What Happens Next

Interstice

Kara was laying down in her tour bus' private bedroom and had the little white ear buds in her ears listening to her mp3 player while at the same time reading the latest novel from her favorite author when she felt something rumble underneath her and the bus come to a rolling stop. She was in her pajamas, a cutesy one with monkey faces printed all throughout, a white tank top, and a black zip up hoodie. Her long dark hair had been piled up in a messy bun above her head and her face had been scrubbed free of the make up she wore on her last tour stop. She bolted upright and took the ear buds out of her ears and ambled out of her room. She was greeted by her assistant and road manager when she made it outside of her room. 

"What's going on?" she asked them with her eyebrows furrowed. 

"I think we got a flat tire, hold on, let me confirm," Christy, her road manager told her.  

Christy stepped out of the bus which was now parked on the shoulder of a freeway in the dark in the middle of nowhere. She found the driver crouched down over the left two rear tires, holding a flashlight up to inspect the damage. 

"Dave, what's up?" Christy said as she neared him. 

"Both tires are flat. These are too big for me to change on my own. I'm gonna need to call roadside assistance," Dave stood up and brushed his dirty hands on his pants. Christy stood next to Dave with her hands on her hips. They were supposed to be in Chicago early the next morning to begin preparations for that leg of Kara's sold out tour. Kara and Jackie, her personal assistant, also made their way outside of the bus. 

"Oh my goodness! What did we hit?" Kara's voice broke through the silent night, the smell of burnt rubber assaulting her nose. 

"No idea, it's too dark out here. There are no street lamps," Dave said. "Bad news, ladies. I have no signal. I can't call road side assistance." 

"What?!" Christy shouted. She whipped her own cell phone out of her pocket and saw she had no bars either.  

Kara made her way back to the bus to get her cell phone, as did Jackie, and unfortunately for the both of them, they were also out of coverage.  

"What are we gonna do?" Kara asked, worry can be heard in her voice. 

"Well, we either wait for another car to pass us and ask for help, but that could take a while. This is a very quiet stretch of road," Dave gestured. "Or we walk the two miles to the nearest exit and find a place to sleep in and use their phone. I saw a sign for it before we ran over something that blew out our tires." 

"Is it safe?" Kara asked Christy. 

"We should be fine. Just stick close together," Christy told her ward bravely. 

The four of them went back in the bus and gathered some things they would need for the night. Dave made sure all of the doors were locked and secured before joining the women who stood in front of him with their flashlights on.  

"It's a good thing the guys decided to ride in the other bus," Dave said, referring to Ethan the drummer, Ryder the bassist, and Zack the lead guitarist, the three other members of Kara's band. "Or else we all would've been screwed." 

Christy just nodded in agreement and the foursome walked the dark two miles to the nearest freeway exit. There was a gas station right on the side of the road, and they all happily approached it. Dave peered inside, but it didn't look like anyone was in there. The closed sign was flipped to face the window and there were no lights on inside the small convenience store. Dave decided to knock anyway as the three women sat down on a bench by the door.  

"Hello?! Anybody in there?" Dave bellowed. He kept rapping at the door, hoping someone would hear him.  

Suddenly, a car drove past them and the driver rolled the passenger window side down. "Can I help you folks?" asked the heavy set man who was sitting on the driver's seat.