Triton [hs au | completed]

44) Georgia

||Arden||

"Fuck!" Harry exclaims, glaring at the smoke rising from under the hood of his car.

We're about an hour west of Wichita, Kansas. We've only stopped once to go through a drive thru since we hadn't eaten the night before. We've been listening to the radio since we left hoping to hear that they had arrested the Butcher, but they haven't made any arrests.

He pulls the car to the shoulder and climbs out and walks to the front of the car. I watch as he jerks the hood open and immediately fails his arms around his face, clearing the smoke. I slide out of my seat and cautiously approach the front of the car, careful not the slip in the snow that's built up on the shoulder.

"Any idea?" I ask

"I think it's overheating, but the way it's been running the last hour has me concerned."

I hadn't noticed anything different.We opted to get off the freeway and move away from Wichita. The downside to that choice now is that we're stranded on a rural highway surrounded by pastures.

"You should go get back in the car. It's cold out here." he suggests. I walk back to my side of the car and slide into the passenger seat. After a few minutes he joins me.

"I'm pretty sure it's a cracked head gasket." he says once he's settled in his seat.

"Is that-"

"It's bad." he interrupts. "It's going to be expensive to fix and have us off the road for at least a week. That's assuming they can even find the parts."

"Is it something you can fix?"

"No." he replies staring at the snow collecting in the valley between the open hood and the windshield.

Our heads both snap behind us, towards the sound of a honking horn. A large pickup truck is pulled up behind us and the driver is climbing out of the cab.

"Stay here. Lock the doors and keep your gun handy." Harry instructs before climbing out of the car and meeting the man.

I watch as they talk for a few minutes by the rear of the car before walking around to the front. The man leans over the engine for a few minutes before walking back to his truck and pulling out on to the road.

"He's a mechanic. He's going to tow us to his shop a few miles up." Harry explains

"Can we trust him?"

"We don't really have a choice. Our names are Jacob and Eva, by the way. And we're traveling to California for New Years with my parents."

"Whatever you say, Jacob."

The mechanic returns a few minutes later with his tow truck. I stand off to the side with Jack tucked into my jacket and watch them load up Harry's car. We all squeeze into the cab of his truck. During the short drive back to his shop, he introduces himself as Rick and tells us about how he and his wife have lived their entire lives in Georgia, Kansas. Harry clenches his jaw and pretends to be interested in Rick's children's extracurriculars.

"It's definitely a cracked head gasket." Rick confirms once the car is unloaded and he's taken a second look.

"Shit." Harry mutters under his breath. "How long do you think it will take?"

"At least a week. I'll have to call around to see if I can find the parts locally."

"And if you can't?"

"Two weeks, minimum."

Harry exhales loudly and pinches the bridge of his nose as he tilts his head back.