Tires came to a screeching halt as the RustBucket stopped outside an old run down looking gas station which felt as if it were in the middle of nowhere. The trio walked out to see nothing but a desert with only a few tumble wheels of grass as well as a long empty highway. Ben stared out to the scene sighing. They were a long way from any trees oh well...anything.
"Is that Mount Rushmore?" Gwen asked pointing to the petrol station. The brunette turned to her laughing but Max didn't find it funny. He placed a gentle paw on the girls shoulder giving her a small smile.
"No, Gwen. It's just a little more that way" He pointed down the narrow highway on the left. She brought her head from side to side standing up on her tippy-toes trying to look beyond the desert scenery. He watched her for a few seconds before walking over to his grandson as Gwen continued to carry on.
"I'm going to fill the RV up why don't you and Gwen go get some snacks from inside" He points with his thumb. Ben nodded before walking over to Gwen grabbing her hand and leading her over to the small shop. Max sighed wiping the sweat off his head before grabbing the fuel hose and placing it into the RV.
Ben walked straight inside and up to the candy isle losing his attention on the girl as he found the chips section. The redhead walked around wondering about particular things. She walked up to the magazine section and noticed a particular book. 'Mount Rushmore' She smiled picking it up noticing a bunch of boulders under the white bold writing with strange faces. Her eyebrow arched; these rocks were nowhere in sight. She opened the book up to find a map.
She smiled.
She could follow the routes and be there within a day.
"Ben?" She called out hiding the magazine behind her back before walking over to Ben. "Yeah, Gwen?" He replied picking up a packet of chips.
"How far away is Mount Rushmore?" She asked gently. "Errr..." He scratched the back of his head. "Maybe two, three days away at most" He informed her as her eyes widened. He noticed her reaction and forced a calm smile towards her.
"Relax, Gwen" He placed a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. "We'll get there as soon as we can, okay?" He asked. She nodded before Ben walked away to the checkout.
Gwen sighed bringing the book back in front of her. She felt so vulnerable and weak. She wanted to help. She looked over towards the door to see Max wiping his forehead after placing a metal hose into the RV.
The girl smiled and began walking over to him. "MR. TENNYSON" She called out trying to wipe the smile off her face as she passed through the doors. \
In an instance, alarms wailed. Max looked over to the scared girl dropping a magazine and bringing her hands up to cover her face. Ben looked behind him to see the redhead his eyes widened. He instantly ran up grabbing her and pulling her in.
"We'll get there as soon as we can" Ben supported her as the middle aged blonde haired checkout chick with a cigarette behind her left ear scanned the packet before inspecting her waist. Unfortunately her waist was a little too small to hide the magazine behind her back.
"You gonna pay for that hun?" She asked lighting the cigarette blowing into her face. Gwen coughed as Ben took the magazine behind her back and flipped over to the creased page. He shook his head and brought out a note with a $20 on it. Gwen stared down at it feeling guilty. "I'm sorry" She mumbled to him as he grabbed the changed and picked up the two items walking out the store before turning round to her. "Were you going to run?" He asked seeming very unhappy.
"I-I...well" She gulped staring at the ground not knowing what to say to him. He sighed as Max turned round noticing the bickering couple. "Gwen, Ben?" He called over to them as he walked over. "What's going on?" He asked crossing his arms as Gwen gulped. "I was just trying to help" She tried to explain. "By trying to fly off and get there as quick as you can" Ben yelled. Max's eyes widened as he heard Ben's words. He placed a hand on both their shoulders breaking the argument up. "Alright Ben that's enough" He told him. "Gwen, I thought we already talked about this" Max told her grabbing both her shoulders.
"I was just-"
"I know kiddo but please: you're hurt, injured and you're suppose to be keeping a low profile; that hunters still out there" Max reasoned with her. She gulped nodding before looking over to Ben. "Can I please have the book back?" She asked gently. Ben nodded passing it back to her. "It's called a magazine by the way" He informed her walking off to the RV. "Least it's good reading material" He convinced her as she flicked through it. She nodded following him as he sighed.
The RV was quiet; no one wanted to speak to each other. Ben opened his laptop switching onto games. He wasn't too happy as he munched greedily on his dorito's in the background Gwen sat with her knees up to her chin as she stared at the two. "I'm thirsty" Gwen whispered not loud enough for anyone to notice. Max looked back in the rear-view mirror.
"You want to sit up here Gwen?" He asked her. Gwen looked over to Ben sitting down ignoring. her. She sighed getting up figuring he was going to ignore her for the rest of the day.
She gently sat down in the front passenger seat and placed her hands on either side of the arm chair.
She gulped looking across at him.
"Are you still mad at me?" She asked pleadingly. He smirked shaking his head. "No, pumpkin. " He informed her. Gwen's eyes widened. "My grandma calls me that a lot" Gwen smiles giggling a little. Max smiled and looked over to her. He couldn't help but wonder what Antodyne was like. The way Verdona spoke about it; it sounded like their was no place in the world. "Guess you can't wait to get back home, huh?" He asked. "I just miss my family that's all" Gwen shrugged looking out the window beginning to see an upcoming forest. "Are we close to Mount Rushmore?" Gwen asked curiously.
Max didn't bother to look at her desperate expression instead he just turned his vision towards Ben who was ease-dropping on their conversation.
"We'll be there by night-fall" He told the youth. She smiled placing her hands behind her head and closing her eyes.
"I think I'm starting to get that sleepy thing down" She turned her head to a comfy position as Max smiled shaking his head.
several hours later
"Hey, wakey, wakey" Max gently shook the girls shoulder as her eyes began to flutter open.
"Five more minutes, Grandma" Gwen groaned sliding over to the other side of her shoulder trying to grab some more sleep. "Common kiddo. We're at Mount Rushmore. Time to go home" Max forced a smile as her eyes opened wide. She looked to the front window to she a dark forest with blackened stones of people's faces in front of her. The redhead moved forward leaning over the dashboard as she tried to make out who they were. "Are they human?" Gwen asked not really understanding humanities culture yet. "Yeah," Max nodded. "Who are they?" She asked with curiosity that it made Max grin.
"Well..." Max leaned over to the dashboard and pointed to the first one. "That's Abraham Lincoln, he freed the slaves" Max informed her as she gasped oddly beginning to find human history to have a lot more involved then expected. "That's Tomas Jefferson, he was one of the founding fathers of America" Max reported as Gwen's eyebrow arched.
"What's America?" She asked curiously. Max turned to her.
"America's the country your on" The old man turned back to the stones. "I thought it was called Earth?" Gwen questioned staring into the man's puppy dog eyes. "Well Earth's divided into several different contentents and on those contentents are hundreds of different countries, America being one of the biggest" Gwen sat down in shock.
"Divided?" She stared with wide eyes. "That's so...weird" The green eyed girl held her head trying to wrap her mind around what the older man had just told her. He placed a worried hand on her shoulder. "Relax kiddo. Do you want to know who the others are?" He asked in such as gently manner that it caused an involuntary smile on the girls lips. "That's George Washington, he was the first president of the United States"
Gwen stared at him in shock. "I mean...America" He smiled before returning back to the rocks. "Lastly Theodore Rosevelt, he was the twenty-sixth president of America" Max informed her sitting down next to her. She looked back and forth between Max and the statues sighing and leaning over. Max stared at the piece of jewelrry hanging from her neck. It was a silver necklace with a small locket. "What's that?" Max asked inspecting it.
"Oh," Gwen grabbed it and held it in her fingers. "It was my mothers. Grandma said my dad gave it to me before they died" Max's eyes widened as she slugglishly tucked the necklace back behind her white blouse. She looked up at Max noticing his shocked expression and forced a small smile. "They died when I was little. I don't remember them or really know much about them. Grandma used to talk about my dad a lot but not so much my mum" She relaxed back in her chair looking up at the night sky thinking about how brightly the stars shone tonight.
"Do you ever think about them?" Max asked leaning forward. Gwen stared over to him with a somewhat hurt expression on her face. "Everyday" She breathed out looking over to where Ben was sleeping on the table. His drool beginning to soak his laptop.
"Common, we don't want to the plumbers waiting" She stood up nudging Ban before walking outside with an unhappy expression plastered on her face. Max nodded giving Ben a second nudge before rushing out the door making sure the girl didn't stray to far away.
Max looked down at his watch as they waited for the Plumbers to show. It was now 11:30pm and they were supposed to show two hours ago. "Maybe they lost track of time" Ben whispered watching the pacing girl as she walked back and forth with her arms behind her back. "They can't be" Gwen whispered stopping her obsessive composure to pace back and forth in times of worry.
"They are coming, right Max?" She asked with begging eyes. Max walked over to her placing a hand on her shoulder before looking over to Ben. "Don't worry they'll be here and you'll be home faster than you can say Antodyne" Max smiled towards her as he turned to Ben. "Ben try and call them with the communicator" Max asked his grandson as he turned back to the redhead taking her wrist gently.
"What are you doing?" Gwen asked as he removed the bracelet. "Can't have you wearing that on Antodyne. Might scare some people" He told her before pointing over to a seat where she could relax until the escort came.
"They'll be here soon grandpa, three minutes tops" Ben walked over to the two and took a seat in one of the chairs next to Gwen. She looked back and forth between the two before staring down at her clasped hands. "Thanks" She muttered looking up and across from them. "For...well everything" She smiled at them. "If you guys hadn't of saved me from that slaver..." She closed her eyes thinking about how worse it could've been for her. "I don't know what could've happened...dead...food..." She breathed out not sure just a flimsy thank you was enough for saving her life.
She looked up at the incoming ship on one of the monitor screens. "Well, this is it" She breathed out turning to the two of them. "I'll see you guys..." She didn't know how to end that statement. She knew once Verdona found out what happened she'd never be out of the older woman's site again. She turned to Max and hugged him before doing the same to Ben.
"Goodbye" She whispered.
So I thought I might update this story because I haven't updated it in a while. Anyway tell what you guys think and have a guess how it's going to end.