Secrets Meant to be Forgotten : TMC Fic

Chapter Eight, Welcome Home

I felt like I could finally relax, hands resting against the steering wheel as the car bounced against the potholes in the road. The engine roared softly amidst the dull hum of the radio that filled the silence between us.Trees and road signs passed at my sides, the deep, dull greens and browns of the spring bound forest around me made everything blend together, asphalt road seemingly winding on for hours.

A sigh slipped from my lips, as I glanced back over at Adam and Jonah. The two were still fast asleep, leaning up against each other weakly.

I turned back to face the road,

there wasn't anything to worry about, they'd be fine.

They were still here.

It's been hours after the fall, after I drove away from that little city. Jonah passed out from smacking into the seat in front of him head first when we landed, and Adam was stuck, frozen in place for hours, not really able to say anything. Thank fuck they were both still alive... Adam passed out before the sun rose, collapsing against Jonah. After the gas tank under the car leaked out completely, holes from the chase bleeding gasoline onto the black tar road behind us, I opted to get a new car, eventually finding the one we sat in now, abandoned by the side of the road.

I watched as the trees parted ahead of me, the road twisting into something that felt painfully familiar, almost like a mirror image of a place I'd been before, the memory burning in the back of my mind. As we passed the broken remains of a car, laying at the side of the road, flipped over, I made a turn, eyes looking up to see what I knew I would, the sign standing tall above the treeline, dripping with water.

'Welcome to Mandela County'

I felt my heart skip a beat as I looked back down to the road, the nearly empty city sitting just ahead.

I couldn't just turn back now, cops were probably swarming the last town we came from, looking for us.

But I couldn't just bring them back to Mandela... the county overrun with alternates....

I shook my head, a soft growl coming from the bottom of my chest, I had to focus on them, on their safety. We couldn't just stay on the road forever, not with their injuries.

Was that all I ever did? Think about them?

Mandela drew closer and closer, everything around us quickly lost its color, faint hues visible through the gray tint that choked everything, the roads became empty and alone. I turned onto one of the roads I remembered, glaring over at the house the incident happened in, the house we had our close encounter,

If I didn't stop it, if I wasn't there, they'd both be dead now because of me.

I think they'd be, anyways.

I made a few more turns, getting further into the town, the plants lining the streets looked almost like statues with how lifeless they were, sharp gray leaves pointed up at the sky, much unlike the forest we came from. Clouds filled the sky as it quickly became overcast, a strange, dense fog enveloping us. It was hard to even see a few feet in front of the car, the only signs of life being the few cars driving to my sides every few minutes.

I heard a quiet, groggy groan from behind me, followed by a small yawn.

"Fuck... my head..." Jonah groaned out in pain.

"Morning dude..." my voice was raspy, a grainy feeling trapped in my throat.

Jonah gently pushed Adam off of himself, the blonde falling slack against the seat, face twitching. Jonah's eyes scanned the windows as he looked around, trying to take in as much as they could through the thick gray clouds. His hand brushed up against his forehead, a pained sound coming from him as he looked back at me,