Counting Paths

Chapter 31.

"I can't stick my head out the window?" I tell the side of his face.

"You look like a freaking dog."

"When was the last time you did something like that? It's fun. It makes you feel free."

"You can get hurt."

"Yeah, well-" Even under a night sky and in a poorly dim car, I can see the grim expression darken his features. Then I notice the car slowing down. "What's wrong?" I look ahead onto the road and see it's blocked by a white van. "Kev-"

"There are two cars behind us," he says in a deeper, menacing voice as he grips the steering wheel tightly. "Take off your boots. The moment the car stops, get out and run into the woods."

"Kevin, what's-"

"Just do it!"

But before the car can even slow down to ten mph, we're hit from behind. On impact, I fling forward, smacking face-first against the dashboard. "Fuck!" I bark. I feel the blood on my lips before the pain strikes, and I wince, pressing my hand to my mouth. Kevin yells something in a language I don't recognize, then we're hit again. This time we weren't as lucky. Kevin loses control and we swerve off the road and dive into a ditch. I think I manage to scream a second or two before we crash into a tree, but whatever managed to get out was muffled by the airbags deploying and smacking me so hard, I black out.

"Sterling?" Kevin's voice slips through the ringing in my ears. I groan, my head feeling like a thousand-pound ball spinning around. "Sterling? Kid..."

"My...chest hurts."

"Sterling!" He said with more urgency. "Sterling get out of the car!"

"Roland?"

There's a nasty metallic groan. I open my eyes just a croak and, with a blurry vision, I see someone has opened my door.

"Sterling!"

"She wasn't wearing a seatbelt," a new voice says.

"How bad is she hurt?" A second voice wonders.

There's added pressure on my chest and I inhale sharply. "She can be moved," the first voice says.

"Take her."

A pair of firm hands grasp at my body, releasing a world of pain burning through my body. Kevin yells in frustration, cursing his seatbelt for not undoing and threatening to kill whoever's removing me from the car. "Let her go, you piece of worthless shit! Don't touch her!"

"Kevin?" I croak. The pain continues as I'm thrown over a large, muscular shoulder. "Kevin...?" The realization of what's going on hits me and I try to find the strength to fight. "Kevin!"

"Kid?!" His voice carries from what's left of the destroyed car. "AGH! Kid, I'm sorry!"

My eyelids are too heavy to fight. I blacked k out and this time I stay under.

Roland

"You know, I thought you would be more excited to see me," I tell Moose as I rub her back. Normally, when Sterling isn't around, she's so miserable. She just lies down and sighs heavily every now and then, like she's bored counting the seconds Sterling's been away, and she won't move for hours until Sterling returns, but that's not the case for now. Moose is tensed, her fur is standing, and she flinched when I walked over and started petting her. "Is there a storm coming?" I try. "Is that why you're staring out the window like that?"

She only snorts.

"Sterling will be back soon," I assure her. She whimpers and drops her big head on my lap, her body finally relaxing.

We get comfortable on the bay window.

"Hey, boss!" Russell calls from the hall.

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

He enters the living room with a ringing phone in his hand. He crosses the room to me. "Kevin's calling you."

I take the phone from him, mumble a thanks, and answer the call. Bringing the phone to my ear, I hear the annoying beeping noise a car makes when the passenger doesn't have their seatbelt on. "Tell Sterling to put-"

"I'm sorry," Kevin says in a hoarse, low voice.

Like a startled, wild animal, I jolt up in my seat, my body stiff and already shaking. "What happened?" I whisper. "Where's Sterling?"

"He took her."

I shut my eyes tightly. "No-"

"I'm so sorry, Roland."

I can't seem to process or even accept the horrific truth. "No. No, where is my kid, Kevin?"

"Wilson took her."

I wince and whimper, "no."

Russell takes the phone from me as I pull my shirt over my face and start to cry. "Where is she?" There's a quick pause. "Fucking hell. Where are you?... I know the road. We'll be there soon."

Moose barks.

"Roland?" He grabs and tugs at my arm. "Roland, we gotta go! Stop the fucking tears, get your ass up, and get your kid back!"

The last thing I said to her was a promise to see her when she gets back. I'm going to keep that fucking promise. I wipe my tears and stand.