Alex awoke to a sensation he hadn't felt in weeks, the feeling of cold water on his skin. The rain fell rhythmically around him, hissing as it touched the hot pavement. The smell of the fresh rain mixing with the thirsty dust was more pleasant an aroma than any he'd ever smelled. Pressing his hands to the warm pavement, Alex pushed himself up and crawled to Daniel.
"Daniel. Its..."
He laughed.
"It's raining."
Thunder bellowed, lightning cracked, and the sky split open drenching everything. The road was cleared of sand in seconds, and the cold cut through to Alex's bones. Daniel shivered.
"Where are we?" He said into the puddle he no laid in.
"The middle of the road." Alex smiled, getting up to his knees.
"Sure we're not dead?"
"Honestly? No."
Daniel pushed himself up to his knees.
"How long were we out?"
The wind howled drowning out Alex's reply.
"What?" Daniel shouted.
"I have no idea!" Alex shouted back. "Get out the canteens!"
Vitality surged through Daniel at the word, and he tore off his backpack to get to his canteen. When he found it the lid was already absent so he set it on the ground and cupped his hands over it trying to catch every drop he could. Alex did similarly until both canteens were full.
"Alex, we should get moving." Daniel shouted. "As awesome as this is, we don't want to get struck."
"Let's go."
Drenched from head to toe, Daniel and Alex began to walk again all the while drinking from the canteen and allowing it to be filled again by the rain. Alex unbuttoned and removed his shirt, allowing the water to wash him clean while the clouds blotted out the Sun.
Good idea. Daniel thought, unbuttoning his shirt like his brother.
The dust from the journey had caked over them in large chunks now washed away down their filthy pants, over their boots, and all over the dark gray, wet pavement.
As the squall began to die down around him, Alex shivered. Rather than put his shirt back on, however, he tied it around his neck and let it drape between his bag and his back. The cold cloth felt like it was comprised of needles both comforting and painful as it lay across his sun-scorched skin. After a few minutes of stinging pain, relief set in, and the cold removed any weariness left in his bones.
"Woah!" Daniel shouted, as a bolt of lightning struck a few feet away from him.
"Scare ya?" Alex grinned.
"Yeah, you?"
"I'd take electrocution over dehydration and sunburn any day."
"To each his own. Hey you see that?"
Daniel pointed toward the horizon. Through the mist of the storm, a small green sign with white lettering stood half eroded.
"Yeah. Can you make out what it says?"
"Something. Number. Miles."
"So we're close."
"I think so."
"We could probably walk 'number miles' in our sleep."
"Ha."
Alex shrugged.
"I try."
"You fail."
"Seems like the rain's dying."
Daniel looked around. Alex was right. The storm that had seemed to follow them now was a light drizzle, and the temperature was rising with the return of the blistering Sun.
"We should probably get our shirts back on." Alex suggested.
Alex pulled off his pack and let it slump to the side of his leg. Water poured from his shirt as he untied it, slid his arms back into his sleeves, and buttoned it up again. With his damp shirt hanging on his frame, Alex unzipped the secondary section of his pack and placed his canteen within. When he was finished, he zipped it back up and placed it back on his shoulders, making sure to snap the buckles into place across his chest.
"How far you think we've got?" Daniel asked, pulling his bag back over his shoulders.
"Five miles."
"That's all?"
"Hard to say. I think they used to put these signs a few miles out. I can't remember if the first one was at five or fifty."
"Oh."
"I'm saying five."
"Why suddenly the optimist?"
"Because we should be dead. We're gonna make it to that city."
Alex strode forward, not waiting for his brother. The confidence was infectious, and Daniel followed.
"Center City. 2 miles." Alex said with a renewed sense of excitement and vitality.
"Guess you were wrong on both counts."
"Not complaining." Alex smirked as they began the trek to Center City.
The walk was the easiest they had experienced for quite some time. Even with their soaked feet bothering them in the increasing heat and humidity, the pain was trivial compared to the looming threat of death by starvation. Alex's stomach ached audibly. His mind had dwelt so long on the lack of water he hadn't noticed his growing hunger. Their meager supply of dehydrated rations had not lasted as long as Alex had estimated, and it had been days since his last meal. With his thirst now fully sated, he was ravenous.
"Hungry?" Daniel asked, pointing to Alex's stomach.
"You?" Alex asked, returning the question.
"Yeah." Daniel admitted.
"Me too."
The desire for food spurred their pace even further, and the two-mile walk felt like it took half as long as it should have. Sooner than he expected, Alex could see the city standing tall amidst the flat surface of the desert.
"There." Alex pointed to the city.
Dragging his feet, Daniel continued to make his way after his brother toward the gray structure, his excitement growing with every step. As he grew closer, they began to see in better detail the massive, gray wall surrounding the city. The tops of concrete buildings peered like angry eyes over the edge of the wall as they approached. Though he strained his ears, Alex could hear no audible sound coming from within. Disregarding this, he ran toward the entrance.
"Seriously?" Daniel asked as he took off running after Alex.
As they approached the city gates, Alex saw another worn, green sign resting in the dust. Half of the writing was obscured by sand and the offer half by graffiti. Curiosity forcing him to stop, Alex removed it from the sand. The words "Center City: The Jewel of the Barren Desert" in white lettering had been eclipsed by red paint which read, "DIES IRAE."
