The brown haze settled in the sky as Ceria rose from her bunk and looked out of the dirty window of the camper she shared with her father Roy. Such as all mornings, the dry red ground was there to greet her with the sound of motors and smell of dust with some rot from the excessive heat. See the world hadn’t been the same since the blast that finally ended the war that broke out many years ago. Many people just tried to get along even if it destroyed their home and their way of life. Most lived within the gates of Farland, a refugee paradise, as long as The Static, a gang of that was run by Hunter and his scavenger partner Gray, were not around rounding up refugees to become their mindless slaves. She climbed out of the bunk and put her bare feet on the floor of the camper tossing off the tank and the shorts she slept in, fixing her underwear and pulling on a pair of ripped baggy jeans and sleeveless tee-shirt running a hand over her dark hair.

The camper she stayed in started up as she walked toward the front, opening a sheet she used as a curtain to separate the back from the front and looked at her father Roy who was a bald man who looked scruffy, his worn checkered button-up shirt smoothed over a pair of stained jeans. He grinned looking in the mirror at her and waved, pouring some coffee he had made in to two of the cups and then sighed. “Morning sweetheart, how are ya this morning?” She grumbled slightly as she turned and stepped in to the bathroom to straightening out her jeans and smoothing out her shirt, before walking toward the front again and sitting in the passenger’s seat Indian style and looking forward. Her father looked at her as he took off down the road, laughing. “That good, huh?” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and turned on the CB, waiting for the normal good mornings between the vehicles used in the caravan they traveled in stretching and yawning again.

Ceria pushed her hand through her hair, smoothing it back before tying a bandana around her neck and pulling it over her head, some of her dark hair laid on her right shoulder. She swallowed hard as she leaned forward and grabbed one cup her father had placed in the cup holder’s and took a drink. Her father looked over at her and grinned, dusting off the knee of her jeans as she took a drink and nodded. She looked ahead of her at the red barren ground and the crumbling road as someone spoke on the radio to them. “Good Morning Roy and Ceria.” Ceria rolled her eyes as her father ran a hand over his scruffy chin and grabbed the mic and answered back, “Morning Burt, how are ya brother and where are we off too this morning.” Burt spoke again “I am good Roy, Fawn is still sleeping and well I have been told that there are refugees a good 150 miles up that may need some supplies and some help to get things to run correctly. Care to lend a hand?”

Her father thought for a moment and looked over at her as she leaned her arm out of the window and yawned. She looked over at him nodding his giving him permission as he spoke back “Hell yeah we are in.” She grinned, looking out the window, hearing her Uncle Burt speak over the radio again. “Good, I have Helia and her son going as well in case there is a medical emergency. So as soon as we pull over we will see what we have before scavenging for more if we need it.” her father grinned as she got up and started to the back of the camper and looked around at the boxes that were packed full of parts, food and other essentials she had found and brought back with her. With her father’s health declining, Ceria was the one to forge for spare parts, food and other necessities, because she was quick and quiet when running supply.

Her father grinned as he drove, glancing back at her as she walked back to the small storage area and flipped a switch, turning on the old stereo he had. Roy pumped the air with his fist for her to turn up the music they could get from a radio station in Farland. Ceria smiled looking in to the boxes they had and danced to the music while she looked over the stuff in the boxes. She stretched lightly and picked through the boxes separating some items that were extra and then turned around grabbing a few MREs and walked toward the front again opening one and handing her father settling back down in the passenger seat. Ceria took in a breath, looking forward at the red ground once again before pulling a hand-drawn map out and looked down at sighing, seeing Farland crudely drawn in yellow, before making another mark in red, noting where they were while they traveled.

After a while of driving, an enormous cloud of dust formed a few miles down the road as the caravan of three older looking campers started down it. Ceria looked up and at the radio and then to her father as Burt called to them “Hey we have a call coming in 50 miles from where we are needing help you in Roy? how bout you Helia?” Helia answered back, “I got a few days’ worth of supplies and a ton of medical supplies I am in. Roy, how bout you” Roy glanced over at Ceria, seeing she had put her headphones back on and thought for a moment, biting his bottom lip, remembering what happen the last time they went to a camp with refugees. A few of the men in question almost killed both of them from the infection that loomed with eating certain food items from Farland. That was one of the major reasons the caravan stopped eating Farland's food and only ate the MRE they collected and traded for. But that was years ago, but that was the attack that made her kill not just one person but a few. He reached over and tapped her on the leg as she flipped her cigarette out the window and looked over at him, a pair of round sunglasses on her nose now sliding down her nose a little. “Hmm, what’s up dad?”

Roy wrung his hands on the steering wheel and cleared his throat before he spoke. “We are going to be going to a new camp to replenish their supplies… you going to be ok?” Ceria thought for a moment remembering what happened last time and leaned backwards, pulling out a standard issue hand gun that a Farland Merchant had traded her from a holster that was draped on the passenger side chair. “Of course...” Ceria grinned “Cause this time I will be ready.” her father patted her arm while she put the gun back in holster and ate another piece of cracker and he spoke back to them. “I think we are going to be fine” Roy smiled as Ceria stood and grabbed the belt and placed it around her waist, buckling it and pulling the strap around her thigh and tightening it, patting the gun calling to them. “Don’t worry Burt and Helia, we got your back and this time we are locked and loaded.” Ceria smiled as she sat down, hearing laughter on the radio as she pulled her headphones back up, leaning back in her chair, putting her bare feet on the dash and crossing them at the ankles, watching the red road once again.