Smells Like Winter

20: Driver's License

Maddy screamed as she plummeted down, the gravity pulling her to the earth into a weightless free fall.

Her body slammed against the flat, solid ground with a thud, and the pain vibrated through her, brutal waves crashing onto her entire body. She was twisted on her side, facing what looked like a sleek, black surface, but a thick cloud of dust had been lifted in the air, blurring her sight. The tiny, grey particles were whirling like mini-tornados all around her. She rolled on her back, moaning at the impact of the motion and coughing at the thickness of the air. Stars were dancing in her vision like a silver halo; she must've hit her head on her way down. She could hear voices shouting in the distance, but the sound came from far away and it was muffled, as if she was in a dream-or in a nightmare.

A thump echoed on the ground somewhere near where she was lying, the sound dull, yet somehow louder than a bomb exploding next to her ear.

That was all it took for her to come to herself.

Her weak arms pushed her up on her feet fast, trembling slightly. Her head was ringing. It felt heavy on her neck and shoulders, but she ignored it. Another thump. And another two. Her eardrums slowly adjusted to the sounds around her as she eyed her surroundings.

An ink-black Ford was parked in front of her in all its majesty. She was in the garage.

With her eyesight already restored and clear, she discovered that those thumps she had heard were feet hitting the floor as they landed safely and sturdily on it.

Unlike her-she was lucky she hadn't broken anything.

Carter, Logan, Mia and Sia were all down with her, waving their hands in front of their faces to get rid of the fog of dust attacking their eyes.

"Well, thank got Mia got her foot stuck in the decking last year," mumbled Logan, and Maddy finally understood what they'd all been looking for in the veranda earlier.

She couldn't get her mind to register what happened in the next few seconds.

She heard a harsh creak. She snapped her head towards the direction from which the sound came. She saw the garage door slowly lift upwards. Through the little crack of the opening, she saw pairs of heavy boots.

The garage door was opening, and there were men, most probably armed, waiting on the other side.

She didn't know how many they were. She looked back at the others. Carter threw something at her. She grabbed it on the last second before it slipped her hands, which were still a bit shaky from the shock of the fall. She looked at the black and silver object in her dirty palm. She looked back at Carter.

"Drive!" he yelled. Everybody got in the car with no further do, before she could even open her mouth.

Only then did she realise that, this whole time, she had been standing right in front of the driver's seat.

Her legs didn't move an inch. She broke into cold sweat.

Drive!

Panic overwhelmed her. She looked at the car like it was an activated bomb in her hands. The garage door was still opening, wider and wider.

Shit. Holy shit. Holy freaking-

"What are you looking at? Get in!" Carter's roaring voice made her flinch.

She opened the door. She sat on the driver's seat. She turned the car on with the key Carter had thrown at her only a moment ago. She grabbed the steering wheel, knuckles flexing white from the pressure of her tight grip. Her numb feet landed on the two pedals in front of them.