It's Hard (A Power Rangers Samurai Fanfic)

The Drive

It was dark, the rain was coming down hard, and they were eight hours away from home. It was nearly 11:00, and all the Rangers were asleep. It was difficult to see through the rain, but luckily, they were on a backroad with no cars. However, as thunder started to rumble overhead, Jayden woke up. "Ji?" He mumbled, still half asleep. "Yes, Jayden?" Ji said. "Where are we?" Jayden asked. "I can't tell." Ji replied. "I'm thinking about stopping for the night. I don't like driving in this weather." Jayden nodded sleepily and settled back into his seat, trying to go to sleep again.
An hour later Ji had pulled over to rest for the night. Unfortunately, an hour after Ji had fallen asleep, he felt someone poking his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Mike, and he sighed. "What?" "I have to pee." Mike said. "In the morning." Ji groaned, closing his eyes again. "Ji!" Mike exclaimed, shaking the man's shoulder. "I really can't wait." Ji looked out the window. It wasn't raining anymore, but it was almost 1am and still really dark. "We're not near any stores or anything, besides, I don't think they'd be open." Ji said. "Mentor." Mike said in a whiny tone. "Fine!" Ji exclaimed, starting the car. "We'll have to get on the highway." Mike nodded and sat back in his seat. When the engine turned over and the car started, Jayden stirred, feeling the change in the motor. He sat up and rubbed at his eye, not saying anything. A little while after, Antonio woke up. "Ji?" He said. "Could we stop somewhere?" "You have to go too?" Ji questioned, looking back at Antonio. Antonio nodded. Ji sighed. Fortunately, they were getting on to the main part of the highway. Ji pulled into the parking lot of the first place he saw with lights on. He roused all of the Rangers and made them come inside, not wanting to have to stop again within the next two hours. "Could we have the bathroom key please?" Ji asked the woman standing behind the counter. "Bathroom is for paying customers only." She said. "Okay, I'll buy something then." Ji replied. He grabbed a random pack of gum and placed it on the counter. The lady tried to scan the gum, but for some reason the scanner wasn't working. Ji looked back at Mike and Antonio, who were practically potty dancing. Even Jayden and Kevin were bouncing on their feet, hands in their pockets. Emily and Mia had their legs crossed as well, though they were a little more subtle about it. Finally, the gum scanned. "That'll be 99 cents." The woman said. Ji handed her a dollar bill. The lady gave him back the penny and the key to the bathroom, which was located in the back of the store. Mike went in first, followed by Antonio, then Jayden, Kevin, Mia, and Emily. The group then headed back into the car, settling in for the 6 hour journey.
Not long after they started moving again, the Rangers went back to sleep. They slept for a while, but then Ji saw the car stopped on the side of the road. A woman was there, waving at them from the darkness. Ji pulled the van over. Checking to make sure all the Rangers were still asleep, Ji climbed out of the car. "Thank you so much for stopping." The woman said immediately. She was fairly pretty. Her hair was curly and brown, and she had brown eyes. "Me and my daughter have been broken down here for hours. You're the first person I've seen drive down here." Ji looked behind her in the car and saw a little girl with the same hair and eyes clutching a teddy bear. "Where are you headed?" He asked. "To my mother's house. I'm taking Sophie to see her cousin and my mom could use a little extra help." The woman explained. Ji held a hand out. "I'm Ji." He introduced. "Madeline." The woman replied, shaking his hand. "I'd be happy to give you a ride." Ji offered. "That'd be amazing but it's three hours away." Madeline said. "No, really." Ji replied. "I'll even have your car towed for you." "Thank you." Madeline said with a smile. "I'll have to warn you though, I have six sleeping teenagers in that van." Ji said. "Are they all yours?" Madeline questioned. "Oh no, they're in foster care." Ji lied. Madeline nodded and got Sophie out of the car while Ji woke up Jayden and Antonio. He had them move over and sit next to each other so Sophie could sit with Madeline. Not long after Madeline climbed into the car with Sophie, and they were off.
Ji stopped about 45 minutes later to sleep for the night. The Rangers were somewhat confused when they woke in the morning, but didn't question anything as they went somewhere for breakfast. "Home fries and bacon please." Jayden ordered. "I'll have waffles and eggs, scrambled." Kevin said. The waitress wrote down the Ranger's orders. "What do you want to eat Sophie?" Madeline asked. "Pancakes." Sophie murmured quietly. She was still holding the teddy bear. Madeline ordered pancakes and sausage for Sophie and french toast and sunny side up eggs for herself. There was light conversation at the table, and soon they were on the road again. Antonio, who had somehow gotten a head cold overnight, was asleep against Jayden's shoulder. Jayden had the window seat, and now he couldn't move. Mike was playing his video game when he caught Sophie staring at him. "You wanna play?" Mike asked her. Sophie nodded shyly. Mike handed over the game. He started to explain how to play, but Sophie just said, "I got it." Surprisingly to Mike, Sophie was able to beat the level and she got a new high score. "Wow." Mike said. "You are scary good at video games." Sophie nodded and started the next level.
About an hour later, Ji stopped for gas. The Rangers all got out of the car. Sophie and Madeline got out to, and they all headed into the store. After paying for the gas and some decongestant medicine for Antonio, Ji let each of the Rangers get something to eat. Jayden and Antonio got bags of chips- Antonio opted for the spicy ones to help clear up his nose. Mia, Emily, and Kevin grabbed Twinkie's, Suzy Q's, and Zebra Cakes respectively. Mike and Sophie both went for candy, Mike getting a bag of mini chewy SweetTarts, Sophie a pack of Spree. In the car, since Sophie was now more comfortable with the Rangers, Madeline sat up front with Ji. When it was nearing 1:00, they finally reached Madeline's mother's house. Madeline thanked Ji as Sophie ran out of the car to hug her cousin. "How much longer do we have until we get home?" Mike asked. Ji sighed. "Only 5 and a half hours."
   They had fallen asleep again, mostly out of boredom. Unfortunately, Jayden woke a little while later and started sneezing. "Feeling okay Jayden?" Ji asked, not taking his eyes off the road. "I think I caught Antonio's cold." Jayden replied. Ji handed him the decongestant. "That should help for now." He said. "We'll be stopping for gas in an hour or so."
   When they had about two hours of the trip left, Ji stopped for gas. It was nearly dinner time. Ji decided that he and the Rangers would go out for dinner, and then head straight home, which they did happily. They went to a chinese restaurant, and went home afterwards, feeling content.

A/N: The ending sucks but I kind of like how this story turned out. Alright thanks for reading, and don't be afraid to comment! Bye guys!