The contrast with the overly warm, almost cloying, greasy interior of the diner was stunning. Sub-zero wind chill knifed into Sofia with lethal intent. The hooded sweatshirt was in no way adequate against the elements, and she was soon shivering, then shuddering with deep body tremors.

‘I think maybe you’re taking the whole “travel light” thing a little too far,’ opined Cindy. ‘Get into the cab before you catch your death.’

She couldn’t answer because her teeth were chattering. The older woman hurried over to the cab of Mary Lou, the big blue truck, and Sofia climbed in as soon as it was unlocked.

‘There’s a blanket on the passenger seat,’ Cindy called up from outside. ‘Wrap yourself up, I’ll turn over the engine, get the heat going, and then we’ll see about finding you some warmer gear.’

Rooting around in the cab, Sofia pulled out a SpongeBob SquarePants comforter. She wrapped herself deep in the folds, catching the scent of fabric softener, laundry detergent and perhaps a hint of perfume. It took a minute for the vehicle’s heating system to dull the pain of the icy fangs gnawing away at her bones. Cindy was dressed warmly, but even so, Sofia couldn’t understand how she could bear to be outside for more than a minute at a time.

The trucker insisted on joining three other drivers, who were warming their hands around a burning oil barrel on the far side of the road. Perhaps they were the ones she meant to travel in convoy with when they departed. Like many of the truck drivers, their clothes looked like they’d been salvaged from quality camping stores some time ago, but a few years on the road had roughed them up some. Sofia wondered why they didn’t just replace the ageing jackets and winter gear.

The men appeared to be in good spirits, despite the weather. One was drinking a steaming beverage from a thermos flask. The other two were smoking, which explained why they’d had to remove themselves from the truck plaza. Even the diner had been aggressively plastered with no-smoking signs. Cindy pointed back towards her truck and Sofia nodded at the men as their gaze followed the gesture. They seemed harmless enough. Middle-aged, running to fat, probably family men.

She shut down that line of thought immediately, lest it lead her to dwell on her own family. There was nothing to be gained from that at the moment.

One of the male truckers disappeared, hurrying away into the darkness, before returning a minute later with a heavy, fleece-lined coat. Cindy appeared to thank him. They all checked their watches and said their goodbyes, before the thermos man tossed away the dregs of his drink, and without further ceremony they were on the move.

Cindy hurried over to her rig, taking care not to slip on the compacted ice.