Archive of Our Own ^beta

We’re fourteen miles outside a small town in southern Kansas, and it’s the dead of night. We’d been driving back from location when the we noticed our gas tank was approaching empty, well it’s basically shot and how we’re still going is a mystery in itself. There’s also been a storm brewing our entire time on the road. We’ll see flashes of lightning here and there every so often, moments that light up the entire sky briefly, but long enough to see the ominous grey clouds that are perched high, threatening to let their rain loose.

We’ve hit a few light patches of rain, but nothing compared to what awaits. The windshield wipers are going at a moderate rate to keep the mist cleared, our headlights on bright since we’re the only ones on the turnpike. Shane sits in the passenger seat, watching the storm we’re approaching with a keen eye.

“It’s going to be a mess when we catch up to this storm.” He says, ducking a bit to look out the window beside him, hoping for a better look into the darkness.

I keep my eyes on the road, but look farther into the distance. “Yeah hopefully there will be a rest stop coming up pretty soon, we’re almost out of gas.”

Shane laughs morbidly. “Oh, Ryan, this is your worst nightmare coming true.”

I snag a glance at him as he laughs, his nose wrinkled up and eyes closed, half buckled over as he continues thinking about how right he is about this fear of mine. I mean hell, it’s the middle of the night and we’re about to be stranded on the side of a desolate highway with an ugly storm coming straight for us.

“Shut up, Shane.” I sigh, forcing a small smile.

He continues to snicker at this idea, all the while remaining as calm as I'll get out. I don’t know how he does it. He always so unfazed, always keep his wits about him and I don’t know how the hell he does it. Does ever even get just a little bit freaked out?

“Yeah I do actually.” Shane deadpans, jolting me from my thoughts.

My brows burrow in confusion when I look at him. “Wha-what?”

“You were muttering.” He chuckles softly. “Don’t worry I can’t read your mind, you were just talking to yourself.”

I immediately relax when he confesses this, I let out a kept-in breath and sink further into the driver’s seat. For a moment the thought did cross my mind, as silly as it seems, but Shane’s something else and part of me wouldn’t be shocked if it were revealed he could, in fact, read minds.

“Sorry, I’m just getting nervous I guess.” I rub my eyes with one of hands. “I don’t mean to talk to myself when I do, just happens.”

He smiles. “It’s okay. Just a little freaky at times, hearing you talk to yourself when we’re prancing around your spooky place.”

“So you do get scared!” I boast, feeling some sort of messed up pride well up in my chest, knowing the invincible Shane Madej himself even gets the creeps.

“I don’t think scared is the right word to use.” He corrects. “More like unsettled. Because some of the places you drag me to are so damn awful. I mean all these asylums and shit, who doesn’t get unsettled looking at those places? I’m a timid man, Bergara.”

We laugh off our uneasiness as we keep down the highway. The storm growing all the more awful each passing second. We’re hearing thunder now, low rumbles and loud cracks accompanied by lightning so bright you don’t even need headlights. Shane makes a joke about the Midwest, my blood pressure rises some more and we continue on our merry way.

We’re pulled from our distraction when I feel the car begin to slow, lurching forward and back as I step on and off the gas attempting to give it one last boost of energy.

“No, no, no, no, no.” I stammer, doing everything I can to keep the vehicle moving just a bit longer. But nothing works. Soon, we’re stopped on the side of a lonely, dark highway with a gas tank that reads the dreaded words: EMPTY.

“Damn it!” I yell, slamming my fist onto the steering wheel.

“Hey, Ryan, calm down, it’s okay.” Shane adds, attempting to comfort me a little. I can hear it in his voice, that voice he gets when he’s being serious when I’m freaked out. I’m happy I’m not alone in this situation or tears would already be falling.

“Well what’re we going to do now?” I inquire, leaning back, putting my arms behind my head and letting out a shaky breath.

“Look.” Shane starts, pointing at something in front of us. “There’s an access road. Let’s see if there’s anything down there.”

“We’d be able to see it if something’s there! Look around you, it’s flatter than a dead person's heart beat out here!”

He lets out an annoyed sigh. “Yeah and it’s darker than the pits of hell too, and stormy may I add so it’s possible there’s something we can’t see within walking distance.”

“I’m not walking out in this storm, Shane. Are you crazy?”

“Yeah you will.” He brags, unbuckling himself from the car. He then unlocks the door and pulls, the lights inside all turning on. I see a smile creep on his face as panic plasters itself on mine.

“What’re you doing?” I ask hesitantly.

“I’m going to look for help.” He steps out of the car. “You can either come with me or be killed by a turnpike psychopath. Your choice.” And with that, he pushes the door shut, leaving me alone in the car.

“Shane!” I call, hurriedly fumbling with my seatbelt and grabbing my phone and wallet. “Shane, wait!” I shove the door open and practically fall onto the wet asphalt.

I heave as my heart rate begins to speed up, my chest rises and falls rapidly until I spot Shane at the back of the car, the trunk popped open.

“We may need this.” He holds up a small, red, five gallon gas tin and then tosses it my way.

I catch it, barely. “You really think there could be a gas station around here?”

“I’m almost sure of it.” He reassures, slamming the trunk closed.“These small-town folk aren’t dumb. Set up a gas station or restaurant along a road as empty as this and you’re a millionaire before the end of the year.”

He has a good point, and I nod in response. Before we leave the car he switches on the floodlights, the signals tick on and off in rhythm alerting the potential passing car we’re parked nearby. He unplugs his phone and grabs a pocket knife that sits locked in the glovebox.

My voice trembles when I speak. “Why-why do you need a knife?”

“You never know what we might run into here. Better safe than sorry, yeah?” He asks so casually.

I don’t answer, I just follow behind him as we make our way from the car, the thunder and lighting still raging around us. It’s 1:58am when we set off into the dark unknown.

-

The only sounds we hear are the sounds of our shoes crushing against the loose gravel, as well as the booms of thunder that are becoming more and more frequent. We’ve turned down a small dirt road a couple hundred yards away from our now abandoned car, it’s lights still blinking in the fog.

I feel a drop of rain hit my eye, it makes me flinch and I stop. “Shane, it’s starting to rain.”

He turns towards me. “Come on, man. I’m sure there’s something, just a little ways longer.”

I groan, dragging my feet behind me and catching up to him. The road is dark, too dark for my liking. Barb-wire fencing is on either side of us, shallow and grassy ditches along them. I pull my phone out of my back pocket, the screen illuminates and the clock reads 2:24am. Shit. We’ve only been walking for a little less than half an hour and we’ve barely gotten anywhere. I slide up the control panel and switch on the flashlight, holding it out and surveying the area around us. When I do, something catches my eye.

“Hey, dude, look.” I point my flashlight towards our left. “What is that?”

Shane stops. “It looks like a sheet of metal.” He goes to step down into the muddy ditch, but the loose rocks and mud slide out from under him and as quick as he was upright, he lands with a soft thud.

I can’t contain my laughter and I’m buckled over, tears in my eyes looking at his lanky body now coated in a thick layer of mud. For some reason, his humiliation is my muse and soon I’m on the ground too. My jeans soaking up the wetness of the earth below me. Shane looks at me, a soft smile forming on his face.

“Can you imagine what this looks like?” I ask, wiping a tear from my eye. “Two fools out in the middle of the night tramping around in mud.”

“I bet we look like a prime target for somebody with the itch for murder.”

I stop laughing and glare at him. “Dude, why would you say that?”

He laughs at my resurfaced fear. “Because, it’s just the truth.”

I roll my eyes and stand to my feet, attempting to dust the peebles that cling to my pants off. Shane finds his footing and wipes the clumps of wet dirt from his clothing as best he can. He inches towards to mysterious metal and when he has a hand on it I make my down the slick bank.

“What is it?” I ask again.

Shane shrugs, dislodging it from underneath a pile of gravel. The rocks shift and tumble down to the ground, piling around our shoes.

“Here, give me a hand, let’s turn it around.” He instructs.

Stepping forward I grab the opposite corner and push it around. It rattles and pops against the uneven ditch. Shane takes his phone from his pocket and switches the flashlight on; we both then step back to see what’s printed on the other side.

It’s painted in various shades of red and tan, the main text in a navy blue. It looks fairly new, definitely not something that’s been left to rust, it almost looks recently renovated, some patches of paint less faded than other parts.

“Baker’s twenty-four hour general store.” Shane reads cheerily. “I told you, Ryan!”

I nod, a smile of relief forming on my lips. “Do you think it’s still open though?”

“It says it’s twenty-four hours!”

“No, you dumbass. Like, is it still in business?” I question, my tone flat with annoyance.

He shrugs. “I don’t know, it’s worth a shot. Even if it’s not still open I’m sure there’s a building still standing, and that sign does not look old. I can almost guarantee it’s only been down a few days, week tops.”

We throw the sign back down into the ditch and continue walking further down the road. The thunder is more frequent now, when the lightning flashes everything around us lights up. There’s been a few strikes to the ground which causes us both to jump, but we keep going.

We walk on for another good mile before we stumble upon it. It’s there, it’s really there out here in the middle of nowhere well lit amongst the night. It’s a small run-down building, two gas pumps are situated in the front. There’s an ice chest outside the front door under the awning I’m surprised hasn’t been knocked off from the storm winds. I can see inside clearly, it looks so normal but when I remember it’s the only building around here for miles, and it makes the pit in my stomach grow with uneasiness.

“Shane.” I stop in my tracks. “I don’t know about this, man.”

He sighs, visibly annoyed with my paranoia. “Ryan, it’s okay. What is there to be afraid of?”

“What is there to be afraid of?!” I scoff. “Look around you! This is the only building here for miles and it’s open in the middle of the fucking night! You’re telling me this really doesn’t freak you out even just a little bit?”

“Not really?” He answers questioningly. “This is our only chance to get back on the road so unless you want to stay out here longer, go inside.”

“Me go inside? Like alone?” I ask nervously.

“Yes, you’ll be fine. I’ll fill up the gas tin and you can go in and grab us something to eat. Got it?”

“You want me to go in there alone? Dude, this place is sketchy as hell!” I stammer, worrying painting itself on my face, something which Shane takes note of.

At this, I see his demeanor shift. I see the soft expression he gets when I’m afraid come to his features and he steps towards me.

“Ryan, I’ll be right outside. Just go in there, pay and come right back out.” He reassures in a low voice.

“Yeah, yeah okay.” I nod.

“It’s either that or stand out here with the psychos.” He jokes, a smile forming on his lips.

Even in the midst of my worry he keeps everything lighthearted, which helps calm me down a bit. I sigh and step back towards the store, he gives me a quick pat on the shoulders and heads in the direction of the gas pumps. As I walk towards it I get a better look at the inside. It looks like any other gas station in America, but for that reason it makes it all the more eerie.

When I pull open the door a small bell chimes, I look up and see it’s situated above me. I walk carefully, gently closing the glass behind me and stepping further into the store.

Soft country music plays throughout the room, five rows of various items ranging from toiletries, tools and miscellaneous car oils to candies and foods of all kinds are haphazardly arranged all together. I look to the register and see no one is behind the counter, I then turn further and catch a glimpse of Shane waiting to fill to the tin. Seeing him reassures me, knowing I’m not alone.

“Hello?” I call out, but I’m met with no answer.

I push the looming nervous thoughts to the back of my mind and grab a bag of chips and a couple candy bars, stuffing them under my arm so I can get a few bottles of water from the cooler along the back wall. I bend at the waist, propping the cooler open with my hip as I retrieve our drinks. When I pull back, the bag of chips falls from my grip and I swear under my breath due to the fact both of my hands are full. I reorganize my hold on the items and reach down, but just as my fingers wrap around the fallen chips, a heavy boot steps between and I hear a deep voice speak.

“I wouldn’t pick those up if I were you.” The voice warns.

I scream, startled and caught off guard by the sudden company. I stumble back and lose my balance, collapsing onto the cold tile floor. When I look up I’m met with a stern face of a man. He has a thick, wiry beard that hangs even with his collar bone. He’s a bigger man, there’s dirt on his hands and he’s standing right over me.

I force a friendly smile on my face, my hand gripping my chest attempting to regain my breath as I stand up. “Oh, hi you scared me there.”

When I’m standing completely upright, my eyes are level with his broad shoulders. I swallow hard and crane my neck upward to meet his eye. I get a better look at him now. He has a thick scar running from underneath his left eye and across the bridge of his nose, it’s deep and looks like it’s been there for years. His facial expression hasn’t changed and I jump when a roar of thunder shacks the walls around us. The man doesn’t flinch and I take a step back.

“Um, my friend and I.” I nod in the direction of Shane but he doesn’t take his eyes off me. “Our car ran out of gas back on the turnpike about a mile or so back. He’s got a gas tin he’s filling up and I was just grabbing some snacks for us.”

“You mean stealin’.” He spits, his voice rough.

My eyes widen at his words and panic floods my veins. “What? No, no, no. Mister, we were going to pay.”

“The name’s Travis. Suggest you start calling me that if you and your friend here want to make it back to your car.” He commands, loosening his stance but crossing his arms.

“I’m sorry, Travis.” I say, my voice beginning to shake as a knot in my throat forms. “Ugh, I’ll pay you right now, sir.”

I set the items I had grabbed on the shelf beside me and reach for my wallet. I stick my hand into my deep pockets but all I feel is emptiness. I try and give him a reassuring smile and reach into the opposite pocket only to be met with the same thing.

“Oh, shit.” I curse, looking back up at him, his brows now raised. “It must’ve fallen out of my pocket on our way here.”

“You don’t need to keep lyin’ to me little fella.” He clears his throat. “I know what you were doin’ messin’ ‘round my store in the middle of the night. You was stealin’!” His voice raises and I step back, a pathetic, frightened whimper passing my lips.

“N-n-no sir, I mean Travis, we weren’t, I wasn’t- I swear to god- we weren’t.” I can’t help but stutter my words, my hands beginning to shake as my eyes dart back in forth to the oblivious Shane and the angry man in front of me.

I silently pray Shane finishes up soon and comes in the store, saving me from the man who I swear wishes to bring justice to this misunderstood situation. A thought comes to my head and before I can think through it I blurt out my answer.

“Go ask him!” I point out the door. “My friend. He has his wallet, he’ll pay you.”

Travis looks back between the two of us. “Alright. And if this here friend of ‘yers doesn’t seem to have any money on him-” He steps close to me, hovering over my frame, so close that I can feel his breath on the top of my head. I lean back, trying to avoid his proximity. “I’ll just have to kill you.”

Kill me?! Kill us?! For a measly ten dollars he’s willing to kill us? I always assumed the country people were warm and inviting but so far they just seem bitter and murderous. This man has some deeper issues besides just not getting paid. This man’s dripping with bloodlust, looking for an excuse to kill, he’s probably a convict or some kind of psychopath-

“What’d you say about me?” He asks angrily.

Oh fuck. My nervous muttering.

Before I can answer he grabs me by my arm and pulls me towards the exit. The bell rings violently when he throws open the door and pushes me in front of him. My foot catches on the edge of the glass and I tumble to my knees, catching myself on my hands. He yanks me up and yells in Shane’s direction.

“Hey!” He drags me faster by the arm and stops about twenty feet from the gas pump.

Shane’s eyes fall on us and I see confusion written all over him. He starts towards us, gas tin in hand but is stopped short when Travis yells at him once more.

“If you want to see your little friend here again you best quit walking.” He commands.

Shane stops dead in his tracks, just under the light that shines from above the gas pumps. I see his brows knit in worry, he stutters to speak but no words come out. He sets the gas he’d gotten on the ground and I take note of his hands that are now nervously fidgeting at his sides.

He swallows hard. “I’m sorry, sir, but what’d he do?”

“He was tryin’ steal from me that’s what. He done lied to me too!”

Shane shifts anxiously, catching my eye but quickly looking away. I know what he’s doing, he does this every so often on locations we go to, and each time it throws me.

He’s hiding his fear.

Fear paints itself across his face clear as glass. He knows this. For my sake he’ll hide his face, turning from me and purposely not meeting my eyes. His banter stays the same, he continues spilling his jokes and sarcastic remarks but he won’t look at me. He doesn’t look at me because he’s afraid.

“My friend here wouldn’t steal, I can assure you of that.” Shane forces a smile on his lips that seem convincing to people that can’t read him, but really, he’s an open book.

“Well, then.” Travis’ grip tightens around my arm. “You care to pay me what you both owe?”

Shane starts in our direction slowly. “You see, our car ran out of gas back on the turnpike and with the storm approaching we wanted to get on the road pretty soon. We saw the sign for the store here, which is down, so we thought to check it out.”

My blood runs cold as he speaks, rambling the same story I told earlier. I pray silently Shane was smart enough to grab his wallet. I think back to when we left and I remember him reaching back into the car. I saw him grab his phone and the knife, but I never remember seeing him grab his wallet…

My eyes widen and I fight for Shane’s gaze which he won’t give to me. He’s stopped right in front of us now, eye to eye with Travis but still considerably smaller than him. He continues to ramble, Travis grows uninterested and I come close to fainting when I hear Shane’s next words.

“I left my wallet back at the car, but Ryan here has his.” He answers with a soft smile.

The next thing I know I’m on the ground, a pain in my stomach growing as I gasp for my breath. I see Shane take a punch to the right side of his face but he keeps his footing. I hear the thunder roar around us and the lightning decorate the sky with brightness. I feel a heavy drop of rain land on the back of neck as I stand.

I run towards Shane, fear pumping throughout me. He’s fighting back, and doing a pretty damn good job of doing so, but he doesn’t know Travis’ intentions.

They each throw a fair share of kicks and punches, Shane wipes his lips and nose of blood with one swipe of his sleeve before he goes back defending the two of us. I see the pocket knife Shane grabbed laying on the group beside the gas tank, I guess he got knocked off his feet at one point.

I rush to it, sliding on the gravel and fumbling it between my fingers I flip open the sharpened blade. My head whips around I see them on the ground, Shane pinned underneath taking blows to his head and neck, all the while still giving some back.

I stand and hesitate. Shane spots me while I’m stuck in my tracks, blood pooling on the ground around him.

“Don’t just stand there, do something!” He screams at me.

His strangled screams give me a boost of confidence, and anger. With it, the next thing I know my knife is embedded in the back of Travis’ shoulder. He lets out an angry and pain-filled cry as I shove him off Shane. He stumbles to his feet as I back up in horror of what I’ve just done.

It’s pouring rain now, the storm has caught up to us and it’s raging in against the night. I see bolts of lighting strike the ground in the distance and thunder shakes the earth violently. The rain’s so heavy to the point you can hardly see in ten feet in the front of you, but I recognize Shane’s familiar figure walking towards me.

“I stabbed him. I stabbed someone.” I mutter breathlessly, my eyes fixed on the man clutching his shoulder on the ground.

Shane’s hands find me, running from my head down my neck and landing on my shoulders. He meets my eyes for the first time and I begin to read him. I see relief and fleeting fear, as well as pain.

His lip is bloodied and his nose is slightly crooked and definitely broken. A deep shade of purple already formed crawls from his cheekbone with blackened edges. Drops of rain rush down his skin and weigh down his hair. Some of the waters turns to rust when it hits his lips, carrying blood down his neck when it flows.

“You look terrible.” I blurt out.

He chuckles lightly. “You don’t look too good-”

He’s cut off the sound of a gunshot ricochets throughout the air. We both duck instinctively and I move closer into him. I panic, thinking one of us has been hit but I’m soon reassured neither of us took a bullet and then we’re running.

Shane grabs the tin of gas still sitting on the ground and we take off, stumbling in the muddy gravel. I hear several more shots fired from Travis’ gun and his voice calling out for us.

“Come on, Ryan!” Shane calls, grabbing me with his free hand and pulling me along.

I glance back over my shoulder, breathing heavily. When I turn my head back to the road I stumble. Falling hard without having time to catch myself. I feel the small rocks press into my skin and bloody my lips.

“Ryan!” Shane grumbles, stopping and turning back for me.

I push up slowly, groaning. My clothes are clotted with mud and it’s now sleeping through to my skin.

I feel Shane kneel beside me, his knees scraping against the pebbles. “Ryan, come on we gotta go.”

I wince, beginning to stand to my feet with aching limbs. I’m just starting to walk again when I feel a blow to the back of my head and on the ground again.

I groan, my face back and flush against the wet earth. I can’t move, my head is spinning and my ears ring. I shut my eyes and force myself up, I can feel the warm trickle of blood down the back of my neck and put my fingers to it. I hold my now blood covered hand in front of me and watch the red wash away from the rain. I look up and see another round of Travis and Shane’s fist fight, until I notice the gun in Travis’ hand.

My eyes widen and I drag myself towards them.

Pain in every step but all I see is Shane.

All I see is the gun pointed at him.

I see Travis’ finger on the trigger.

I see the fear wipe across Shane’s face when I meet his eyes.

I see his brows raise when he sees me limping towards them.

I can see his lips starting to speak but the ringing in my ears is too loud.

The thunder is too loud. The rain is too loud.

Before I can think, before I can convince myself otherwise I’m in front of the gun and I hear a gunshot ring out.

-

As quick as I hear it I feel it. I feel the bullet bury itself into my shoulder. I fall back, landing and the wind getting knocked out of me. I squeeze my eyes shut, the pain enveloping me as I cry out. My chest heaves up and down and my hand covers the bullet wound, blood pouring over my fingers and body. I lift my head and see Shane fighting Travis for the gun that’s gripped tightly in his hand.

I hear another gunshot ring throughout the air and I push myself into sitting position. I feel the gun land at my feet and I see Travis on the ground, scooting back in fear now that his weapon is gone. I watch as Shane runs to me, panic in his eyes as he fumbles with gun. He grabs my uninjured arm and pulls me up. I see him briskly take off his denim jacket and press it onto my wound.

“Here, here.” He says hastily. “Hold me this on it.”

I notice something in his voice. Something I’ve only heard a few times before, something that puts a crushing weight against my chest and hurts worse than the lodged bullet in my arm.

Shane’s crying.

He props me under his arm and helps me find my balance. He grabs the tank of gas and turns back to Travis, laying on the ground, bloody and bruised.

Shane’s face goes hard, full of anger when he meets the other man’s eyes. I can feel his body go stiff and hear the rigid breaths he takes. He lets go of me and walks back over to the man who’s still planted on the gravel road, eyes wide and not moving.

“I should really use this on you, you know.” Shane spats, waving the gun in front of Travis’ face. “You fucking shot my best friend and you deserve this.”

He steps back, bloody tears mixed with rain streaming down his face. He swallows and aims the gun at the man on the ground.

He puts his finger to the trigger.

I see him hesitate.

I see his hands shake.

I see Travis scoot back against the gravel.

“Shane, stop it!” I yell, my voice cracking and raised loud against the storm.

His head whips around to me, I see his weak expression amidst the anger and I keep his eyes.

“Stop it.” I repeat, limping to him holding his rain soaked jacket to my bleeding wound.

I fall into him and attempt to pull him to continue down the road. “Come on, let’s go.” I beg, weakly dragging him as his gaze is still fixed on the man. He grabs the tin of gas and turns to the other ahead of us.

The rain is still heavy and thunder roars around us. We’ve gone only a couple yards when Shane stops and shakes me off him. I stumble to the right but keep my footing.

I watch him pull the gun, both hands wrapped around its base and his finger curling around the trigger.

“Shane, no, stop it!”

He doesn’t adhere to my warning and I hear three shots echo through the air.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

“Drop the damn gun!” I shout, anger pulsating through me. “Unless you want more fucking blood on your hands I suggest you drop the gun so we can get the hell out of here!”

Shane’s muscles relax with satisfaction, yet his movements are still rigid when he returns to me.
He eyes are empty and he simply nods in acknowledgment.

“Come on, Shane. Let’s just get out of here.”

He wraps his arm around my waist and helps keep me up as we walk. The pain radiates throughout my body with every step and it’s excruciating. I wince when he accidentally falls into injured arm. He looks at me apologetically, his eyes red and puffy from tears.

His injuries are less extensive than my own. His face took most of it, his cheekbone is black but his eyes still remarkably are not swollen shut despite the hits they took. I can feel him limping beside me, his breathing shallow and I can only assume he’s hurt a rib.

The rain begins to let up ever so lightly, but the thunder still booms loud around us. I hear our footsteps splash against the muddy gravel but it doesn’t all sound right.

“Do you hear something, Shane?” I ask quietly.

“It’s just us walking, it’s okay.” He answers.

I don’t say anything back. I just keep walking, my eyes fixated on the road ahead. My mind begins to wander, fear still not dying down, perhaps it’s even amplifying. I can’t help but think the man hasn’t given up. That he’ll come back for us and we won’t be able to get away.

My mind starts clouding. My mind starts racing and my breathing picks up. I start to feel light headed, I start to become dizzy and my palms begin to sweat. I can’t think straight. I can’t breathe.

I’m panicking.

I can hear Shane speaking to me but it’s inaudible. My hands move to the side of my head, my shoulder screams in pain but I ignore it I can feel the bullet grind against my flesh and blood pours faster down my arm. I feel Shane grip the sides of neck in attempts to snap me out of whatever this trance I can’t get out of. I meet his eyes, I see the softness in them. I blink slowly, not wanting to break this gaze. I’m lost in his eyes and they pull me from my thoughts.

“Ryan, please answer me.” He pleads, the pad of his thumbs stroking my blood stained skin gently.

“I’m okay. I promise.” Is the only thing I can muster.

I can feel him relax and we continue walking. I lean into him, not ever wanting to be away from him again. I ache all over, but I’m so close to him I can hardly tell what’s the beginning of his body and the end of mine. I feel the blood oozing slowly still, when will it ever stop?

I see Shane pull out his phone, the time reads 3:54am. It’s felt like an eternity of fear. Fatigue wears heavily on my eyelids now that my adrenaline begins to fade. I still feel uneasy, the hairs on the back of my neck are still standing on end. I can’t shake the feeling that we’re actually safe. That he’s not coming for us. I catch myself beginning to panic again but I’m interrupted by the piercing cry Shane lets out when Travis slashes his knife across the top of his back.

-

Blood goes everywhere. I hear his shirt rip and feel blood hit my cheeks. Shane immediately turns and gets in a good punch to Travis’ face. The man stumbles backward and Shane’s on him still, anger spilling from him.

The fight doesn’t last much longer. I watch in horror as Shane pins Travis to the ground and drives the bloodied knife through the palm of the man’s hand and into the ground. My eyes widen at Shane’s action but I don’t have much time to panic before he’s screaming at me.

“Ryan, run! We have to go!” He grabs me and pulls me and then we’re running again. Every time my foot hits the earth I feel my wound throb and my legs ache with pain.

“Shane, my wallet.” I call to him from behind. The flashlights from our phones bounce in the darkness as we run sporadically lighting up various areas. The last thing I want Travis to find is my name and every other bit of information.

I stop and try to catch my breath. Shane can hear I’ve stopped and he comes back to me.

“Come on we have to go.” He pleads.

“My wallet, I think I dropped it by the sign we have to find it.”

He nods and grabs my hand, pulling me into a run once again. I pant, my lungs burning with the need for air. Eventually, we come to the sign and see my wallet laying in the muddy road. Right where I’d fallen to my knees. Shane swoops down and grabs it, I see his knife wound stretch with his movement and I hear him hiss in pain. But we don’t stop running.

Everything is blur and before we know it we see the cars headlights blinking rhythmically through the rain. We don’t stop running until we collapse against the side of the car.

“Get in, get in.” Shane commands, out of breath and gasping for air to fill his lungs. In lights of the car I can see where Travis got him with the knife.

It’s a deep slash across the length of his shoulders. Dark blood pours from it, staining his ripped shirt. It gapes open and I can start to feel my stomach churn with nausea looking at it. I can’t seem to pull my eyes away from his back as he fills the tank up with the gas we’d got from the store and before I know it, I’m throwing up on the side of the turnpike.

Shane turns to me, his nose turning up in displeasure and concern. When the tin is emptied, he pops the truck and throws it in. He approaches me and guides me to the passenger seat, helping me in.

I sigh in relief when I slump into the seat and when Shane crawls into the drivers side. He turns the key in the ignition and the sound of the engine starting is music to our ears.

It’s going on 4:30am when Shane floors it. We speed away from the sight, leaving only blood behind.

-

We drive for about an hour until the sun begins to peak through the heavy dark clouds. The rains let up now, only mist comes down now.

I’d fallen asleep, or passed out, almost immediately. I thought it had all mean a dream until I felt the stiff, burning, aching wound in the shoulder. I groan when I shift, the injury throbbing.

“We’re almost to the hospital.” I hear Shane say, my eyes still shut. “It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

I let out a pained moan in response but force my eye open. I turn my head and see the man I could’ve lost tonight. Despite his injuries, I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful.

I see him bite his lip. “Why’d you do that?”

“Do what?” I question, my voice raspy.

“Take that bullet. Why’d you do that, Ryan?” I watch as hot tears begin streaming down his face and the pain in my chest grows. Soon, I’m crying too and choking on my sobs.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I manage through broken cries.

“I could’ve lost you!” He looks at me, pain in his eyes and he’s searching for answers I don’t have.

“But I’m right here.” I reply, slowly reaching my hand out to him. He takes it and gently brings it to his face, placing a wet, tear-mixed kiss on my knuckles.

I hear him whisper ‘thank you’ against my skin and I breathe easier. I know things are going to be okay now. We’re safe and we have scars to prove it.

Because I feel safe with Shane by my side, and nothing too great can ever change that.