Page 83 of Madness & Mayhem

“It’s so cold outside. How long until we find another car?” Posie asks, wrapping her arms around herself.

“There’s a small strip about five minutes up the road. I’m sure we’ll find some houses nearby and can take a car from there,” Reign says, disconnecting from me as he scooches toward the door.

“What if there’s police here?” I ask, suddenly nervous we’ll get out and be surrounded by officers.

“No chance. This place is too far off the map. Too small. They’ll be here tomorrow, maybe, but right now I’m sure they’re focused in Hellcrest Heights,” Kyler chuckles as he opens the door.

Instantly, a gust of wind and icy snowflakes fly inside, bursting across our faces. My teeth chatter, and a shiver rolls through my spine as Reign opens his door. I slide across the seat, and with Eloise and Posie next to me, we make our way out of the truck. Shutting the doors quietly, Archer moves to the front of the car. Using his key, he wedges the license plate off, and then goes to the back of the truck to repeat the process. With both of them in hand, he tucks them under his arm and turns to Reign. “Lead the way.”

Reign nods, and we all trek through the snow. It’s up to our shins, and each step feels like a step in place instead of a step forward.

It takes longer than ten minutes, and when I glance over my shoulder, I see a clear path of six pairs of footsteps making their way out of the woods. “Well, that’ll be obvious,” I grumble.

Reign glances up. “Snow is falling hard. By the time the sun is up, most of the prints will be covered.”

I fucking hope so.

We end up in a small downtown area, which is less of a strip and more of five old-school buildings planted on one side of the road and a broken-down gas station on the other. The shops include a clothing store, an old bookstore, an art gallery, a coffee shop, and a jewelry store. All of which look as if they haven’t been updated since the early two thousands.

“Look. There are some houses down there. I’m sure there will be a car that will be good enough to make it to the border,” Reign says, pointing down the road.

“Are you sure? From the look of this place, the cars here won’t be very reliable,” Kyler chuckles.

Reign shrugs, and I know we don’t have any other choice. We need to find something here and we need to get out of this town. Out of this country.

We see some old farmhouses up ahead, each one with their large yards.

“There,” Eloise points to the house on the corner, an old-fashioned pickup truck in the driveway. It looks like it was a blue at one time which has now faded to an off-grayish color. Rust lines the bottom of the truck, and the top is packed with about seven inches of snow.

“There are literally only three seats on there,” I grumble. “There’s no way we will all fit in there,” I clip.

“Guys,” Kyler says. We all stop, fearful of his quiet voice. Turning around, our eyes land on an old-school station wagon. It would be a tight fit, but we could make it work.

“Better. In a sense,” Archer says, turning around and making his way to the dingy car.

“I mean, I guess we’ll all be able to fit inside, at least,” I say.

Making our way across the street, we step into the yard of an old barn-style house. Archer and Kyler step around the car, using their sleeves to wipe off the piles of snow. Reign steps up to the driver’s side door, and when he pulls on the handle, he meets resistance.

“Shit,” he glances down at his jail uniform.

My eyes widen when I realize he has nothing to rig the car open with. “Here,” I whisper, my cold fingers lifting to my hair that has fresh flakes on it. I take out one of my bobby pins, pulling it open and handing it off to him. “Try with this.”

He nods, giving me a small smirk as he turns toward the door. Bending down, he bends the pin a certain way before inserting it into the lock. His eyes narrow as he moves it around, and slowly, a blanket of snow covers his back.

Click.

My eyes widen, and he pulls the pin out and opens the door. The smell of seventy-year-old smoke floats out, and the scent is somehow slightly comforting.

He slides into the driver’s seat as Archer and Kyler finish wiping off the car. Bending down, he reaches under the steering wheel, pulling down the bundle of wires there. His teeth sink into his lower lip as pulls the wires apart.

I watch him in awe as he works as if he’s done this a million times. For all I know, he has. But what would take me hours takes him seconds as he brushes the tips of the wires together, and the loud roar of the old station wagon rumbles to life.

“Good work, Reign,” Archer says, hitting the unlock button before opening the door. Eloise, Posie, and Kyler follow suit as they all pile into the back seat together.

Kyler nods toward the passenger seat, and I walk around the front of the car as Reign closes his door. Opening up the door, I slip in as Reign leans over and blasts the heat. My entire body has become numb at this point, no more feeling left in my toes or legs. My nose constantly drips and I’m pretty sure my eyelashes have icicles on them.

Reign glances over his shoulder, glancing over at us. “Ready?”