"We're lost," Sara said, throwing her head back again the seat.
"We are not lost," Nyssa said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"Oh yeah? Then pray tell, my love," Sara sang mockingly, before dropping every ounce of sarcasm. "Where are we?"
Nyssa looked away from the road to glare at her. Sara smiled sarcastically at her from the passenger seat.
"We are almost to the border," Nyssa said.
"We haven't seen another car for half an hour. If we're close to the border crossing then there should be more people," Sara said.
Sara did have a point. Although they had chosen to take the back roads through the Romanian forest, there should have been more cars on the road the closer they got to the Serbia border. The plan was to drive to a safe house in Belgrade, Serbia where a warm bed and hot meal waited for them.
Nyssa checked the GPS, which told her they were less than a hundred kilometers from the border. It also told her that they were in Craiova, Romania, which was supposed to be a hundred kilometers south.
"Alright," she admitted. "The GPS does not appear to be working."
Sara gave her a triumphant smile, but before she could say 'I told you so', Nyssa spoke again.
"But we should be able to find our way using road maps and signs."
"I know you speak a lot of languages, babe, but Romanian it isn't one of them." Sara was right. Neither of them spoke Romanian, which was one of the reasons that they had gotten themselves into such a mess.
They were supposed to be assassinating a high-profile enemy of the league in Braşov. which had gone less than perfect. They had accidentally run into their enemies bodyguards when they had gotten too close on their first try. They had pretended to be dumb American tourists, but their attempts at Romanian led to a loss in translation as the bodyguards took their words as threats. Nyssa decided to engage, killing them and storming the house to kill their enemy. Which worked, until the backup arrived.
They had barely escaped Braşov with their lives, and Sara had taken a sword meant for Nyssa. The long gash ran lengthwise along her ribs. They had rushed back to their safe house where Nyssa had quickly stitched the wound and stopped bleeding, but it would leave a nasty scar.
Her time spent helping Sara had left them with little time to collect their things before their enemies found them and they left the city with only their go bags and a full tank of gas.
At the moment, Nyssa was less worried about where they were and more worried about Sara. Sara's snarky attitude meant that she was in a lot of pain. There was a huge risk of infection from the sword's blade and Nyssa didn't have the antibiotics to treat it.
"I'm sure if we follow this road it will lead us to a town," Nyssa said as she looked at the miles and miles of road and pine trees.
"That's a big if," Sara said. She squirmed a little in the leather seat and moved her arm to her the side as it was pulling on the muscles in her back, agitating her stitches.
Sara was right, the road could lead them anywhere, and it would be dark in a couple of hours. But they didn't exactly have a choice, so Nyssa prayed they would find a town soon.
A few hours later, Nyssa pulled over near a small field. The sun was touching the horizon, casting the wooded area in a yellow glow. Rather than continuing to drive along into the night, Nyssa decided to make camp in the small clearing. They needed food and water, and Nyssa wanted a break from driving.
Sara had fallen asleep a little while ago, whether it was from exhaustion or pain Nyssa couldn't tell. She had laid her head on Nyssa's lap and was now snoring softly. Nyssa carefully moved from under Sara's head, placing her gently on the seat and rolling up her jacket to use as a pillow.
Once it was clear that Sara would not wake up, she carefully closed the door and walked to the back, opening the truck bed and pulling out her bags. She opened her case and retrieved her bow. There was no more food in the truck. They had eaten the last emergency meal form their bags the morning, so she would have to find her own.
Stalking through the forest, she watched her steps and listened for signs of prey. When she was seven, her father had taught her how to shoot the birds in the trees with her first bow. Now wherever she went, no matter how far away or different the area was from Nanda Parbat, when Nyssa went hunting, she always felt like she was home.
She darted through the twilight forest watching and listening. Although finding water was her first priority, she soon came across two bunnies, which she quickly shot. After searching a little farther she found a small creek and filled up both of her containers then added the water purification tablets. She walked back to the truck, making note of her path so she could find the creek again.
Having made her way back, she started setting up camp after she checked on Sara, who still fast asleep. She cleaned her kill and started a fire, to roast the meat. After everything was cooked and prepared, she woke Sara up.
"Beloved," she said, running her fingers through Sara's hair hoping to wake her gently. Sara stirred slightly and eventually opened her eyes and took note of her surroundings.
"What time is it?" Sara asked, sitting up and looking around the clearing. The light faded from the sky leaving only the light of the fire.
"It is almost ten," Nyssa replied, moving back as Sara sat up.
"Where are we?"
"I am not sure," Nyssa said, smiling. "I have food and water for you."
Sara yawned, taking her time to get out of the truck before she sat down next to Nyssa by the fire. Nyssa handed her a slice of meat and a canteen of water.
Due to the warm July summer, they hadn't packed for a cold night in the forest. Nyssa's League costume jacket kept her warm regardless of the climate. Sara's half leather jacket left much to be desired, no matter how stylish it looked. Nyssa shrugged off her jacket, wrapped it around Sara's shoulders, and pulled her close. Sara ate slowly, picking at her food. She had taken a few bits, but it was clear her appetite had been affected.
"After you're done eating, I want to take a look at your stitches," Nyssa said.
Sara nodded and put down her food, turning to face away from Nyssa and shrugging off her coat. Nyssa pulled up Sara's shirt and picked up the flashlight to take a good look at her stitches in the low light. She carefully removed the bandages and slowly traced the incision with the flashlight, carefully inspecting the stitches for any sign of infection.
The wound was oozing a yellow fluid, and there was a red spider web pattern on her skin stemming out from the stitches, both were signs of infection. She carefully cleaned the area, put on a new bandage, and taped around the edges. Once she had finished, she pulled Sara's shirt back down and touched her shoulder.
"How is the pain?" She asked.
"It's nothing I can handle," Sara replied.
"We need to get some antibiotics in case we are dealing with an infection."
"Does it look inflamed?" Sara asked.
"A little. I'm going to call Katya just to be sure."
Sara nodded and they resumed their position sitting side by side. Nyssa pulled her phone out of her bag. It was a large satellite phone that was used for emergencies only. It was also the only way to reach someone in Nanda Parbat.
The line rang a few time before Katya picked up. As they talked Nyssa watched as Sara got lost in watching the sparks from the fire float up with the smoke.
"Thank you, Katya," Nyssa said before she hung up the phone and placed it on back in the bag. She wrapped her arm around Sara, who laid her head on her shoulder.
"What did she say?" Sara asked.
"She thinks you have an infection and want me to get Amoxicillin some painkillers. But for now, we'll keep an eye on it."
She hummed and they sat in silence for a while until Sara spoke.
"We used to go camping in the mountains every summer when I was a kid. When Laurel was fifteen, she decided that she was too mature to go camping with her parents and baby sister. I told Tommy, and he and Ollie convinced her to come if they did. Then we wrapped Robert and Moira into coming and they brought little Thea.
We set up the tents in a circle and had our own little village. We sang campfire songs and roasted marshmallows but I could how she could never toast mine marshmallow's just right. It was the best camping trip I've ever been on."
Sara didn't often share stories of her past. Their past life was over and such things were forbidden, but in their room, she occasionally told such stories. Nyssa remembered every detail.
"Did you and Tommy ever date?" Nyssa asked.
"No, he was my best friend. Why? You jealous?" She teased.
"Of course not," Nyssa said.
Sara smiled and resumed her story. "We used to sabotage Laurel and Ollie's dates."
"That was petty of you," Nyssa commented.
"Yeah," Sara shrugged.
"If you could go back and change things, would you?"
"If I could go back and not hurt Laurel, yes. But it would mean that I would never have met you. I love you too much to do that." Sara closed her eyes and pressed her cheek to Nyssa's shoulder. "I do wish that I could have brought you along. You would have loved it."
Nyssa pulled up her chin to kiss her and Sara moved to sit on her lap. Sara pulled back and Nyssa wrapped her arms around her. They sat together, enjoying the intimacy.
Eventually, Nyssa got up and cleared the bones from their meal. She made a second trip to the brook for extra water. When she got back, they put out the fire and climbed back into the old black truck, settling in for the night.
Nyssa turned the heat up to warm the cab for a while, but they would have to survive with blankets and coats to prevent the battery from going out on them. She checked the fuel levels they had just enough to get them to the safe house in Belgrade. From there they could catch a cheap flight to Istanbul and then another to Islamabad, where a League car would take them home.
Soon, Sara fell asleep laid out on the bench seat, her head in Nyssa's lap. She had argued that they should both lay down, but Nyssa wanted to stay upright.
By sitting up on the driver's side, she would be able to keep her eyes on the road and see any oncoming cars. She could quickly start the truck and leave and if need be, she would survive on four hours of sleep. So she stayed up a little while longer.
She watched the road and ran her fingers through Sara's hair, the act was often calming to both of them. It gave Nyssa something to do with her hands rather than simply fidget with her fingers, and Sara could focus on the sensation and the steady action. Around midnight, she fell asleep, her fingers laced in Sara's hair.
The sound of birds chirping and the morning sun streaming in through the window awoke Nyssa the next morning. Upon realizing how long she had been asleep, she sat up straighter and looked around, assessing her surroundings. Everything was peaceful, the morning dew was on the grass and a warm light fell all around her. The forest made only a few sounds as the animals still slumbered. She felt Sara's warm breath against her stomach, and she laid back, realizing that everything was fine.
Nyssa turned the key in the ignition to check the time. The clock read 8:27 AM, meaning she had gotten a full 8 hours of sleep. Nyssa turned the key further starting up the engine and moved the truck onto the road driving away.
Several hours later, she was walking the aisle of a local grocery store, scoping out the security. Sara paused beside her surveying the array of soups that they have searching the labels for her favorite brand.
Nyssa eyed the teenager at the register and the woman behind the pharmacy counter. Her shopping list included antibiotics, pain medication, food, and water, in that order. If she used Sara's electronic scrambler, they could avoid being seen on the security tapes and therefore ending up on the 6 o'clock news. With Sara's hooded jacket and the sunglasses hanging from her t-shirt, the witnesses would be able to provide an accurate description of her, but her planning was interrupted by Sara nudging her side.
"We should ask them for directions," she said, pointing at the manager who stood by the register.
"You can't ask them for directions. If you do, they will know our faces," Nyssa replied.
Sara rolled her eyes. "Do you really want to risk wandering around the Romanian mountains for the next week?"
"I am perfectly capable of getting us to Serbia," She argued.
"Remind me again how we got here?" Sara asked, turning to face her with her eyebrows raised. It was pure luck that they had found this town and Nyssa knew it. Sara put a few cans of soup into the basket Nyssa was holding and walked up to the manager.
"Sara!" Nyssa hissed at her, but Sara ignored her and continued to walk up to the register, leaving Nyssa with no choice but to follow.
Sara put on her million dollar smile and prepared to act like an innocent American as she approached the manager.
"Hi, can you help us?" Sara asked in broken Romanian that she had picked up from a travel book she was holding.
The manager, a man with a thick black mustache that reminded her of the one her father had in the 70s, smiled back at her, completely fooled by her naïve persona.
"Yes, what can I help you with?" he replied in English.
"My friend and I are backpacking through Europe for the summer, and we're trying to get across the border through Serbia to Greece, but it seems we took a wrong turn."
The persona Sara adopted was easy for her to slip into. The naïve 20-year-old college girl was someone she had long forgotten to be. She floated through life, easy to trust and unaware of the consequences of her actions. Sara never missed being her, but she missed the life she had had.
The manager, Luca, helped her buy a map of the area and surrounding countries. He showed Sara the roads to the border and helped her plot a path to Athens.
"Thank you so much!" Sara gushed to Luca as they paid for their food.
"It was no problem at all. If it were my daughter, I would hope people would be kind enough to help her."
Sara beamed and waved at him on their way out.
Once they were clear, Nyssa immediately dropped her fake smile.
"That was unnecessary."
"But we're no longer lost," Sara said smiled softly at her.
"No, we are not," Nyssa said, "Thank you, Beloved."
Sara to see if anyone was watching before giving her a quick peck on the lips.
"However, I am now unable to rob them, and you need antibiotics," Nyssa said.
"Just take my hoodie and scarf and go back in. Or we could wait awhile and then come back. I'll drive the car so you can make a quick exit. No one will know, they were all focused on me not you," Sara said, opening the car door.
"Alright," Nyssa said as she grabbed Sara's bag from the truck bed and changed into Sara's hoodie and scarf.
They drove off and waited for half an hour before they returned. Sara parked the car in front of the store. Nyssa pulled her hair back into the hoodie and put on the sunglasses.
"Hey," Sara said before Nyssa could get out of the car.
"How about a kiss for luck?" She asked, leaning towards her.
Nyssa obliged and leaned forward, giving her a soft kiss before closing the car door and entering the store.
She was in and out in less than a minute, she had gone straight back to the pharmacy, jumped over the counter and took what she needed only using a few vague threats. Sara then sped off, and they were able to make it out of town before the cops knew that anything was amiss.
A few Kilometers away they switched so that Nyssa could drive, and Sara could take some pain medication and start the first of dose of antibiotics.
Nyssa watched in amusement as the painkillers began to make Sara a little loopy. Her beloved was currently laying on the seat facing her, her head was propped up by the passenger door with their coats and her legs were splayed out on the seat.
"I feel bad," Sara began. "They were so nice. We shouldn't have stolen from them."
"We had no choice. We had no money and no prescription."
"I know, but it probably came out of their pockets. These things aren't cheap," Sara said, frowning. Nyssa knew that Sara came from a morally upright background, and although she had learned to do things to survive, they still weighed on her heart.
"How about the next time we are in the area we can stop by and leave a tip to cover the cost of the stolen medications," Nyssa offered.
"Really?" Sara asked, her face lighting up as she sat up.
"Yes," Nyssa said.
Sara laid back down, content with Nyssa's promise.
Before Nyssa met Sara, she would have never given a second thought to the consequences of robbing the store. Somehow Sara reminded her that she didn't need to be without mercy and that she was capable of doing good things. For that, she was forever grateful to her darling bird.
Nyssa looked over at Sara, who had grown usually quiet, only to find she had fallen asleep.