Killer Unknown

Chapter 2: Road Trouble

Eight hours into the drive, Penelope prepared to pull over on the side of the highway to switch drivers. They had divided the 35 hours among them so that they didn't have to stop or stay at a hotel. As she gradually slowed the car, Penelope accidently rolled over something that blew out her tire, pulling the little BMW into the grass and scaring the rest of the group.

"What was that?" Beverly yelled as she sat straight up in her seat.

"Oh, I think I hit something," Penelope replied.

"Really, Penelope? If you were tired, why didn't you wake us up to switch?" Jules nagged.

"Stop it, Jules. Can't you see it was an accident?" King frowned.

"It was as I was pulling over to switch, thank you very much. Anyways, it's my car," Penelope stated.

"Yeah, but I don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere because I'm riding in your car!" Jules wailed.

"Jules, please! Not now," King yelled.

All of them exited the vehicle to access the damages. Tension eased between them once they realized that it was just a blown tire.

"Okay, King get to work! You're the muscle among us," Penelope said.

"Yeah, King! Especially since you keep yelling like you are my daddy or something," Jules snarled.

"Really, you are seriously about to play the gender card right now?" King glared.

"I got to use the bathroom," Penelope said running towards the bushes.

"I got to take my medicine," Beverly said rushing to sit back in the car.

"You don't take medicine, Bev!" King yelled.

"I'm not doing it," Jules bluntly stated, slowly making her way into the car.

"Thank you for your honesty. Very convenient and helpful, all of you!" King said shaking his head.

King opened the driver side door to Penelope's BMW and pushed a button which controlled her trunk. Once it was open, he started searching for the tools needed to change the tire. He took out the tire changing kit, which was positioned under the spare tire. He took out the lug nut wrench and started unscrewing each lug nut. He jacked the car up and changed the tire. Just as he was about to put the tools in the trunk, he heard Penelope scream. It took him five minutes to change the tire, so he wasn't suspicious when Penelope didn't come right back. However, he did panic when he heard her yell. He dropped all the tools in the trunk, but kept the lug nut wrench. He yelled to the other girls to stay put and lock the doors. He saw that they were panicking, but he couldn't focus on them. King darted through the woods in the direction Penelope walked in. About a mile into the woods, he saw a man pinning Penelope down on the ground as she pleaded for him to stop.

King rushed to the back of the man and hit him in the head with the lug nut wrench as hard as he could. The man immediately dropped on top of Penelope making her scream even louder. King pushed the man off Penelope, who now had blood on her shirt. He helped her up to her feet.

"Oh my gosh! King, is he dead? I thought that he was going to kill me!" Penelope cried.

"No, I probably just knocked him out. He will have a really bad headache once he wakes up though," King said.

King helped Penelope shake the dirt off her clothes and then he carried her back to the car. Beverly opened the front passenger door and helped King sit Penelope in it.

"What happened to you?" Beverly asked once she returned to her seat in the car.

"When I was finished with my business, a man came out of nowhere and he threw me on the ground. I thought that he was going to kill me! He started to choke me and hit me after I screamed. King heard me and came to my rescue," Penelope explained through sobs.

"Dear God, is the man dead?" Jules gasped.

"Really, Jules?" King yelled.

"Seriously, how can you think of the man when she is the one who was attacked?" Beverly said, shocked.

"We think he was knocked unconscious," Penelope replied once she had calmed down.

"Think, you didn't check? What if he wake up and call the police or something?" Jules questioned.

"And tell the police that he attacked me?" Penelope exclaimed.

"No, but without you it would look like we attacked him. Stay here and lock the doors, I'll go check. For once Jules has a valid point," King said.

"Wait, King! What if he has a gun?" Penelope worriedly asked.

"Don't worry, I can handle myself. If I'm not back in ten minutes, go somewhere safe and then call the police," King said exiting the vehicle.

King darted through the woods with the lug nut wrench still in his hand. He made it a mile out to where he remembered leaving the man, and then returned to the girls shortly after. He got in the driver seat and started the car. The girls stared at him, but all he said was that the man was gone and they needed to get out of there. Penelope curled her legs into a ball and stared out of the window like a loss puppy. If the girls were ever sure about anything, they were completely sure about having King around to take care of them. King drove the rest of the way and didn't show any signs of being tired. Penelope was pretty shaken up by the whole incident, but fell asleep as King rubbed her left shoulder and Beverly rubbed her right shoulder. For once, Jules remained quiet and pretended to be preoccupied. That was her way of being supportive since she believed that she was not the emotions police. Personally, Jules didn't get what all the fuss was about. After all, Penelope was safe.