Chapter Twenty: Southern Cross — Part 4

Jynx is happy to have managed to keep her fuel supply level after leaving Durango, and now must debate if there is a reason, other than biological or mechanical necessity, to come to a stop in Bluff, Utah. She opts to make the stop, if only to check on tires, hoses, and belts, and make sure that the Girl’s fluid levels are all good.

She doubts there will be a problem with the rest of the trip, but the fact is, she doesn’t know how to get where she’s going from here. Tomas had mentioned where he lived both to her and Jude, but he spoke in a mix of English, Diné and Spanish that jangled her brain. Though he sounded rather fluent in any of the languages, at least to her, she considers herself truly fluent in only one of them. After stretching her legs, back, and neck, Jynx pulls out her map and lays it across the hot hood, the paper sounding like grasshopper wings as it settles across the dusty paint. She’s looking through the map.

“Can’t you just feel the suck?” Kevin says.

“What?” Jynx asks, thinking of the powerful pull of the fingers.

“Utah.” Kevin’s voice falters for a moment. “There isn’t much in Bluff, why did we stop here, anyway? It’s not like there’s much hope of finding fuel in this shit hole.”

Jynx looks sidewise at Kevin, who is shaking with an odd expression of emotions. “Boy, you got any idea why Tó Naneesdizí isn’t anywhere on this map?”

“No! Maybe the map sucks as much as Utah.” Kevin stares at Jynx a moment. “You want me to get somebody?”

“I’d like that.” Jynx says.

Kevin stomps off, fists curled tight, and Daria, who has been sitting on the other side of the truck, scoots across the seat, letting her legs dangle out the door. She’s chuckling a little. She doesn’t have the answer either, or she’d offer it. Instead she tries to explain Kevin’s irrational disgust for an entire state. She knows that, given his behavior, very little she can say will make Kevin seem rational.

“We used to compete in the Ren festivals up here. The Paladins of the Black Purse would put arms against the Order of the Sacred Crest, which, since I know you are not a sword geek like me, means that we would be put against the Paladins of the Church of Latter Day Saints.”

“So?” Jynx sounds distracted, even pissed, but Daria knows the real reason, so she keeps talking.

“So the Church cheats. Ignoring all the advantages they have in armor, training, and weaponry, we were still the betters in the square, but in the end we’d lose against marks. How could the Black Feather, a Pagan armory, ever hold against the Sacred Crest of the Latter Day Saints? It would disgrace the Church, and that simply could not be allowed. Not in Utah. So after a clean three point take down that would have gotten Kevin a well earned promotion in the ranks to Sojournier, he was disqualified.” Daria sounds a little crazy when she laughs. “Funny part is that it was all just a game, and the game is over, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know.” Jynx looks like she’s about to tear the damn map to pieces.

It’s Jude, not surprisingly, who comes back with Kevin. “I’ll be back in a few, people. I have obligations.” Kevin says, sounding snappy. “Hey ChoCho. I’m going to make a point of pissing as disrespectfully as possible on the entire State of Utah. You want to come help?”

ChoCho, who has been lying in the back, props his head up so he can see Kevin more clearly. “No, uh, I think I’ll pass. Sounds like it could get messy for you.”

Even as Kevin is talking, Jude starts looking over the map, putting his finger to the four state corners, and pulling down, drifting his finger along the roads as he tries to remember. Gryphon watches the finger, from his position in Jude’s other hand. Daria notices this, but cannot imagine why Jude’s finger would hold such an interest to the dog.

“He said Tó Naneesdizí was about here. The only city I see big enough to fit his description is Tuba City . . . ” Jude’s hands start working through the description Tomas gave him so very long ago, trying to figure on a position that might make sense. “Maybe it’s on the outskirts.” He says, guessing.

“Outskirts of what?” Jynx says, “Tuba City had a population of 8,225, according to the map, and that was before the Storm.”

By this time others are moving in closer, except Kevin, who is standing against the nearest patch of scrub, and is shouting “Fucking Utah!” at the top of his lungs while spraying urine in an angry splattering stream out in all directions. Many of the children are giggling at his behavior, finding his irrationality to be humorous. Instead of coming back when he’s done, he’s drinking his canteen with near ferocious abandon.

“Oh that’s right Utah, I’ve got another canteen full of water, so I’m not done making you my bitch yet!”

“Hey Kevin!” Daria shouts, her face suddenly red. “Knock it off, will ya?”

Kevin starts cursing under his breath, his head bowed down, while he’s kicking up dust as he walks back to the truck. “Stupid Utah.”

“It’s why we don’t bring Kevin into Utah, if we can avoid it.” Daria says gently, mostly to herself.

Joe and Blake have made it up from the back, happy for the walk after so many hours on the road. “That boy’s gone loon. Is it cabin fever?”

“No, it’s Utah.” Jynx says, not taking her eyes from the map.

“Please don’t ask me to explain again.” Daria insists, her unusually pale cheeks now leaning more toward purple.

“So long as he gets it out of his system, I guess. Having a hard time finding this friend of yours?” Joe sounds concerned.

“We can’t find a friend of a friend. She was supposed to be in Tó Naneesdizí. But it’s not on the map. Not anywhere.”

“The only place anywhere near where his friend told me Tó Naneesdizí was supposed to be is Tuba City . . . ” Jude says.

“Do you see anything but English on this map?” Joe asks quietly.

“Not really. Maybe a little Spanish, here and there.” Jynx says.

“Are you sure of your directions, Jude?” Joe asks.

“He was extremely precise in his description.” Jude says.

“Then we need to go to Tuba City. Your friend of a friend should be there.” Joe says.

“But that’s not the name of the city he gave us.” Jude says. “You’d think it would be here.”

“Tó Naneesdizí is a Navajo name. I don’t see any Navajo on this map. So I say we go to Tuba City, and trust the directions.” Joe sounds confident, and that confidence rubs its way into Jynx.

“Then we go to Tuba City.” Jynx says, pulling out a pen from her pocket. She carefully marks the words Tuba City off the map. In her extremely precise and small handwriting, writes Tó Naneesdizí under the city name. “Now we’re headed straight for Tó Naneesdizí.”

Joe chuckles a little, heading back to the van.

Jude has to smile. “You’re going to be pissed if you’re wrong, you know.”

Jynx doesn’t say anything, just tucks the map back away and heads into the bushes to take care of her personal needs. It’s too late to be heading south, as far as she’s concerned, and she opts to stay the course of the night camped down on the road. They spend the night sleeping over cooling blacktop, in a climate dry enough that they are all pretty certain they won’t be dealing with rain until later in the afternoon of the next day. Jynx can still feel moisture coming up off the road from the previous rains, and has to wonder how long the desert will stay dry and mostly lifeless, if the new weather patterns keep. She wakes up the next morning, feeling as if the sleep itself were an illusion.

Kevin spends the night grumpy, going to bed early rather than being company to anybody. Daria, for obvious reasons, is happy.

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