The Science of Words--Sabotage

Part 1: In the middle of nowhere

Our car is the only one on this long road in the middle of nowhere. I don't know where we're going. If I could just ask my mom, but I don't think she'd want me to. Evelyn's crying in her booster seat next to me, but I've never been good at calming her, so I'm not even going to try. That's Ivrian's job. If only Ivrian was here.

Mom pulled me out of school early just to do this. I don't know why, I don't see how I'm needed. Can't she drive in the middle of nowhere by herself? Why bring me and Evelyn?

At least the road is smooth-ish, and my stomach isn't getting bumped around every half a second. Not that I feel great either way, but I think the ride would be unbearable if I was sicker than I am now. Did my mom not remember that I'm the one not to bring on car rides? She never does seem to care much, so maybe.

----

The car jerks onto a side road, and I nearly throw up as I'm pulled from my half-asleep state. A lone farmhouse looms in the distance, illuminated in the sun that's almost ready to set.

The car door I'm leaning on is pulled open before the car even comes to a stop and I nearly fall out. Standing above me is the man who opened the door. He's tall and thin and is wearing a black hoodie with the hood drawn up to shade his face.

"This all?" He asks my mom.

"Yes," I hear my mom say, her voice shaking just a little.

"Good," the man says. "All of you, come inside." And suddenly he's smiling, leading us into the farmhouse like we're old friends.

Inside the house looks like a historic site, with large paintings and old-fashioned wooden furniture. The tall man leads us past all the grandeur to an inconspicuous door. Taking my mom by the hand gently, he turns and looks at us.

"You two can explore the house. Won't that be fun! Just remember to come back to the front door when I call you!" 

I turn around, but look back as I leave the room we're in. The man's gentle hold on my mother seems tighter, though it could just be a trick of the light.

"Come on, Evelyn," I say, taking my sister's hand and leading her away. "Let's go explore until mom gets back."

"Okay," Evelyn says, smiling at me.

"Have you been here before, Evy?" I ask her.

"Mm-hm," Evelyn says, nodding her little head vigorously.

"Well, then you can show me around." I say, faking a smile. Really, though, I'm terrified. How often have mom and Evelyn been here before? 

----

I'm sitting in one of the fancy upholstered chairs that live in the house, Evelyn playing with one of her dolls that she must've brought from home at my feet when I hear the man calling to us. He calls our names, though I don't know where he learned our names from. I pick up Evelyn and head back the way we came to the door.

My mom is smiling, but in a really tight way. The man is smiling widely in an overbearingly genuine way. He's still holding my mom's hand, and his knuckles are whiter than they should be.

"Time for you guys to go, I'm afraid," he says. 

"Yes, it's time to go," my mom says, taking Evelyn from me. "Come on guys!" Her voice is falsely happy, and my fear intensifies.

We leave the house and the man walks us down the driveway back to our car. The sun is going down, and in the last rays I can see that the car seems shinier than it should be. Maybe someone cleaned it? That doesn't feel like the right answer, though.

As we near the car, I reach out a hand to touch the a shinier bit, but before I can touch it, the man takes my hand. He pretends that he's just helping me into the car, but really, I think he didn't want me to touch the car. 

----

We're drawing closer to the city when I start hearing it. There's a sound coming from our car that isn't the sound of normal driving. The car seems to be getting hotter, too. I look at my mom's face. It's drawn and stricken, as if she's also realized something is wrong with the car. Why isn't she doing anything? 

"Mom, the car's making a weird noise," I tell her. Evelyn, who's asleep in her car seat beside me, stirs a little at my voice.

"No, it isn't," my mom says, but her voice doesn't sound confident, but rather the opposite, as if she knows she's telling a lie.

Before I can say anything else, a rushing noise fills my ears, and I'm thrown backward as the car accelerates rapidly. I see my mom put her head in her hands, which she has removed from the wheel, then all I can see is a pure red light that's fades to blue as I throw myself against the car door in a instinctual act to escape. The door opens, flying off the vehicle, throwing me out with it. I hit the ground and watch as the car continues for twenty more feet, engulfed in bright flames than explodes, raining hot metal and various other bits of things onto me and the ground for a mile around.

"No," I whisper as the light from the car fire fades as if it was never there, leaving me with only the stars for company in the middle of nowhere.