Erica didn't respond. She watched the man shuffling around the truck from the side mirror and considered what he had said. He may not be the most stable...scratch that he's definitely unstable. But some of the things he said just sound right. And he hasn't hurt me yet, even though he's had a lot of opportunities to. I'll stick around for now. I really hope women's intuition is a real thing.
The man got back into the car and started the engine. Without looking at Erica, he began to speak again, "By the way, my name is Bud. Or Buddy. Whichever." Erica was taken aback; he hadn't given any indication he was going to tell her any personal information. After briefly considering giving a false name, she replied, "Erica."
They settled into a cautious silence. Which left Erica alone with her thoughts again. Does Bud–Buddy–really think that he said enough to explain the situation to me? I mean, come on, all he did was make outrageous claims without providing any evidence or anything. I need to ask more.
"I'm going to choose to believe you...for now. So, like, can you give me any evidence or information about the truth about the Authorities? You can't seriously expect me to believe everything you're saying without anything to back it up..." Erica trailed off, unsure if she and "Buddy" were close enough for him to not suddenly turn on her.
Bud was quiet for a long moment. He seemed to be considering what she was saying, before he answered, "Physical evidence is rare, but it does exist. The Authorities went through a lot of trouble to ensure that no evidence of what they did remained within American borders. Outside of the country, evidence exists as history–you can read about the Authorities, then called the government, closing off American borders for seemingly no reason. But once America closed its doors–no one ever saw or heard from an American citizen ever again. The only people who know the complete truth are the American citizens who survived the attacks in the 70's–which the Authorites themselves committed. A few of us have retained the truth, and our ultimate goal is to break the Autorities' regime and restore America to its former values. I'll show you more concrete proof soon enough–we're heading to a safehouse. If you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe them."
There were more people like Buddy. Erica knew he could be lying–but something told her he was telling the truth. She would keep her guard up, but she was sure enough that she wasn't going to be beheaded, which somehow was a comforting thought at this point. Erica was suddenly exhausted, feeling the weight of every word and action piling onto her eyelids. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. When she woke up she would be in a new world.