by Elle Casey
Candi coughed. Or maybe she laughed, it was hard to tell. But she said nothing.
“Whatever,” said Sarah, frowning at she-who-has-no-faith sitting in the front seat. “What else?”
“The guys will want to do some kind of sports thing. Well, Kevin will want to anyway; and he’ll force Jonathan to do it with him.”
“Baseball mitts and gloves. Playing catch is easy to do in the woods,” said Sarah.
“What about archery? I think Jonathan would love that. It’s all about physics and geometry …”
“Good call,” agreed Sarah. “And he could put arrows in the bad guys’ hearts if they came for us.” Sarah felt especially excited about that part. With a biting dog and an arrow-shooting boyfriend and brother, their odds of survival were already going up. Maybe she could learn how to launch a few herself, be a modern-day Robin Hood.
Both girls were silent for a while, Sarah busy trying to imagine what she’d do all day, every day, with no school, no phone, and no internet. “This is going to seriously suck,” she said finally.
“I know. It’s depressing,” said Candi. “We’re going to miss graduation, probably.”
“And home-cooked meals, and the crowning of the prom king and queen, since they never did it at the dance. I wonder who will win with you guys gone.”
“My guess is it’ll be Gretchen and Barry,” said Candi, curling her lip in disgust.
“Yeah. Total pity-card, though. No one will vote for them because they deserve it,” said Sarah, sniffing. Stupid cheater and his ho-bag home-wrecker.
“You’re better off,” said Candi. “Stop making that face. You’re going to wrinkle permanently.”
Sarah immediately straightened her expression. Those friggin wrinkles needed to stay the heck away from her. “Thank you for the reminder.” She sighed. “So what else do we need to do? Now that we have the security problem figured out, we might as well solve all the rest of our problems.”
Before Candi could respond, Kevin and Jonathan walked up to the car and got in, a bag in each of their hands.
“So, what’d you get us?” asked Sarah, eager to see how awful their choices were. She opened the first bag and found jeans. “We told you not to get jeans!”
Kevin snatched them out of her hands. “Those aren’t for you. They’re for us. You get shorts, just like you ordered.”
Sarah frowned at him. “Touchy, touchy.”
“I’m tired and I’m hungry, so just put your stuff on and let’s go eat.”
Candi pulled out a small t-shirt with a rainbow pony on the front. “What in the heck?” She held it up towards Sarah. “I think this one is yours.”
“Oh, hellsbells no it’s not. This one’s mine,” she said, pulling out a blue one still in the bag. She opened it up, but the back of it was facing her.
Candi started laughing loudly. “Oh, yeah. You’re right. This one’s mine. That’s yours.” Candi scrambled to pull her dress down and put the pink shirt on.
Sarah slowly turned it around, her face going white when she saw the front of it. “I’m not fucking wearing this.”
“I thought you were going to stop cussing,” said Jonathan. There was no censure in his voice, but that didn’t matter.
“Did you buy me this nightmare?” she asked accusingly.
Jonathan’s face went red. “Uhhhh … maybe? I thought you’d like it … think it was cute … or not …,” he finished lamely. “Sorry. I guess I’m not good at shopping for girls.”
Sarah took a very deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to find her happy place. She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Fine. I’ll wear it. But when people point fingers and laugh hysterically like Sugar Lump is right now, you’d better just be prepared to suffer my wrath.”
“How about you go into the Wal Mart and buy something else?” suggested Kevin. “Wrath-suffering doesn’t sound like much fun, and we already have enough shit to deal with.”
The girls got into their new t-shirts and black gym shorts in record time. Thankfully, the bottoms weren’t as much of a disaster as the tops were. After donning their flip-flops and doing their best to right their hair, they nearly ran to the Wal-Mart. First, they stopped off in the bathrooms, and then they started walking towards the clothing department.
A man in a pea-green t-shirt and dirty jeans stopped them before they were ten feet into their trip. He looked like he was in his thirties, his hair slicked down to the side with something gross - probably not normal gel from the looks of it and very possibly just the oil from his scalp. Sarah shuddered at the thought.
“Excuse me …,” he said, holding up a hand to make them stop.
“Yeah, what?” asked Sarah. “We need to shop, do you mind?” The guy was blocking their path and obviously thought way more of himself than he should have. He was eyeing her up and down, practically drooling. Perv, she thought, grimacing at the idea of this turd getting anywhere near her.
“Just relax, babe. I just wanted to ask you a question.”
“What?”
“I just wanted to know if you really do?”
Sarah frowned at him, annoyed and completely confused now. “If I really do what?”
He gestured at her shirt. “If you really do like choo-choos.”
Sarah looked down at the choo-choo train decal on her shirt, a big puff of smoke coming out of its stack, the accompanying lettering declaring to the world how she allegedly felt about locomotives. Then she looked up and gave him the most sarcastic smile she could possibly muster before answering, “Not when they look like you do, I don’t.” And then she stormed off in a huff. Candi followed behind, an occasional snort escaping to mix with her giggles.
***
The girls made short work of the shopping trip. They bought not only clothes but necessities like bottled water, trail mix and antacids for Sarah’s occasional stomach issues, shampoo, conditioner, soap, gel, a brush, a comb, and toothbrushes and toothpaste. Candi added knitting needles, yarn, a how-to pamphlet, a Scrabble board game and a deck of cards. Sarah found a somewhat heavy-duty archery set in the sporting good section, a couple of mitts and a baseball. Their cart was loaded.
“I cannot wait to brush my fuzzy teeth,” said Candi as they walked out to the car.
“You’re telling me. I can’t wait to get out of this I Love Choo-Choos t-shirt.”
Candi giggled again. She couldn’t help it. Every time she saw that silly picture of the lunatic smiling train it just killed her. She wisely decided to keep her comments to herself, though. Sarah was on a hair-trigger with her mood. She needed some food or they were all going to suffer.
“Let’s go,” said Sarah. “Time to eat.” Sarah pulled off her blue shirt, not caring who saw her in her bra, putting on the white tee she’d bought instead. It had a cute flower design over the front, kind of surfer-girl in style. It suited her tan and highlighted hair. Candi left the pink rainbow pony shirt on, shoving the bag filled with toiletries down by her feet. “I’m starving. Breakfast?” she asked, looking over at Kevin.
He nodded, winking at her but saying nothing as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road leading to the diner. He looked like he was too tired to even speak at this point. Candi reached over and rubbed his upper arm. “I’ll drive next, okay?”
He nodded again, putting on the turn signal to go into the restaurant’s parking lot. Once there, they unbuckled.
“Should we split up?” asked Jonathan.
“What do you mean?” asked Candi, her hand on the door handle.
“I think we should eat separately. As couples. Sarah and me, and you two.”
“Do you really think that’s necessary?” asked Kevin.
“Maybe it’s overkill, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Kevin shrugged. “Fine. You two go first. We’ll follow in a couple minutes and sit on our own. Give us some of the cash.”
Jonathan took the envelope out of the hiding spot they’d made behind the middle armrest in the back
seat and handed Kevin a hundred dollar bill. After collecting the shopping change from the girls, giving him and Sarah thirty dollars to use for their breakfast, he opened the door and stepped out, coming around to get Sarah’s door for her.
Once the door was shut and they were alone, Candi leaned her head on the headrest, facing Kevin. “Are you scared?”
He turned sideways and took one of her hands in his. “Nah. Just tired. My brain’s a little muddy right now, so maybe I’ll be scared after I’ve slept.” He laced his fingers in hers. “Are you?”
“Yes. Very. At that house … I’ve never seen so much blood … never in my whole life. It was nothing like the movies. You could smell it, even.” Her stomach churned a little with the memory of it all.
“Yeah. Pretty disgusting. And that guy was totally bad news. Zero conscience. If we had let him up, he would have killed us in a second. I can’t believe you guys fought him off and were able to tie him up without our help.”
Candi smiled. “You’ll have to thank your sister for that. I hardly did anything. I was sleeping when he came in.” Candi shuddered at the idea of ending up like those FBI agents had. It would have been not only her worst nightmare but also her parents’ too.
“I think our time on the island really was good in that way - it got us fit and doing things we normally wouldn’t have,” said Kevin. “I mean, we stared death in the face in that lifeboat and on our way back home … and lived to tell about it.”
“Yeah, and you literally stared death in the face when your head went into the water right in the middle of all those sharks.”
Kevin chuckled. “Yeah. Man, I was so scared I nearly pissed myself.”
“Really?” Candi shook her head. “You were so cool about it. And sick. I didn’t think you even knew what was going on, really.”
Kevin lifted up her hand and kissed the back of it. “The first day or two was fuzzy, but after that, I remember everything. Every last detail. I never want to forget it.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long time, Candi’s mind racing to the days that she mooned after him but thought there wasn’t a chance in the world that he’d ever feel the same way about her.
“I thank God every day for that shipwreck,” said Kevin softly.
Candi felt tears prick her eyes. “Me too.” She cleared her rough throat. “Do you think we’ll feel the same about this stuff … after it’s all over?”
“Let’s hope so,” he said, leaning forward to share a deep, passionate kiss with her.
Candi let herself get carried away with it for a little while, reveling in the heat that seeped into her bones.
“Mmmmm,” he growled deep in his throat, pulling away finally. “We’d better not do that, or I’ll just give up on the whole idea of eating all together.”
Candi smiled. “Come on, let’s go. There’s a whole plate of pancakes in there with my name on it.”
Kevin got out and waited for her to join him in front of the car. “Let’s see,” he said, draping his arm across her shoulders as they walked to the front door, “pancakes sounds good … and sausage, and bacon, and eggs, and bagels, and a couple pastries, three pieces of pie, and …”
“We’re on a budget,” said Candi, smiling to herself over her boyfriend’s insatiable appetite. Her grandmother would have asked him if he had a hollow leg where he was putting it all.
“Oh. Okay, scratch the pie, then.” He opened the door and followed Candi inside.
Candi tried not to look at her brother and Sarah, but it was impossible. They were smiling at each other over milkshakes and seemed so in love. She was going to have to remind them to be more chill in public. They were attracting the attention of everyone in the room. She tore her gaze away from the raw emotion she saw there and took a left, sitting along the window on the other side of the room.
Kevin dropped into the chair opposite her and picked up the menu that was waiting. “Okay … pancakes? Get into my belly …”
He went on to command what seemed like half the menu to join the pancakes in his stomach, and Candi just smiled as the words flowed over her. Life sucks … but it could suck a whole lot worse. She couldn’t imagine what a mess her head would be in right now if she didn’t have her little family along with her on this horrible misadventure.
Chapter Four
Stockpiles and Watchkeepers
JONATHAN TOOK THE FIRST DRIVING shift after they’d finished breakfast. He was about to pass the next exit when he spied a Costco sign. At the last second he made his decision and swerved off the highway, coasting down the exit ramp to the traffic signal below.
“What the heck, babe?” asked Sarah, jerked awake by the movement of the car. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I think we should get supplies here before we get too close to our destination.” He pulled up to a stoplight near the store. “Wake the others, would you? I’d like to make a group decision on this.”
Sarah leaned into the back and grabbed Candi’s and Kevin’s legs, shaking them awake. Jonathan watched their bodies jiggling back and forth in the mirror.
“Mmmmph … wha …,” mumbled Candi.
Kevin just kept snoring.
“We need to take a vote. To Costco or not to Costco; that is the question,” said Sarah.
Jonathan nodded. “Shakespeare. Nice.”
“I know my lit-tra-ture,” she said in a funny English accent.
“What?” said Candi, still obviously disoriented. “Did you say Costco? We’re at Costco? Why?”
“Jonathan says we should stock up. And I for one agree with that. Fifty boxes of macaroni and cheese? Why yes, thank you very much.” Sarah licked her lips. “Yummers for my tummers.”
“Ugh. No thank you,” said Candi, sitting up straighter. She rubbed her eyes a few times before nudging Kevin. “Come on, Kevin. Time to shop.”
“Nooooo, I don’t wanna shop anymore,” he moaned, putting the back of his arm over his eyes.
The light turned green, so Jonathan pulled ahead and into the parking lot of the wholesale store. “I think we should get supplies really far from our final destination so no one recognizes us and figures out that we’re staying close by. If someone sees us here and does recognize us, they’ll assume we’re staying in this town, so that would be good.”
“Sounds smart,” said Candi, sighing.
“Yeah, but someone needs to guard the car. That’ll be me,” said Kevin. His knee jammed into Jonathan’s back as he sank lower in his seat.
“Candi and I will go in. You and Sarah sleep. I’ll leave the keys. If anyone looks suspicious, just go. We’ll meet you at the gas station one block that way,” Jonathan said, pointing in the direction they’d just come from. “The one with the big green sign. You guys see it?”
Sarah nodded. “I see it. And I’m okay with you guys leaving me behind to nap, but if you don’t come back with mac and cheese, heads are gonna roll.”
“We will buy two cases, don’t worry,” said Jonathan. “Ready?” He looked at his sister in the back seat, concerned about the dark circles under her eyes. Maybe doing something other than worrying would perk her up. Girls liked to shop, especially at Costco.
“Yeah. Come on,” she said, getting out of the back seat.
Sarah had already gotten comfortable, reclining back.
“See you soon,” Jonathan said, shutting the door. He tapped on the glass. “Lock the doors.” He waited until he saw the buttons go down before he left to join Candi standing at the back of the car.
“How are we going to get in? Don’t they have membership cards here?”
“Yeah. I have one from the FBI guys. Took it out of his wallet. He looks enough like me he could be my dad. Hopefully, they won’t check too closely.”
They grabbed a cart and made it through the first barrier, the guy at the door checking to make sure that they had a card.
“One down, one to go,” whispered Jonathan under his breath. “Okay, what do we need in order to fully st
ock this cabin?”
“Well, assuming it’s furnished and has sheets and pillows and junk, we’ll need just food and drinks and stuff to prepare food with, like spices and oil. Peanut butter and jelly would be good too.”
“I wish it wasn’t Sunday. I’d love to go into a library and do some research.”
“For what?” asked Candi, adding a couple of items to the cart, one of them a recipe book.
“First, we have to find a cabin rental. Then we need to check the news, to see if the police responded to our anonymous phone call.”
“And Sarah and I want to get a dog at an adoption place,” added Candi.
Jonathan stopped pushing the cart. “What for?”
“Security. Plus, it’ll give us something to do … training the dog and stuff.”
Jonathan nodded, considering how dogs were much better suited to guard duty in the dark than humans were. “I think that’s an excellent idea. We’ll research that too, then.” He moved to the aisle with the giant bags of dog food and hefted one over, sliding it under the main basket. They made their way through the rest of the store, filling the cart to the top with canned and dried foods and drinks. Jonathan would have liked to add some other things, but resisted the urge to buy items that might spoil. They’d have to risk going to a somewhat local grocery store for those things. Maybe the girls could come up with a disguise so they’d be harder to identify, in case the FBI put some sort of alert out for them.
When they neared the checkout, Jonathan started to feel panicky. “Candi, you go wait at the door.”
“Why? You’re going to need help.”
“No, I have the cart. I don’t want them to see us together. We’re less likely to be recognized from pictures if we’re alone. They’re looking for four kids, two couples, or brother and sister groups … not single teens.”
Candi went back to looking frightened. Her voice came out sounding strangled. “Fine. I’ll see you outside.”
Jonathan nodded, turning his attention back to navigating his heavy cart into the shortest line. The place was pretty full, and he had four people ahead of him with hundreds of items in their carts total. It was plenty of time to become quite nervous over the idea that he might be rejected at the checkout for using someone else’s card. What are the odds that this card has been reported stolen or missing? Hmmm… probably one in ten thousand or more. I’m probably good there. And what are the odds that someone in this store has seen a picture of me on the news? Factors: we are out of the county we were in when it occurred. Point in our favor. We are near the state line, so almost out of the state even. Another point in our favor. I am alone and not with three others. But I don’t know if they’re showing all our pictures individually or as a group, so I can’t be sure whether that’s in my favor or a point against … He continued adding and subtracting points until he got to the register, still no closer to knowing if he was about to be caught red-handed or not when he gave the cashier the card.
