set out to entertain me, but they were entertaining all the same.
"This gas station looks ancient." Corwin eyed the two old-style pumping stations and the dusty exterior of the building.
He looked around at the rest of the group. "How much cash do we have left? Do we need to pull more from Blackstone's stash or do we still have more of the previous wad?"
Connor laughed. "Who won most of the Rummy game stash?"
"That would be me." Simon reached into his camo pants pocket and pulled out a wad of human money. "Looks like I get to pay the gas man with our funny money."
He trotted off to take care of the bill while we made an executive decision to have breakfast at the diner next door.
The exterior of the place had that old, battered chrome and glass look, with a large sign over the entryway proclaiming with pride, Lennie's Diner.
There were a couple of neon signs on the glass windows informing us that they offered good old-fashioned Pabst and unfiltered Camels.
It was still early but the lights were on and the red-and-blue neon OPEN sign was lit.
We all single-filed in and found a table by the window across from the bar fronted with a row of chrome-legged round barstools.
The seats were covered in fake red leather that were cracked and taped over with old peeling duct tape. The battered aqua blue formica table was scratched and faded, but we didn't care.
We were just happy to be in a place that smelled of fresh coffee, fried bacon, and scrambled eggs instead of tar sands.
A couple of old farmers in blue overalls and baseball caps sat at the bar nursing a cup of coffee, their breakfast having been consumed ages ago.
We had barely seated ourselves around the formica table when they rose, paid their bill, and departed, leaving an empty diner with no one there but us and two workers behind the bar.
A grizzled, leather-faced man emerged from behind the bar and handed us some menus.
He had a red paisley handkerchief tied around his head like a pirate and he was wearing a clean white tee with a Lennie's Diner logo screen printed across his chest.
His faded blue jeans were ripped at the knees, but these were legitimate rips and not those that had been pre-ripped before purchase for fashion's sake.
"Mornin'! Name's Lennie." He grinned and pointed to his tee shirt logo.
"You folks look like you've been drivin' all night. Care for some coffee?"
"Oh that sounds delightful Lennie!" Abe responded. "Coffee for everyone please."
"Except him." Corwin interjected, pointing his chin at Simon. "He's too young to be drinking coffee."
That earned a scowl from Simon, but he held his peace, accepting a hot cup of chocolate instead.
"So, where you folks from?"
"Oh, down the road a bit." Abe was vague, not wanting to engage the man, but he was persistent.
"You must have driven past Zircon. You seen what happened to it?" Lennie asked as he placed large brown ceramic mugs in front of us and filled them with steaming black coffee.
"What happened?" Abe asked, pretending interest.
"Oh, you didn't go by that way, huh?" Lennie shook his head. "Did you run into any of those crabby, hard-core guys in black sunglasses and dark suits?"
We shook our heads.
He gave an exaggerated shiver. "Man, those guys give me the creeps!"
"Were they here?" Corwin asked.
"You bet. They came in two days ago. Took over every single booth, table, and barstool I owned. Me and the wife, we had to scramble to service them all.
He stuck out his tongue in disgust. "They be like wearin' expensive threads and lookin' sharp, and they all ordered nothin' but cheeseburgers with a side of sweet potato fries and a medium coke."
He waggled a finger. "Left no tip. The waitress was so upset, she threw a fit at 'em. Can't say I blame her. They ran her ragged."
He rolled his eyes. "That was two days ago. She hasn't come in to work since." He shook his head. "I'm hopin' we don't find her somewhere lyin' in a ditch."
Abe threw a cautioned look at the twins, then turned back to Lennie. "So, what happened to Zircon?"
Lennie shrugged. "Coupla truckers said they had to stop ten miles outside of Zircon because they couldn't get through. Everything is all barricaded."
He clucked his tongue. "Seems there's been some kind of accident. From what I hear, all that frackin' they're doing out in the desert area is turnin' into an environmental nightmare."
Lennie returned the carafe back to the bar. "There's tar sands everywhere. Stuck to everything. I reckon a rig musta blown up and spewed the gunk all over Zircon 'cause that town is covered with the crap.
He rubbed a hand over his brow. "Plenty o' people never made it out of there. We had news crews come out to the area, but those black suits turned them all away."
He shook his head. "You don't wanna mess with those covert government types. They'd just as soon make you disappear as give you a stink eye."
We nodded, acting dutifully impressed.
It was amazing how humans viewed things which didn't fit in with their understanding of the world. Anything could be explained away as something else, as long as it was normalized enough.
If we had told them it was the work of a demon, he would have looked at us as if were were loonies.
We all ordered pancakes with eggs and sausages and stuffed ourselves full.
Before leaving the place, I handed Lennie a fat tip to make up in some small way for the lack of tip from the Mage Elite's previous visit. That earned a big grin from Lennie.
Since we hadn't slept most of the night, we decided to camp for the rest of the day to get some much needed rest.
Abe took us to an outcropping of rocks which looked as if it was a natural stopping point for travelers. There was ample evidence of attempts to make the place a bit more hospitable.
Someone had left a wrought iron table and four chairs in one corner of the outcrop that had a bit of shelter from the elements. There were also stakes piled up in the corner so that tents could be pitched.
In such desolate areas, there was no way to provide any other necessities, but since we carried our own food and water, it was more than adequate.
Abe refused a tent, preferring to stay with his caravan.
After having endured days and nights in a cramped vehicle unable to stretch our legs and backs, we were all grateful for the chance to sleep in a tent.
Since I was the only female in the group, I was given my very own tent which I dragged under the rock outcropping, intending to take advantage of the natural rock ledge.
Having never pitched a tent before, I wasn't quite sure what to do and was fumbling with it when Corwin approached me.
"Need a hand there?"
"I'm ok. I can do this myself." I said as I turned away from him, pretending interest in the tent stakes.
Being alone with this man was a bit on the dangerous side. I did not want to cause another mage war to flare up between him and Connor.
"I have a little free time on my hands. I can help you." He said from behind.
"No thanks. I can manage."
There was a momentary pause and I thought he had left, but when I turned back, Corwin was still standing there staring at me.
"Where's Connor and Simon?" I asked, looking around.
"They're surfing the blast, doing some aerial surveying to see how bad the damage is from above, and which road we should take that will avoid all the scourged areas."
I nodded and turned back to the tent stakes.
He moved towards me. "We couldn't do that last night because it was too dark to see, but now that it's morning, we have to make sure we're not headed into another blighted area."
"Why didn't you go with them?"
"One of us has to stay behind to protect you. I volunteered."
"Thank you." I said and turned away from him.
"Nana…"
I held my breath. I could not turn around if I wanted to. His physical presence was so powerful and he affected me so strongly that I needed air.
I did not even have a chance to take a step.
In two quick strides, he was right behind me. With a strong forearm, he pulled me backwards.
I lost my balance but he had caught me, pressing my back up against his chest.