Stay...Calm

Chapter 1

The sky was filling with clouds, and it was rather easy to see since half the roof was missing. There was no noise save from the engines and Thelma's crying. She'd been sobbing for seemingly the entire trip. The young girl got closer and closer to sending Melissa's baby into wails. But Lee, her hands already gripping the wheel, would be in a rage if that happened. Victorine would not want to hear anymore yelling from Lee. Her voice made the hairs on Victorine's neck stand up.

The blue car was covered in grime and dented on all sides. The windows were covered in cracks. And, yes the front part of the roof had been ripped off from all the turmoil the car had been through. They'd been driving through desolate roads for a little less than a week, in hope that soon enough all of them would reach what Melissa called,"The place we'll be safe."

The air felt dense and muggy. It was strangely hot, despite the sky being completely overcast. Victorine's senses were certain that rain would start to put down at any moment. She unbuckled her seatbelt (though it barely even worked), and climbed over to the backseat, where the rest of the group was crowded together. She scurried onto the carpeting in the back, her elbow slapping Thelma's knee. This just made her sobs get even noisier.

Little Baby Beau let out a whimper. Melissa immediately starts to shush and rock him back and forth gently.

"Oh my God, Thelma!"Lee grumbled. "Could you just shut up!"

"B-but we're gonna perish soon!"Thelma cries back. She began to say some garbled complaints between her frightened exclaims.

"STOP CRYING!"Lee yelled. "YOU'RE JUST GOING TO MAKE IT WORSE!"

Lee started to shake her head in anger. Her short, brown, frizzy hair bounced with it. A second later, she glanced up. A singular drop fell on her face. Then another, and another, and soon enough it was pouring rain. Thelma cried even harder. As did the baby. Victorine pressed her hands over her ears.

The rain was the cold kind; the kind that felt like it was on the brink of being hail. As it fell harder and harder, it made the car feel colder and colder. It made tiny goose bumps form on Victorine's arm. A chill traveled up her spine, raced up her neck, and spread across her scalp. She shivered and curled up to Melissa's shoulder. Her eyes wandered over to Thelma, who had the tears rolling down her face faster than ever. Victorine leaned in closer to her.

"You know, Victorine?"Thelma sobbed. "This is scary. This whole trip has been scary! This whole war has been scary! And now look at us! We're running from it in this car that doesn't even have a whole roof! Oh, why can't we just get to this mansion already? I don't wanna die young!"

Thelma continued to cry her eyes out as Melissa tried to tend to her own crying child. Victorine was right there in the middle, staring straight ahead. The road was empty, and the horizon was blurred by the fog. From the reactions of Lee, you could tell that the rain must have been falling harder than bullets. She would flinch every few seconds, but keep on pushing, and going faster and faster.

It felt awkward to be sitting there with them. Sure, she was just as scared as everyone else, (except maybe Thelma), but Victorine didn't really feel too much for their situation. They were bound for some mansion that Lee mentioned as the scrambled into the car, and never talked about any earlier or any later. All they could do is hope that it really existed.

She fiddled with the two puffy, white fur scrunchies that she had on each wrist. They acted as bracelets for her and matched the white that she wore every day. The white only complimented her sheer paleness. Her messy hair was a platinum blonde color and cut short. It was this appearance that probably first caught the eye of Lee when they met.

The rain fell hard for the next half an hour. Eventually, it started to lighten up a little. The drops when from bullets to barely even stings, and you could see the relief from Lee. Her hands loosened on the wheel a bit, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been perfect...if Thelma hadn't started talking.

"How much longer?"She asked. "Are we there yet?"

She shuddered in frustration. She inhaled sharply and let out a,"Are you frickin' KIDDING ME?!"

Thelma let out another sob. "Don't be so tight about it."

"But seriously, Lee," Melissa assured. "Just try to be a little nicer."

"Who cares anymore,"Lee grumbled.

Due to the rain starting to subside, Victorine started to crawl back into the front seat. The leather was damp; covered in little droplets of water. She sat with her hands on her seat, holding her up so her butt didn't get too wet.

"Victorine, listen up; since you're probably the only person here who could do that," Lee sighed, angrily. " We need to survive. So all everyone has to do is shut their damn mouths and make this easier. We're almost there, I know it. We just need to make it through here. Can't be that much frickin' longer, can it?"

Being left on that, Victorine gazed out the window, staring into space. All the while just quietly waiting, Waiting for the journey to end. Waiting to just get to this mansion so it could all be over.