Guidlines

TWO

Jordan had fallen asleep twenty minutes into the trip, I watched in the rear view mirror as Gen and Tasha play snap with a pack of cards. There wasn't much space between the two of them so it was hard for them to slap their hands against piling stack of cards. Evey now and again the cards would fall from the seat and they would have to start again. I watched the window, the glass had begun to fog up  from the heavy breathing inside of the four wheel drive. The trees sped past in a blur of greens and browns. The GPS on the dash board read 2hr 21min then number 25 beneath it in brackets. I had only been sitting in the car for just under half an hour and it already felt like it had been half a day. But but was begging to ache for being in the same position for so long.
"Can i smoke in here" Jordan says from behind me, I hadn't realized he had woken up, his eyes were wide and bloodshot so it must of been in the last couple of minutes.
"No, but there's a service station in about ten minutes, I'll give Dalles a call" Kian says, he pulls out his phone, I snatch it from his hand quickly.
"Dude what the-"
"Your driving, keep your eyes on the road" I tell him. I use his phone to call the car in front of us and tell them to pull into the services station. The next ten minutes seemed to take longer than the first portion of the trip. Jordan had the door open and was gone before Kian puts the car in park. The service station wasn't anything fancy, a small building with a long glass front, from the four wheel drive I could see the display for chocolate bars. In front of the building stood two small gas pumps, one with a sign saying out of order. So the two cars took turns filling up their tanks.
I took the opportunity to stretch my legs pacing back and forth outside of the shop window. Sharla steps out the car, breaking out into a run. I catch her in my arms and hold her tight.
"I've missed you GrayGray" she whispers snuggling her nose into my neck, her long toffee brown hair tickling my stubbly chin.
"It's so unfair that we have to ride in diffrent cars, can't you switch" she whispers making sure that nobody can hear her.
"And put Clay inbetween two loved up couples, damb Sharla that's just mean" I joke brushing her hair from her fave exposing her rosie cheeks. I didn't expect her face to be so scrunched up.
"What's up" I ask.
"Nothing, it's just Izzy and Dalles haven't spoken like at all" she says pulling away from me. The last time I spoke to them they said they were fine.
"Maybe there I'm the middle of an argument" I tell her before placing my lips on hers. Jordan puts his cigarette nub out with his foot and jumps back into the four wheel drive.
"I love you boo" Sharla sings as I walk away to take my seat in the four wheel drive.
"You too" i call back.
The atmosphere in the car had livened up, Kian had turned the speakers all the way up.  Gen had her head out if the window half yelling, half singing. Tasha was holding on to her making sure she didn't fall. Jordan was busy poking me in the back of the head from  between the seat and the head rest. Everyone was acting like they were high. And maybe they were, high on life. It had been so long since we had all been together to began to feel like a dream. The trees where back rushing past the window at high speed.
"Erm guys I think we're being followed" Gen says her voice cracking. Fear instantly noticeable in her voice. Kian looks through the rear view mirror while the rest of us turn around to look at what can was talking about. Behind the four wheel drive about a eight hundred meters away a car drove in the middle of the road.
"It's been there since we left the service station" she adds reaching out for Tasha's hand.
"It's a straight stretch of road, there's nowhere for them to go" Kian says looking at the map on his GPS. We shook of the initial shock and calmed ourselves down, I could see some concern in Kian's eyes, every so often he would glance up at the car behind us, I didn't speed up  it didn't slow down. The others hadn't noticed, but I had. Kian was slowly speeding up, Dalles car was out of sight, they had been driving much faster than we had. No matter how fast we were going, the distance between the two cars stayed the same.
We drove for another hour the car staying at the same speed behind us. Eventuly after Jordan asking for half an hour He had convinced Kian to pull up at the next service station with the condition that we drive the last hour to the cabin without anymore pitstops. The deal was sealed and the service station was coming up on the right.
This one was much bigger. Concreted floors with four fully working gas pumps. This time we all got out of the cars. The building had a small cafe inside. Leaving Jordan outside to smoke we sat down around two round tables. It was the first time I had seen Clay since we set out so I decided to sit between him and Izzy. Maybe having them in the same car was a good idea. Already they were talking away like they had know each other for years. That was one of the things that I like about Clay, he could get on with anyone and everyone.
"How's everyone doing" I ask squeezing Clays shoulder. He gives me grin pulling out the chair beside him. Izzy grabs my hand beneath the table and leans in close to say somthing.
"I'm sorry I've been like a ghost, it's just been hard" she says. A small part of me wanted to shout, tell her that she had it easy and then she would never understand what he had been though but at the same time they had been friends the longest, my parents treated her like family and I guess that once upon a time she was family. Izzy was standing beside me as we walked into the house that night, I'm pretty sure that she even soor my father. She had seen more than me and when we should have been there for each other we drifted in opposite directions.
"It's been hard for both of us"
I give her a nudge and a smile. Gen brought a  entire cake for the counter and we all sat and stuffed our faces. Jordan came in after smoking two cigarettes and joined in. Looking around the table at all my friends I felt somthing that I hadn't felt in a long time. Happiness. There was still a linger of awkwardness in the air, it had gotten better since the morning.
Tahsa was tall, her long blonde hair curled at the tips, she was the perfect girl and she knew it. Her skin was pale which always made her look a little sick but she knew how to work it, bright blue eyes that you could get lost in. Think of that one girl in high school. The one who everyone wanted to be friends with. The girl with all the power. The one that so easily could of become a bully but never had a bad word to say about anyone, that was Tasha. She had a future. A big one. I don't even think she knew that yet but if you ask anyone they would all say the same thing.
Jordan had a dark past. He was so easily stressed, the slightest thing would set him off. He found his way to cope with that, drugs and alcohol. He had been fought sniffing cocaine so many times, the best thing about having rich parents was that each time his slate was wiped clean. He had stopped the drugs now and instead smoked more than a chimney. He was skinny, his dark eyes were sunken into his head and bad skin. That's what years of drug abuse will do to a person. He wasn't a bad person, he was loyal and really smart underneath the cocky, defensive exterior.
Kian stayed by my side when the rest of them kept their distance. Short spikey blonde hair. Beautiful skin, half from his dark skies mother and half from his ligh5 skined father, tall with muscular shoulders and body, he to was loyal just as equally as he was sarcastic. Kian was the kind of guy Who spent his weekend drinking with friends and spend the week working hard at school and working out at the gym. The ambitious kind. He acted like the typical dumb jock but he had straight A's. That was one of the stereotypes that the world always believes. Jocks are dumb but the reality is, grades slip and their off the team.
He always made sure that I was okay and if I need anything, he was there.
Clay was quiet most of the time, he grew out his mouse coloured hair, most of the time he had his eyes coverd. They were caramel and so full of life, it was a shame that he covers them up. He never fully explained to me why he was at the orphanage. Only bits and pieces, he told me that his father once hit him so hard it fractured his jaw. He was shy but funny, every conversation with him brought a smile to my face. Both of his arms were coverd in tattoos showing the story of his life, he was theatrical that way.
Sharla, she is perfect. Long caramel hair, plump cheeks with her green eyes glistening in the sun. Sure she had her moment, she got jelouse whenever I was around another girl. But so would anyone who grew up with everyone they ever loved leaving them in some way or another.
In the nicest possible way Gen, well Gen wasn't the smartest person in the world. Bright mango hair down to her shoulders, her head was slightly large than the rest of her body, she was flat on both her chest and her behind. She didn't get much attention form boys. That was okay though, she wasn't much into the attention, herself and her entire family had all devoted themselves to god, I was shocked when she agreed, more like her parents allowed her to come along. They controlled her entire life and that annoyed her sometimes.
Izzy and Dalles were the power couple. The couple that had been together for as long as anyone could even remember. They had a real connection. One day they fought like an old married couple, the next day it was like nothing had ever happened. They had both let themselves go over the years. Both in diffrent ways. Izzy had grown out her hair so that it was now down her back. She had found a new style in her black leather jacket and her several facial piercings. Dalles greased his own hair so he had those perfect little spaces between each cluster of hairs then pushed them back over his head. He was the first boy in our year to grow a beard.  It gave him some weird kind of power thrill. He had to be in control, every had to be his way or the highway. His had gained a couple of pounds since the last time I had seen him, he was starting to round out around the middle. He was cool, he had an edgy feel to him which to everybody else made him desirable.
Before i knew it the cake was gone, Izzy sat beside me licking the remaining frosting for her black painted nails.
"If you want another fag you better go now" Kian says to Jordan across the table.
"What did you say" he bites back seeming a little defensive.
"If you want another fag, you should smoke it now before we leave" Kian repeats taken back by his aggresion.
"Oh yeah right" he says leaving the table and heading for the door. The table grows quiet for a second. No one knowing where the anger had come from. The bell on the door screams aloud the sound reacting to Jordan rushing back inside.
"Hey Kian, theres some dude messing around with your car. All at once we crash towards the door, just in time to see a jet black car speed off, the same car that they thought had been following them for the last hour or so. When they got to the car, all of doors were open, taking a quick but thurrer look they realized that nothing had been taken, the keys had been put in the ignition and the four wheel drive had been started up. The radio was on full blast. It wasn't the same radio. There was no music justbthe sound of a man talking. A new channel.
"Chester Oacks, the convicted murderer of the Whinsotter family back in August last year has escaped from a prisoner transit van transporting prisoners, to a recently built high security prison. The public is being authorised to come forward about any information that they might have on Mr Oacks wearabouts. They are also being asked not to confront this man as he is dangers and at this time may be armed"
I had fallen back away from the cars door, I had no idea how I managed to stay on my feet. No one spoke, all looking away, not even looking between themselves. My mouth grew dry all the moisture coming from my pours, every inch of my body from my head to my toes was no coverd in a horrible sticky sweat.
"Don't worry Gray, they're going to find him" Sharla says braking the silence, only then did everyone else feel like they could talk. Everyone but Izzy, her face was so pale, she sank away into herself. I hadn't realized how this might effect her. If Chester had come the day previous than it wouldn't of just been my family found dead, they would of found me and Izzy along side them. She was my Best friend then she had been lucky, maybe what was why she disappeared after it happened. Maybe she was scared of me. There was only one thing on my mind and that was the thought that Chester Oacks might be coming to finish the job.