Help I'm Alive

Chapter 4

I've had this chapter almost done for 3 days. I just needed one more page.

And what would you know? My chem teacher assigned us a crazy long lab report!

So, I give you the (uneditted :) ) chapter 4 of HIA :>

ENJOY!

____________________________-

Chapter 4:

“Do you have everything you need?” Oliver asked as he placed the last box into the backseat of the truck.

It was eight in the morning and the air was crisp and fresh. Melissa pulled her jacket tighter around herself as she nodded.

“Yeah,” she replied a little breathlessly.

As she turned back towards the house where she’d grown up Melissa felt a wave of emotion hit her body. Her eyes flitted from place to place. Everything held so many memories and stories. From the crooked tree house that her dad had built all those years ago, to the front porch where she’d had her first kiss. It was like leaving part of herself behind.

Melissa turned around to face the white truck before she could run back towards the safety of her house.

Oliver gave a small nod and hopped into the driver’s seat. As he started up the car and headed out of the neighbourhood Melissa felt a single tear drop down her cheek. She brushed the tear away quickly.

Oliver gently placed a hand on her knee and smiled gently.

“You’re doing what you have to do Melissa,” he reminded her.

“I know,” she cleared her throat, “I want to do this. I need to do this.”

A silence fell over the truck. As Melissa stared out the window she felt a warm hand slide into her own.

The farmland whizzed past the windows, a sea of golden brown and green.  Light droplets of rain began to fall from the grey sky streaking the glass.

The rain formed red murky puddles it washed over the blood covered bodies and surfaces in Slaughterville.

Oliver glanced over at Melissa before speaking, “I’m not really sure where I’m going, to be honest. So, we might end up in California if you don’t start reading the map.”

Melissa started laughing, not just her usual soft chuckling, but full laughter that came from a small spark inside her heart.

“Alright, don’t get your panties in a bunch!” She reached for the map that lay on the dashboard but left it sitting on her lap, “I have lived here for 17 years; I think I know where we’re going.”

A few minutes later they had past two larger towns, Lexington and Purcell, and merged onto the I-35. The interstate would take them straight to Dallas.

“It’s kind of- dead - out here, wouldn’t you say?” Oliver grinned as he cracked yet another horribly corny joke in an attempt to cheer Melissa up.

“Oliver,” she groaned, sinking deeper into the seat.

“What?! I’m just trying to lighten the mood,” He put on a pouty face and stared back at the empty highway stretched out before them.

Melissa could tell that this was going to be a long, long trip.

Bing! Melissa jerked upwards, awoken by the sudden noise. She groaned as her neck cracked, tense from the awkward position in which she’d been sleeping.

“Ugh, what was that noise?” Melissa turned to look at Oliver who was noticeably fatigued.

A blinking red light on the dashboard grabbed their attention.