One Way In, No Way Out

One Way In, No Way Out: Chapter 4

            An hour had passed and the crew hadn’t even passed the Northern Carolina border. A trip on the road was quite boring, for Charlotte especially.

The silence bothered her so she clicked on the radio.

She tuned the radio to a station that had a familiar tone. She noticed it was a favorite song of hers, Here In Your Arms by Hellogoodbye.

Char turned the volume up loud enough so that no one could hear her sing along to it.

After just ten seconds, an annoyed sigh came from Steve and he turned the station to where he liked a less annoying song, Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship. He started singing like a wise guy after smiling.

Charlie turned to Steve giving him a bitter look and turned her preferred station again.

Steve gave her an irritating stare, not even looking at the road once and changed it back. It went on back and forth until Katie clicked off her seat belt and reaching to turn of the radio.

”Stop fooling around and watch the road! You can have staring games when we get there.” Katie said irritated and fell back into her seat, buckling her seat belt.

”Stephanie..” Charlotte mumbled.

”What was that, Char?” Steve snapped. He heard her.

”Nothing. Watch the road.”

Steve placed his vision back to the road as Charlie just reached in her back pack for her ipod, listening to whatever she wanted.

She turned her head to the car behind her wondering how Chris, Sam And Brianna were doing.

**In Chris’s car.**

Brianna was yapping her head off towards Chris and Sam even though Sam was fast asleep.

Chris was trying hard to ignore Brianna with the distraction of following the bumper of Charlotte’s car. He turned to Sam realizing she was looking a bit pale and her eyesbrows furrow around.

It was ten after three and Charlie figured they still have a long way to go.

She turned to the window and her eyes closed thinking she’d just enjoy the music.

Brianna noticed this also and nudged Sam from the back seat. Sam woke up and suddenly wasn’t pale so much.

”Sam!” Brianna exclaimed. “I’m not done with my story. Stay awake and listen…” She trailed off as if she were hyped up on sugar.

**In Charlottes Car**

After a few songs on Charlotte’s ipod, It was silent. Her ipod had stopped playing and shut off.

She opened her eyes and tried turning on but it wouldn’t budge. She thought the batteries were dead and set the ipod and ear buds on her lap.

Charlie looked around finding Steve and Katie were how she left them. Steve looking at the road and Katie reading a magazine.

Charlie went in her backpack again putting her ipod away but taking out her bag of addicting pistachio’s.

As she started eating them out of there shells, She asked Katie and Steve, “Want some?”

No one answered. No one was even oblivious to her voice.

”Hello?” ,  Charlotte asked waving the bag in Steve’s face.

”Are you really still mad now about the radio?”

No answer.

Katie didn’t even look up either.

Charlie felt strange and confused. She reached over and honked the horn a few times.

No response.

It’s as if Charlie was invisible or was on mute.

Charlotte looked in the side view mirror. She took double take to see a tragic scene.

Steve’s car that is supposedly driven by Chris was in ruin, as if a stampede had gone by.  

Smoke was wising out everywhere. Charlie opened her window to get a better look. The hood in front was banged up and distorted along with most of the rest of the car. The front windshield shattered.

Someone was certainly driving but Charlie couldn’t tell who. The car was swerving all over the place as if the person driving wanted to get by. What really surprised Charlotte was the person in the car was honking there own horn.

She gasped as the car got closer to the bumper. Charlie went back into her seat and lurched forward thinking that car had bumped her bumper. She yelped and lookedback out the window.

The car started honking even more and Charlotte new for sure they would crash into her car. Her car was heading 35 mph and the car behind would soon scrunch the back of her car to her and then they would spin out of control.

Charlie sat back down in her seat, covering her ears. But she could hear the honking and the speeding of the car behind. She knew it was about to hit. She screamed and closed her eyes tightly.

The madness stopped after she felt a hand on her shoulder. Everything was silent when she opened her eyes. She swung around to look out the back window. The car behind with Sam, Brianna and Chris in it was fine. Charlie turned back in her seat and noticed Stephen and Katie glaring at her.

She looked forward realizing she had fallen asleep and that she was panting.

”Are you alright, Charlie?” Steve said resting a hand on her shoulder and putting it in a circular motion.

”Uh,” Charlie hesitated. “Just a bad dream.”

“What happened?” Steve took his hand off her shoulder and setting it on the wheel.

”I- I don’t want to talk about it.” Charlie looked at the clock reading 5:15 p.m. “Why didn’t you guys wake me up earlier? I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

”Well,” Katie started. “I said ‘Look how cute she is when she sleeps.’”

”But,” Steve interrupted. “Then she wanted to sprinkle water in you face.”

”I would of…” Katie looked towards the floor. “But Steve said ‘don’t, look how nice quiet and peaceful she is.’ I didn’t anyways after you started mumbling random things we couldn’t make out. And breathing faster. Then I woke you up.”

Charlotte was angry about Katie’s water idea but also shrugged it off of the thought of being woken up.

A noise came from Charlie’s stomach.

“We should make a stop to eat. I’m getting hungry.”

“Me too.” Steve stated. “There’s a place at the next exit. We’ll go there.”

Katie and Charlie nodded. Charlotte was thinking of her dream.

She reckons it was just her nerves. But how does that still explain those eyes she saw back at home in her garage, getting the car?

She didn’t know any explanation exactly but thought if she had some brain food, she’d get some idea.

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Video for this Chapter: Afterife- Avenged Sevefold.

Banner is of Sophia Bush played by Chrlotte Hitch

Tumblr in the external link :)(: