“I need a break,” Viola murmured, rubbing her eyes as she pulled over at the side of the road. The necessity of being observant at every second made driving even just a short distance an exhausting activity. The sun had nearly set, the orange glow singeing the scenery. We checked our mirrors, but the road was empty, as it had been for the last hour. We’d not seen another soul for most of the drive, the highway we’d taken being, thankfully, not a popular choice.
“Ready?” she asked, looking over at me. I nodded and we kicked into action, swiftly stepping out of the car and switching sides. Once we were back in the car and safe again, I rubbed her shoulder.
“Get some rest, Vi. Both the kids are out cold and I’m fine to drive for a bit,” I smiled weakly, but the needle on the fuel gauge wiped it quickly from my face. “Though, I don’t know how much further we'll get on that.”
“Where’s the nearest gas station?” she wondered, peering out the window. “I think there’s one up ahead, right?”
I shrugged, “I hope so. There’s no guarantee there’s anything there though, or that it’s working.”

The station had a convenience store attached to it and appeared to have been completely abandoned. It was a remote location, after all. Presumably people had fled at the beginning of all this and forgotten about it.
“You think the pumps still work?” Viola asked, hopefully.
I peered out of the windshield at them, “Doubt it. Don’t they need electricity?”
Viola shrugged and poked her head out of the car into the last of the sunlight. She scouted out our surroundings and then wound her neck back in.
“All clear,” she said, with a nod in my direction. I checked on the girls again but both were still fast asleep, so I hauled myself out of the car to join Viola. She tested a pump – nothing.
“Fuck, can’t we catch a break?” she groaned, jamming the nozzle back onto its base.
“Maybe there’s a backup power generator or something somewhere?” I suggested.
“Uh-huh, and you know how to work those do you?” She asked, sarcastically. I narrowed my eyes at her, but she ignored me, testing another pump.
“Well, if one’s not working, then none of them will,” I sassed, sore from her jab. It was her turn to give me a look.
“Nice one,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes. “Shall we check out the store?”
“You wait here,” I ordered, glancing back at the car. “I’ll go check it out.”
My fingers slid around my waist, making sure that I’d still got my knife on me. Feeling the smooth wood of the handle gave me just enough courage. I stumbled forwards, my nerves making me jittery. I kept one hand on my knife, the other fist clenched tight with apprehension. Beads of sweat emanated from my pores as I got closer to the store. I freaked out at the last moment and jogged the last 10 yards until I was pressed firmly against the wall. One less direction to worry about things approaching from. I moved along with wall until I got to the door. Locked. How typical, I thought, rolling my eyes at my luck – or lack of it. The door was predominantly made of glass. I could just break it, I suppose? I chose a rock from the rugged ground nearby and quickly looked around for witnesses before slipping my tee off with a giggle. What a stupid time to panic about someone seeing me in a bra. I wrapped the piece of fabric around my hand and took a deep breath. This is how they do it in the movies, right? I pulled my fist back and then pounded it forward, rock first, with all my might.

The glass shattered, making me flinch a little. I grinned at my triumph until I felt an odd sensation. The warm liquid oozed down my arm before I had even registered the pain, leaving me confused for a moment before what I’d done clicked in my brain.
“Oh, fuck,” I groaned, looking down to check the damage. “Oh, FUCK!”
“What?” Viola called over from the pumps, “What’s wrong? Where's your t-shirt?”
I closed my eyes, trying not to look. The sight of it made me a little dizzy. Leaning back against the wall, I took deep breaths as I tried to regain my senses.
“Jesus Christ, Marina. What the fuck did you do?” Viola scolded me as she approached.
I whimpered, “I may have sliced my arm open trying to break in to the store.”
“You’re a moron,” Viola chastised, “Why didn’t you use a rock or something?”
“I did,” I protested, as she grabbed my arm to inspect the cut. She looked at it from a few different angles before groaning.
“We need to do something with this,” she grumbled before turning to examine the small hole I’d made in the glass. “Let’s finish breaking in and find something to stop the bleeding, you fucking idiot.”
“Oh god, there’s so much blood,” I stuttered, opening one eye to look.
She rolled her eyes, “Well sure there’s blood, you have a great big gash on your arm. Wrap your t-shirt around your arm and put pressure on it. You’re lucky I’m a nurse, Mar.”
“Please do something with it,” I pleaded, watching her pick up the rock I’d discarded. She carefully knocked the remaining glass out of the lower portion of the frame and ducked down.
“Now don’t rip your knees up crawling through this,” she jibed, clambering in through the gap she’d cleared. I followed her carefully, still dripping blood from my wound. Viola immediately strode around the store, looking for anything she could use. I sat against a shelf, trying to breathe through my light-headedness.
“Here,” she knelt down next to me, and laid out her supplies – a small first aid kit, vodka, dental floss, dishcloths and a travel sewing kit.
“Are you for real?” I choked out, my eyes widening in alarm.
“What else did you expect?” she scoffed, “We’re in a convenience store, not a hospital. It’s this or duct tape.”
She ripped open the packet of dishcloths and handed one to me.
“What’s this for?” I asked, looking at it in bewilderment.
“Stuff it in your mouth and bite down. This is going to sting,” she warned, waving the vodka at me. “Want a few swigs before I start?”
“Uh, I’m driving remember?” I reminded her, nodding my head towards the car.
She raised an eyebrow, “Not in your state, you’re not.”
She had a point, so I grabbed the vodka from her and greedily chugged a load. I came up for air, spluttering and trying not to throw up.
Viola levered the bottle from my fingertips with a frown, “I think that’s enough. Don't want you thinning your blood too much.”
“I fucking hate vodka,” I coughed and grimaced at the taste in my mouth, eyeing Viola as she slid her belt out from the loops of her trousers and wrapped it around my arm, pulling it as tight as she could. She washed the needle down with the alcohol and then motioned for me to stuff the rag in my mouth. I complied, feeling my heart rate rising as she expertly threaded dental floss through a thin needle. She licked her lips nervously and looked me in the eye.
“Are you ready?” she checked, pulling my soaked t-shirt away from my arm. I nodded, nervously watching her tip the bottle over my arm.
The sting instantly made me clamp my jaw down and tightly curl my toes. As my teeth ground into the rag in my mouth, I let out a guttural growl. My god, it burned.
“Keep still,” Viola instructed, trying to work as quickly as she could. She pushed the needle through my skin, looping the thread through the other side and pulling the wound closed. She muttered apologies as she stitched, stopping occasionally for me to catch my breath and nod that I was okay to continue. I was sweating bullets and fighting to keep the contents of my stomach down, unsure of whether a few mouthfuls of vodka had been a good idea. Finally, she finished her suturing with a small stitch and patted me on the shoulder sympathetically. She dug through the first aid kit for a gauze and then pressed it to her work, holding it tightly in place with a bandage.
“Pressure,” she ordered. I nodded, spitting out my rag, and held my wrist as tightly as I could. Her voice softened as she gave me a weak smile, “You did good.”
“You did better,” I replied, shakily. The vodka was beginning to set in and the slight buzz was thankfully taking the edge off the pain. Viola loosened the belt from my arm and rethreaded it around her waist.
“Stay here,” she commanded, leaving me slumped by the shelf as she searched the store for anything useful. When she returned, she pressed a couple of small red pills into my hand.
“Advil’s the best we’ve got for now,” she said, apologetically. “Take these and then we'll get you back to the car. I’ll see if I can siphon some gas somehow, okay?”
I nodded, throwing the tablets back into my mouth and swallowing them down with the nearest thing to hand – more vodka. I was beginning to feel pretty buzzed from the mix of alcohol and shock. I sent Viola shaky laugh, “You might have to help me get up, my legs are like jelly.”
“Yeah, I thought they might be. You're a pussy,” she quipped, with a wink. She helped me get to my feet, letting me lean against the shelf for a minute to try and catch my balance. I was about to throw an insult back her way when a screech rang out from the forecourt, stopping us both in our tracks.

“That’s pretty gnarly,” Jimmy grinned, prodding at the jagged scar that peeked out from my jacket. I pulled my wrist away from him with a scowl.
“Do you always invade people’s personal space?” I chided, raising an eyebrow at him.
He nodded with a wicked grin, ignoring my displeasure, “Always.”
“You can get used to that,” Matt snickered from across the van. Jimmy beamed, wearing his irritating nature as a badge of honour.
“So?” he persisted, gesturing for me to elaborate. When I didn’t, he opened his mouth again, “How’d you get it?”
He grabbed my wrist and slid my sleeve up, taking a closer look at the scar. I sighed, as I realised this wasn’t being let go any time soon.
“She sliced it on a glass door,” Hallie piped up before I could try and blow him off. “Mom had to stitch it up in a gas station and then Auntie Maz cried for, like, 2 hours afterwards.”
“Yep, thank you for that, Hallie. I think that about sums it up,” I huffed, not wanting to relive my dramatics from the post-injury car journey. Jimmy snorted with laughter at my embarrassment. Matt, meanwhile, looked impressed.
“Your sister stitched it up, not a hospital? So this happened recently?” he asked, taking his turn to gawp at the thick white line that ran down my arm.
“If by ‘recently’ you mean since this pandemic, then yes, it happened recently,” I replied, shimmying my sleeve back down.
“Mom used dental floss,” Hallie offered again, enjoying their reactions.
“Dude,” Jimmy gasped, grabbing my wrist back again with an enthralled look. “That’s bad-ass!”
“Can I have my arm back please?” I grumbled, as he peered at it closely.
“Maybe you could actually see it properly if you had your glasses on, Jim,” Matt interjected with a laugh. Jimmy aimed a kick in his direction which he swiftly dodged.
“Is there still floss in there?” Jimmy asked, manipulating my skin under his warm fingertips to try and look at it more closely.
“What? No,” I shook my head, bewildered, finally persuading him to relinquish his grasp on me.
Matt leaned forwards, “So it healed okay?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I still have my arm,” I shrugged.
“My mom is a nurse. Was a nurse. She took care of us,” Hallie put in, her voice getting quieter with each word until it was barely audible. She looked away, pressing her lips tightly together. I would have offered her comfort in my arms, but she was long past wanting anything like that from me. She was only still with me because she had had no other option.
“Your mom sounds like a pretty cool one,” Matt consoled her in a gentle voice. Hallie looked up at him and nodded slowly.
“She was,” she answered, dropping her gaze back to the floor. The moment was interrupted by a cheer from Brian and Johnny in the front of the van.
Johnny punched the air and called out, “California, baby!”

A small celebration erupted between the boys at the declaration. Hallie’s eyes found mine, her brown orbs full of deep sorrow.
“Be strong,” I mouthed at her, before breaking away from her gaze and trying to hide my own grief. It was hard to join in with the jovial chatter of the boys when the very thought of Cali for us was tainted with Viola’s unfulfilled ambition. I ran my finger down my scar, blocking out the festivities by repeating her name over and over in my mind.

Viola, Viola, Viola.

Notes

We're getting close to home <3