Trapped.โ
Shut in.
Only thirty-one feet to share between them, that extra foot important enough not to round down.
โWhy would he want to trap us here?โย Maddy asked, her pupils too wide, dark pools eating away the color of her eyes.ย โWhat does he want with us?โ
โI donโt know,โย Oliver answered, pushing up from the driverโs seat, one more punch to the wheel for luck.ย โHe probably lives around here, and we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I told you we should never have come down this road.โ
โLike you predicted this was going to happen?โย Simon said, a surprising note of anger in his voice, an unsteadiness to his tread. Red should get him some water. He needed to sober up, fast. His instincts were dulled, his reactions, and he would need those tonight.
โI said it was the wrong way and none of you listened!โ
In the kitchen, Red opened the cupboard mounted high beside the microwave. She removed a glass and guided it to the shiny-clean sink,ย ๏ฌicking on the faucet andย ๏ฌlling it near full.
โWe had no service. We were lost,โย Arthur said, a forced calm in his voice that no one else had right now.
โHere.โย Red handed the glass of water to Simon, telling him with her eyes to drink it. At least she didnโt have to hold the glass for him, like with her dad sometimes.
โIt was Red,โย Oliver said, not looking at her.ย โShe insisted we come down this road. And you two.โย He pointed at Arthur and Simon.ย โYou three were navigating. This is your fault.โ
Simon stepped forward, splashing some of the water on his shirt. The other patch hadย ๏ฌnally just dried.ย โBy the same logic, I could say it was Reynaโs fault we got stuck here. Because she was driving and refused to turn around.โ
โI couldnโt turn around!โย Reyna said.
โEveryone, please!โย Maddy slapped her hand on the dining table three times.ย โThis is not helping. Itโs no oneโs fault weโre here. But we are, okay? And we have to work together toย ๏ฌgure out what to do.โ
โThereโs nothing we can do,โย Simon said, near hysterical now.ย โUnless someone also happened to pack a ri๏ฌe for spring break and we can snipe him back.โ
Red mimed for him to drink up.
โIs there still no service?โย Maddy said, answering her own question as she looked down at the lock screen on her phone.ย โShit. Nothing.โ
โCanโt you call emergency services without a signal?โย Simon said, still not drinking.ย โI swear Iโve seen it in a movie before.โ
It didnโt work like that, Red knew. Sheโd asked that question before herself, years ago on a family vacation in Yellowstone.
โYeah,ย โcause sometimes it comes up sayingย No serviceโemergency calls only,โย Reyna added.
โThatโs only if your phone can piggyback onto another network,โย Red said, her momโs answer now becoming hers.ย โThereโs clearly no service from any network here.โ
โTry it,โย Oliver said, ignoring her.ย โTry, Maddy.โ
Maddy unlocked her phone, her tongue tucked between her teeth as she concentrated. She brought up the keypad and carefully typed inย 9-1-1.
She waited for a nod from Oliver, then she pressed the green button and
raised the phone to her ear.
They waited. The seconds stretching into eternity as Maddy closed her eyes to concentrate harder. It was one of those things she did that made her Maddy. Like when they were ten and she thought you had to ring the doorbell every time you left or came home, even if no one else was in and you had the key. That shrill, insistent bell in one held note, standing outside the Lavoysโย house. Funny how Red could remember some things like that, yet she couldnโt remember to call AT&T. She wondered what were the things that Maddy thought made Red Red?
Maddy exhaled, her chest sinking.ย โNothing,โย she said quietly, letting the phone fall to her side.
Oliver swiped at her arm, grabbing the phone.ย โNo network connection,โย he read from the alert on the screen.ย โFuck.โย He dropped the phone back into Maddyโs hands, worthless to him.
Well, Red did say.
โSomeone might have called the cops, though,โย Maddy said, not ready to give up yet.ย โI know itโs late.โย She glanced at her phone.ย โItโs four minutes past midnight, and most people are probably in bed. But someone must have heard the gunshots and called the police, right? There were farms and houses not too far back.โ
โThe shots werenโt loud,โย Red said.ย โEven we couldnโt tell what it was atย ๏ฌrst. Just the sound of the tires bursting.โ
โItโs a ri๏ฌe?โย Maddy doubled down.
But Red had heard these guns before, a memory she tried to push away. The three-volley ri๏ฌe salute at the funeral. A line of o๏ฌcers in uniform, aiming over theย ๏ฌag-draped casket. The road beyond the cemetery blocked with what felt like every squad car in the city, top lights spinning, painting the world red and blue.ย Ready to aim. Fire.ย Three times. A crack like thunder, riding through the sky, shaking the bones inside you. And those had even been blanks. So loud. Unmistakable. Piercing through the bagpipes as they
playedย โAmazing Grace,โย which was funny in a way because her name had been Grace. The Lavoys should know; they were all there too. Catherine standing with one hand on Redโs shoulder, squeezing when the ri๏ฌes went o๏ฌ. Redโs dad didnโt even cry, standing on her other side. No, he saved all his falling apart for after.
โRed?โย Arthur said.
Oh no, theyโd been talking without her.
โI think Redโs right,โย Simon said, the glass in his hands only half full now.ย โIt wasnโt even loud enough for us to know it was a gunshot. I think he must be using a suppressor.โ
โA what?โย asked Reyna.
โA silencer,โย Simon explained.ย โAnd yes, all of my worldly knowledge does come from movies, but that doesnโt mean it isnโt valid.โ
โSo you think nobody heard?โย Maddy de๏ฌated even more, if that was possible.ย โNobody called the cops?โ
Simon shrugged.ย โI think we canโt count on it.โ
โNo, we canโt count on it,โย Oliver repeated, picking up the sentiment, chewing on some silent thought.ย โWe make our own luck,โย he said to Maddy alone, a Lavoy expression that often got wheeled out. Which must mean that Red was terrible at making hers.
Maddy looked back at her brother, a new glint in her eye.ย โMake our own luck,โย she said.ย โWell, if no one heard the gunshots, then maybe theyโll hear this.โ
Before anyone could say anything, Maddy charged to the front of the RV, leaned across the driverโs seat and pressed her thumb into the wheel.
The horn screamed, rupturing the quiet of just-past-midnight. One long note, then four short bursts.
โMaddy?โย Red said. She didnโt like her standing so close to that bullet hole in the driverโs seat. On the other side, the shade over the smashed window swayed in the wind, like a silent threat from the outside world. No, not Maddy.
Maddy leaned the heel of her hand into the horn, as though she could make it louder that way.
โMaddy,โย Arthur said, a tension in his jaw as he eyed the broken window.ย โMaybe we shouldnโtโโ
Three loud beeps cut him o๏ฌ.
โSomeone will hear!โย Maddy shouted, determined.ย โSomeone willโโ
Red felt it more than she heard it. A rush of air to her right. The shade shuddering, dancing against itsย ๏ฌxings, a new hole ripped through it.
Maddy screamed.
โNo, Maddy!โย Red screamed harder.
