The Corrupted (Completed - editing)

Chapter 17 - "Emergency"

Sunlight streamed through the van, illuminating everyone's grumpy faces. They weren't morning people, I guess. We had all agreed to forget yesterday's events, yet I knew the thought continued to play in the back of everyone's minds.

I turn to see Dex standing in the back of the van, stumbling through the walkway. I watched as he squirmed about, hopping from one foot to another.

"GUYS." He drops down to the front of the vehicle, where Zoe was driving and I was occupying the passenger's seat. "This is kind of an emergency."

"Dex, this is the fifth time you've needed to pee. HOLD IT until we get to the next checkpoint." Zoe says, checking her rear-view mirror, her shoulders rigid. Dex sulks back to his seat, slumping down and folding his arms.

I laugh at the fact Zoe had so much authority over these guys. They knew if they argued with her, they'd regret it. If it's one lesson you learn, it's to never get in a disagreement with an assassin.

Dex, however, had completely ignored this lesson.

"Fine. But this is your own fault, Zoe." Dex says, standing up. Walking to the back of the van, he begins to rummage through the cupboards.

"What is he doing?" Zoe says to me, her tone riddled with annoyance.

"I believe – ah yes, he's searching for a cup to pee in." I fold my arms around the chair, watching as Dex finally retrieved a cup – a rather large cup – from one of the cupboards.

Zoe slams on the breaks, whips her head around and glares at him.

"Dex, I swear to god if you even think about it I will come back there and beat your a-

"Cool it, Zoe." I say, trying to contain my laughter.

"Come on, I was looking forward to that!" Dax calls from the back who was seated next to Flynn, both with their arms folded, watching the scene play out as they laughed. Fallon was seated in a small nook of the van close to them, her headphones in as she sharpened a dagger.

"You have a minute. If you aren't back in here on the dot, don't even think I will wait for you." Zoe says, not once breaking her glare with Dex.

Within a second Dex is out the door, sprinting down into the paddock – and from there I turn away.

"Anyone else need to pee?" Zoe says, glaring at the steering wheel ahead. "Good. Cause we aren't stopping again. Next time, you use Dex's pee cup." She says, grabbing the cup which Dex had left and throwing it backwards. Despite the fact Dex hadn't even touched it – yet – the crew shrieks in disgust at the thought of the cup touching them. Zoe and I laugh together, watching as the cup rolls around on the floor, untouched.

Exactly 59 seconds later, Dex re-enters the van with a heavy sigh. "Much better."

Zoe slams on the accelerator pedal, causing Dex to stumble backwards.

"Woops." Zoe says, smirking as she watches Dex in her mirror. Dex simply just winks at her, causing her smirk to instantaneously disappear and be replaced by a red tint on her face.

I look closely at the blush on her face noticing a small smile appear.

"What was all that about?" I say, lowering my tone. She rolls her eyes, the grin on her face unwavering.

"Nothing. We just used to have this... thing." Zoe mumbles, readjusting her grip on the steering wheel.

"What do you mean... by a thing?" I lean closer, watching the as the blush crept up Zoe's face.