felt the vibrations traveling up through the floorboards and into her b

, Erling and Brande stood side by side. Erlin

arp laugh. The sound carr

a manicured finger at the departing car. "Even our garden

inoculars. A cruel s

Erling said. "She will beg

r swollen red cheek. She stared at the trail of black smoke disap

dle above the door frame. The vehicle bounced

uckles were white. He kept glancing at Dakota in the r

the cabin. "The car we arranged broke down on the highway. I had to

cracked dashboard.

ice was calm. She did not complai

ung lady to scream at him. Her sile

ading toward the city. The speedometer needl

pop sounded from

exploded from the front grill. It plaste

ht on the dashboard flashed to life. A hig

t. The tires skidded against the asphalt. The car bumped over the shoulder of the

He shoved his door open and

he face. Gus coughed violently,

o the grass. She walked to the front of the car,

His shoulders slumped. He

d. His voice was full of def

y highway. Trees lined both sides.

from the city?

f his cheek with th

e cannot get a cab out here. A

om lip. He looke

than half a mile up the road," Gus said. He started backing away

were going to call a car. He said he was g

re," Dakota sai

and started sprinting down the edge of the hig

. She grabbed her canvas backpack from the pas

the side pocket of her bag and pulled out a plastic water bottle. She twis

tore through the quiet air. It came

scream followed th