Tradition Comes Third

Getaway

Author's Note: Two updates in one day? Damn, I feel productive

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"Hunter, go!" Ava yelled.

I stepped on the gas, and the car lurched forward. The gravel flew up from the tires, and the car raced out onto the street. The cold pedal under my foot felt odd. I was going as fast as I could down the road. The road was thin, just fitting the width of the car. The dirt road was winding, and I tried to avoid the large twisted roots sticking out from the ground. The headlights of the car were the only light. I leaned forward and tried my best to see. I couldn't crash the car into a tree now.

I had no idea where I was going. I took a few turns, but it was all dirt road surrounded by woods. I didn't see a single house. Most of the roads didn't even have a street sign. Ava had her body turned around to see if anyone was following us.

"Do you see anyone?" I asked.

"No," she said. "Keep going. Don't slow down."

I kept going straight down the road. I looked down at the dashboard to see I only had less than a quarter tank of gas. I swore under my breath. I felt Ava smack my shoulder with the back of my hand.

"I see lights," she said. "Oh my God, they're behind us."

I looked up in the rearview mirror to see a set of headlights coming closer. I started to go faster. The car was jostling us from side-to-side. Ava didn't put her seatbelt on, and was on her knees on the seat so she could look out the back window. She kept being thrown into the side window.

"You need to turn," she said. "We need to lose them."

"There's nowhere to turn," I said.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I kept glancing up into the rearview mirror to see the truck coming closer and closer. I finally saw a break in the trees, and I took a sharp turn. I had to slam on the brake to stop the car from tipping. The side view mirror hit the tree and was knocked to the ground. Ava was thrown into the car door. She sat down and turned around so that she was facing out the windshield.

The moonlight was reflecting off of the ground, and I had to slam on the breaks again. Ava held onto me as we lurched forward in the car.

"Why did you stop?!" she shouted, looking over her shoulder.

"It's water," I said.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Look at it, Ava! It's water. This must be a lake or something."

I looked around to see the road was a dead-end to a lake. Ava was scanning around the car and shaking her head.

"No, Hunter," she said. "We have to get out."

I turned the car around. Hopefully, Dad and Jared didn't make that turn. If they missed it, the road would be too narrow to turn the truck around and the next road wouldn't be for awhile. I drove toward the road when another set of headlights lit up the lake. I reversed the car back, but there was nowhere to go without running into a tree.

I could see Dad and Jared both sitting in the rusted green truck. They both had their pajamas on, and I could see the gun in Dad's hands. Jared had parked the car so that it was across the thin road.

They had trapped us in.

Dad and Jared both jumped out of the truck. Dad had the gun in his hands. Jared went to the back of the truck and pulled a hammer out of the cab. I reached over and locked the doors on the car. Ava handed me one of the knives that we stole from the kitchen. We both looked straight out the window, frozen in fear, as they walked toward us.