The reaction to it at the time had been bad, but with everything else happening in New York and across the country, Samuel had assumed his name and what he had done would have been forgotten by now.
As Austin drove and put more and more distance between them and the city, he was forced to come to terms with the knowledge that even though he was leaving New York City behind, he was not leaving what he had done there behind as well. His actions would follow him and now more than ever, he had to make sure they were actions he could stand by and be proud of, no matter how other people saw him.
Chapter 18
“Hey Sam, wake up. Sam. Samuel!”
Jolted out of his sleep, Samuel snapped his head from side to side quickly and looked around the cab of the stolen truck Austin was driving, suddenly remembering where they had gotten it and what they were doing. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep. The last thing he remembered was hearing his name on the radio when he was once more blamed for everything that had happened. Samuel was being made out to be a monster, no matter how far away it was from what he felt like.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“We’ve got a problem,” Austin replied as the truck shuddered underneath them, the old vehicle groaning as they continued to drive. “We’re running low on gas.”
“How low?” Samuel asked as he looked out of the window at their surroundings. Thick trees lined the interstate on either side, the empty road cutting its path through a forest that spanned further than either of them could imagine. There wasn’t another vehicle in sight much less a town or rest stop. They were truly out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to rely on but themselves.
The sound of the truck answered Samuel’s question as it shuddered and groaned once more, losing power and speed rapidly despite how flat Austin’s foot was pressed down on the gas. He was touching the floor of the car but it made no difference, both men watched the speedometer rapidly decline until the truck started to lurch forward instead of glide, using up the last of its fuel before rather gracelessly juddering to a halt.
Once it stopped, Samuel and Austin sat in silence for a few seconds, neither of them sure of what to do next. They were in the middle of a State Park that ran for miles in every direction; Austin figured they’d made it about half way to Poughkeepsie, but that wasn’t nearly far enough. There was still a long stretch of America in front of them and without a car it could take them days to reach his family. Austin had no idea what was happening to Dante and Bowie, but he knew they couldn’t wait that long to see him again. One way or another, he had to find a way there and fast.
“Why didn’t you check the gas sooner?” Samuel asked as they sat in the cab of the truck. As much as he tried to fight against the instinct, he couldn’t believe Austin had let them get to this point without prompting that they needed to stop and fill up. He may have been asleep, but surely Austin could’ve had that thought himself.
“The gauge is broken,” Austin retorted, shooting Samuel a look of daggers and answering his question in an equally spiteful tone of voice. “It still says we’ve got half a tank. Look.”
Samuel leaned over and looked at the dial, confirming with his own eyes what Austin was reporting. “Didn’t you notice it wasn’t going down?” He asked, still clutching at straws and trying to point the finger of blame.
“No, I didn’t,” Austin sighed, “I’ve been watching the road and,” he paused, “thinking about other things. Perhaps you could’ve made the observation if you weren’t so busy sleeping.”
“If you didn’t want me to go to sleep why didn’t you say something?”
“It’s not that I didn’t want you to go to sleep,” Austin retaliated. “I’m just saying if you’re afforded the luxury of resting, then you can’t get angry at me not noticing a tiny detail, when I’m the one driving the truck and getting us out of danger.”
“Danger?” Samuel growled, cranky from having just woke up and the sheer exhaustion he was feeling. “What danger? You mean that nice quiet street with the untouched row of houses? That didn’t exactly scream danger to me.”
“Oh yeah? Well why didn’t you just stay there then? I didn’t ask you to come along. I don’t need you.”
“Well you’re stuck with me now. It’s not like I can just drive myself home.”
“Oh, give up!” Austin slammed his fist into the steering wheel, setting off the horn of the truck and causing a nesting flock of birds to all break into flight from their trees. The sound of the squawking and flapping of wings cut through the otherwise silent roadside and brought an end to the argument. Samuel and Austin seethed in their seats, their chests heaved up and down.
Samuel felt his bottom lip quivering as he heavily exhaled through his nostrils, feeling his own warm breath against his chest. Opening his mouth, he drew in a lungful of air and tilted his head backwards against the headrest, looking up at the roof of the truck and thinking for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” he spoke once the birds had quietened and the forest was once again listening to the two men. “I shouldn’t have blamed you. This isn’t your fault.”
Austin opened his mouth to snap back at Samuel, but thankfully stopped himself just in time. He understood that Samuel was sacrificing a lot to help him reach his family and he didn’t want their relationship to come under any additional
