Page 15 of Five Survive

“Yeah, gimme a sec,” Reyna replied. She needed two seconds, actually, and then a four-pronged wrench appeared around the corner, before she even did. She held it out for Oliver. “Here. And we found a jack in the same compartment, with some wooden blocks, I think to get it high enough under the RV.”

“Great,” Oliver said, handing Reyna back her phone. He braced the wrench in his hand, securing it over the first lug nut. “Can you carry it all over to the front wheel?”

“Already on it,” she said, disappearing again behind the RV.

“Need a hand?” Arthur asked as Oliver leaned his weight onto the wrench. The nut started to give and Oliver turned with it.

“All good, I got it,” he said, loosening it the whole way and removing the nut. Three more to go. “Actually, could you shine a light?”

“Sure,” Arthur said, removing his phone from his front pocket and flicking on the flashlight.

Red wasn’t any help, was she? Standing here looking at the moon.

“It’s big tonight,” Arthur said, following her eyes to the sky.

“That’s what she said!”came Simon’s faint call from the side of the RV.

Red snorted, looking away when she noticed a flush in Arthur’s cheeks.

“Hey, at least we’re out of the RV for a bit.” She gestured to the wide-open nothing all around them, wrapped in darkness. Dirt, low bushes, patches of high grass, and space. Lots of space. Up and down, this way and that. “Must say, exploding the tire with your mind was a slightly drastic measure.”

Arthur clicked his tongue. “Desperate times,” he said.

“What do you think it could have been, really?”

He shrugged. “Probably a sharp rock or glass, like Oliver said.”And was Red imagining it, or did his voice sometimes soften for her? No, he was just nice to everybody.

“We should never have come this way,” Oliver said, summoned by his name. He removed the third nut. “I knew it couldn’t be right.”

“It’s no one’s fault.” Arthur sniffed. “Not easy navigating without a working map.”

Oliver’s silence said all it needed to; it was everyone’s fault excepthis.

“At least it’s only raw tomatoes,” Red said, “so you can still eat pizza.”

“What is she talking about?” Oliver said, almost there with the final nut.

“Oh, my allergy.” Arthur smiled, somehow staying with her. That was rare. Red lost most people at least a few times a day, sometimes a few times per conversation. “I know, not sure life would be worth it without pizza. I’d just have to have a perma-rash.”

“Hey, grow a beard and no one would know,” she said. It would probably look good on him too.

“Don’t know what the fuck you two are talking about, but I’m done,” Oliver said, straightening up. “Here, Red, run this up to the front.” He placed the wrench in her hand, the metal warm where he’d been holding it. “They can start loosening the nuts on the flat before we jack it up.”

“Yes sir, right away sir.” But she did it, she even ran, just like he said, rounding the RV and along the side, stones scattering under her feet.

She slowed, holding the wrench out to Reyna, who was crouched in front of the wheel, the metallic cover already removed and a bright red metal jack beside her, its lever up and ready. A pile of wide wooden blocks there too. “Oliver said to—” Red began.

“—Yeah, I heard him,” Reyna said, taking the wrench and positioning it over the first nut. “He’s got one of those voices that carries.”

Reyna leaned into her arms, pushing down on the nut until it gave, loosening it a few turns before moving on to the next.

“How often does your uncle use the RV?” Maddy was asking Simon, picking at the side of her lip.

He shrugged, and it almost tipped him. “Don’t know. He’s a bit weird.” And then in explanation: “My white uncle.”

“Ah,” Maddy said, spinning on her heels at the sound of footsteps. Oliver and Arthur were walking over, the spare tire cradled in Arthur’s arms. Guess Oliver decided to let him help after all.

He dropped the tire down, the rubber jumping up to meet his hand again before he laid it on its side.

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