Harmony blushes, coughs a couple of times as if trying to cover for something, and steps on board the bus after giving Soph another shy look that mixes clear interest with embarrassment.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Alex waits for Jenny to catch up with him, but not much longer before he starts his battered old truck and turns along Route 160, heading east...and up.<br/><br/>The next several hours pass with all the dull monotony of a road trip without benefit of music and snacks, and the weather slowly turns to something  nastier.  No flaming hailstones or acidic rain of doom, but finding somewhere to hole up for the night would probably be a good idea.  But before the deluge lands, your little party finds the crest of the route and modest lodgings in the form of a town best described as a wide spot in the road with what might have been a Forestry Service Visitor's Center before the world broke.  Now it stands, empty and dark, but capable of housing the company in a pinch.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Side Story Potential?</div><div class="spoiler_body">And for those of you interested in doing something naughtier, I draw your attention to this little side-thread which has been neglected for far too long...https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=253386.0 </div></div>