โPut the knife down, Oliver!โ Reynaโs voice rang out, louder than the screeching guitars and the thunderous, ri๏ฌe-crack drums.โ
Red raised her chin, the tip of the knife only a few inches from her neck, shaking in Oliverโs grip. His eyes were wild, too much black, too much red where white should be, bloodshot where the sweat had trickled in.
She didnโt move, hands still raised. Red had known Oliver all her life, but she didnโt know this version of him, the person the red dot had turned him into, pushing him to the farthest point. But it must have always been there, somewhere inside, this Oliver. Dormant, waiting until he was needed. He didnโt even look like himself anymore, hair greasy with sweat, pushed back in chaotic clumps, skin red and blotchy, those puppet strings making his head hang sideways on his neck again as he studied Red back.
Her eyes trailed down the knife in his hands. And the thing was, Red wasnโt sure. She wasnโt sure this was just an act to get her to do what he wanted. There was a knife in his hands, and part of Red believed he would use it if he had to. Heโd thrown her out of the RV once to save himself. She was expendable to him, disposable. And here she stood, in Oliverโs mind, between him and his survival. There wasnโt a choice.
โFine,โ Red said darkly, not loud enough over the music, but Oliver read the word on her lips.
He bared his teeth in a faltering smile that didnโt ๏ฌt his face. Heโd won, again.
โNow!โ he barked, the knife moving up and down with his voice. Red inhaled. โCan I at least get some clothes to change into ๏ฌrst?โ
She gestured with her head, at the overhead cupboards above the sofa, Maddyโs case inside with both of their things.
โNo, not you!โ Oliver said. โYou might use it as a distraction to communicate with the sniper somehow. Hands where I can see them.โ
โIโm not working with the sniper, Oliver,โ Red snapped back. โIโm the witness, theyโre here to kill me.โ
โExcept they didnโt, did they? When they had the chance.โ Oliverโs eyes left her for a second. โSimon, you go. Get some of Redโs clothes out of Maddyโs case.โ
Simon sti๏ฌened, looking instead at Red.
โItโs okay.โ She nodded, and her arms were still raised, but she wasnโt sure she could feel them anymore. Fizzing, like they were made of static, and Red missed that, the quiet sizzle of the walkie-talkie.
Simon walked the three steps over to the sofa and stood up on it, the plastic creaking under his shifting weight as he opened the cupboard, ducking his head to swing the door fully open. He reached up, the angry wasp sound of the zipper on Maddyโs bag.
โRedโs stu๏ฌ should be at the top,โ Maddy called.
Simon cocked one ๏ฌnger to let her know heโd heard. He reached inside, came back with his hands clasped around a pair of pants, one leg ๏ฌicking itself up and around his arm.
โBlack jeans,โ Simon called, voice barely audible, trapped inside the cupboard. Well, Red only had two pairs of pants and one pair of shorts with her, and she was wearing one of those. She was glad Simon hadnโt gone for the shorts, as hot as it was in this RV, exposed skin would feel like a target, glowing in the night.
Simon reached in with the other arm, shoulder rolling as he rustled inside the bag, picking up one item that Red couldnโt see, shaking his head and putting it back to select another. He pulled away, shutting the cupboard door with his elbow and jumping down.
โHere,โ he said to Red, coming over, handing her the clothes.
โNo.โ Oliver intervened, blocking Simonโs way with one arm. โOn the ๏ฌoor.โ
Simon checked with Red. She nodded, what choice did she have? There was a knife to her throat.
Simon dropped the ripped black jeans in a crumple at her feet, and then the top heโd chosen. An old long-sleeved T-shirt in a dark plummy red. It had been her momโs once.
โRedโs your color,โ Simon said to her over the music, an awkward closed-mouth smile on his face. Was he trying to make her feel better with that smile? Or was it masking something else, because he also thought she was a mole? No, Simon couldnโt. He knew her. And yet, he could have been the one who voted for her to die. But she wasnโt dead, and that was the new problem.
โRed, come on,โ Oliver shouted, dipping his head to indicate the clothes on the ๏ฌoor.
โAt least let her go into the bathroom to change.โ Arthur stepped forward, tendons sticking up under the tan skin of his neck. Not quite like puppet strings, but close. He was angry, Red could tell. Or scared. Or both. Arthur couldnโt think she had anything to do with all this, could he? No, heโd stood by her, all night. Dragged her away from the red dot, held her when the shock set in.
Oliver swung the knife, pointed it at him until Arthur retreated one step. โNo,โ Oliver said. โIf we leave her alone, she might get a message to the sniper somehow. She has to stay where I can see her.โ
โItโs ๏ฌne, Arthur,โ Red called, ๏ฌngers too sweaty and swollen as they worked the top button of her shirt and down. โItโs ๏ฌne,โ as the knife returned to her, followed by Oliverโs eyes. What a ridiculous word that was.ย Fine.ย She was undressing at knifepoint and there was a sniper outside and she was supposed to be dead. But she wasย ๏ฌne,ย you know?
Arthur shook his head. He knew it wasnโt ๏ฌne, but he stepped back all the same. De-escalating, the tension easing slightly in Oliverโs shoulders as he watched Red undo the rest of her buttons.
โHere, Maddy,โ Red said, pulling the blue-and-yellow ๏ฌannel shirt o๏ฌ her arms, standing there in her bra and jeans. She chucked the shirt past Oliverโs head and Maddy caught it, clutching it to her chest.
Red picked up the T-shirt from the ๏ฌoor, pulled it over her head. She reached her arms through to the ends of the sleeves and pulled the thin material down over her stomach.
โJeans,โ Oliver barked. โCome on, quick. Before he wonders what weโre up to.โ
Red kicked o๏ฌ her sneakers, using each foot to pry the other o๏ฌ. Oliver bent forward, knife still raised, and collected them in one hand, passing them over to Maddy, who started to slip o๏ฌ her own shoes.
Red dropped her eyes and unbuttoned her jeans, pulled down the zipper. She peeled the jeans down, the dark gasoline stains sticking to her knees,
clinging to her pale skin. But she pushed and they gave, falling, bunching around her ankles. She stepped out of them.
Red stood, in this RV, in her underwear and socks, and she looked up at the others. She wasnโt ashamed to be standing here in her underwear. Red knew real shame and this wasnโt it. Real shame was killing your mom and having to live with it, knowing that she died and the last thing you ever said to her was that you hated her. If Red survived that, she could survive this. She stared around at the others, daring them to look her back in the eye. Could they put a stop to this? If Arthur, Reyna and Simon all stepped up, could they stop Oliver from making Maddy go through with this? There were three of them. But Oliver was the one with the weapon. And he was probably the only one who would use it. Or maybe that wasnโt the reason at all. Maybe they didnโt trust her either, thought she was working with the sniper. What did Red expect, sheย wasย still lying to them.
Oliver scooped up her light blue jeans and passed them over to Maddy.
โGo get changed in the bathroom,โ he urged his sister, over a new song just starting. Notes steadily climbing in threes, entering through Redโs ears,
biting at her nerves and her exposed legs.
Maddy closed the bathroom door behind her. The last thing Red saw was the look of numb shock in her eyes. Were they really doing this?
Red grabbed her black jeans from the ๏ฌoor and slipped them on. There were rips on one knee and up the thigh of the other leg; she hadnโt bought them that way, they were just old. Maddy and Oliverโs mom had bought her these ones.
โMaddyโs shoes,โ Red shouted at Oliver. She hadnโt packed any others. He kicked Maddyโs white sneakers over and Red wriggled her feet inside,
no need to undo the laces. Maddy hated when she put shoes on like that.ย Youโll break the backs,ย she always said, but Red didnโt think sheโd mind just this once.
The song escalated, high notes on the guitar cascading all around her. And then building again, creeping up the scale.
โYou okay?โ Reyna mouthed to her, across the RV.
Red nodded, just slightly, so Oliver wouldnโt see. The knife wasnโt as close anymore but it was still there in his grip, pointing at her throat. People came undone when you stuck a knife in that spot, didnโt they? But it wouldnโt really matter where a ri๏ฌe got you, would it? Anywhere and youโd come undone around it, like the scattered puzzle of Donโs head.
The bathroom door opened soundlessly, buried under the song, and Maddy stepped out in Redโs ๏ฌannel shirt and her jeans, dark stains at the knees. She had on Redโs tattered sneakers too, the laces done up neatly, double-knotted.
โGood.โ Oliver beckoned her over. โOkay, do you have a hair tie?โ he shouted into her ear. โYou need to tie yours back in a ponytail, the same height as Redโs.โ
Maddy always had a spare hair tie on her wrist, sometimes more actually. Red often borrowed them, never gave them back because they all got lost somehow.
Maddy pulled up the sleeve of Redโs shirt, revealing a black hair tie sinking into the ๏ฌesh of her wrist. She rolled the band into position over the base of her thumb and ๏ฌngers, and turning to study Redโs hair, she gathered
her own up, running her ๏ฌngers through, pulling the strands to the crown of her head. She secured the hair tie around the ponytail, once, twice, three times, then pulled it tight.
Oliver looked between the two of them, Red and Maddy, and again, frantically, eyes narrowing.
โNot quite right,โ he shouted. โYours is too long.โ
Knife still in hand, Oliver backed up to the table, reaching for the scissors with his spare hand. He didnโt ask Maddy ๏ฌrst. He spun her around, the heels of his hands on her shoulders, and he grabbed the length of her ponytail with his knife hand. He opened the scissors, positioned them about three inches up from the ends of Maddyโs hair, and he snipped. It wasnโt a clean cut, sliding through, opening the scissors and closing them again and again until the end was hacked o๏ฌ. Uneven, but Oliver seemed pleased with it.
Shards of Maddyโs light brown hair scattered to the ๏ฌoor. They glittered, not quite as much as the glass had, but they still held the light.
Oliver moved her back to study her again, dropping the scissors.
The scissors. They were a weapon too, right? Could Red get to them? And then what? She couldnโt stab Oliver Lavoy with them. She could threaten to, but heโd know it was an empty threat. And his might not be. Notย rock paper scissors,ย butย scissors knife ri๏ฌe.ย Scissors lost every time in that game.
โYours is too neat!โ Oliver shouted. โRedโs hair is messy. Can you pull some bits out at the front, and some lumps at the top of your head?โ
Maddy nodded, teasing out wispy strands of hair to frame her face like Redโs bangs. Pulling at clumps in the ponytail, so they stuck up on her head.
โBetter!โ Oliver shouted, and that smile was back, the one that didnโt belong. โPerfect.โ He gave Maddy a shake on the shoulders. โYou can do this, you know.โ
He didnโt wait for her to disagree. He walked past Red, knife gripped hard in his hand, circling the kitchen counter where the music was loudest. He opened the lid of the saucepan and reached in, removing two phones, one with a marble orange case. He thumbed at the screens, probably checking the battery levels. โOkay,โ he shouted over the noise. โTake your phone and Reynaโs. Actually, take Simonโs too, heโs on a di๏ฌerent network.โ He pulled
out a third phone. โYou keep driving until you ๏ฌnd a house and some help, or until the ๏ฌrst bar of signal appears on one of these phones.โ
He bundled the iPhones up in one hand and walked over, passing them to Maddy. She nodded, slipping two into her back pockets, one at the front. Oliver was blocking her, Red couldnโt see Maddyโs face, her eyes, but she could imagine the fear in them. Was this really going to happen?
โLook at me, Maddy,โ Oliver barked, reaching his spare hand out, knocking a ๏ฌnger under her chin. โYou can do this! Walk calmly out the door, turn to the side as soon as you can, thatโs where you and Red look most alike, in pro๏ฌle. Walk to Don, take the keys out of his hand, then straight into the truck. Shut the door, start the engine. Back up, turn, and then drive the hell out of here. Not fast while youโre still in view. But once youโre past those trees, you put your foot down, understand? Drive as fast as you can into some signal, or to a house and a landline. And when you call the police, remember to tell them itโs an active shooter and they need to send o๏ฌcers right away. Do you know where to send them?โ
Oliver shifted and Red could ๏ฌnally see Maddy. She looked frozen, welded to the ๏ฌoor of the RV. A quiver in her lower lip as she searched Oliverโs face for the right answer.
โMcNair Cemetery Road,โ Simon was the one to answer. โThatโs the road we turned o๏ฌ down here. I remember. Theyโll ๏ฌnd us if you tell them that. Tell them to look for headlights.โ
Maddy nodded, swallowing her bottom lip now, eyes glazed with terror, like she couldnโt even listen, like words were just noise battering against her ears.
โMaddy!โ It was Arthur now, stepping around the swell of music. โI really donโt think you should do this. You shouldnโt. Itโs too risky. There must be another way. Red?โ Arthur looked back at her, desperation in the pinch of his mouth.
Red shook her head, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes to see Maddy this scared. Her Maddy.
โDonโt go,โ she said. โDonโt do it, you donโt have to.โ
โShut up, you two!โ Oliver roared, puppet head rolling loose on his neck as he whipped back to Maddy. โDonโt listen to them, they donโt understand. This is going to work, okay? Maddy, Madeline, look at me. Itโs going to work and you will be ๏ฌne. Youโre going to save us all. You. Youโre going to save us. It will work. Itโs a Mom plan, a win-win.โ Oliverโs voice was raw from shouting, cracking at the edges, just like his smile. โYou get out of here and call for help. And once youโre safely gone, we can let the sniper know we still have Red. That will protect us in the meantime. Sheโs obviously worth something to them.โ
But not to anyone else, clearly. Red once thought Oliver looked at her like a spare sister. Sheโd been wrong about the second word, though, the one that mattered.
โDonโt go, Maddy!โ Arthur said, and there were tears in his eyes too. โDonโt! Red?!โ
She was trying. But Maddy was listening to Oliver, and he had the knife. โMaddy!โ Red cried.
โOliver, can we think about thโโ Reyna began.
โItโs okay!โ Maddy shouted above their voices and the music, nodding her head too fast, eyes rattling with it. โItโs okay, everyone. I can do it. Iโm going to get help for you, I promise. I can do it! I can save you all!โ
โYou donโt have to!โ Red yelled back. โJust because Olivโโ Oliver turned on her, brandishing the knife.
โSheโs made up her mind, Red, stop trying to manipulate her!โ
โItโs okay, Red,โ Maddy said, staring right at her, eyes locking on. โI can do it. I want to do it. I trust Oliver. Iโll save us all. I can. Iโm not scared.โ
But she was. She was so scared. Red had never wanted to see that look on her best friendโs face and now sheโd probably never forget it.
โRight!โ Oliver screamed above the song. โIโm going to turn the music o๏ฌ and I want the rest of you to be absolutely silent. Donโt say a thing! Red, you keep your mouth shut and you keep your hands where I can see them. Maddy, have you got the phones? Are you ready?โ
She nodded.
Arthur was shaking his head.
โOkay!โ Oliver shouted. โGo stand by the door.โ
Maddy did, her feet dragging against the ๏ฌoor, like she was hoping the RV would grow up over them and trap her inside so she didnโt have to go. But sheโd chosen, and sheโd chosen Oliver, just like Red had countless times tonight. He was the natural leader, her big brother, and Red couldnโt compete with that.
Maddy waited by the door, ๏ฌngers raised above the handle, shaking, and she looked just like Red, when you see yourself in one of those dressing room mirrors, see what you look like from behind. Maddyโs hair was only a shade or two darker, but the night would hide that. It had to. Because if Maddy was actually going to do this, then it had to work, Oliver had to be right and Red had to be wrong. Had to.
Should Red say goodbye? Tell Maddy she loved her, just in case. Sheโd had last words before, and sheโd regretted them every day since. She could do it right this time. No. No, because they werenโt last words, and Maddy couldnโt think that either. This had to work. Maddy was going to drive out of here and she would be ๏ฌne. She was going to save them all.
Maddy looked back over her shoulder, and Red told her as much as she could with her eyes.
Oliver pulled his phone out of the pan and tapped at the screen. The music cut out, the air hissing in its absence.
No, that was the static, back at last, ๏ฌlling Redโs ears. She breathed it in. Oliver rounded the kitchen counter, standing between Maddy and Red,
knife still gripped in his hand.
He looked at his sister and nodded his head. Just once.
โRed? Red?โ Oliver said loudly, not looking at her. โWhere are you going?โ
Then he nodded at Maddy again.
Her lips were gone, sucked back into her face as she pushed down on the handle and the door swung open, inviting in the dark night.
โNo,โ Red whispered, and Oliver shot her a look, knife raised.
Maddy turned, bowed her head and walked down the stairs, the night taking her away. She reached the road, steps crunching beneath her, and then
pushed the door of the RV shut behind her.
โCome,โ Oliver whispered, grabbing Red by her elbow, dragging her with him to the front of the RV.
โWhere the fuck has Red just gone?โ he shouted, voice grating in his throat and Redโs ear.
The others gathered in behind. Just ๏ฌve of them now. Simon leaped over the driverโs seat to see. Arthur pressed in on Redโs other side. The muscles in his face were ๏ฌickering, a tortured look in his eyes as he stared out the windshield. He leaned forward, hands ๏ฌdgeting against his legs, nails digging in. This will work, Red wanted to tell him. It had to, because the alternative was unthinkable. They were wrong, Oliver was right.
He had to be right, holding on to her elbow, knife in the other hand, eyes focused ahead.
Red caught movement in her periphery and whipped around, staring out the windshield into the night.
There was Maddy.
Redโs blue-and-yellow shirt glowing in the headlights.
She was walking toward the truck, toward the driverโs-side door. Slowly, every step measured and calm, pressing into the road and peeling up.
There was something dangling from Maddyโs left hand. The keys. She had the keys. This was going to work. Red was wrong, she was wrong and she didnโt need to have said any last words at all, because it was working.
Her heart was in her throat, beating so hard she couldnโt hear the static anymore.
She was wrong, it was going to work.
Maddy was just a few feet from the truck now, movement in her neck, ponytail swinging as she glanced up.
โGo on,โ Oliver whispered, guiding her forward. Maddy stopped.
She reached out for the door handle.ย Crack.
