“Yes?”
“I was wondering if you could do something to help my friend here...she’s looking for her fiance. They got seperated a few days back and she could sure use your car to take a look around for him.”
“Peaches,” Aby hissed, but Tex waved her away.
“It’s alright! You don’t ask, you don’t get! Of course, I’m happy to help in any way I can. I have a few things I need to get done first...but then the car is all yours. I wouldn’t deny you that, now, would I?”
Aby wasn’t sure what to make of him now. Every instinct she had was telling her that something was off, but she had no proof. He’d been nothing but nice to her. Peaches nudged her arm.
“Well, Aby? Say thank you to the kind man,” Peaches said in a condescending tone. Aby gritted her teeth.
“Thank you,” she muttered. Tex smiled as he started slowing the car down.
“Not a problem. Now, we’re about to reach our first destination…”
“We are?” Peaches asked, glancing out of the window. “But we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“I know, right?” Tex said cheerily. “Isn’t it just beautiful out here? So quiet and calm...no one else around...seems like the perfect place to stop first.”
Aby’s heart dropped to her stomach. She couldn’t be imagining how creepy Tex’s words were. He smiled at her again in the mirror and she felt familiar dread come rushing back to her. She should’ve trusted her instincts. She should’ve made Peaches stay home with her. She never should’ve opened the door for Tex…
And now they were in real trouble.
Fourteen
Jake
Am I dead? Jake asked himself. He felt close to death, at least. His lungs shuddered with the effort of trying to breathe as smoke clung to them from the fire. His ribs were the most painful part of his body now, but every single inch of him hurt. He’d never experienced anything like it. As he tried to sit up, the pain sent him crashing back to the ground again.
The only thing he seemed able to move without it hurting were his eyes. He opened them and glanced around, trying to make sense of what had happened. The fire seemed to have burned itself out, which was the only reason he’d survived, clearly. If it had spread it would’ve consumed him and Megan by now. Black smoke tendrils were lifting themselves from the wreckage toward the dark night sky and Jake coughed, wincing as the action made his body spasm with pain.
Jake looked around to find Megan. She was lying close to him and she was still unconscious. It was like deja vu of waking up in the truck bed only a few days earlier. Jake had thought that things were bad then, but things were so much worse now. Not only were they without food, water and weapons, but they were also injured so badly that Jake doubted they’d be able to walk.
He tried to sit up again and managed it with a loud yelp. If anyone was nearby then they’d certainly find him, but what could he do about that now? Besides, he had nothing to offer anyone. All he had was the clothes on his back. Unless they wanted to finish the job that the gang had started on him then he wasn’t of much use to anybody.
He waited a while for Megan to wake up, not wanting to exert himself or hurt her by trying to shake her awake. When she finally came around, she whimpered quietly, tears clouding her eyes the moment she opened them. She was in a bad way too, clearly. Jake was patient as she moved herself into a sitting position, breathing hard at the effort. Neither of them seemed to know what to say or do, so they sat in silence for some time.
Jake wondered what was going through her head. Did she regret staying to help him? Was she angry at Jake for not listening to her gut instinct when she expressed it? She must be. There was so much unsaid between them, but Jake didn’t have the energy inside him to explain to her how sorry he was for the way he’d treated her. His life now just seemed to be full of regrets and mistakes that he couldn’t fix.
“What now?” Megan whispered. Jake shook his head.
“I don’t know. Maybe we just give in, Megan. Where are we supposed to go from here?”
Megan pursed her lips. “That’s not like you, Jake. The only way is up, right? Things can’t get any worse.”
“I’m sure I’ve heard that before,” Jake muttered. Even the effort of talking was hurting him. They needed a miracle if they were going to make it any further. Jake thought that maybe their luck had finally run out. There were no more miracles reserved for them.
“I’m not giving in,” Megan said with such force that it shocked Jake. Timid, quiet Megan was changing before his eyes. It was like they’d swapped their roles around. He watched as she struggled to get on her feet, wincing in agony. Towering over him, breathing hard, she offered him her hand to take.
“You need to get up now. We’ve had enough time feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to carry on. If we can make it to the lake, they can fix us up.”
“And how are we meant to make it there when we can barely walk? We’ll starve before we get there. We’ll die of thirst, or of some injury those bastards gave us…”
“Only with that attitude,” Megan said. “Besides...I think we should make a detour before we go there.”
Jake’s eyes flashed with confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Megan grabbed Jake’s hand herself and pulled him up with a grunt. “Those men took our dignity...they tortured you, Jake. It’s time we take something back from them. We’re going to find them and steal their supplies. It’s like you said...if we don’t find food and water soon, we’re going to die. We know that they have
