Page 2 of The Hunt

This was supposed to be a nice vacation to the Tennessee Mountains in a nice cabin over-looking a scenic view of the forest. It was just outside of the city where there would be a lotof activities and an annual Halloween festival that usually drew people from all over the country.

They rode in silence for several more miles. Kaliah pulled out her phone and noticed there was still no signal. It was odd that they’d been in a dead zone for so long. It was starting to get dark and there didn’t seem to be any signs that indicated upcoming rest stops or gas stations. The road was surrounded by woods one either side of them and it seemed unending.

“Fuck!” Brianna slammed her hand against the wheel.

“What’s the matter?” Sasha asked, rolling down her window briefly to toss out the remainder of her joint.

“The fucking check engine light just came on. And do you hear that? The engine sounds funny.”

“The engine always sounds funny,” Nicole snorted. “I told you, you should have rented a car instead of packing us in the hunk of junk.”

“Yeah, with what extra money? Your cheap ass didn’t want to contribute to a rental and my baby was running just fine before we left,” Brianna responded.

“And now it isn’t. We’re not going to make it to Green Springs tonight. We’ll have to find a cheap motel and in the morning figure out what to do about this car situation,” Sasha reasoned.

“With what money? I didn’t budget to spend extra money on a hotel. We may have to sleep in the car tonight unless one of you can cover me.”

Nicole scoffed. “You always want someone to spot your broke ass, Brianna.”

The car swerved slightly before Brianna straightened it out. “Bitch, you were the one crying broke last month at brunch because you had to pay your boyfriend’s child support to keep him out of jail. We all had to cover the tab even though you were ordering stuff off the menu you couldn’t pronounce. I don’t even know why you’re with that bum in the first place.”

“At least my man isn’t fucking my best friend who’s been smiling in my face this entire trip.”

Kaliah’s mouth fell open.

The smirk of evil satisfaction on Nicole’s face told Kaliah that Nicole had been holding that bit of news for a moment like this.

How had she considered any of these women her friends? People who clearly didn’t like her. Hell, they didn’t even seem to like each other.

Once again the car went deathly silent as realization dawned on the other occupants of the vehicle exactly what Nicole meant.

Sasha flipped her an errant strand of her long hair over her shoulder and released a nervous laugh. “Nicole, you’re always running your mouth about stuff you don’t know anything about.”

“What the hell is she talking about, Sasha?” Brianna demanded.

“I have no idea. You know Nicole likes to make shit up.”

“Was I making shit up when you told me you’ve been fucking Damon for the past three months and you felt bad for going behind Bri’s back? But you can’t stop because the dick game is sensational. In fact you let him hit raw and I took you to the drug store to get three pregnancy tests when you were late. I recorded one of our conversations by the way.” The smug smirk returned to Nicole’s full lips.

Before Kaliah realized what was happening, Sasha reached in the back seat and swung her fist at Nicole. Brianna, also activated took one hand off the steering wheel to rip off Sasha’s wig.

“Bitch!” Sasha screamed grabbing her wig cap covered scalp.

The driver and passenger started throwing punches, and the car swerved to the side of the road.

Kaliah screamed at the top of her lungs as flashbacks from a previous accident hit her. She’d managed to survive that oneeven though it had changed her life forever. She feared, she wouldn’t be so lucky with these two idiots fighting in the front seat.

All she wanted was to have a little fun vacation. She didn’t think it would end up in her death.

CHAPTER 2

The impact against the guardrail, saved the vehicle from careening into a ditch. Thankfully the seatbelt kept Kaliah in place for the most part but her body still smashed against the door, aggravating her already injured leg.

“See what you made me do!” Brianna screamed. “You’re going to pay for the damage. And when we get out of this car, I’m going to beat your ass.”

“I’m not paying for shit,” Sasha shot back, grabbing her wig off the floor.

Nicole touched her body as if she was making sure every part of her was still intact.

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