Oliver went ๏ฌrst, of course, placing down a small ๏ฌrst aid kitโRed guessed Reyna had packed thatโand a headlamp, with a couple of spare batteries. Maddy stepped up and added her scissors and Scotch tape to the collection.โ
Simon returned to the kitchen empty-handed, like Red. But he stopped there, pulling open one of the drawers.
โI knew thereโd be one here somewhere,โ he said, cutlery rattling and a scraping sound of metal on metal as he pulled his hand out, clutched around the black handle of a kitchen knife. It was sharp, with a serrated edge that caught the dim overhead lights.
โChekhovโs knife,โ Simon said with a dark smile as he added it to the items on the dining table.
โHuh?โ said Oliver.
โNever mind, itโs a theater thing.โ
A clatter and a grunt behind, as Arthur wrestled with the mattress from his bunk, pulling it down and tucking it under one arm, his glasses knocked askew on his face.
Red gave him a thumbs-up, and he returned it with his spare hand.
โDid someone open my tequila?โ Oliver said, digging through his backpack on the counter.
โAnother mystery to solve,โ Simon said, by the refrigerator. โRight after we work out why thereโs a sniper out there shooting at us. That reminds me.โ He opened the fridge and pulled out a glass bottle of vodka, unopened, adding it to the pile on the dining table. Red questioned him with her eyes. โFor disinfecting wounds,โ he explained. โOr liquid courage.โ
โAha,โ Oliver said, his hand reemerging from the bottom of his backpack clutched around a shiny silver Zippo lighter. Engraved too, bet that was expensive. Onto the pile it went.
โThereโs a small toolbox in here,โ Reyna said, voice mu๏ฌed, her head buried in the closet right by the front door. โI guess we donโt need a tape measure, though.โ
โNot unless we want to measure the length of the RV for fun while weโre trapped in here,โ Simon said.
โItโs thirty-one feet,โ said Red, โnot just thirty.โ Simon should know, he was the one who told her that, and now she couldnโt get the damn number out of her head.
Reyna backed up out of the closet, and in her hands were a small hammer, a screwdriver, and a roll of gray duct tape. โThereโs a mop and a dustpan and brush in there too,โ she said, adding those new items to the collection.
โGreat.โ Oliverโs eyes spooled around, skipping over Arthur, whose hands were full, and ๏ฌicking between Simon and Red. โSimon,โ he said. Unlucky. Probably because he was closest. And because everybody knew he drank the tequila. โCan you grab the dustpan and brush and sweep up the glass?โ
โReally?โ Simon hardened his gaze.
โWe donโt want anyone cutting themselves,โ Oliver said, leading him in the direction of the open closet, the movement disguised as a pat on the back. โIt will take you two minutes, go on.โ
Simon muttered something under his breath, but Red only caught the hardest of syllables. She didnโt imagine it was anything worth repeating. He picked up the dustpan and brush, struggling for a moment to separate the two, then bent low, sweeping piles of window glass into the pan, glittering as it moved.
โExcuse your feet,โ he said, maneuvering around Maddyโs shoes and her still-open suitcase.
โOkay, this is good,โ Oliver said, surveying theย resourcesย they had managed to gather. Red looked too: a pair of scissors, a lighter, a headlamp, a ๏ฌashlight, spare batteries, a hammer, a screwdriver, duct tape, Scotch tape, vodka and a kitchen knife. Each item disappearing from her head as soon as she moved onto the next, like one of those memory games she always lost.
โShould I get this in place?โ Arthur asked, hoisting the mattress up higher in his grip.
โYeah, go ahead,โ Oliver said. โOut of the way, everyone.โ
Arthur walked through slowly, guiding the mattress past corners and people. The handle on the bathroom door tried to grab his shirt and pull him back. Reyna unhooked it for him and he nodded his thanks. He turned awkwardly to avoid Simon on the ๏ฌoor, but the back of the mattress bumped him on the head, and Simon muttered something else unheard.
โIt should just slot in here, behind the back cushions,โ Oliver said, taking the back end of the mattress and helping Arthur to guide it up and forward, in front of the broken window. They pushed it through, sliding it into the gap between the back of the sofa and the wall, wedged in under the overhead cupboards. โHold on, itโs blocking the door,โ Oliver said, shoving the mattress in farther, tucking the far end in beside the front passenger seat. โThere we go,โ he said, grabbing it and giving it a shake to check. โThatโs wedged in there good.โ
It might be wedged in there good, but would a mattress stop a bullet from a precision ri๏ฌe? Red wasnโt sure it would, but at least they could now pretend they were safe in here, without the outside breathing in through that window. Pretending was half the game, and she should know. Her life depended on it.
โRight, thatโs one window done.โ Oliver stood back. โWe still need to cover the one by the driverโs seat. Red?โ He turned to her. โDid you ๏ฌnd anything we can use?โ
No, she was the only one who had failed on that front, staring down at her useless suitcase, its edges fraying as the threads unpicked themselves, like
they wanted to break. And, hey, that gave her an idea, if they wanted it so bad.
โYes,โ she said, surprising herself most of all. โMy suitcase. We can ๏ฌatten it out and use it to board up that window. Itโs breaking anyway.โ
โGood idea,โ Reyna said, ahead of Oliver. โAnd we can use the duct tape to keep it there.โ
Oliver hadnโt said it was a good idea, Red was waiting, but he grabbed the knife from the table and held it out to her, handle ๏ฌrst.
โYou do the honors,โ he said as she took it. โBut also, letโs put your stu๏ฌ somewhere. We donโt want all your crap in the way.โ
โWe can put it in my case,โ Maddy sighed. โIโm sure it will ๏ฌt, she doesnโt have much.โ
Maddy grabbed Redโs suitcase and ๏ฌipped it over, the upturned contents falling on top of her neatly packed possessions. She sighed again to see it, removing the leaking shampoo bottle and then pressing it all down so the lid would zip shut.
Red hoped Arthur hadnโt looked at her balled-up underwear. She knew one pair sheโd packed had unicorns on it; Santa had gotten them for her that ๏ฌnal Christmas. Red hadnโt believed in him since she was eight, of course, but it was tradition that Santa got the Kennys ugly socks and underwear for Christmas. Only, Santa must have died when her mom did.
โOli, can you help me get my bag back up there and out of the way?โ Maddy asked.
Only his little sister was allowed to call him Oli. Believe her, Red had learned the hard way.
โYep, sure.โ He grunted as he lifted the double-packed case, Arthur opening the overhead cupboard for him as he drew close, helping him squeeze the stu๏ฌed bag inside.
Simon was just ๏ฌnishing up, brushing the last few shards and crumbs of broken glass from the sofa, backing away as he ๏ฌnished. The ๏ฌoor was all clear now. He carried the full pan into the kitchenโRed sucked in a breath as he stumbled, tripping over nothingโbut his hand was somehow steady. He
opened the cupboard with the trash can and dumped the glass out, tapping the pan against the edge to get the last of the glittering dust.
โGo on, Red.โ Oliver had returned, standing over her as she crouched by the empty shell of her suitcase. โLetโs get this done.โ
Red tightened her grip on the knife, holding it out to the corner nearest her. She tried not to look at the luggage tag hanging from the top, but her eyes betrayed her. Come on, it didnโt matter. Mom wasnโt in that luggage tag, Mom was dead. And they needed something to block the window; Red had to be useful, like everyone else was. She pressed the knife against the corner, sawing down with the serrated edge, cutting through the zipper, and the fabric, and the cardboard underneath. The knife chewed up the material with its teeth, splitting the corner apart. Red shifted to get the next one, the handle of the knife growing warm in her hands. Why did she ๏ฌnd the wordย resourcesย funny anyway? What she really should be thinking about instead was that red dot out there, and the person in charge of it. Watching. Waiting?
โGood job on the glass, Simon,โ Oliver said, a delayedย well done,ย but aย well doneย all the same. A good leader motivates his team. Delegation. Motivation. Would Oliver sayย good jobย to her when she ๏ฌnished butchering her momโs old suitcase?
โThere,โ she said, sitting back, the ๏ฌnal corner cut through, the sides of the suitcase lying prone against the ๏ฌoor.
โAll right, get it in place, then.โ
That was all theย well doneย she got. Oliver Lavoy wasnโt as liberal with his approval as Maddy or Catherine. They gave Redย well dones all the time, if sheโd earned them.
โIโll help,โ Arthur said, stepping forward to grab the duct tape and scissors from the table. Threeย resourcesย used already, oh come on, would she stop it with theย resources.ย Just think of another word, then.ย Stu๏ฌ. Thingamabobs. Jawn.
Red stood, picking up the remains of her suitcase, carrying it to the front of the RV, a few steps behind Arthur. He drew the edge of the curtain out a couple of inches and leaned closer to take a quick look.
โJust one of the panes shattered,โ he said. โThis side.โ He gestured to the one at the front. โDo you want to hold it up and Iโll tape it?โ
โThatโs what she said!โ
โSimon, come on, really,โ Maddy snapped. โNow is not the time or place.
If thatโs the last thing I hear before I die, then I swear to Godโฆโ She left the threat empty and dangling.
There was a ๏ฌush in Arthurโs face again, a warm pink. He swiped at his cheeks like he could wipe the blush away, hide it from her. Well, that was ๏ฌne if he was embarrassed; heโd probably seen her old unicorn underwear anyway. Arthur busied himself pulling a length of duct tape free and cutting it loose with Maddyโs scissors, and Red positioned the unfolded suitcase in front of the curtain, over the gaping hole into the wide-open nothing out there. In
the dark, where the red dot lived.
Arthur rested one knee on the driverโs seat and pressed the tape along the top edge of the suitcase, cutting o๏ฌ more to secure it.
โAre you okay?โ he asked her, moving on to the next side, his hand accidentally brushing past hers.
A tiny ๏ฌrework in her head. What a stupid little fucking ๏ฌrework. Maddy should tell it that now was not the time or place.
โEverything will be okay,โ Red said, staring forward, losing her eyes to the minute details of the suitcase fabric, crossing over and under, so she didnโt think about how close Arthurโs face was to hers right now, both leaning across the driverโs seat.
โThatโs not what I asked.โ
โI donโt know,โ she answered, honestly for once. โAre you supposed to be okay when someoneโs trying to kill you?โ
โI donโt think you are.โ And, somehow, Arthurโs voice did away with the hard syllables, smoothing them over, gliding one to the next. Someone else might call it mumbling, but Red wasnโt someone else. Arthur pressed a long piece of tape down across the width of the suitcase and onto the part of the window that had survived, withdrawing his hand quickly from the curtain and back into the safety of the RV.
A sound interrupted them. The ๏ฌushing of a toilet. Red checked over her shoulder to see Oliver closing the bathroom door behind him.
โRight, everyone, over here,โ he called, another loud clap. Red ๏ฌinched.
Someone should tell him to stop doing that.
โGo on,โ Arthur said to her. Had he noticed the ๏ฌinch? As long as he hadnโt noticed the ๏ฌrework. โI can ๏ฌnish up here.โ He splayed his hand against the suitcase, taking its remaining weight from her, ready with the last few pieces of tape.
โThanks.โ She stepped back, grabbing the scissors and the roll of duct tape, taking them with her back to the dining table. Someone else had already replaced the knife.
Maddy was leaning against the refrigerator, and Red went to lean against her.
โLooks like Arthur is just ๏ฌnishing up with that window,โ Oliver said, right as Arthur was done, wiping his hands o๏ฌ down the front of his jeans and walking over. The six of them, gathered in and around that tiny kitchen.
โOkay, now that weโve secured the RV,โ Oliver continued, though who could say how secure it really was, against that ri๏ฌe. They couldnโt see outside anymore, the RV was their own little world, but a bullet could come in anywhere, through the wall and anyone in the way, out the other side before they even had a chance to scream. That didnโt feel very safe, not as Red understood the word.
โNext, we need to work out what our plan is.โ โPlan?โ Maddy asked.
โYeah, so that we all get out of here. Alive,โ he added, and with that one word, the air grew thick, a strange buzzing in Redโs ears as she did that thing where she tried to imagine what it would be like to be un-alive.
Reyna cleared her throat, and Red was grateful for the distraction. โWell, listen.โ She glanced down at the time on her phone. โItโs been like twenty-๏ฌve minutes now since he last shot at the RV. Maybe heโsโฆI donโt know, maybe heโs gone?โ Her voice went up at the end, turning it into a question.
โWhat, you think he got bored and went home to jack o๏ฌ?โ Simon said. โMaybe.โ
โUnless heโs waiting,โ Maddy said. โWaiting for what?โ Reyna asked her.
โFor us to think heโs gone, and to walk out the door right into his crosshairs,โ she said, darkly.
โIt is a fair point,โ Oliver said, and Red wasnโt sure who he was siding with, until he drew closer to Reyna. โHow do we know if heโs even still out there?โ
He wasnโt going to make one of them go outside and check, was he? And what were the chances it would be either Red, Arthur or Simon he gave those instructions to? The expendables.
โIโm not volunteering to go see,โ Simon said. He must have had a similar thought, still annoyed about the glass-sweeping.
There was that ๏ฌzzing in Redโs ears again. Could anyone else hear it? โWell, put it this way,โ Oliver said. โThe RV is not going anywhere. We
canโt call for help. So, the only way weโre getting out of here is by leaving the RV. And Reyna has a point; itโs been a while since his last shot. Maybe heโs gone.โ
โWhy would he shoot out all the tires and the gas tank to trap us here if he was just gonna leave right after?โ Maddy said.
It seemed no one knew how to answer that. No one said anything for a moment, eyes shifting around the group, Red ๏ฌddling in her pocket, Simon staring up at the ceiling. Until a voice dared to break the silence.
โHello.โ
Red looked up, at Simon, then at Arthur. Had one of them spoken? The voice had sounded strange: metallic and muted. But, no, it couldnโt have been them because they too were looking around, searching for the speaker. Arthur caught her eye and Red shook her head. It wasnโt her.
โDid someone justโโ Reyna began. Oliver shushed her, holding up his ๏ฌnger. โBut Iโโ Simon now.
โShut up!โ Oliver shouted him down, holding up both hands to control the silence.
But it wasnโt silent; there was that empty, ๏ฌzzing sound again.
It clicked o๏ฌ andโ
โโHello,โ the voice spoke again, deep and disembodied.
Maddy gasped, and Oliver tapped her on the arm to keep her quiet, brandishing his ๏ฌnger at the rest of them.
โHello?โ
A voice, but no one to claim it. Red scanned over her shoulder. The voice was coming from the front of the RV, and so was that ๏ฌzzing sound she hadnโt imagined.
โHello,โ it said. โCome here.โ
