The Race

012 | Cami

It's been a while since we were in Australia. Now we were on our way to our next destination, Colombia. We have found four out of seven clues so far.

"Oh no no no!" Harper shouted, going way past the speed limit.

"How did he find us?" I asked. "I cover our tracks."

"Well, not well enough!" Naomi snapped. "I bet he was here to kill us!"

They would be terrible. Aralee had just started to walk again and Naomi could spend the day without her bandages on. They were both still hurt, but they were getting better. Maybelle, however, was a different story...

"It's fine! It's okay!" Harper said, gripping the wheel tightly. "I threw him off. He'll be hurt. We can get the clue before he ever comes back."

"I hope so," I said solemnly.

"What do you think he wants?" Lark asked.

"Our lives, idiot! He's going to find us and kill us! His bag was bright red. We should have known," Naomi groaned.

"Yeah... but look at the bright side-"

"Cami, shut it. There is no bright side! He is going to kill me," Naomi said.

"He might kill one of us," Harper said. "Not that you would care."

"I wouldn't," Naomi agreed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Guys, look at the bright side," I said again. "The only good reason they would send him to kill us is if they are behind."

Aralee gasped happily. "You're right!" Aralee said, her face lighting up. "Cami is right! We are ahead! Guys, this is awesome!"

"We don't know that for sure," Maybelle muttered from the back. She had been weirdly quiet since her injury.

"Harper, petal to the metal!" Aralee said cheerfully. "We can get there before he finds us and win The Race!"

Everyone, besides Naomi, seemed to have their spirits lifted by Aralee's short but sweet speech. A conversation began and soon enough the pressure of The Race seemed to fade away. The boy that had stood on the rear bumper seemed to fade away as well.

"It's getting dark," I said, looking at the darkening sky. "We should try to park somewhere."

"No way," Harper said. "I just need an energy drink and a fruit cup and I can drive all night. Tell me when you see a gas station."

"Okay, if you say so." I looked out of the window for half an hour before a gas station came into view.

"There is one right there!"

"Cool," Harper said, making a sharp turn into the small parking lot.

"Asia will open the door since it's probably locked. Everyone use the bathroom and grab some food," I said. Everyone got out of the van and did as I instructed, for the most part. Asia had to rebandage Maybelle's arm and steal the food, so it took a while. But we got back in the car sooner than later.

"Everyone good?" Harper asked.

"Yup! That was so easy! Now we have a ton of food and-" Aralee was cut off as Harper pushed down on the gas pedal, sending us all flying backward into our seats.

"Woah!" Aralee said with a laugh. "You really want to go fast!"

"We still have three days till the gala," I pointed out. "Are you sure you don't want to rest?"

"I'll be fine," Harper said, taking a sip of her drink. "Early is better than late."

"I guess that's true," I said. "But please drive slowly so the rest of us can rest."

"Sure."

I leaned my seat back and pulled out my hoodie. The orange tank top was nice when I was running around, but not when I was sleeping. My grandmother told me once about things called seasons. How they changed the trees and the temperature. I would sometimes wonder what it would be like, but I'm glad for the constant weather and temperature. It's stable. Plus, if I wanted to go in the snow, I could just go to a snow park. If I wanted heat, I could go to a beach place.

I quickly fell asleep, only to wake up to booming pop music.

"Stop this!" Naomi yelled. "I've told you a billion times! STOP THE MUSIC!"

"Harper, please," I said groggily, peeling open my eyes.

Harper rolled her eyes. "Sorry that I'm playing music in the afternoon!"

"We have been sleeping that long?" Asia asked. "My mother would have my skin if she found out."

"Yeah, well, I hope you enjoyed your sleep," Harper said. "I'm dead tired."

"I can take over driving if you want," Lark offered.

"Or... we could take a break?" I suggested.

"Whatever. I don't care as long as I can sleep," Harper said.

"How much longer do we have to drive?" I asked.

"Two hundred miles. I think..." Harper said. "I might have lost track."

"We can do that in two days," I said. Harper turned off the road and turned into the forest.

"What are you DOING?" Naomi exclaimed. "We're going to hit a tree!"

Harper rolled her eyes, dodging trees. She quickly parked the car after we were deep into the forest. "We're fine," she said.

"Harper, we were really close to hitting trees!" Maybelle exclaimed.

"The mute girl speaks," Harper said sarcastically.

"I'm just so done with this," Maybelle said.

"We all are," I mumble.

"Well, no one will notice us here, so I've done my job. Night," Harper said, leaning her seat as far back as it could go, almost hitting Naomi.

"Watch it," Naomi hissed, slamming open the car door. Everyone besides Maybelle walked outside.

Asia sat down with a book. I did the same. Every now and then I would look up to find the other girls training. Aralee would be shooting trees with her bow, Lark would be lifting weights, and Naomi would be... doing her hair.

As I read the final pages of my book, the sun had started to set. I looked up to find that Maybelle had come out and started sharpening knives. I had no idea how long she had been there. Aralee had switched to her blow gun and Naomi was sewing something.

"Hey guys!" Harper called from inside the van. The window was rolled down and she had her pop music blasting again. "Let's hit the road! Lark is driving!"

I stood up and closed my book. I climbed into the front seat. All the other girls climbed into the car behind me.

By this time tomorrow, we would be at the Stallions' Gala.