Twisted Roads

2:00 A.M

        It had been hours since our escape. I sat in the driver's seat of the van. Fitting nineteen kids in one van was difficult. I took another sip of the energy drink, doing my best to keep my eyes open. The kids depended on me as the oldest. 

        "You should really get some sleep," I whispered towards Eli, the other fifteen-year-old. He was a strange kid. Never spoke to anyone in the two years he was with us. He sat next to me in the passenger's seat since he was the second oldest. 

        "I need to keep you awake," he responded. "I wouldn't want you to doze off and crash us."

        "You can trust me," I reassured him. I had to convince him to come with us. He had told me he could escape on his own. Sounded foolish. He was pretty weak, and wasn't tall enough for his foot to reach a gas pedal. 

        "Vincent...?" a young sleepy voice asked. I turned my head. Aiden and Sara-- ten and seven years old-- stood between the passenger and driver seats. 

        "Yeah?" I asked, turning my eyes back to the road. 

        "Some of us are hungry," Aiden said. 

        "How? It's two in the morning, aren't you guys tired?"

        "We haven't eaten anything besides breakfast this morning," Sara added. "Please?" 

        I glanced at Eli, who shrugged. "Alright," I sighed. "There's not much we can do right now, places are closed. We'll probably find an open gas station though..." 

        "Marcus said that he has to pee, too," Aiden said. 

        "I guess we're taking a break then," I mumbled. 

        "I can think of a few things we'll need," Eli said. "Hand sanitizer for sure."

        I stopped at the closest gas station we could find. I made sure the kids under twelve only went inside for a bathroom break, and stayed in the van. The kids twelve and up picked out the snacks and items needed. 

        "Do we really need that much candy?" I asked Marcus. In response, he glared at me with bright copper eyes. "I'm just saying... We should save money," I threw my hands up in defense. He was thirteen-years-old. Probably the most short tempered and stubborn one. 

        "Ah, Marcus," Eli tapped him on the shoulder. 

       "What now?" Marcus demanded. 

        Eli had a stain on his white button-up. "May I borrow a shirt? I spilled coffee on myself."

        "Of course not, weirdo. Who drinks coffee at this time anyway?" 

      "But you're close to my size," Eli explained.

      "Forget about it."

        God, why did that kid have to be so difficult, too? I rubbed my temples. "You can borrow one of my hoodies," I offered. 

        "Thank you," Eli replied. He left the gas station and returned in one of my blue hoodies. Seeing him in one was different. With him it was always expensive button-ups and formal wear. And for once, his white curly hair looked a little messy. "What?" he asked, noticing my attention.

        "I don't know," I shrugged. "You look different." The hoodie was clearly too big for him, the sleeves went past his fingers. But at least he had something to wear. "Why'd you borrow my hoodie instead of wearing one of your shirts?"

        "Those shirts are too valuable for road trips," he answered. "Wouldn't want to risk getting them dirty."

        "Couldn't you pack more efficiently?"

        "I don't have any other type of clothing."

        I brought all the items to the counter. With the money I stole from the scientists, I paid for everything. "Alright, which one of you got six packs of gum?" I asked with an unimpressed tone, looking directly at Marcus. 

        "Wasn't me," he said. 

        "That was actually me," Lilith answered. 

        I didn't say anything. Instead, we all loaded back up in the van. I passed out the food and handed Marcus his full bag of candy. "Is everyone good now?" I asked. They all nodded. 

        "Thank you, Vincent!" Alice exclaimed. 

        "At least one of you understands," I muttered. "Anyway, please sleep. There are long days ahead of us. It'll be awhile before we make it to Canada." I turned back towards the wheel and continued to drive. I glanced towards my side and noticed Eli curled up in the seat, fast asleep.

        It was my job to get all of us out of this country safely. And hopefully, eventually reunite with our families. But that wasn't an option right now. Our families lived across the country. There was no way each child and teen could return without us getting caught.