“No, it’s…” Marlene was about to argue but suddenly changed her mind, her voice taking on a completely different tone. “Hey Dad, uh…speaking of pigs, you should pull over. I think Princess’s butt is about to explode.”
An odor confirmed Princess the pig was about to do her business in the backseat. Squirming and starting to squeal, she began warning us.
“She’s gonna have to hold it in until it’s safe to pull over—”
The words had no sooner left Mr. Carlson’s tongue when the semi-truck ahead seemed to start to drift all over the road. Fishtailing as if in slow motion, we watched as the rear moved away from the front, swinging out to the side, and then horrifically twisting and beginning to turn over. Mr. Carlson slammed on the brakes, and snow pounded our windshield as we hit the ditch. In a sudden jolt, before anyone could fully comprehend what was happening, we came to a sudden stop. My body lurched forward, but was restrained by the seat belt. Thomas’s lap belt didn’t hold the top of him, and his body was violently yanked from mine.
And then there was blood. Lots of it.
Thomas slumped back next to me. My ears rang. I was too stunned to move as I processed what just happened. Thomas was limp against me, and that got my hands frantically fumbling for the seat belt.
“Everyone okay?” Marlene asked.
Mr. Carlson said he was fine, but there was no reply from Thomas. I said his name, but it barely came out as a squeak. My heart pounded, pulsing in my ears dramatically, sending my anxiety into overdrive for one full insane, freaked-out minute…but then I reeled it in. I got the belt undone. There was no time to waste. Thomas needed me.
“Thomas?” Marlene softly asked.
Mr. Carlson was in shock. His hand flew to the radio to turn it off, but he accidently cranked up the volume instead. Hank Williams blasted our ears, and time stood still until his shaky hand found the power switch.
“Thomas?” I took in a deep breath, gathering my wits about me. Blood was pouring from his forehead where it had hit the dash. “You’ll be okay,” I said, needing something I could press to his head. His hands were limp on his lap. “Can you hear me? Please answer me. It’s gonna be okay.”
I lifted his chin to peer into his eyes. If anything happened to him…
Suddenly, how much I cared about my new friend hit me harder than we had hit the ditch.
“Please talk to me. Look at me, Thomas,” I begged.
His eyes fluttered open. His gaze was unsteady, but at least he was conscious. I got one of his gloves and pressed it against the blood seeping from his wound. This seemed to fully bring him around.
“Holy shit… what happened?” he asked.
“We hit the ditch. Are you—”
“I’m okay,” he said quickly, wincing. “Everyone else?”
I nodded. Marlene and Mr. Carlson muttered they were okay.
Thomas’s face was soaked with blood. I wiped at his eyes with my sleeve. “I’m gonna have one monster of a neck ache in a few hours,” he said. “And if there’s a scar on my face, I’m gonna be pissed.”
I exhaled, realizing I’d been holding my breath. “Even if there is, you’ll still be pretty,” I said, feeling my arms start to shake.
“The snow gave us a soft landing at least.” Mr. Carlson, whose cheeks had paled to match his beard, was still clutching the steering wheel.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Uh, yeah…” But then his face paled even more as he pointed forward. “Oh, shit. This isn’t good.”
The view out the windshield showed the semi’s red brake lights gleaming through the storm. It was ahead, but the wind was lifting the snow and whipping it around, giving us a sudden moment of visual clarity. The semi had jackknifed in half and was on its side. The warning signs, even blurred from such a distance, glowed ominously; the semi was hauling gasoline. The round tank was on its side, stretched across the highway just waiting to be piled into…
As if on cue and right out of a waking nightmare, we watched as lights from a vehicle came up from behind us on the road, going too fast to stop. A blue minivan swerved, but too late. Hitting the brakes, it spun around on the road and then slammed into the tank on its passenger side.
Instantly, there was smoke.
“Oh my God,” Marlene yelled.
I pushed on the truck door, but the snow was packed up tight against it. Mr. Carlson was frozen in place, stunned and possibly in shock, and Thomas could barely hold up his head, let alone move.
“Does your door open?” I yelled to Marlene, desperate as I imagined the person in the minivan would be if they couldn’t get out either. If the tanker caught fire…
Marlene had her door kicked open, and I scrambled across Thomas into the backseat to get out. Another car had come up behind us, but managed to come to a stop; in seconds, the driver was screaming into his cell phone for help.
I made my way out of the ditch, Marlene close behind me, and we got onto the road. I started running toward the crash, smoke increasing from under the bent-up hood of the van. Keeping my eyes ahead, I reminded myself anxiety was nonexistent. I was in control.
It took forever to get there. Marlene was fast, keeping up with me and practically throwing herself at the driver’s door when we finally got to the crumpled wreck. She yanked on it with all her strength. I tried the sliding rear door.
“It’s jammed,” I said, winded.
“This door is stuck, too,” Marlene said, panic in her voice.
We could see a woman at the wheel, unconscious. Blond hair draped over her face as her head rested on the steering wheel. Now the flames were visible, and the smoke started to become thick as mud—we had to get her out.
“Look out,” bellowed a gruff male voice. In a blur, a plaid-covered arm was swinging at the window with a crowbar. The driver of the semi had smashed the window and cleared away the glass. He then leaned in to wrestle off the woman’s seat belt, and the three of us began maneuvering her through the window while panicked voices from far off began to fill our ears. Someone was yelling Marlene’s name. Thomas was screaming mine….
Now the driver had the woman in his arms. Her eyes fluttered as he began running with her, Marlene and me next to him. We ran for our lives, and when we were almost back at the group of people now gathered on the road, I heard the woman mutter something. It was the worst thing in the world to hear in a situation like this. My baby…is in backseat…. My baby is in there….
Marlene heard it, too. “Kaya, oh my God…”
Without second thought, I turned and started running back toward the minivan.
“No! Stop! It’s gonna blow!” someone yelled.
I forced my wits to stay about me, praying to God for help while willing my feet to remain glued to the slippery road. I noted the flames, felt the increasing heat, and ignored the yelling of panicked voices from behind me. As I approached, my legs instinctively slowed in fear, so I sped up. I pushed it as hard as I could until I entered a cloud of smoke and came to the crumpled metal of the minivan. I couldn’t see a thing now, so I felt around for the window opening and dove in. Something cut my thigh, the heat increasing. Ignoring the pain, I scrambled into the back. There was still a tiny bit of clean air left. I inhaled it as the soft flesh of an infant met my fingers. Tiny, bare arms flailed as the wind outside whipped the smoke away from the van, giving me a moment of clarity. Peering up at me, wide eyed and scared, was the face of a baby girl—the spitting image of the one I’d seen when I’d almost drowned in the rapids.
The vision hit me again with lightning force; I was near death when the baby girl with the blue eyes had drifted out of my arms, floating away with what I thought was my last breath. The vision had been so real. I thought I even felt her.
I knew, in my heart I just knew, this was the baby I was meant to save.
She started crying as I fumbled with the belts keeping her in the car seat. I managed to get a blanket around her, covering her face. Thick black smoke filled the van, an
d I held my breath. Even yanking with as much force as I could, the slide door wouldn’t budge. I had to get back into the front seat. Holding the infant to my chest, I struggled through failing vision. Maneuvering past the steering wheel became a test of will. I knew what I was supposed to do, but my body was failing me and my weak arm holding the baby threatened to give out. Finally managing to get the top part of my body out the driver’s window, I realized I couldn’t get the rest of the way out without landing on the child or dropping her. Now panicking and unable to swallow or think clearly, I thought for a moment that this was it. My life was over. Me and this tiny brand-new person in my arms who was depending on me to survive. All seemed hopeless until firm hands were suddenly jammed under my armpits, pulling me out the window and leading the way out of the smoke.
“Run,” demanded Marlene.
So I did. Full on and as fast as my body would allow, clinging to the baby, spurred on by the fact it had started to scream. I ran hard. Eyes streaming with tears and barely able to see, I strained to keep focus on Marlene’s red hat as it led the way like a beacon to safety. Thomas and Mr. Carlson had started moving, too, as far from the collision as possible as the snow fell harder and the wind raged across the road. Marlene had caught up to Thomas, and I felt a sense of relief as she took hold of his arm and urged him away from the inferno behind us. My lungs were burning and my legs close to collapsing, but I kept going… I kept running… until an intense heat hit my back and lifted my feet off the ground.
I was thrown into the ditch, deep into the snow. I had no choice but to close my eyes and curl around the child as the world began blowing apart around me. Intense heat… the sting of something hitting the back of my head… the ground shaking and rumbling… the world disappearing… and then nothing, not even the sound of my own heartbeat. Silence.
The baby stopped moving.
Then voices trickled in, growing in volume, frantic, Thomas’s in particular screaming my name. When I finally got my eyes back open, the sky was a sickly orange. Black snow fell onto my face and the cheeks of the now-whimpering baby girl against my chest.
Yesterday, I felt as if I’d come out of a very long dream. The drug fog taking over my mind had completely cleared, and my head felt like it was my own again. Although my body was weak for the first time ever, at least I could see clearly now. Specifically, I could see what I’d done wrong that cost me the love of my life. Thinking I owned her was one of those things. Thanks to Luke, I realized how insane that was. And thanks to Luke, I was alive.
I owed him. The man whose throat I had fully intended to slit open had stuck by me for weeks when he could have thrown me to the wolves. Even Davis—someone I thought of as a brother—had left me when things got heated. When I was hell-bent on going after Kaya, Davis headed for the hills. He abandoned me. Not that I blamed him, but… I thought we were closer than that. I thought we had a connection. Luke, however, was someone I’d openly detested, and most certainly tried to kill. Yet, while I was sick he never left my side—not once. Damn it, I couldn’t even try to pretend to hate him anymore.
He pulled the truck off the highway into a gas station, Lisa and Seth following close behind.
“Huh,” I said without even realizing it.
He glanced over at me, unable to hide his concern; he was so horribly on edge, worrying about Kaya, and worrying I might be sick again. “What?”
“Doesn’t anyone drive cars anymore?”
“Really? Is that what you’re thinking about?” He shook his head.
It wasn’t. But telling him I was grateful for him, and that I understood what Kaya saw in him, weren’t words that would come easily. “That and I’m, uh… glad you’re driving,” I said.
Luke was perceptive. He could read between the lines. “C’mon Oliver, don’t get mushy on me. I’ve got enough to worry about without you turning into a puddle of muck.” Emotion sparkled in his eyes. “But yeah, I don’t mind driving,” he added.
With all he’d done for me, I had to try and comfort him. “Hey…we’ll find her,” I said, but the worry I also had for Kaya was obvious in my voice.
All Luke could do was gulp and nod his head, hand trembling slightly when he put the truck in park. He didn’t have to say anything. I knew how he was feeling. I wasn’t the only one shouldering the intense feelings of responsibility for Kaya anymore. My mission was the same as his, and so were my fears. The only difference was I knew in the end, in the very, very end, he would be the one to get the girl.
And I wondered if there was any better man.
Seth and Lisa pulled up to the pump behind us. The snow was falling again and so was the temperature in the air. In the rearview mirror, I watched Lisa get out of the truck and pull her cap snug over her blonde hair. Shivering, she shook a fist and swore at the sky, loudly proclaiming her disgust of the weather. She was feisty, blunt, and ballsy. I’d never met another female like her, and I wasn’t surprised to see her take on checking the oil and gassing up the vehicle.
Seth headed toward the store, yelling back to Lisa to make sure and fill it up, and the scars across his cheeks from Kaya’s fingernails glowed white against his ruddy skin. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I just always had the feeling he couldn’t quite be trusted.
I gassed up while Luke followed Seth inside. He pretended to not hear Lisa let loose another bunch of expletives, now at the cold, metal pump in her hands. The prison mouth on her made me blush. As the meters clicked away, I avoided her eyes. Instead, I watched her delicate petite hands alternate to keep from freezing. Before I could stop myself, I was hanging up my pump and moving toward her.
“Give it to me.”
I hadn’t meant to sound quite so demanding.
She glared like I was a maggot on a French fry. “I’m not some damsel in distress. I am perfectly capable of—”
I stepped in and got my hand around the pump, practically shoving her out of the way. Watching her shiver was making me crazy. “I know you’re capable, but your cold and I’m not. I got this.”
“Geez, you’re an asshole,” she said before marching off and into the store.
I couldn’t argue with that. From what she knew of me and how I’d acted—she witnessed my drug rage when I shoved Kaya down the stairs—it was accurate. What she didn’t know was I’d kicked the pills. I was in control again. I could… breathe.
I waited for what seemed like forever until the tank was filled. Then I finished filling Luke’s truck, whistling at the quiet night to ignore the stinging in my fingers. The highway was desolate. Not another vehicle went by, not another soul in sight. At the far end of the parking lot, a few lonely lampposts lit up a collection of rusted-out vehicles and a massive tractor. Behind that there was nothing. Just snow-covered fields. Flat. Empty.
This place was depressing. Smack dab in the middle of nowhere. As I noticed the second level of the store to see a small balcony and tiny windows flanked by lace curtains, I wondered who lived there. Who peered out that window at the highway and what kind of life did that person have? Was it as dreary as it seemed? I pictured myself up there for a moment. Then Kaya beside me; if she were there standing next to me, green eyes shining like they did when she smiled, the whole place would have been lit up like a Christmas tree—she could do that. If she was next to me, I wouldn’t care where I was.
God, I missed her. So much it hurt. I had to find her. So I could lose her to—
“Oliver, get in here!” Luke bellowed from the store.
Luke.
I was going to lose her. To Luke.
I stomped up the creaky steps, the bell on the door ringing as it swung open into the overstocked store. The air was warm, but I shoved my frozen hands into my pockets. Behind the counter, an older lady with granny hair eyed me carefully as I headed to a table set by the window where Luke, Seth, and Lisa were all seated. The tension in the air was thick.
“Tea?” Luke offered tensely, nodding to a heft
y mug of brew before an empty chair.
Seth and Lisa stared wordlessly. I wondered if maybe I was about to be poisoned. “Uh, we don’t have time for tea,” I said, still standing.
Luke cleared his throat. It was obvious he was fighting to maintain his composure, but I wasn’t sure why. “We talked to the lady who runs this place, but she doesn’t know of anyone named Ben Smith around here. She also said the highway going east has been blocked off—cops are turning traffic around due to an accident. And since that’s the only way to get to Radville, we are going to enjoy some tea and quite possibly some microwaved pizza.”
Golden boy jittered like he was about to explode, and Seth and Lisa were obviously waiting for me to do the same. They didn’t know I wasn’t that guy anymore. I could handle bad news like a champ, thinking clearly and calmly without my jaw aching from gritting my teeth.
Luke, however… he was vibrating and white-knuckling his mug. I patted his shoulder. “The store lady wouldn’t know everybody around here, Luke. We’ll figure it out,” I said, taking a seat between him and Lisa.
Both Seth and Lisa had to pick their jaws up from the floor.
“Four sugars and one cream, right?” Luke said absently, eyeing the mug in front of me.
I stirred the brew. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Lisa couldn’t contain her shock. “What the hell, Luke? You even know what the big guy takes in his tea?”
I stifled a laugh. “Don’t worry there, Blondie, we still hate each other.”
“Detest,” Luke corrected.
“Despise,” I added.
“Yeah. That, too.”
Lisa eyed me suspiciously, the storm outside shaking the window behind her.
“Did the lady give any idea to how long the highway would be closed?” I asked, ignoring Lisa’s scrutinizing stare.
“Nope,” Luke said. “She says her hubby is out there helping tow vehicles out of the ditch. He’s going to call her when the road is open. Apparently, someone ran into an overturned semi hauling gasoline and it blew up.”
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