ESCAPE

Chapter 4

“How old are you?” The question took Daisy by surprise, not only because they hadn’t spoken in over an hour as he drove into the out skirts of the city, but also at the strangeness of the question.

“What kind of a question is that?”

“For starters, a very valid question, I have to wonder how old you are, in the past hour you have fidgeted in every position imaginable in that seat, you have pressed or inspected every inch of the car within your reach, you have closed and opened your window repeatedly and …”

“Hey, I get it,” she cut in.

“So, how old are you?” Rey repeated the question as though she hadn’t spoken.

“Shouldn’t you be using the brain to figure out where we are going and what we are going to do, instead of observing and judging me grandpa?”

“Grandpa?” Rey asked incredulously. “How old do you think I am?”

“Don’t know, don’t care, it is irrelevant to my survival at this moment. What I do care about is food, when are we stopping for a bite to eat?”

Narrowing his eyes with a frown Rey looked at her, “Bite to eat? What is this, a road trip? We are not stopping for anything, besides it looks to me you could use a few calories burning.”

Oh no! He didn’t. “Did you just call me fat?”

With a smirk, Rey responded, “I don’t remember using that word, don’t put words in my mouth.”

She was about to lose it, I guess after an adrenaline high, what came next was a knockout of nerves and frustration. She was beginning to notice how hot the car was and the faint choking scent of his cologne, not to mention her tummy had began to rumble rather noisily about half an hour ago. Daisy never took diets, never felt the need to punish her body with starvation and she did not plan to start today.

“I need food. And FYI I am not fat, my body mass index is perfectly healthy, thank you very much.”

Snorting quietly Rey watched the traffic ahead silently while trying to remember if there was a stop along this road they could grab some supplies from. As though his mind wished it into being, a filling station suddenly appeared on the left just half a kilometer away; with any luck it had a convenience store.

“Don’t raffle your feathers my lady, we will find you supplements to nourish your appetite in just a jiffy.”

Rey using his most British imitation with a touch of old English said this before breaking out a million dollar smile in Daisy’s direction. It was a smile he used whenever he wanted a favor from a lady, he happened to know it was irresistible, at least that was what the teller at the bank always said, and that lady at his favorite dinner. But looking at Daisy now, he had to probably question their assessments, it was possible they had just been flirting with him, because this lady right here was no were pleased, in fact the longer he smiled the hotter it seemed a temper boiled. Turning his head back to the road just in time to realize he was almost missing the turn to the filling station got his head back to current affairs in record time.

Saved from making a response, Daisy jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. Not caring much for anything else, she headed straight into the almost bare convenience store. She had already grabbed a few items off the shelves that still appeared edible and valid when Rey stepped in next to her.

“That is all junk food, terrible for your health, can’t you grab something more nourishing and balanced?”

Daisy turned very slowly towards Rey and in a deceptively calm voice she asked, “What did you have in mind sir?”

Rey has always praised himself in being a very perceptive man, able to discern a storm brewing beneath calm waters. That was why he knew his next answer should be well weighed before voiced. Clearly he had missed something vital in his haste to criticize the situation, slowly looking around he came to the realization that the store did in fact not offer many options in the food department, or any department for that matter. He turned back to her and she was still looking up at him waiting for an answer. He was seriously screwed.

Clearing his throat, Rey tries to buy himself a few more precious seconds to think of a valid response that will not make him look like an i***t. But before he can open his mouth, a commotion at the counter of the store captures their attention.

The young man behind the counter is looking at them suspiciously. He throws them a quick look before focusing back on the TV hanging over the door. Rey follows suit and focuses on the TV only to be met with a picture of himself and Daisy.

She was still looking at him waiting for his smartass to give her a response. That was the only reason she noticed his face go pale as he stared towards the door and the slight tremor that took over his body. Has he reached out his hand to steady himself, Daisy put her free hand on his back without even thinking about it and turned her head to look over the shelves and see what had shaken him so.

“The dual are persons of interest in an open investigation case of arson and attempted murder. The Police are asking for help from the public to call the hot line if they come across these individuals. The public is advised not to try and apprehend them as they are considered armed and dangerous.”

The rest of the news casters’ words are lost in the tension that filled the air as both Rey and Daisy stare at the young man behind the counter. Time seemed to slow down, as everyone held their breath waiting to see who would make the first move.

Rey took cautious steps towards the counter with his hands held out in an effort to show he had no ill intentions. The guy behind the counter however, did not look convinced and was getting more agitated with every step Rey took. Rey paused mid-step when he noticed the man reach under the counter for something. He knew of store owners who kept shot guns, riffles and bats under the counter for self defense in situations of robbery or unruly customers, the last thing Rey wanted was for him and Daisy to be at the receiving end of another gun.

Speaking as calmly as he could, Rey addressed the guy. “Hey buddy, lets just take it easy now, we don’t want any trouble. This is all a very big misunderstanding. All we need is some items from your store.”

Extending one arm to Daisy, he motioned for her to quickly get moving.

Not bothering to grab anything else Daisy took the few packs of crackers and energy bars she had collected earlier and started to move towards the door instead of the counter. Following her lead, Rey followed after her while still keeping an eye on the guy behind the counter who hadn’t moved to pull out any weapon but still remained in the same position as though undecided.

Rey slowly reached into his pocket and removed a fifty and placed it on the last shelf just before stepping out of the door.

Once outside, he didn’t look back to see what the guy did, he just ran for the car where Daisy was already closing the passenger door and dropping the snacks on the floor between her feet. She was trying to see through the window what the man was doing.

“He’s on the phone,” Daisy said.

Rey was just reaching the car as she gave this announcement. He just jumped in, slammed the door and started the car; pulling out of the station leaving a trail of dust behind him.

“He was on the phone! He is calling the police,” Daisy announced.

“Obviously” Rey responded calmly. This was worse than he had imagined.

“We didn’t start that fire, what is going on? What do you know about all this? This has something to do with you, am just caught up in it. You should just drop me somewhere and I will explain to the Police that I am not involved, I know nothing and I am not to blame. There is no evidence against me; they would have to let me go,” Daisy lamented.

“Hate to break it to you, but I don’t think the people behind this care. They need a scape goat and they selected us.”

Daisy kept quiet and shook her head, she couldn’t understand anything. Today was supposed to be a great day. She had planned it out so well. This was definitely not part of the plan. Closing her eyes, she rested her head back.

The next few minutes went by in silence, only broken by the sound of the car engine humming as they travelled further away from the city. She didn’t even know what kind of car this was, she was not a connoisseur in cars. It seemed silly that her mind would settle on this at a time such as this, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe it was her brain trying to save her sanity. She opened her eyes and stared out the window at the trees that passed in a blur. They must have been going at least 120, definitely a fast car.

Still looking out the window she whispered, “What kind of car is this?”

He had barely heard her, in fact he wondered if he imagined it all, because the question he thinks he heard did not make any sense at all. He gave her a quick glance and noticed she was fixated on the view outside the window. Deciding his mind was probably playing tricks on him from all the adrenaline rush he was coming down from now, although it was only after 12, he felt drained to the bone. He was clearly stressed and tired from running every scenario over and over again in his mind. So he decided not to respond and focused on the road.

Almost a good 10 minutes later he heard her again, this time a little more clearly.

“Is it like one of those fancy cars, Chevrolet or Dodge? It really is comfortable and seems rather fast.”

She fell silent again. She was still fixated out the window. Rey had to wonder if she was even conscious of what she was saying. Still not sure if he should respond, Rey held his tongue once again. He knew some people handled stressful situations by completely breaking down, while others diverted their attention to irrelevant things in order to escape the real issue. He preferred to face his problems head on, but that was him and he was not going to criticize another person’s self preservation technics, or at least he will try very hard not to criticize hers’.

The silence went on again for another half hour till Rey spotted a road breaking away from the main highway and heading deep into the forest. He had been this way once before so he had a rough layout of the land in his head. The road was not tarred and about half a kilometer in it got really bumpy. At the speed he had been driving, the first bump took them both by surprise with a violent shake.

“What the hell?” Daisy had been so lost in her mind. She had probably dosed off and had just been rudely awakened. “Where are we going?”

“We have to lose the car and find somewhere to hide,” he suggested. “Am certain by now the Police is on our trail after the guy at the store called in,” Rey explained while he tried to maneuver his car away from the worst potholes in the road.

Daisy watched Rey turning the steering wheel one way then the other, making the car swerve left and right almost in a constant rolling motion. “Can you cut that out, I think am going to be sick.”

As though to make a point, Rey gave the car a sharp left then right, this had Daisy bracing herself towards the door. “And the point you are trying to make?” She voiced in sarcasm.

“No point, just stating the fact that I was trying to do it as smoothly as possible to not add to your discomfort, I mean with the bumps and all, but since you did not appreciate the effort, might as well do it otherwise.”

“Unbelievable!” she said, but before she could say more, the car came to an abrupt stop. “What now?”