Joan:

I was driving the entire way. Hank wouldn’t know where the last turn off was. About ten miles away from Aunt Carol’s cabin, the right turn was onto an unmarked dirt road that was easy to miss even if you knew it was there. Some strategic off-roading would be required to actually get to the house. I was optimistic, if this old truck couldn’t handle the mildly bumpy terrain I planned to put it through it didn’t deserve those four metal letters on its bumper. We hadn’t really spoken since setting off this morning. At first, Hank’s sullen silence radiating from the passenger seat made me anxious. Now it just amused me. I realized that the positions we each held at the start of this venture had switched. He became the guarded passenger, wary of the unknown destination. I was the driver, burdened with meeting or failing the expectations of my companion. Since last night, a hard little stone of guilt had taken residence in the bottom of my stomach. I was perfectly aware that I was dragging a kind and blameless stranger into peril. I couldn’t even offer comfort, knowing too little of what lay before us. And yet, I was also overwhelmed with gratitude that Hank was here with me. Whatever came next, I did not want to go through it alone.

Hank:

I kept going over Kamal’s face from this morning in my head. I wanted to remember all the details, his worry lines, the fear and sadness in his eyes, the handsome sharpness of his features, and the little sunspots speckling his nose. It probably wasn’t a great idea to keep punishing myself this way but I couldn’t help it. Twisting my wedding ring over and over on my finger, the vision of Kamal, the dogs, and our little house refused to leave me. Joan turned off suddenly onto what was barely a road, finally getting my mind off all I stood to lose.

“It’ll be a bit rocky until we reach the house,” Joan warned without taking her eyes off the road.

I nodded, “Ok,” and looked out the window. It was rolling hills and wheat plots for miles. We really were in the middle of nowhere. Probably a good thing, no innocent bystander would get hurt. The lack of trees worried me though. The house Joan referred to could clearly be seen far in front of us. There was of course the chance that any sort of cell signal would fail out here and B. D.’s henchman wouldn’t even find it. Of course, that also meant we wouldn’t be able to call for help. The truck bumped and bucked along as we inched closer. As the place came in to view I realized how small it was, probably half the size of our place at least. It reminded me of something a pioneer would have built when first settling. Hell, for all I know it is an original pioneer cabin, doesn’t exactly strike me as something that was built in the last ten years. Joan seemed confident in the place when she told us about it. Guess I’ll just have to trust that she has some idea of what she’s doing. God I hope so.