Page 72 of Beg Me Angel

“Well, looks like we're walking until we either find civilization or get some bars on the phones.” Throwing her door open, she looked at me over her shoulder. “You coming?”

“Yeah, I'm coming.” Stepping into the sand, I dug my heels in and climbed out.

Giving the front of her car one last kick, Sara grunted in anger. “You're going to the junk yard when I get you back, how do you like that?”

“Are you really threatening your car?”

Lifting a brow, she smirked. “It makes me feel better.”

Looking up and down the road, I held my arms out. “Which way do we go? Back the way we came?”

Twisting her head, she looked both ways. “I don't know, what do you think?”

I wasn't sure which way to go. We had been driving down this dirt road for a really long time, I wasn't sure if we were only a couple miles from a town in the direction we were headed, or if back tracking was the better option.

“Fuck if I know.”

“Alright.” Sara started to spin in a circle, her body rotated over and over again as she closed her eyes tight and held her hand out.

I stood there watching her, wondering what the hell was really in that joint she smoked. “What is that? What are you doing?”

“I'm playing Russian Roulette with the road.” Spinning for a few more seconds, she wobbled on her feet as she stopped, her hand pointing in the direction we were going to begin with. “That way it is.”

“Huh, I guess that works.”

“Sure as fuck it works, we're out in the middle of nowhere, either way we go, we're walking for miles.” Her feet started forward, still slightly unsteady and shaky from her suicide twirls.

The road was dark, the woods around us creaked and cracked as the wind picked up and rocked the massive branches side to side.

The arches of my feet were aching, the pain stabbing up and cramping my calves. “Anything yet?” I asked as I held my phone to the sky. “I got nothing.”

Squinting her eyes as the bright light hit her face, she shook her head. “No, nothing here too. Damn it! What, is there never a satellite that goes over this place?”

Everything was so quiet, despite the whistle of wind and rustle of trees. There were no animals making any sounds, no engines roaring. We really were literally in the middle of nowhere, just two lost girls among a sea of leaves.

“I can't keep walking, my feet are killing me.”

As if the heavens above heard my cry for help, a set of headlights crested the hill in the distance. The vehicle dipped and disappeared behind the blackened roadway, the headlights bounced and rocked following the curves and bumps of the uneven dirt.

“Oh thank God,” Sara said as she let out a heavy sigh and slowed her feet. “Let's just stop here and wait for them, I don't want to keep walking.”

Both of us stood off to the side, lighting up the flashlights on our phones and waving them in the air. As the headlights burst against the sheet of night, we both flailed our arms over our heads.

“Stop! Hey, Stop!” Sara yelled as she jumped up and down, then stepped out and fanned her arms in the air, mimicking one of those wacky inflatable guys you see outside a car dealership.

Laughing, I covered my mouth with my phone. “That's attractive.”

“It's all about getting noticed, I don't give a damn what I look like.”

A large truck slowed to a stop, the engine rumbling as the muffler purred with a loud growl. It sat idling, no one moving around inside, no other sounds but the drowning roar of exhaust.

My nerves began to swim around inside, crawling up my arms and forcing my skin to bristle. The truck looked old, rot had started to eat away over the back tires, paint was flaking off in chunks, spotting it like a disease.

The driver's side window rolled down as a man leaned his head out with a gentle smile. “You ladies alright? Need some help?” His teeth shone bright white behind the darkness, his eyes soft and holding a hint of concern.

“Yeah, we definitely need help. My car broke down a ways back, can you give us a lift to the nearest town so we can call for a tow?” Sara pointed in the direction of her vehicle, taking a step in towards the stranger.

Glancing to his right, he spoke in a low voice to a passenger who was hidden behind him. “We can do that, hop on in.” Slapping the side of his door, he gave us another big smile.

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