WE HAD ONLY BEEN DRIVING for a few hours when the rain started. The sun had completely disappeared behind the haze of dark gray clouds, and we went quickly from a light rain to a heavy downpour. I had burst out laughing, filled with joy at this small show of nature, this small example that things weren’t completely different. Ash and my dad were staring at me for a long moment, watching as I rolled down the window and stuck my hands out.
“What on earth are you doing?” Ash asked.
“I’m pretty sure that the rain is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life,” I said, as the rain washed over my palms, washing away the dirt.
There was a chuckle from the backseat and I turned to look at Ash. “What?” I asked. “Can’t I enjoy a little rain?”
“I like that you’re enjoying the rain,” he admitted. “I didn’t think there would be anything left to enjoy anymore.” He rolled down his own window, and a gust of wind came through, pelting Ash’s face with rain. I giggled at the sight of his face dripping with rainwater. He grinned mischievously and leaned forward to shake his shaggy hair in my face.
“Hey now!” I yelled, throwing up my hands to block the spray of water. “I said I was enjoying the rain, not that I wanted it all over me.”
Ash laughed and grabbed my wrists, pulling my arms and rubbing his wet head all over my face. He pulled back, his face only inches away from mine. “Is that better?”
I felt my breath catch in my throat, paralyzed by how close he was to me. Water was clinging to his thick, black eyelashes, and I was suddenly completely transfixed by his lips. His smile slipped, and his gaze held mine. My eyes met his, and I watched as they traced down my face to my lips. He bit his lip and looked nervous, his cool breath washing over my face. He was too close. His warmth was seeping through the contact and making my heart beat faster.
My dad coughed loudly and obviously. “Yeah, I’m still sitting here. Could you guys maybe think about doing that later?”
Ash blinked a couple times and pulled back, letting go of my wrists. I straightened up and cleared my throat, embarrassed. I chanced a look over at my dad and saw that he was barely concealing a grin. He saw me looking, and the almost-smile turned into a full-blown smirk.
“Don’t you start,” I said.
“I didn’t say anything,” he said innocently, abandoning all pretenses and turning to laugh at me.
“You’re such a tease,” I said. I glanced in the mirror and saw Ash staring at his hands, his brow furrowed. I looked back out the window and felt fear go shooting through me. “Oh my god, Dad!”
He looked away from me, back to the road. There were no less than two dozen Awakened standing in the middle of the road, as if waiting for us. My dad jerked the wheel, and the car lost control. It went barreling to the left, off the road and into a ditch. The car flipped once, twice before landing on its side. I heard screaming and it took me a second to realize that it was me; the screaming was coming from me.
My eyes flicked open, and I blinked a few times, wondering if I had passed out in the crash. I was disoriented and realized I was turned on my side, my shoulder pressed against the window that must have shattered on impact with the ground. The air bag had deployed, probably saving my life, and I pushed it out of my way as much as I could.
The car had come to a stop and was lying on its side. I looked up and over at my dad, who was talking quickly and quietly to Ash, who looked shaken but relatively unharmed. I looked down at my arms and saw cuts all over them, tiny pieces of glass embedded in my skin. It hurt, like needles in my skin.
Dad kicked the door open with his foot and began to climb out. His eyes met mine.
“Are you okay?” he asked quickly. I nodded, wincing as the pain shot through my forehead. I lifted my hand to my head and it came back warm and sticky. I whimpered. “I know it hurts, but we need to move. We have to move now.”
I nodded again and reached overly slowly to unbuckle my seatbelt, while my dad struggled to lift himself out of the car. He leaned back over, extending his arm out to me. I grabbed it and let him pull me out. Ash was already out of the car, his gun pointed out in front of him. I reached for my own, and wiped the blood away from my eyes.
My heart sank. They were all around us. We were surrounded from all sides and outnumbered by about seven to one. We didn’t have Liam, Memphis and Julia with us this time, and I knew that this was what my dad had been trying to prepare us for. I reached down to my foot, relieved to find my knife was still there. I slipped it out, clutching it in my hand tightly.
The three of us watched them for a moment, waiting for them to say something, for them to make a move, but they stayed still and silent. This scared me more somehow, and I felt my heart beat faster in my chest at the excruciating anticipation.