Long Way Home

12. Nicole

Chapter 12.

Nicole.

The diner became our home for the next four days whilst we stocked up on food and water and most importantly, rest.

Eventually, the time came when we had to leave it behind to travel north as Ollie had decided. He had taken on the role of the leader in our little group and had become determined to find other people soon. The theory behind heading north involved escaping from the deadly heat of the daytime.

"Everyone in the truck in ten minutes!" He barked orders as he shoved a stock of food, canned drinks and bottled water into a bag and began to carry them out towards the truck.

After walking around the border of the diner/garage a few days ago, we had found a new truck, a Land Rover, which could fit all four of us inside along with bags and food. This would be useful as it meant that me and Jade didn't have to evaporate in the back of the old truck and there was less chance of an argument breaking out.

Theo was sat at a table, staring down into the depths of the coke can he was drinking from, his injuries had almost cleared leaving it so he was only receiving tiny headaches every once in a while. Jade was trying to harness her power over the earth by standing out in the heat and forcing the ground the rupture in front of her.

And I was helping as best as I could. I filled several jerry cans up with gas, not wanting Ollie to do it incase he sparked up and blew the whole diner into oblivion. That wouldn't do any favours to anyone.

The last door of the truck slammed shut and everyone looked at Ollie expectingly, waiting for him to start the engine. Instead, he sighed deeply and took one last look at the diner, as if wondering what would happen if we stayed there.

I reached a hand over and placed it on his shoulder. I was riding shotgun with Theo and Jade in the back seats. "It's ok...it's better if we leave." He nodded and turned the ignition, starting the car and starting to drive down the track, heading in the closest direction to North as we possibly could.

Sitting inside the car was much more comfortable than suffering from blistering heat. A constant chatter sounded out between Theo, Jade and I with Ollie staying quiet as he focused on driving.

"Who would win in a fight between Batman and Spider-Man?" Theo asked after a short while, as if the question had been playing on his mind for years. His forehead creased as he tried to think about it but he ended up taking a drink instead as a flash of pain broke through his head.

"Batman, duh." Jade rolled her eyes, folding her arms. "He's got all the best gadgets and stuff."

"But he's not got any powers!" I objected, frowning at her.

"Who needs powers? He's rich and he's got gadgets!"

"But Spider-Man could just shoot webs at him or in his mouth or something?"

"But Batman could just swipe them away."

"It wouldn't work like that! Batman's not fast enough."

Eventually, Ollie piped up. "Obviously Spider-man would win! He's awesome! Have you seen how he swings and stuff? Don't tell me you don't wish you could do that!"

And then we saw it. A glimpse of him being a normal teenager, speaking about normal teenager things rather than beating the crap out of a cash register. The subject died down slowly as we drove.

I searched through the glove compartment in the car, hoping to find any CDs or any form of entertainment. There were a few albums of bands none of us had ever heard of so we decided to put them in the player to give them a tryout. A beat began to pump through the vehicle and everyone listened in, smiling slightly. The music wasn't too bad. It was the kind of music that everyone loved, no matter what you usually listened to.