Fates Intertwined

18. | Doja Cat

Zyran opened the driver's side car door for Aurora as they sat on the side of the road. Zyran had demanded that they pull over, which was where they sat currently.

"Get out." He gestured for her to get out along with the words.

"Alright, alright. But don't forget, I'm the reason we're still alive." She stated, pointing a finger.

"And you could've gotten us killed. You don't even know how to drive a car!"

"It's not exactly rocket science." She murmured.

"I'm driving from now on." He made known, placing his arm on the top of the door as she got out.

"Why can't I?" Aurora challenged, placing her hands on her hips.

He quirked a brow. "Let's see, you don't have a license, so if we get pulled over, we'll be arrested. You don't know any traffic safety laws and, oh yeah, you can't drive."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I don't want to drive this thing anyway." She waved a hand.

Lina opened the door and got out, Nara and Eric following. They used the chance to stretch their muscles after running and being stuck in a car for a period of time.

Nara cracked her back as Lina sighed, crossing her arms. "We need to remove the license plate, so we can't be tracked."

Zyran nodded. He walked around the back of the SUV and all but ripped the license plate off the back. "There." He threw it inside the car. There wasn't one on the front, so he didn't need to worry about that one.

Aurora climbed into the passenger's side, leaving the door open with one foot on the ground. She was searching the car. Opening the glove department, she pulled out the papers and scanned through them. "What's a speeding ticket? I know it has something to do with speeding, but the only ticket I think of is one to a theater."

"Yeah, a front row ticket to court." He retorted, grabbing the papers from her. She continued going through the glove box, finding CDs and cords. "Bunch of DUIs."

"All the more reason why we don't need to be getting pulled over." Lina commented.

"I found this... Whatever this is." She mumbled, holding up a cord.

"A charger!" Lina yelled, lunging for it. She grabbed it and tried to plug it into her phone but frowned. "Damn Samsung."

"I'll take it." Zyran said, taking the charger from her. "We can charge my phone and use it to get to the Midnight Oasis."

"The what?" Nara's face scrunched.

"The Midnight Oasis." Aurora called. "It's where the Unaffected resides." She was flipping through the CDs. "What the hell is a Doja Cat?"

"She's a singer." Nara answered, poking her head inside.

"Why are you asking?" Zyran asked, sitting in the driver's seat and plugging the charger in. Aurora held up one of the CDs, revealing it to him. "Oh."

She nodded. "Yeah. Why don't we listen to some...whatever this is...on the way to Midnight Oasis?"

"No." Zyran immediately opposed the idea, plucking the CD from Aurora's hands. She rolled her eyes, tossing the papers and CDs back in the glove box. "We shouldn't have to fill the tank, but we might have to, depending on how far it is." Zyran told the group.

Eric sighed. "I'm hungry and I have a headache."

"Why do you have a headache?" Aurora asked, looking up at him.

He shrugged. "It's normal."

She nodded slowly. "There's snacks back there." She pointed.

Lina sighed. "Move." Eric moved out of her way and she lifted the bags up onto the seat from the floorboards, but then she pulled the seat forward and climbed into the very back. "I'm taking a nap. You guys do whatever you want." She said, moving the seat back. Eric shrugged.

"Come on. Let's get going before they manage to find us again." Zyran said, climbing inside fully and shutting the door. Aurora did the same.

Eric and Nara climbed inside, putting the bags on the floor after getting a snack and a drink. They put their seatbelts on and unsurely, Aurora followed them. She didn't know the rules for a car, or how they worked. She was still wrapping her head around the fact that they existed.

Zyran plugged his phone in and typed in the Midnight Oasis in the search bar on Google Maps. Then he was starting the car and pulling onto the road, turning around to go in the direction the GPS told him. The car ran smoothly, much smoother than when Aurora had driven.

Reaching into the backseat, she grabbed one of the half-eaten bags of chips and began eating out of it. It was still dark, but the sun would be rising soon.

As she ate, she looked around the car. There were so many unfamiliar items. She reached up and pressed a button, turning on the light and revealing more of the car that she couldn't see before.

Zyran turned it back off. "Don't turn the light on while I'm driving."

"Is that a rule?"

"Yeah. My rule."

She rolled her eyes, sitting back in her seat. She turned to look out the window, watching the dark trees go by. As she watched, she found her eyes falling and she was sinking into the darkness she had become all too familiar with.