The forceful slam of the door rocked the car back and forth violently. Still lying down flat, the child jolted with fright at the jarring impact. Small dust clouds puffed into the air as Dee marched, arms folded, toward the store front. Two pairs of ebony eyes tracked her movements before the now familiar door chime rang for a third time.
Sy watched the slender grey hooded figure move in toward the young attendant. “Marv, do you know what’s happening? Why did she just exit the vehicle like that?” he asked fixated in the direction of the store. He got no reply. Only a soft, steady breath from the corner of the rear seat dissipating throughout the interior. She had now stopped just short of the attendant, appearing to search for something within the enclosure he occupied.
“Marv.” He called out again. This time, he turned his neck to face the giant when no answer was given once more. “Quiet, Sy. I don’t know what your precious wife is planning on doing, but I do know that it’s putting us all at great and unnecessary risk?” Sy glanced back at the pair as the attendant seemed to be mouthing something to her. “Well, why doesn’t one of us go in there then? Instead of just sitting here doing nothing.” Marv remained unmoving, locked onto Dee like a panther ready to pounce. “Just give it a second, Sy.” he responded before muttering a select few garbled words straight after. The tension was palpable and suffocating Sy’s ability to think clearly. Time seemed to have stretched out before him as moments endured far longer than they should have.
“Marv.” Sy continued. “Do you think Dee really loves me?”
One subtle head turn later and a menacing face glowered down upon him. Sy felt as insignificant as the brown, dried leaves outside being scattered at the mercy of the winds. “What in the hell kind of time is this to be asking…?”
A chilling scream grabbed their distracted attentions as both men shot a horrified glance back to the store. Dee was nowhere to be seen as was the attendant. “Goddamn it, don’t move from here. Stay the hell put!” were the last words he heard before a huge shadow appeared to vault over the car and hurtled through the main entrance. A disfigured mosaic of glass shards spread across the shop floor. Sy brought both hands over his mouth. Marv was staring panic-stricken at the floor where the attendant once stood. He said something inaudible to Dee but the look of concern on Marv’s face said more than any combination of words possibly could have. Trouble had arrived and it wasn’t taking any prisoners.
As Marv moved closer to examine the scene, Sy couldn’t help himself but open the car door. “What’s going on?” he cried out. A large open palm reared up toward him. Marv’s gaze remained rooted to the floor. He turned back round to check on the boy. This time, he was sitting up and looking straight at him. Still not a sound made, but just an expression of pure neutrality. Almost as if he was peering straight through him. A state of catatonic contentment, lost to the world through a wormhole in his mind. Was this a human child’s way of dealing with shock, he wondered. Going into total shutdown?
“Sy! Get into the back of the car. Watch the child!”
As if guided by a remote hand, Sy scurried to the rear side door and bolted in. He looked to his left to embrace a vision that drained all semblance of reality from him. Marv hurried out of the fragmented store front carrying Dee in his strong, inflated arms. Her previous greyed tracksuit top was now soaked in blood from neck to breast. She bounced around like a rag doll as he crossed the compound. All traces of the soldier-esque female political freedom fighter he discovered only a few short days ago seemed to have vanished. Marv trotted at a steady pace so as not to cause her any further distress. He opened the front passenger door and placed her delicately upon the seat. A split second later, he himself was clambering into the driver’s side.
Sy gripped the two edges of the seats in front and pulled forward to inspect Dee for himself. A smear of bright red stained the tops of his fingers as he did so. “Dee.” he said with a trembling voice as the car sparked into life. “What’s happened. What have you done?”
The tyres squealed upon the ground until finding their footing. A mere moment later, the gas station was shrinking into the distance as the blue Ford roared down the highway. Sy began reaching a tepid hand out to touch Dee’s somehow unsullied face when Marv bellowed beside him. “Sy, listen up! Secure the kid in the back! Put a seatbelt on him pronto!” In a fluster, he spun round to find the boy huddled in the corner, arms folded across his face. He lunged for the strap whilst adjusting the boy into position.
“No!” he yelled unexpectedly. The shrill sound ripped through him like electricity, but his priorities had been outlined and there was no time to waste. He yanked the silvery buckle across the boy’s chest. A tiny set of teeth clamped down hard into his rubbery meat. Feeling a shooting pain burst from his wrist, Sy jerked away in reflex whilst still holding on to the belt. He proceeded to bring it down and clipped it into place.
“Is it done? Quickly now!” Marv pressed. “Yes, all done!” As he spoke, a flurry of limbs struck out at his midsection. The boy struggled to remove the seatbelt as Sy hooked his hands around the small, frail arms. Weak kicks carried on raining down upon his thigh and torso, although there was almost no force behind them.
Marv floored the gas pedal as the car rattled under the forced strain. His eyes darted toward Dee every so often to assimilate her mental condition. “Dee.” he muttered. She sat there, looking down at her crimson caked hands. The severe shock she was enduring was visibly evident. “Dee, what in the hell happened back there? Please, just talk to me. Give me something. Anything to work with here.”
Sy waited for the right time to intervene and start his own line of questioning but with the daunting Marv calling the shots at present, he hastened to reconsider. The vast forest of thick trees sped past them to their right as a lush, expansive fresh cornfield arose on the other side. The straight, but wide road allowed for the vehicle to max out on its power. So far, not a single car had passed them on this derelict stretch nor had they fast approached any.
Her head still hung low, shoulders hunched over. The congealing blood had now started to turn into a large brown patch patterned across her chest. Marv decided to try again. “Come on, Dee. Pull it together. Say something at least. Even just tell me what you’re thinking." His voice sounded deep and guttural, however strangely non-threatening. A response piqued his full attention again. “I… I killed him, Marv. I didn’t mean to, I swear it.” A sharp panicked voice from the back broke their engagement. “What? You killed someone? Are you serious?”
“Shut up!” Marv yelled. “Where you hell you think all this blood came from? A bad nose bleed?” He shifted his focus back to Dee reducing his tone down to a soothing, mild growl. “Dee, please listen. I know you’re in a world of hurt right now but I just wanted to know if you were alright. Thank you for confirming that for me. We’ll figure this out, don’t worry. We’re not far now. Just an hour or so away and…”
Dee lifted her gaze to meet his, breaking him off mid-sentence. “There’s something you ought to know. Something I saw back there. We’re in a lot of trouble.”
She spoke rationally enough to give Marv enough reassurance that this wasn’t just some hallucinogenic dream due to the monumental stress. Marv eyed her coldly. “Dee… What did you see?” The current tension felt by everyone within the car was being overshadowed somewhat by the low droning buzz in the background. At first, it had been nothing more than a negligible annoyance from somewhere far away, but the gradual rise in its magnitude became increasingly noticeable.
Dee continued. “I saw a monitor behind the counter. They had surveillance cameras in operation.” She clenched her fingers up in a ball. “They got us, Marv. I think they know who we are. Even my sweet boy in the back there.” Her eyes lowered again in shame and remorse as his rigid, hard face remained concentrated in thought at this new revelation. “Another thing.” she said engulfed in a somber trance.
During a brief pause before she carried on, Marv impulsively interjected in frustration. “Sorry, Dee. Last thing I wanna do is stop you but I’m hearing this noise and wanna know exactly what it is.” As he spoke, he ran a double take on both side and rear mirrors to make sure nothing or nobody was following them. Yet the persistent sound only grew louder and more distinct. A sudden moment of clarity sent Marv’s circuitry into overdrive. His face fell as a brutal and harsh truth stared him square in the face.
“Sy.” He called out in alarm. “I want you to look out the back window and tell me if you see anything.” A concerned murmur rang back over his hefty shoulders. “Sure thing.” Marv watched in the mirror as Sy scanned the area outside. He ceased craning his neck and froze. Marv furrowed his brow. “What is it? What do you see? Tell me!” A small, timid voice emanated back. “I’m sure I’m seeing this right, Marv. Three specks in the sky approaching fast. They look like S.P.A.”
Those words hit him head-on like a ton of bricks. This was a hitherto unforeseen part of the plan that neither of them had strategized for in advance. He knew full well the foreboding inevitability of the situation at hand. A brief glimpse down at the dashboard revealed that they had already maxed out the car’s speed limit. There was nowhere left to run and the police were bearing down on them fast.
“How far are they now?” Sy remained glued to the skies in unsinkable dread and terror. Not a sound was returned. “Sy, wake up right now! Where are they I’m asking you?” he screamed back again this time with more volition. “They’re almost here. We’re done, Marv.” The reply was a resigned and spent one.
