Numbered

Chapter 7 - False Paradise

Zeke blinked open his eyes, only to squeeze them shut to block out the sun. Turning his head away from the window, he reopened his eyes and rubbed them with his palms. As he sat up in the car seat, his body screamed at him, being as rigid as it was. A car was never a good place to sleep, but what choice did he have? He looked back out the window and the only thing he could see was sand a couple of rogue cacti. He and Jake had left their town three days ago and this is where they ended up, in the middle of some desert. He knew he should have been the one driving, but he gave in to Jake's persistent plea. Apparently, Jake had this brilliant place in mind that would, hopefully, help them forget about the tragedies they had witnessed. He had asked several times where they were going, but Jake refused to answer.

"Where are-" Zeke began to ask, for what might have been the twentieth time.

"I told you already. Wait and find out."

"I was going to ask where we are."

"Oh, in that case...say hello to the beautiful deserts of Nevada." Jake exclaimed, giving his arm a grandeur sweep.

"Are you serious? Nevada." After a moment's thought, a smile crossed Zeke's face. He knew exactly where they were going...or so he thought. "You're taking us to California, aren't you?"

He risked a glance at the driver, not knowing the kind of expression to expect. Jake loved surprises, especially when he was giving them, but he hated it when they were spoiled. Commonly, Jake would give him the dagger eyes for ruining a surprise; that look could instill death in the most innocent of victims. It was this look Zeke expected. Surprisingly, the only change to Jake's face was a slight upward curve to his mouth. This could mean one of two things: one, he was dead wrong and Jake was not going to tell him so; two, he was right and still would not say a thing. Either way, he was going to be left dark and he hated it. Sometimes, it was bearable, other times not so much. This case was proving to be the latter. If Jake could keep a surprise, he would resort to anything to hide it.

Deciding to no longer torment himself, Zeke cast his eyes back out the window. There was really nothing of interest out there in the desert, nothing that could possibly attract his attention. If the sand grains were considerably much larger, he might have started counting them. Zeke looked up into the sky, hoping to spot a vulture or something, forgetting about the eye killer that resided up there as well. He jerked his head away, immediately rubbing his eyes with his index fingers. He blinked a few times, but the only thing he could see were dozens of spots. He rubbed his eyes a little more, but it did nothing to alleviate his vision.

"Forewarning: staring at the sun will induce a spotted vision," Jake teased, having noticed Zeke's motions.

"You don't say," Zeke replied darkly. He hated those post-stupidity jokes. It made him feel like he was a real idiot, though, given what he just did, the comment was warranted. His mother was the first one to ever say one and he disliked them ever since. He was only six at the time and was curious about the stove, so he went ahead and touched it, while his mother had been cooking. He had let out an ear-shattering scream and hid under the table. Obviously, his mother took care of his burn and told to be careful that the stove was hot. At the time, he did not think anything of the comment, but as he grew older, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He began to wonder why he had been so stupid at the time.

After a few minutes, a good portion of the black spots vanished. He decided to look back out the window, and spotted a large green sign in the distance. Zeke read it quickly as it zoomed past them, suddenly becoming conscious of the sweat pouring down his face. Simultaneously, he became aware of another minute detail that had somehow managed to avoid his detection. Jake was shirtless, but thinking about it, it was not actually uncommon in hot weather. He had seen quite a few guys driving that way during the summer back home. Reminiscing about the summer days, his mind snapped back to the sign. How could Jake have been so stupid as to drive them through this hellish place? Before he could think about what he was doing, he turned to Jake and started shouting at him.