Was now a bad time for Red to say she had to pee?โ
โReyna.โ Oliver turned to her. โYou and Maddy go with Simon to ๏ฌnd the jack, and weโll need a wrench too. Something to remove the nuts.โ
โThatโs what she said,โ Simon whispered so only Red could hear. โArthur.โ Oliver pointed to him. โYou and me will get the spare tire.โ โOkay.โ
โWhat about me?โ Red said as the others picked up their feet and started to move.
โThink we are all heading in the same direction,โ Arthur said, beckoning for her to follow.
They were, moving as a group to the rear side of the RV, Maddy swiping the ๏ฌashlight up on her phone to help light the way. She pointed it at the side of the RV, the light glaring against the glossy o๏ฌ-white sides and the red-and-blue-stripe motif along the center. The RV seemed bigger from out here, a faint yellow glow leaking out of the windows. Maddy moved the beam lower, the ๏ฌashlight revealing three large storage units around the rear wheel, under the overhanging side.
Maddy opened the one at the very end, and Reyna knelt to have a look. โNo, thatโs the generator in there,โ she said. โNext one.โ
Red moved past them, following Arthur and Oliver as they walked around the back of the vehicle. A black ladder was attached here, running to the roof of the RV. And mounted beside it, in a canvas cover, was the spare tire.
Oliver gave it a slap.
โLet me just see something,โ Arthur said, planting one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. He pushed up, climbing fast, his phone a lump in the back pocket of his jeans. Not that Red was looking.
โWhat are you doing?โ Oliver called up to him as Arthur stepped out onto the roof of the RV. He might have lost himself to the dark sky if it werenโt for his white sweatshirt, glowing like the moon. Red looked up even farther and, hey, she could see the actual moon.
โJust wondering if I can see any lights nearby,โ Arthur replied, disappearing from sight as he walked farther along. The sounds of his shoes pattering. Red and Oliver waited for the answer.
โAnything?โ Oliver said. โArthur?โ
โEr, let me look over here andโฆโ Arthur grunted. โNo, I canโt see any.โ He came back, looming large over them as he turned and carefully guided his foot back to the ladder. โNo sign of civilization anywhere.โ
โDoesnโt matter,โ Oliver said as Arthur climbed down. โWeโll get this tire changed in no time and be on our way.โ
Arthur jumped to the ground, brushing o๏ฌ his knees as Oliver unzipped the canvas cover from the spare tire. He pulled at it and it rattled against its mount.
โHey, have you found a wrench or something?โ Oliver called to the others. โWe need it to get the spare down.โ
โYeah, gimme a sec,โ Reyna replied. She needed two seconds, actually, and then a four-pronged wrench appeared around the corner, before she even did. She held it out for Oliver. โHere. And we found a jack in the same compartment, with some wooden blocks, I think to get it high enough under the RV.โ
โGreat,โ Oliver said, handing Reyna back her phone. He braced the wrench in his hand, securing it over the ๏ฌrst lug nut. โCan you carry it all over to the front wheel?โ
โAlready on it,โ she said, disappearing again behind the RV.
โNeed a hand?โ Arthur asked as Oliver leaned his weight onto the wrench. The nut started to give and Oliver turned with it.
โAll good, I got it,โ he said, loosening it the whole way and removing the nut. Three more to go. โActually, could you shine a light?โ
โSure,โ Arthur said, removing his phone from his front pocket and ๏ฌicking on the ๏ฌashlight.
Red wasnโt any help, was she? Standing here looking at the moon. โItโs big tonight,โ Arthur said, following her eyes to the sky.
โThatโs what she said!โย came Simonโs faint call from the side of the RV. Red snorted, looking away when she noticed a ๏ฌush in Arthurโs cheeks. โHey, at least weโre out of the RV for a bit.โ She gestured to the wide-
open nothing all around them, wrapped in darkness. Dirt, low bushes, patches of high grass, and space. Lots of space. Up and down, this way and that. โMust say, exploding the tire with your mind was a slightly drastic measure.โ
Arthur clicked his tongue. โDesperate times,โ he said. โWhat do you think it could have been, really?โ
He shrugged. โProbably a sharp rock or glass, like Oliver said.โ And was Red imagining it, or did his voice sometimes soften for her? No, he was just nice to everybody.
โWe should never have come this way,โ Oliver said, summoned by his name. He removed the third nut. โI knew it couldnโt be right.โ
โItโs no oneโs fault.โ Arthur sni๏ฌed. โNot easy navigating without a working map.โ
Oliverโs silence said all it needed to; it was everyoneโs fault except his. โAt least itโs only raw tomatoes,โ Red said, โso you can still eat pizza.โ โWhat is she talking about?โ Oliver said, almost there with the ๏ฌnal nut.
โOh, my allergy.โ Arthur smiled, somehow staying with her. That was rare. Red lost most people at least a few times a day, sometimes a few times per conversation. โI know, not sure life would be worth it without pizza. Iโd just have to have a perma-rash.โ
โHey, grow a beard and no one would know,โ she said. It would probably look good on him too.
โDonโt know what the fuck you two are talking about, but Iโm done,โ Oliver said, straightening up. โHere, Red, run this up to the front.โ He placed the wrench in her hand, the metal warm where heโd been holding it. โThey can start loosening the nuts on the ๏ฌat before we jack it up.โ
โYes sir, right away sir.โ But she did it, she even ran, just like he said, rounding the RV and along the side, stones scattering under her feet.
She slowed, holding the wrench out to Reyna, who was crouched in front of the wheel, the metallic cover already removed and a bright red metal jack beside her, its lever up and ready. A pile of wide wooden blocks there too. โOliver said toโโ Red began.
โโYeah, I heard him,โ Reyna said, taking the wrench and positioning it over the ๏ฌrst nut. โHeโs got one of those voices that carries.โ
Reyna leaned into her arms, pushing down on the nut until it gave, loosening it a few turns before moving on to the next.
โHow often does your uncle use the RV?โ Maddy was asking Simon, picking at the side of her lip.
He shrugged, and it almost tipped him. โDonโt know. Heโs a bit weird.โ And then in explanation: โMy white uncle.โ
โAh,โ Maddy said, spinning on her heels at the sound of footsteps. Oliver and Arthur were walking over, the spare tire cradled in Arthurโs arms. Guess Oliver decided to let him help after all.
He dropped the tire down, the rubber jumping up to meet his hand again before he laid it on its side.
โHow you getting on?โ Oliver asked Reyna, leaning over her.
โLast one,โ she said with a grunt as it gave way, and she spun the wrench a couple of times. โAll loosened.โ
โGreat.โ Oliver rested his hand on her shoulder. A small touch. โLetโs get the jack in place.โ
Aย 12-ton hydraulic bottle jack,ย it said on the side in large black letters against the red. Oliver bent down, unscrewing the black top of the jack, the device growing taller with each turn.
โThatโs as high as it gets. Someone pass me those blocks.โ Simon pushed them over with one foot.
Oliver piled the blocks up, four high, beneath the outer metal frame of the RV, just behind the wheel. Then he placed the steel-plated bottom of the jack on top of the highest block, jiggling it to check it was secure enough. It would do, apparently, because Oliver turned his attention to the lever. He pulled it up and down, and again, and slowly the top of the device began to emerge from the base, reaching up for the bottom of the RV. Oliverโs arm pumped and pumped again. He settled down on his knees; this would take a minute.
Which was good, because Red just rememberedโ
โHey, Maddy, which side of the bed do you normally sleep on again?โ she said. โBecause Iโโ
โโThe left normally,โ Maddy said, watching as the jack disgorged itself, metallic and rigid. โBut Iโm easy.โ
โOh, thatโs ๏ฌne, Iโm normally the right,โ Red lied. And why did she need to? Maddy had just said she didnโt mind.
The top of the jack made contact with the frame of the RV, metal on metal, shining ghostly white as Maddy captured the moment in the ๏ฌashlight. A creaking sound as Oliver pulled the lever up and down and up. Slowly, the RV began to lift, the ๏ฌat tire unpuddling from the ground.
โLadies and gentlemen, we have lifto๏ฌ!โ Simon whooped, and the scrubland stole his voice, echoing it back, stripping it of anything human. An otherworldly cry in the night.
Red watched the RV, inching higher and higher, relieving the pressure on the torn-open tire.
โI have to pee.โ She suddenly remembered, voicing it as she did. โEver the lady,โ Simon commented.
โWell, you canโt go in the RV now weโve jacked it up,โ Oliver said, slightly breathless, slightly irritated, still pumping away at the lever. โYouโll have to ๏ฌnd a bush.โ
โI might upgrade to a tree, thanks,โ Red said, turning toward the back end of the RV and the thick trees theyโd come through that way. She couldnโt go somewhere in front of the RV; she didnโt know how far the headlights would
reach. Imagine: Arthur seeing her white ass, ๏ฌoating in the night. Red avoided his eyes.
โYou canโt go on your own,โ Maddy said, grabbing her arm. โItโs pitch-black.โ
โI have my phone.โ
โNo, but, I mean it might not be safe.โ She breathed out. โWhat if thereโs an axe-murderer or something?โ
โNo axe-murderers in South Carolina,โ Simon said. โOnly in North Carolina. Itโs chainsaws youโve gotta watch out for. And vampires.โ
โChainsaws. Vampires. Got it,โ Red said. โIโll keep my eyes peeled.โ โVampiresย loveย peeling eyes.โ
โRed?โ Maddy said.
โI couldโโ Arthur began.
โโIโll be ๏ฌne, Iโm just going over there. Be right back.โ
Red kept going toward the back, doubling her pace when Oliver called: โQuickly, we wonโt be long here!โ
Sheโd pee in her own time, thanks. Except now she was moving at a slow jog, and now more of a run, shoes scu๏ฌng against the rough road. The voices of the others faded behind her as she moved, just her and the moon now, and the whispering in the grass. She slowed to pull out her phoneโ11:21 p.m. and 65% battery, still very good for herโand swiped up to ๏ฌick on the ๏ฌashlight. Shadows stretched and shrank as she pooled the light around her, searching for a spot. There were plenty of shrubs and bushes around, but they were short, not much to hide behind. And she still wasnโt that far from the group.
Red went farther, farther, holding up the light to carve a path through the darkness. Her eyes alighted on a tree right ahead, alone, broken away from the others. Just like her. Branches spring-full of leaves, quivering as she approached. Had the tree been pushed out by the others or left of its own accord? Anyway, Red circled around the back of it, checking to be sure the trunk covered her. All good.
She put her phone down on the grass over there, a white glowing halo around it as the rest of the world fell to darkness. She fumbled for the button
on her jeans, unzipped, and pulled them down with her underwear, strapped around her ankles.
She squatted.
Sometimes it was di๏ฌcult to pee when she thought about it too hard. So she thought about something else, thought about how good it would feel when this night was ๏ฌnally over. Thought about whether her dad had managed to ๏ฌnd one of the ready-meals sheโd left him tonight, or if heโd passed out before he could. It wasnโt enough. Nothing she could do for him was enough. There was a ghost in Redโs house, and it wasnโt her mom. Dad needed help, proper help, and you needed money for that. But Red would take care of that for him soon; that was the plan. She just had to see everything through. Not that she could see anything right now, apart from the outline of her phone.
A snap in the trees. Redโs eyes ๏ฌicked up. It was dark, too dark, just black shapes among more black shapes. But there, right over there, something moved in the trees.
