Under Illusion: Day 15

Word Count: 90,020

Summary of Events:

Dallis and Trace continued their journey into the increasingly desertlike landscape, making a stop at Pecos for fuel, as well as lunch. While Trace was fuelling his truck, Dallis was called by Ratko, who told her Al's wife had called in distress, speaking a mixture of Spanish and English before her call had been cut off; it had Ratko concerned, but neither he nor Dallis knew what to make of it either. Trace sensed something was up over lunch, and so asked Dallis once they were on the road again, where she told him some of the details, and the two went on a bit of a rabbit trail about the fact that neither of them knew Spanish…

Excerpt of the Day:

“That can be true sometimes,” Trace agreed. “But now that we’ve found the rabbit I guess we go back to the call from that lady, which I’m presuming was incoherent because of the Spanish.”

“Well, and her distress,” Journey replied.

“So what does it mean then?” Trace asked.

“We have no idea,” Journey replied. “But it’s not really good, because either things have gone completely south on the whole, or the people we were counting on to have our backs are no longer there.”

“We as in you and me?” Trace asked. “Or we as in you and your brothers?”

“We as in me and my brothers,” Journey replied. “But it was my hope that those who’d have my back would allow me to get you out too.”

“But now there’s not so much chance that either of us are going to get out of it?” Trace asked.

“I don’t know,” Journey replied, sounding on the cusp of frustrated tears.

“I’m sorry, don’t cry,” Trace said. “I’m just probably being too nosy. I’ll stop now.”

“My brother said they might come down for backup,” Journey said. “He said he’d let me know, though.”

“They’re not sure that they will?” Trace asked.

“Well, with not knowing really what the call meant,” Journey replied. “They’re concerned, and I’m pretty sure they’re probing for answers already, so hopefully we’ll have a better picture before we get there, but… as if it wasn’t going to be challenging enough.”

Trace nodded. He couldn’t say what Journey had shared was all that comforting. If anything, it proclaimed that the situation had gotten bleaker, and it made Trace really wonder if he should’ve turned back.

“Do you think maybe we should just go to Spokane then?” Trace asked. “Maybe even escape to Canada together?”

“I don’t have a passport,” Journey replied. “And I’ve heard the process for those isn’t exactly swift, even if you were to put a rush on it.”

“I mean, Spokane has a decent amount of wilderness around it, or we could go into Montana,” Trace said. “We don’t have to hide in Canadian bush. We could even go up to Alaska and hide in the dark all winter if we wanted to.”

“But we’d be hiding forever,” Journey said. “And I wouldn’t really want to cut myself off from my brothers.”
“So you’re committed to going wherever we’re going even if it happens to be the mouth of an angry dragon?” Trace asked.

“Yes,” Journey replied.

“Why?” Trace asked.

“Because there’s not enough unknowns for me to believe that whatever may be wrong is so bad as to be inescapable,” Journey replied.

“That’s got to be nice,” Trace said dryly.

“Nice to know you expect me to put in a lot of effort to get you out of there,” Journey snapped bitterly.

“Why should you?” Trace asked. “I’m supposed to be an expendable.”

“Yes, you are supposed to be, but I can’t see you that way anymore,” Journey replied. “Losing you wouldn’t be collateral damage to me. It’s supposed to be, but I can’t let it be.”