โEveryone get down!โโ
Red dropped to her knees, her chest tightening around her hummingbird heart. She couldnโt breathe, she felt like she couldnโt breathe.
โMaddy, get away from that window,โ Oliver said, the panic cutting up his voice. โCome here.โ
Simon was huddled in front of the refrigerator, Reyna by the kitchen counter. Maddy crawling up beside Oliver under the dining table. And Arthur was crouched here, next to her.
โI tried to get you,โ he said quietly. โIโm sorry.โ
โWhat did you see, Red?โ Reyna asked her, her dark brown eyes too wide, shoulders hitching as she spoke. โYou saw them?โ
Red shook her head, gulping to force the air through. โNo. No, I didnโt see anybody. I saw a dot,โ she said. โA red dot, on the side of the RV. Before we heard the shot. Someone shot at the RV.โ
โA red dot?โ Simon stared at her. โLike a laser sight?โ โI think so.โ
Simon screwed up his face. โThis canโt be real,โ he said, tilting his head. โNo, this really canโt be real. Are you sure it was really a gun? Couldnโt someone just have a laser pointer, and made the sound to scare us?โ
โWhat are you talking about?โ Arthur asked him.
โIโm saying, letโs not panic.โ Simonโs words slurred as he forced them out. โMaybe itโs not what it seems. This could just be a prank. The guys from school knew we were stopping over near here. Maybe they followed us. Trying to scare us.โ
โWhy would they do that?โ Maddyโs voice shook.
โI donโt know. Rob and Taylor are always pulling shit like this. Fucking sadists. And they donโt like me. You know theyโโ
โItโs real, Simon,โ Red said, cutting him o๏ฌ. โI saw the bullet hole in the side of the RV. I was right next to it.โ
His face rearranged, cold fear taking over his eyes. It made it all worse somehow, watching the sudden change in Simon.
โOh my god,โ Maddy said, trying not to cry. Red knew that face well. โHe shot at you, Red?โ
Not really, but it had been close enough. A couple of feet. The red dot must have touched her on its way. She didnโt like that.
โCalm down.โ Oliver squeezed Maddyโs hand. โSomeone shot at us, but Iโm sure this is all some kind of misunderstanding, okay?โ
Simon sco๏ฌed. โSure, just a misunderstanding. Thereโs a sniper out there with a high-powered ri๏ฌe and a laser sight whoโs decided to use us as target practice. But yeah, just a misunderstanding.โ
Heโd changed his tune.
โMaybe it was a warning shot,โ Oliver said.
โSix,โ Arthur corrected him. โSix shots. He shot out all the tires.โ โRight. But maybe weโre trespassing on his land or something.โ โOliver,โ Reyna said.
โWhat? This is the South.โ He shu๏ฌed forward, out from under the table, leaving Maddy behind. She looked so small under there. โIโve got an idea,โ he said, crouching low as he moved forward, toward the sofa bed, eyes on the window above it.
โOliver, what are you doing?โ Reyna hissed.
โIโm just going to explain what weโre doing here. Iโm sure this is all a misunderstanding.โ
Not sure enough to stand up, though. Clearly Oliver had never been in a situation he couldnโt talk his way out of. Red didnโt think this would be one of those.
Keeping his head low, behind the sofa, Oliver slowly reached up and unlatched the window, sliding it a few inches open, letting the darkness in.
โHello!โ he called, up and out the gap in the window. โIโm sorry if weโre on your land, we got lost!โ
Red should tell him it was pointless. The shooter was using a laser sight to help him aim, which meant he was probably more than shouting distance away, out there in the wide-open nothing. Oliver wouldnโt listen, though, even if she did.
โWe were just trying to leave!โ Oliver shouted, louder now. โWe wonโt say anything if you let us leave! Iโm sure you have a license!โ
Red looked back at Arthur. He was ๏ฌdgeting, nervously tapping the top of his leg. And so was she, it turned out, picking at the seams of her front pocket. She checked in with Maddy on the other side, half under the table, strange downward shadows on her face.
Then Simon gasped. He pointed, and Red whipped her head around, following the line of his ๏ฌnger. To the front of the RV, and the back of the driverโs seat. Right there, against the very top of the headrest, was the red dot.
โItโs inside,โ Simon whispered, terror reshaping his face again. โWhat?โ Reyna couldnโt see.
Red looked away from the dot, tracing it back to its point of origin. โItโs coming through that window. Oliver, watch ouโโ
She didnโt ๏ฌnish and the window exploded above him. Shattering into a million million pieces that rained down as he covered his head with his arms. Shards that shimmered as they fell, scattering around Red and Arthur too.
Maddy screamed.
โOliver!โ Reyna shouted. โAre you okay?โ
He raised his head carefully, surveying his arms, touching his face as though afraid it might not still be there.
โIโm ๏ฌne,โ he said, his voice emptied out with the shock. โFine.โ He shook his shoulders, glass glittering as it clung to his shirt. He swiped at his
arms, and the last few shards dusting his hair. Lucky he didnโt seem to be cut anywhere. Lucky like a Lavoy.
โYeah, just a warning shot,โ Simon said, a tremble in his hand as he ๏ฌicked a piece of glass away. Had Red ever seen him scared before? Ever? Simon Yoo was supposed to be fearless.
โWell, youโre the one who thought it was a fucking prank,โ Oliver growled suddenly, coming through the shock. โFuck this. Thereโs obviously some maniac out there. We need to get out of here, right now. First we need to cover the windows. Turn down the lights so he canโt see us inside. Simon, can you?โ
Simon was closest to the light switches. He glared at Oliver.
โJust reach up and dim them. You arenโt by a window. Youโll be okay.โ
Simonโs legs shook as he raised himself up from the ๏ฌoor, using the handle on the refrigerator for balance. He reached out to the panel of switches beside the fridge, quickly turning the knobs as far as they would go without clicking o๏ฌ. The lights in the living area of the RV lowered to their darkest setting, a weak, murky yellow.
โGood. Okay.โ Oliver nodded to the rest of them, digging a small shard of glass out of his collar. โRight, now we need to close all the blinds and curtains.โ
Red nodded. They had to keep out that deadly red dot.
Oliver saw her. โOkay, Red, you do the blind on the broken window.โ Why? He was right next to it.
โArthur, you take the curtain on the front right window.โ
โI see,โ Arthur said to Red. โWe get the side with the sniper.โ
Oliver ignored him. โMaddy and I will do the windows by the dining table.โ
Yep, on the safe side, Arthur had called it.
โReyna, you take the curtain front left, by the driverโs seat, once Arthur has closed his. Weโll leave the windshield so we can drive out of here. And Simon, you get the one by the bunks.โ
So Simon had made it to the non-sniper side too, then.
โOh and close the bedroom door while youโre there; thereโs a big window at the back there too.โ
โWhat about the window on the door?โ Simon said, gesturing to it with his head.
โOh yeah. Red, can you grab that one too?โ Sounds fair.
โOkay, everyone.โ Oliver clapped his hands and they all ๏ฌinched at the sound, too close to the crack of the ri๏ฌe. โLetโs do it. Go, go, go!โ
Red pushed up into a low crouch, her shoes crunching against the sparkling glass as she lunged forward, passing Oliver. She took a breath and stood up, slowly, her leg catching on the small ๏ฌre extinguisher mounted to the wall here. She turned and tucked herself sideways in the thin gap between the blown-apart window and the one in the door. Trying not to think about the red dot, but of course now she had. With her left hand, she reached out for the chain hanging by the window, quivering in the outside breeze that wasnโt outside anymore. She pulled, and the cream-colored shades started to descend. Too slowly.
โCome on,โ she willed it, glancing aside to see Arthur ripping the black curtain closed ahead of her in the cockpit, Reyna now venturing out to hers.
Red pulled, too hard, the shade jamming. โFuck you,โ she said, reversing the chain a few turns to set it right and then drawing it down the rest of the way. The wind laughed at her, playing with the bottom of the shade, pushing it out a few inches and sucking it back in.
Red turned her head the other way, catching Simon as he closed the door to the bedroom at the back. She reached up with her right hand, over and out to the catch at the top of the window in the door. She held her breath and dragged it down in one quick movement, the dark shade locking in place at the bottom.
Only now did Oliver rise up, beckoning Maddy to do the same. They leaned over the booths at the dining table, unhooking the tiebacks and pulling both sides of the curtains across. Red still couldnโt work out what the patterns in those curtains reminded her of. It was on the tip of her brain, really. So annoying. It wasnโt that guy fromย SpongeBob,ย was it? The grumpy one with
the clarinet. Oh, damn it, what was his name again? And what was that smell that was following her, bittersweet and cloying? Was it coming from her? Red looked down and raised her shoe. The bottom of her sole was dirty and wet with something. She sni๏ฌed. Was that gas?
โOkay, good work everyone,โ Oliver said, out of breath, like heโd had the di๏ฌcult job there. Aย thanksย would be nice. โRight, letโs get out of here. Reyna, where are the keys?โ He held out his palm toward her.
โHow?โ Maddy asked him. โAll the tires are blown out.โ
โThe RV will still move,โ Oliver said. โSlowly, and it will likely cause irreparable damage to the wheels, but I think we have bigger problems right now.โ
Why would there be gas on Redโs shoes?
โReyna, keys!โ He snapped his ๏ฌngers impatiently.
She patted the pockets on her hoodie, at the back of her jeans, a look of horror dawning in her eyes.
โI donโt have them. I donโt know where they are.โ
Red had seen her take them, after the four tires were shot out.
โWhat do you mean?โ Oliver rounded on her. โYou had them. You were driving!โ
โI know, I know.โ She ran her hands nervously through her black hair. โMaybe I dropped them when I was running, I donโt know.โ
โOutside?!โ Oliver was shouting again. โMaybe, I donโt know, Iโm sorry!โ
โWell, whoโs going to go outside and get them, Reyna?!โ โNobodyโs going outside,โ Simon interjected.
โIโve got them,โ Arthur said. Nobody listened except Red. โIโve got them!โ he shouted over the others, pointing to the kitchen, behind the counter where Reyna had hidden. Arthur stepped forward and picked the keys up, rattling them to make the point. โHere,โ he said, chucking them over to Oliver, who barely caught them, fumbling them against his chest.
โOkay, ๏ฌne,โ he said, shooting a quick โSorryโ over in Reynaโs direction. And Red couldnโt help but wonder: Who would Oliver have made go outside to get them?
โIโll drive,โ he said, passing his sister and his girlfriend on the way up to the driverโs seat. And Red hadnโt noticed before, but there was now a bullet-sized hole in the headrest, white stu๏ฌng escaping through the ripped plastic. Imagine if that hole was inside one of them. No, donโt, because then sheโll think of two bullets to the back of the headโฆright, see? And anyway, she needed to concentrate on thinking about why her shoes smelled like gas, and everything else.
Oliver settled down into the seat, cricking the bones in his neck. He cleared his throat. โIโll get us out of here,โ he said, like a promise or a threat. He pushed the key into the ignition and turned it.
The engine coughed, empty sputters one after the other. That sound you never wanted to hear.
โWhat?โ Oliver said, staring down at the key in disbelief. He tried again.
The engine gasped and spluttered, taking its dying breath.
โWhat?!โ Oliver roared. He ๏ฌicked his head to check the fuel gauge. โWeโre out of gas. That doesnโt make sense. We ๏ฌlled up again at nine oโclock. It should be three-quarters full, at least. How is it empty?โ
He punched the steering wheel. Again. And again. An inhuman sound in his throat.
โThatโs what he was aiming for,โ Red said, glancing down at her shoes, understanding now. โNot me. He was aiming for the gas tank.โ
โWhat?โ Oliver turned back, his face patchy and red. โHe shot out the gas tank,โ she said.
โWhy?โ Maddy asked.
Red had an answer. The others probably did too, but Simon was the one who gave voice to it.
โSo we canโt leave.โ
The RV was going nowhere. And here they were, the six of them, trapped inside it, the wide-open nothing and the red dot waiting for them out there.
