Broken Silence (Currently Re-Writing)

Chapter 8: Met My Match

Chapter 9: Met My Match

I awoke laying next to the remains of the charred car. It burned with fury still, but not as bad as it was last night. I must have fell asleep that night in the rain. I was soaked and cold, as it still rained. I looked out in the horizon of the road and saw a car coming. The car got closer and closer and stopped. 12 feet away sat Hannah with a new car. I ran up to her in the car and opened the door. 

“I thought you were insanely mad at me, why would you pick me up in a car and not let me die alone?” I say

“Well, you’re all I got.” she said.

I got in and buckled my seat belt. She started the car and headed off north. We got down the road about two miles, when I tried to tell her the truth.

“Hannah, I’ve been trying to tell you, Aaron..”

“I told you, I don’t want any conversation with you, at all, so just leave me alone and don’t say a word!” She yelled. I quickly looked away from her, and thought to myself the whole time. 

After nonstop driving for 51 miles, we arrived in Marysville, California. I saw something laying on the side of the road as we drove. It looked scraggly and burnt. I looked at it closely, and noticed it was a person. A girl. 

“Stop the car!” I yelled.

“Why? Why should I listen to you?” Hannah said.

“Just do it for a second!” I yelled.

She slammed on the brakes and the car’s tires screeched in its tracks. I got out and and quickly pulled the pistol from my right pocket. Then, I turned off safety, walked towards the person, and aimed the gun, making sure this wasn’t a killer. All of a sudden, she got up, drawing a gun also. 

“Stand down! I’ll do it!” She said in a serious voice.

“Oh, I will, too. Put it down, and I will put mine down, too.” I say.

She responded and laid the gun down on the wet ground. I did the same. 

“What’s your name?” I said to her.

She sat and looked at me and Hannah for a second and said

“Abby. What’s yours?” in a serious voice again.

“I’m Jack, and she’s Hannah. What happened to you?” 

“That storm, the lighting took down an electrical pole and a burning tree, causing my house to catch fire. What happened to you?” Same serious voice.

“Many things.” I say.

After making conversation, I asked her if she was scared, like Aaron was. She then replied no. She was “built for this kinda stuff”. She was taking this very seriously, like me. I could tell as soon as I met her. I soon told her she was to come with us, and live safely. We all piled into the car and headed the same way we started towards in the first place, but now going south. We drove for about an hour or so, till we came to Sacramento, California. Hannah still drove the car, still silent. “Lets make a food stop.” I say.

Hannah pulled the car into a old gas station. I opened the glass door, which had a bell that warned the staff that someone arrived. The bell seemed to have a echo. A long echo. I ran to the back of the store finding water and snacks. I grabbed a full case of water, containing 32 bottles full. I also grabbed crackers, rotisserie hot dogs, and more. I grabbed about 10 packs of gum, (I have a serious addiction to gum.) 

I went out the car and hit the trunk button. this popped open the trunk. I put everything in the trunk, except the gum and  a few bottles of water. I kept a bag of chips for the girls. They were still in the car. I climbed into the back seat. I give Abby the chips and I rip open my first pack of gum. I was peppermint gum, my favorite. Ever since the last day, I hadn’t chewed gum at all. I opened the first stick and put it in my mouth. Best gum I had ever tasted. I looked over at Abby. 

“Want some?”

She smiled revealing green and white braces. I gave her my apology’s. Hannah kept driving, without looking back at us once. She didn’t say a word. It was the quietest 45 minutes of my life. Never have I ever been this quiet before. After the agonizing, quiet 45 minutes, we stopped and we were out of Sacramento. We stopped at a country house in the middle of nowhere. It was in pretty nice shape, except all the branches from the storm. I got out and opened the trunk. I got all the food, water, and guns while Abby held the door for me. I put all the stuff on the table in the kitchen. I immediately grabbed on of the hot dogs, took the gum out of my mouth, and ate the hot dog. I ate as I walked throughout the house, checking it out. Three bedrooms, one bathroom, one kitchen, upstairs, and a basement. We each got a bedroom. I went to the one upstairs. It was probably a guest room, nothing but wallpaper, and a desk with a reading light on it. I decided to dig under the bed to make room for my rifle. I sat the pistol on the nightstand. I dug under the bed, making room for the rifle and found a box. It was locked, but said do not open under any circumstances unless a big emergency occurred. Its these rules that are meant to be broken. I grabbed my rifle, and with the butt of the gun, hit the lock until it busted open, revealing a revolver. 

“Whoa” I said to myself. I saw one of these before, as my dad had one, but he just told me about it, he never showed me it.

I grabbed the gun and checked the reloader and it wasn’t even loaded. I looked once more under the bed and found bullets scattered all over the floor. I loaded it. As I was loading it, Abby came in.

“Knock, Knock.” Abby said. She came in and sat on the beside with me. I flipped the reloader inward, back into place. I sat it on the nightstand. 

“Yeah,need something?” I say.

“Whats wrong? You seemed down a lot today. You didn’t talk to Hannah at all, and barely me either. Whats the deal?” She replies.

“Well, we just lost our friend Aaron. He got involved in a car crash. I tried to save him, but he wanted to die, you know? Like suicide, kinda. He was too stressed out with Hannah and I getting hurt and him dealing with all the pressure with missing his friends and family. He said he wanted to die. But he also said to keep Hannah safe and I’m sure, other people along the way, like you, too.” I say.

During this whole time, out in the hall, Hannah was listening to our conversation. Just as I said this she ran in and gave me a hug. 

“Why didn’t you tell me Aaron gave his life for us?” Hannah said

“I was trying to but you always would get frustrated and would never talk to me.” I replied angrily.

“I’m so sorry! I never meant to be mad at you, truly!” She leaned over and gave a slight kiss on the cheek, and I instantly forgave her. And I mean instantly.

“Our house, I know. That is why I chose this house to stay in.”

“Why were you in Oregon?” I asked.

“Our parents had a business trip in Colorado and they still didn’t trust us alone, so we were at our grandmas house there.” she replied.

I thought about Aaron for a second. I remembered the day he was killed. That it was his last day on Earth. Those days before he died, he lived them with us like never before. We all escaped death once or twice, more or less. But this time was different. Aaron was gone and was never going to come back. Never.

Hannah leaned over, and said something in both of our ears.

“We are family, and family sticks together. No matter what happens, we will be together, forever.”