Chapter Twenty: Southern Cross — Part 1

“You did good.” She says, pulling her hand from ChoCho’s hair while keeping her smile plastered in place.

The sloppy grin on ChoCho’s face is worth the slick feeling of sweat Jynx has on her hand. She’s careful to wipe her hand at a discreet moment when she thinks ChoCho is not looking. Jynx is about to head over to the other engine when ChoCho waves her off, knowing that she would rather save time. Jynx finds herself wondering how the meager portion of fuel survived in such a massive compound that has, for the most part, completely burned to the ground. There are no signs of human remains anywhere, so she is thinking that maybe nobody was working in this building when the Storm hit. She’s also thinking that maybe she doesn’t want to know what happened once the storage tanks outside burst. She’s seen enough of the aftermath to know that it’s not worth thinking about, even if she can’t help but let it cross her mind for a moment now and again.

“The other one doesn’t work, but I got this one running. I can tell that it is diesel because there are no spark plugs in it, just those little coils.” ChoCho says.

“Let’s hope it will run in the Girl.” Jynx says.

“Joe might know for sure, he’s a mechanic.” ChoCho sounds almost sly.

“When we get back,” Jynx says quietly, “You’re off that foot and up for some rest. There are plenty of hands to pull in your find.”

Jynx knows it is an awesome score, one that will help alleviate the stress she is feeling at trying to get back across country and to the coast. If the trucks can drive on it, that is. She’s doing calculations, and knows that she’s just extended the diesel truck’s combined range by about 500 miles, given their current mileage per gallon. Jynx returns with four more tanks, points at the truck, and sends ChoCho to the back of the cab to prop his foot up. She then sets out to find Joe.

“Got something you might want to see.” She says to Joe. “ChoCho thought you could shed some light on the matter.”

She takes Joe and Blake to the blown up compound, and Joe is surprised at what he sees. He would never have thought to walk into the buildings of a compound so blown to pieces, and has to wonder if ChoCho is simply stubborn, lucky, or maybe just a little psychic. He hefts the diesel fuel, careful to inspect the surface of the water for signs of fresh leaking. This is a concern only because if fuel has found its way out of the containers, then water might well have found its way in.

“You were right.” He says, opening one of the canisters and sniffing the contents.

He runs his fingers along the diesel engine hanging from the chains, its shape streamlined but familiar to him. He’s thinking, rapidly, about what to do next. Joe is used to working on bare reserves, pushing things right to the edge, always feeling like there’s never quite enough. Even with the open space in the back of The Girl filled with fuel, he knows he’s looking at a rough trip. Seeing the lonely little diesel engine, hanging from its chains reminds him of when he and Blake first got hold of the Natalia, and the risks they took pushing that small ship to its limits. He remembers also his crew, and how his risky behavior eventually cost many of them their lives.

“This is a boat engine, an old, rebuilt boat engine. They were probably testing batches here. We found a lot of gasoline, but if ChoCho hadn’t found this . . . With these we should have enough range to get to your friends in the four corners, and maybe a little beyond. Or . . .”

“Or?” Jynx asks

“Your trailer isn’t full right now, is it?”

“No.” Jynx says.

“We can always pack down the supplies from the cargo truck into your trailer, and ditch it and whatever doesn’t fit inside one of the buildings. We’d then double our range, maybe, and leave a cache here in case we need to back track.”

“Would it be safer to place all our faith in one vehicle?” Blake asks.

Jynx is starting to pick up on Blake’s sign language. Like the others, she’s trying to learn. He’s moving too fast to gather the full context, though, so she waits for Joe to translate.

“The further we get into the Four Corners, the less likely we are to find fuel of any kind. You know how harsh that terrain was. There’s no urban sprawl to harvest there. Best to have enough fuel to push on through, I say.” Joe answers.

“You’d have to fit into one of the vans.” Jynx says.

“I say no, if this is a vote. Better to ditch one of the vans than the cargo truck.” Blake insists.

“Which is also impossible.” Joe says, considering. “Blake votes no confidence. Jynx, do you care to risk running out of fuel in the desert? Or should we trust the Girl to get us through alone?” Joe asks.

Jynx quietly contemplates as they load up more fuel onto ChoCho’s wagon. This was a lucky find, given the state of Pueblo as a whole. “If I am to guess that when it comes to a vote, that you two tend to disagree a lot?”

“Yes.” Joe admits. “It’s what we do. On the upside, there is makeup sex.”

“I think that we’d best just take it all, Joe, and try to map a route that gives us the best chance of finding the fuel we need on the way through Nevada. That way we can possibly keep our reserves, and only fall back on them when we absolutely have to.” Jynx says.

“I don’t mind being outvoted, really. I just hope that we won’t run into trouble that only fuel can get us out of.” Joe sounds stubborn.

Once the decision is settled, Blake grabs the wagon full of fuel, while Jynx and Joe each take two canisters. In the end, Blake will return to get the last of it, making a couple of trips. Joe isn’t hurt, just nervous. His points are valid, as are Blake’s. Because the two have chosen to disagree, there was no way to persuade Jynx to his side. Joe, being relatively democratic, does his best to let things go.

They don’t move out of Pueblo immediately. Even the next day they take the time to comb the few remaining neighborhoods for any fuel they can. They also rummage through a dusty hardware store for extra supplies, while Joe finds a dealership with basic parts on hand for both his truck and the Girl. By the time Jynx is at the wheel, they have plotted a course into Nevada via a route that will hit the larger cities. Each one they pass, they will scavenge for fuel, for oil, and for parts — just in case. As forest breaks to scrub and desert, and viable cities become further and further apart, Jynx begins to second-guess her decision to bring both vehicles. She reminds herself that, if she is to go where her heart seems to call, she’ll have to push through Death Valley, and this notion both encourages and terrifies her.

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