Nobody said anything for a second. Then for a moment. Then two, as Red stared at them all, breath picking up in her chest.โ
Oliver was the ๏ฌrst to break the silence.
โWhat the fuck, Reyna?โ He turned to her. โWhat have you driven over?โ โI didnโt do anything!โ she broke, shouting back at him. โIt wasnโt me.
Must be something wrong with the tires.โ
โI canโt believe this.โ Oliver ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up at the front. โWe should have checked for glass or sharp rocks before we moved. I canโt believe this,โ he said again, storming toward the door, his shoulder knocking hard into Redโs as he passed.
He wrenched open the door, feet crashing against the steps.
Reyna switched o๏ฌ the engine and pulled out the keys, scrambling out of her chair to follow Oliver outside.
โWhatโs going on?โ Maddy asked, the ๏ฌrst note of fear in her voice.
โLetโs go see,โ Simon said, already halfway out the door, jumping down. Maddy went after him, cradling her phone in her hands, the Team RV sel๏ฌe still up on her screen.
โYou okay?โ Arthur asked Red, catching her eye.
She rubbed her shoulder. โFine.โ She turned to the steps and skipped down them.
She looked left. The wheel at the front had a gaping hole across it, like a downturned mouth in a silent scream.
She looked right. She couldnโt see the hole in the back tire, but she could see it was ๏ฌat, rubber splaying out on the road, even chunks that had come loose.
Arthur came down the steps, standing behind her, one thumb hooked in the pocket of his jeans.
โAre we ever going to get out of here?โ Red asked him.
โI donโt know,โ he said, walking away around the front of the RV, following Oliverโs voice.
โAnd this one!โ Oliver shouted, from the other side. โAnd, let me see, yes the one at the back too. All punctured. All four tires. How the fuck does that happen!?โ Red could hear him clearly, even with the width of the RV standing between them, his voice ๏ฌlling the empty scrubland. โHow do you puncture all four tires?โ
โOliver, it was not my fault. We were hardly even moving!โ
Guess Reyna had been right. But whose fault would it have been if Oliver had been driving, Red wondered.
Maddy was standing in the headlights, chewing her thumb, glowing around the edges like she was lit from within. She did that when she was nervous. The thumb-chewing, not the glowing.
Red didnโt know where Simon was, he must be on the other side somewhere too, quiet for once.
Red followed her eyes over to the back tire on this side, searching for the hole, the tear, the point of origin. If a thing was destroyed, she needed to know how. She knew her own point of origin. That day. That last phone call. But maybe the tire didnโt have one, or maybe it was underneath, hiding it like she hid hers.
โItโs no oneโs fault, youse guys.โ Simonโs voice sailed over. โWhat the fuck are we going to do now?!โ Oliverโs next. โStop shouting and weโll work it out!โ Reyna.
And then something new, a ๏ฌicker in the corner of Redโs eye, pulling at her attention. She turned to look at it. There was a red dot, right over there on the o๏ฌ-white side of the RV, near the open door. That wasnโt there before. It was too low down to be part of the red-stripe blue-stripe pattern along the side. And it wasnโt just a dot, was it? Too bright for that. It was a little red light, clinging to the side of the RV. No bigger than a ๏ฌngernail.
โGuys,โ she called.
Someone else had to see this.
But wait. The red dot was moving now, shuddering as it lowered down the side of the RV. Red watched it go, blinking as it came to a stop, a few inches above the edge of the frame.
โGuys!โ
Someone else needed to see this.
The red dot moved again, toward the wheel. Toward Red.
She backed away and the dot disappeared, reemerging on the other side of her, moving, moving, beyond the back wheel.
โGuys!โ
A crack in the darkness, louder now that she was outside with it. Red ๏ฌinched, hands up to her ears, and the red dot wasnโt there anymore. But there was something else.
A splintered hole in the RV. Not the size of a ๏ฌngernail. The size of a bullet.
That was when she knew.
โItโs a gun!โ Red screamed to the others.
โWhat was that?โ Oliverโs voice, fast and unnerved.
โItโs a gun,โ Red said, turning to face the darkness. There was someone out there, in that wide-open nothing full of shifting shadows. Someone in all that nothing, someone with a gun. A ri๏ฌe.
โSomeoneโs shooting at us!โ Oliver yelled, ๏ฌnally understanding. โGo, Reyna, go around the front. Back in the RV.โ
โOliver!โ Maddy screamed. โMaddy, go get inside! RUN!โ
Red couldnโt move. Why couldnโt she move? The voices of the others blurred into a high-pitched hum in her head. Arthur sprinted past her in the ringing silence, scrabbling for her arm, but she couldnโt move.
โRed!โ he screamed from the steps.
She smelled something, bitter and strong andโ
โMove, Arthur, get inside!โ Oliver barked, pushing Reyna in front of him and up. โCome on, Simon, hurry! Take my hand! Okay, is everyone inside? Red? Whereโs Red?โ
Red faced down the darkness, breath trapped in her throat. Why wasnโt she moving? Just move. And then the voice wasnโt hers anymore, it was her momโs. Thereโd been a shooting in the city, downtown. And Mom wanted her to know something.ย You have to run, Red. If thereโs ever an active shooter. Run, donโt hide. Itโs harder to hit you when youโre moving, so run! Run now, sweetie. Run!
Run, Red. She should run. She needed to run, out into the wide-open nothing.
โRED! Get inside the RV now!โ
But Oliverโs voice was louder than her momโs, and Red listened to him. She chose.
Her shoes pushed o๏ฌ against the dirt and she ๏ฌew. To the steps and up, taking Oliverโs outstretched hand as he dragged her inside.
The door slammed shut behind her.
