As the RV continued on, finally reaching the interstate, Relle was surprised by what she saw. The interstate looked dirty and almost unused. On occasion, she spotted an abandoned vehicle on the side of the road.
Each time she saw one, she couldn't help but think about the car that wouldn't start. If it hadn't been for Arlo, they could have been stranded just like those cars.
Relle could hear Cedar and Arlo talking on occasion, but the sound of the road made it hard to hear what they were saying. Sage continued to sleep, presumably tired from waking up so early.
Relle didn't blame her. She was content to gaze out the window as they traveled. It felt weird to see no one else on the road.
As she watched the passing views, the sleeping man began to wake up. He stretched slowly and then caught a glimpse of who he now shared the camper with. Relle met eyes with the stranger.
"Hi," she said over the sound of the road. "I'm Relle."
The man blinked once at her before standing up and walking to the kitchenette that was beside Relle.
"Right, umm, I'm Madd," he said, seeming still half-asleep. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the percolator that sat precariously on the top of the cooktop.
"Oh, here," Relle stood up and sat beside Sage who only moved slightly in her sleep. "You can sit there."
Madd took the spot graciously as he nearly spilt his coffee. "Sorry but...where did you come from?"
"I umm, we were on a farm that Arlo stopped at. We gave him directions and... well, we were planning on going down to Billings anyway, he offered us a ride." Relle stumbled through her story. "I'm sorry but did you say your name was Mad?"
"Maddox is my full name but no one calls me that, thank god," he said sipping his coffee.
Relle knew the feeling. 'Chanterelle' always felt like quite a strange name. "This is my sister, Sage, here," Relle said. "And my brother Cedar is up with Arlo."
"Wow, he's letting someone sit up front with him?" Madd raised a dark eyebrow. "Never seen him do that before." He glanced over his shoulder at Arlo and Cedar.
Cedar had the map spread out across his lap. Arlo pointed to something on the map and said something neither Madd nor Relle could hear.
Madd turned back to face Relle, she could have sworn he looked slightly jealous as he sipped his coffee. "So, why'd you leave your farm?"
"We didn't have enough food to last the winter...and I doubted we had enough wood either. Our car stopped working, but even if it did work, with all the snow we get, we'd be stuck there once the snow comes." Relle explained. She let out a sigh. "It might have been better to just wait there but...I was worried this would be our last chance to leave before winter."
Madd watched her for a moment, taking a sip of the coffee. Despite being Arlo's son, Madd looked very little like his father.
Arlo was muscular with short greying hair and light eyes. While Madd was thin with dark eyes and messy array of dark hair. Both however, shared the same deep tan skin and tall build.
"Well, sorry you had to leave," he offered as he played with a lighter in his hands.
"Where did you two come from? Arlo mentioned seeing Chicago and Toronto, so you must have been traveling for a while." Relle asked, trying to make conversation. She figured a four-hour drive would feel quicker if she had someone to talk to.
"The old man lived in the middle of nowhere in Canada. Somewhere in Ontario. It was really remote; I mean nothing but forests for miles and miles. I'm from San Fransisco. I went up there to...visit him and then all those bombs came. Everything kinda ended, so I was stuck up there with him for a bit before we got this thing running," Madd shrugged. "And now we're on a never-ending family road trip from hell."
Relle gave a small smirk, "at least you have each other. My parents might be...well, at least I have Cedar and Sage." She said with a smile.
Madd's mouth twisted into an odd smile, "are you joking?"
"No, I'm glad we're together." Relle felt confused by his question. She had always been grateful that she was together with her siblings.
Madd gave a short, mean-sounding laugh. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
"What are you doing?" Relle said, just before Madd could light the cigarette.
"What does it look like?"
"In here? Right now? Sage is eight years old she doesn't-"
"Okay, alright," Madd put the cigarette back in the pack and waved his hands dismissively. "I won't smoke. You know, you're as bad as my father."
Relle stared at him. "Who even smokes anymore? Are you even old enough to buy them?" He couldn't have been any older than herself.
"I'm seventeen but if you haven't noticed, the world ended," he gestured out the window. "Do you think any of this really matters?"
Relle wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. In the last three months, she had never considered what had happened as the end of the world.
She stayed quiet, looking out the window instead of at Madd. She told herself that she would only have to put up with him for a few more hours.
"What do you hope to find in Billings?" Madd asked, breaking the silence. He seemed completely unaware of how annoyed he had just made Relle feel.
Relle shot a glance down to Sage and then back to Madd. "Food, water...I hope we can find someplace safe to live with everything we need."
Madd smirked at that. "Good luck. So far everywhere we've been has been either wiped out or surrounded by chaos."
"Well, Arlo said that Billings wasn't hit by a bomb," she said.
"No, but like everywhere else right now, the city's filled with thousands of scared people with no power or water." His dark eyes flashed up towards Relle from his empty coffee mug. "It's surprising what people will do to each other when they're starving."
Relle knew he was only trying to scare her, but it didn't make the thought any less frightening. "If it's so bad," she said, meeting his eyes. "Then why would your father be taking us there to resupply?"
"Well," Madd leaned back lazily in his chair. "You've seen what he carries on his belt right? I don't think Arlo fears anything."
Once again Relle wasn't sure what to say. "We made dinner last night and your father joined us, how come you didn't join us?" She said, trying to avoid the subject of what was waiting for them in Billings.
"I was asleep," he said simply. "Besides, Arlo never told me that we were stopping by a farm."
"Well, I brought some food with us, maybe I could make some food when we reach Billings as kind of a 'thank you' for the ride," Relle suggested.
"You brought food? Like real food?"
"Yeah? I mean, just regular food...from the farm. Some potatoes, sausage, carrot-"
"Actual food," Madd gave a wide smile. "Do you know how long it's been since I've eaten real food? It feels like forever. All GI Joe brought was instant-meals and canned beans."
Relle gave a small smile. "I have real food," she said. "And I will make you both a meal when we reach Billings."