WAKE ME UP

CHAPTER 16

Ben and I stop for gas before getting on the Interstate. There's a woman filling up at the next pump, and we start to talk. I don't think either of us is used to talking to random strangers, but it feels like a good way to stay alert and awake. She tells me she's hoping to reach her daughter in Virginia. She tells me I remind her of her daughter.

I tell her I know she'll make it. And then I offer her a couple of Ritalin. She hugs me, and I watch her drive off.

I have five pills left. I convince myself it's enough to get us to Canada.

I finish filling up the tank and wait for Ben to return from the mini-mart. A car speeds by, and I track it. I recognize the vehicle. It's Denise's.

It suddenly pulls a sharp U-turn and barrels into the gas station, nearly slamming into the pumps. Denise leaps out – Ashley and Aimee, too. These girls are rabid now. They're sleep-deprived, like the rest of us, but they're also wired on a mix of Ritalin and cocaine, which they took off Denise's brother when he fell asleep.

"We want more Ritalin," Aimee says.

"Give us your Ritalin," Ashely demands.

"I only have a few left," I tell them.

Denise grabs me and tries to shove her hand into my pockets. "Give them to us!"

I'm knocked to the ground. Ashley and Aimee join in, fighting me, clawing at me – searching for whatever they can find on my body that will satisfy them. I'm like a piece of meat in a lion's den. I actually think they're willing to kill me to get what they want.

Suddenly, the girls are dosed with some sort of liquid. It's gasoline, and it pulls them off of me. We all jump to our feet. They're drenched. It's gotten in their eyes and their mouths. I was spared, only a little wetness on my pants.

Ben is there, holding the pump nozzle. He turned the pump back on and sprayed the girls to save me; the only thing he could think of to do.

"Get in the car," he tells me.

This is my fight, and I don't want to leave it to him – but he tells me again, and I do what he asks. I watch from inside the car, my face pressed to the window.

Ben is holding a lighter he swiped from the mini-mart. He keeps it raised in the air, pushing the girls back. He's threatening to use it. I know he doesn't want to – he knows they're my friends, he has that memory – but he's doing what he has to do to save us both.

I catch Aimee's eye. I think she's apologizing. Or at least I want to believe that.

Ben is suddenly in the car again, and we speed away. I look back at my friends. They're tired and scared and drenched in gasoline. I wish I could've helped them more, but I can't.