Alina whispers something to Aya.
"We're hungry," Aya says.
"What do you want to eat?" Mitch asks.
"Anything," Aya says, dramatically.
"Okay. Si, which restaurant did you say had the really good rotten tomatoes?" Mitch asks.
"The one with the squid and chicken's feet," Silas says.
"No! Gross," Aya says.
"I thought you'd be okay with anything," Mitch says.
"Where do you want to eat, Charlie?" Silas asks.
"NOT the one with the rotten tomatoes," he says. I chuckle.
"How about McDonald's," Mitch says.
"Soungs good," I say. Silas pulls out an old laptop.
"Where are we?" He asks.
"Twenty five miles from Green River," Mitch says, scanning a green sign.
"I think I can make some progress by then," Silas says.
"What do you mean?" Charlie asks.
"Silas can fix any computer you put in front of him," Mitch says, "There's five other computers in the back that he's fixing."
"But this one right here," Silas says, picking a laptop off the floor of the van, "This is my baby."
"It just looks like an old, beat up computer," Charlie says. Silas rolls his eyes.
"It is an old, beat up computer," Silas says, "but it's unlike any other old, beat up computer out there. I made this from scratch. And I changed a few things. It's as fast as the newer ones. Faster, even. And much less of a battery hog."
"Cool," Charlie says, "How'd you do that?"
"I would tell you, but I'd have to kill you," Silas says. Charlie smiles.
"The problem is most of the time, they're missing parts that are usually hard to find, or cost some money," Mitch says, "Which we don't have. And, since we usually get the ones that no one else can fix, they take forever."
"We could just steal something to eat," I say.
"Yeah, that's usually easier," Mitch says, "But we don't want Them following our crime wave." I nod.
"Looks like we're almost there," Charlie says, nodding at a sign that says Green River: ten miles.
"How fast are we going?" Silas asks.
"A little over the speed limit," Mitch says. Silas glances at the spedometer.
"Yeah, a little," he says.
Mitch rolls her eyes, "Fine, I'll slow down. Pussy."
We make it to Green River in a few minutes. When we stop in an empty parking lot, Silas is still staring at the computer, scrolling through lists of error codes. We head to McDonald's, but the opportunity for theivery never arrives.
The sky, which was shades of pinks and purples while we were driving, is now deep shades of azure. We search for a place to sleep. Mitch spots a playground. Charlie and I squeeze into the tower at the top of the tall slide. The twins crawl into the tube slide. Silas curls up under the rock climbing wall. Mitch sits on the steps to keep watch.
In the middle of the night, Mitch wakes me up. She holds a finger to her lips, indicating that I shouldn't wake Charlie.
"Your turn to watch," Mitch whispers. She falls asleep on a nearby bench. I can't help but glance at her every once and awhile. She looks so peaceful in her sleep, so delicate. I smile at the thought. Mitch, delicate? I've known her for less than a day, and I can already tell she's about as delicate as a rock.
I hear Charlie stir behind me. But I see he's still asleep. He has this funny way of tapping his foot while he's asleep. Not like a dog, more like he's counting music.
The view is beautiful. There's a plateau in the background, that reminds me of a lone crustacean on a rock. The moon is only a thin fingernail in the sky, making the stars seem brighter. I look around the clearing and yawn. There's no one in sight. I feel my eye lids getting heavier and heavier. But I keep them open. A slight breeze rattles the chains of the swing set. It carries with it the familiar scents of trees, dust, and tar.
I start awake. Silas' nose is an inch from mine.
"If I can get this close, They can get this close. If They can get this close, we're dead," he snarls, "I wouldn't give a rat's tail if it was just your own life you were risking. But it's all of our's. I didn't make it this long to die from some idiot's mistakes."
"Then get out of my face, idiot," I snarl, spitting in his face. He almost punches me, but Mitch grabs his arm and yanks him back.
"Si, don't," she says, standing in between us. Silas calls me a word that I'm surprised he'd use in front of the twins and Charlie, who are now awake. I side step Mitch and tackle him.
It's hard to tell who's winning after that. I don't know how bad I'm hurt. I don't feel anything but rage. I don't feel his knuckles slamming into my chest. I just hear the wind wooshing out of me. I give him a kick in the ribs in return. He grabs the leg I kicked with and I lose my balance, falling to the ground. I see his foot on my chest and his fist flying towards my face. I grab it and knock him off, putting my foot on his chest. Before I can raise my fist, he hits me in the jaw and pushes me off. I spit out blood and kick his feet out from under him. He hits his head on the one of the supports holding the slide, but gets back up and crashes into me, sending us to the ground again, where we start rolling, throwing punches and trying to get on top.
Mitch grabs my hair and yanks me away. She grabs Silas's arm and puts him in a half nelson. He struggles to get out. Charlie comes up and slips his hand into mine. He hands me a book and points to a line. Ephesians 4: In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. The Bible. I sigh. I don't want to think about that. I just want to think about pounding my fist into that stupid Silas. I clench and unclench the hand that Charlie isn't holding.
"What was that about?" Charlie whispers. I shrug. Mitch has got Silas cooled down enough to get him into the van. She motions for me to get into the back of the van, as far from Silas as possible. Charlie sits next to me and the twins get in the middle. Mitch shoots a venomous glare my way, and a matching one towards Silas. Then she starts the car and we drive away.
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