The Subaru Forester was encased in a mountain of frozen snow, and the windows were frosted over. Thankfully, a small amount of light made its way through the snow and dimly lit the inside of the vehicle. Beca had been awake for close to half an hour now. It was cold enough that she could see her breath, but it was nowhere near as bad as the below-freezing temperatures from the night before.
She rested her head against the stack of supplies, staring at the ceiling and twiddling her thumbs as she thought about their plans for the day. She lifted her head and looked at Chloe.
The redhead was wearing her rainbow beanie pulled down over her ears. Her beautiful red wavy hair stuck out from under the beanie and Beca felt this unexpected desire to brush it. The very tip of Chloe's nose had a slight hue of red, and her pale skin resembled alabaster. Her lips were pale and a little blue but they weren't too chapped thanks to their petroleum jelly-laced make-out session last night. Beca thought she could do with another coat. She might have to take care of that herself later.
Beca had no idea what time it was and neither of their phones were charged. She thought it might be helpful to find a watch later. Beca was getting restless. She hated doing this but she had no choice. She had to wake her up. Beca crawled over to Chloe and stopped a few inches from her face.
"Hey, Chlo, wake up," Beca whispered gently.
"Hmm," Chloe mumbled and frowned.
"Hey! Sleeping Beauty, come on, wake up, we have a big day ahead of us."
"Hmm, all I heard was you calling me Beauty," Chloe whispered sleepily.
Beca almost laughed out loud but contained herself, and whispered a little louder this time. "Come on Chlo, wake up!"
"Just five more minutes, Mom" Chloe protested as she turned away from Beca.
Beca sat back down, surprised. "Dude, please don't call me mom, it's weird." I think.
Chloe scoffed and opened one eye. "What about Mommy? Can I call you Mommy?"
"What?" Beca's eyes went wide, and she almost choked on the words as she waved her hands in front of her. "Dude, no, no! Just no…" Then she paused and looked away. "OK, maybe."
Chloe laughed softly, she was still sleepy. "I'm surprised you have this much energy so early."
"Yeah, turns out your lap is actually like really comfortable, " Beca said as she playfully poked Chloe's thigh. "Nice and squishy."
Chloe's eyes shot up and she frowned. "Squishy?"
Beca just grinned at her.
Chloe shot her a playful glare and crossed her arms in a huff. "Fine, next time I'm sleeping on your thighs and they better be squishy!"
"You can always sleep on Mommy's thighs," Beca teased, trying her hardest not to show how badly she was cringing.
Chloe laughed again, it was impossible to be annoyed when Beca acted all playful like she was right now. Beca flashed her a big, wide smile. That smile always brought out her own. Chloe reached out and placed a hand on Beca's cheek. "Seriously, how are you this cute even in this cold?"
"Stop!" Beca waved her hand away embarrassed. "Seriously you're so weird." Beca rolled her eyes, but her blush was as clear as day.
"Thanks. I love it when you call me weird."
Beca shook her head and stretched out her hand, offering to help her up. "Come on weirdo, we have a lot to do."
"Hmm. No work, only cuddles," Chloe whined with a playful tone as she grabbed her hand and pulled Beca into a hug.
"Chlo, wait oh!" Beca protested half-heartedly as Chloe pressed Beca's head against her chest and stroked her hair. Beca couldn't resist the warmth and comfort of her girlfriend's embrace. As she exhaled, she slowly relaxed and closed her eyes. "OK, fine, I guess we can wait five more minutes," Beca grumbled as she wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist.
"Thanks," Chloe whispered in her ears.
After a few seconds in each other's arms, Beca whispered, "This is nice."
"We have a lot to do today, don't we?" Chloe asked.
"It sucks but yeah."
"I wish we were back in the cabin," Chloe whispered sadly.
"Not a minute goes by where I don't wish the same thing, Chlo. But – we have a date with Mama Beale."
"And with the Professor," Chloe said, reminding Beca that their first stop was Georgia to check in with her dad.
Beca shrugged and said noncommittally, "Sure."
Chloe understood that Beca still had her own reservations towards her father but she would drag her to Georgia if she had to and that was non-negotiable.
After a second of silence, Chloe whispered, "I really don't want to let go." She held Beca tighter. "It feels like if I let go, everything starts all over again."
Chloe was right, if she let go their day would begin. That meant getting back on the road and facing whatever it threw at them. "Yeah," Beca sighed.
Chloe started to loosen her grip, but Beca instinctively held on tighter.
"Wait…" Beca dug her face deeper into Chloe's chest and whispered, "I- I just need another minute."
"I'll hold you for as long as you need Beca Mitchell," Chloe whispered in her ears.
Beca scrounged her eyes and squeezed the love of her life as tight as she could. She didn't know why or when it even began but she quietly sobbed in Chloe's arms.
God, why am I crying right now? Beca wondered.
Her body may have had the energy to take on the day but her heart didn't. She wasn't sure if being held like this was draining what was left of it, or refilling it. Regardless it made her cry. It felt like her spirit had been playing the world's longest and most intense game of Jenga, and it had piled so high and now it was starting to crumble. Being in Chloe's arms always felt like a safe place for her to feel her emotions and be vulnerable.
It was nice, and maybe even necessary but still Beca hated feeling this way, especially right now. It felt counterproductive. She even started to loosen her grip to push her away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Chloe noticing the subtle distinct trembling became wide awake. She grabbed Beca by the shoulders and pulled her away to look at her closely. Concern was reflected in those pale blue eyes.
"Becs, are you crying?" Chloe asked, perplexed to see tears in her eyes.
Beca shook her head and pulled away, she quickly wiped her eyes. "What? No, of course not, I'm fine."
Chloe really wanted to hold her again, wipe away her tears and whisper comforting words to her all day. But she knew Beca better than anyone, and what she needed right now was to save face. "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry."
"Let's just get out of here," Beca said as she started to move to the front seat. Chloe could hear her suppress her sniffles. Chloe climbed over and sat on the passenger seat. Beca took a deep breath and quickly checked that the bit of eyeliner she had applied back in the gas station wasn't running, while Chloe looked away. Then Beca tried to open the door, but it was frozen solid. Chloe tried the same thing, but her side was frozen too. Beca started to use her shoulder to break it open but no luck.
"That's not good, right?" Chloe asked.
"Um no but hold on," Beca said and she turned the ignition and relaxed when she saw the instrument panel on her dash come to life. The car's battery was still alive. She placed her finger over the moon roof button.
"Might wanna close your eyes," Beca warned.
Chloe covered her eyes with her hands as Beca pressed the button. She heard the moon roof slide open and only a few snow flurries fell, the snow had frozen over. But they could still make out light through it.
"Yeah, this is bad," Beca said.
Beca grabbed the small shovel and little by little they were able to dig themselves out of the car. Beca was the first to climb out and then she helped Chloe out. They stood on top of the vehicle. Their car was basically a small mound of frozen snow and it blended perfectly with the barren white wasteland surrounding them. The trees around the clearing were all blanketed with snow. Beca could barely make out the small exit that led back to the road. The sight wasn't unusual at this point but it still took their breath away.
They sat at the very top of the car and using the camp stove they boiled water for oatmeal, coffee, and tea. Beca and Chloe split the small packets of creamer and sugar for their coffee and tea. It was a small amount but it still made a huge difference to their morale. Then Beca feeling creative added the Fruity Loops on top of the oatmeal as a garnish. The sugar gave them an energy boost.
After breakfast, the very first task was to dig the car out and it ended up being far more difficult than they anticipated. Beca estimated that at least 6 feet of snow had fallen overnight. They first had to crack the icy snow apart and then dig it out with their shovels. It took over four hours to dig out Bertha. Their arms were exhausted, sore and their breathing ragged. Beca could feel her fingers becoming numb due to the cold and the tight grip of the shovel. Chloe knew that this level of intense manual labor had them at a calorie deficit and it was starting to make them weaker.
Beca opened the back of the hatchback and Chloe quickly started going through their supplies.
"So what's for lunch?" Beca asked Chloe excitedly as she sat down on the edge of the hatch.
"I was thinking we can have the minestrone with the rice. It's um lots of sodium and simple carbs, but it's going to take a bit longer than usual though," Chloe warned, unsure how much time it would take for rice to cook in the soup.
"Is there anything I can eat right now though? I don't know how long I can wait."
"Oh! Here," Chloe said as she handed Beca a granola bar. Beca's eyes shone at the sight of the bar and she ate it happily and drank what she could from the partially frozen bottle of water.
After pouring the can of soup with some water and dry rice into a pot, Chloe covered it and cooked it on the small camping stove they set up on top of the Subaru. It took a bit over half an hour for the soup to be ready. But the wait had been worth it, it was delicious and surprisingly filling. Then Beca made herself a small cup of coffee with the little instant coffee packet she got from the MRE the night before.
"Man, digging the car out was a bitch and a half," Beca complained as she stretched out her shoulder and sipped her coffee.
"No kidding, I think the snow is getting worse. Like how it froze over and stuff," Chloe added. "Is it possible it's getting colder?"
"I seriously hope not, I just hope we never get stuck out on the road again. Last night could have been really bad."
Chloe nodded, "Yeah, I uh I'm sorry I fell asleep during my watch."
"It's OK, it happens, I honestly don't think I would have made it either. Anyway, I'm going to top off the fuel, and then we'll get going," Beca said as she walked away.
Chloe looked after her and sighed. She couldn't help but feel guilty, she shouldn't have fallen asleep. She would never forgive herself if something had happened to Beca. Chloe shook the thoughts away and started to pack up their supplies.
Beca unlashed the canister from the car roof and patted away the accumulating snow and frozen bits. She swirled it around and guessed by the sound they had enough fuel for maybe a day or two in this canister. And they had another left over, but they should still try to find fuel again soon.
Once she was done packing, Chloe reached for the door but froze. Her heart started to race again. She took a deep breath and counted to ten. When she reached zero she jumped in the car. Once comfortably settled in her seat, she was able to relax. Beca finished fueling up, strapped the tank back onto the roof of the car, then jumped into the vehicle.
"So I don't wanna make it a habit of sleeping in the car. Let's try to find a town on the way or something, but nothing too big. We don't want a repeat of the highway. What would be a good stop?" Beca asked as she made herself comfortable in the driver's seat.
Chloe studied the map carefully. "What about Selinsgrove?"
"I have no idea where or even what that is, which is probably a good sign. Is it far?"
"Around 200 miles."
"You think we can make that in one day?"
"I think so, there are a lot of little farms along the way, so if we don't make it we can take shelter in one of them."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Um, we should probably get on the road now though," Chloe added as she looked at the map, second-guessing her calculations.
"Don't need to tell me twice," Beca said as she turned over the ignition. The dashboard and the instruments lit up once more, but the engine didn't turn over. Chloe looked up from the map and slowly turned to look at Beca confused.
Beca chuckled nervously and dismissed it with a wave. "I'm sure it's fine."
"Yeah, sure, totes fine!" Chloe squeaked as she quickly nodded.
Beca turned the key over again and nothing happened. Beca leaned her head against the steering wheel and whispered. "Come on, come on, don't do this to me now B, come on."
Chloe noticing what Beca was doing began to encourage the car too, she gently patted the dash. "Come on, girl, you can do this! We believe in you!"
Beca turned to Chloe and smiled then back at the car, "See? We both believe in you! Come on, let's try this again, baby," Beca closed her eyes and prayed to the heavens. And she turned the key once more. This time the starter whirred weakly but quickly gave up.
"Oh!" Chloe exclaimed. "Come on girl! You are almost there!"
Beca nodded and not wanting to wait any longer. She tried again and the starter once again whirred to life weakly, the engine sputtered, showing signs of life but died again. Both women groaned and fell back in their seats.
"So yeah, this is not good," Beca admitted.
"She can do this! Come on! I believe in her. Try it again!" Chloe said energetically, trying her hardest not to show how anxious she was feeling.
Beca sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, OK! Come on Bertha! We are not giving up on you, don't you dare give up on us!" Beca turned the key again, the starter whirred and whined, and the engine sputtered, showing signs of life. Beca, unsure what to do, started slamming the gas pedal. The engine sputtered louder, fighting for dear life.
"Come on!" Chloe yelled at the car.
Bertha roared back to life.
"Yes!" Beca and Chloe yelled in unison. Both fell back into their seats, feeling relieved.
"Oh God! Such a good girl!" Chloe patted the dash.
Beca nodded. "She really is." You scared the crap out of me, though, that could have been really bad.
"What do you think happened? Like how do we avoid this happening again?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know, maybe it was the cold? Last night was below freezing. Wait does fuel freeze? Or like engine oil and stuff?" Beca asked but she remembered the fuel was alright when she refueled the tank.
Chloe blinked. "I don't know, I'm not an auto— "
Beca cut in. "You mean auto mechanic?"
"I was going to say, automotive engineer! Smart ass!" Chloe corrected slightly peeved
"Whoops! Sorry Chlo," Beca apologized embarrassed. Trying to remedy the situation, she turned on the heater, and in seconds the temperature in the cabin rose. Beca looked at the vents of her car, this bit of warmth was life-saving. She looked over as Chloe took off her gloves and stuck her hands on the vents trying to warm her fingers. Beca started to pull out of their little clearing and head back towards the road. She found that the snow was much more frozen than it had been before. The winder tired climbed and crushed the frozen zone beneath it's chunky tread. Both women had become so accustomed to this that they barely noticed.
Beca broke the silence. "You remember how I solved the fuel situation in the gas station?"
"Yeah, you read that big binder."
"Maybe next car parts store or whatever we find, we should see if there's a more thorough manual for B. The one in the glove compartment barely covers anything. And we really can't risk getting stuck out here."
"Sounds like a good idea, oh! Should I start writing a list? A shopping list? Like of stuff, we need?" Chloe suggested.
"Yes! That would actually be a great idea!"
Chloe reached into the back grabbed her journal and a pen. "Car manual, um food, more water…"
"A watch," Beca added as she glanced at her wrist.
"A watch, good idea, in case the phones totally die," Chloe added with a nod. "Anything else? Oh! Gas for the little camping stove."
"A hairbrush," Beca added, casually glancing at Chloe's unruly red hair.
"Huh? You know I probably have one somewhere in one of the boxes. Want me to go get it? Do you want to brush your hair?"
More like I want to brush your hair. Beca shook the thought of brushing Chloe's beautiful red hair away and continued. "Um, chapstick? And camping gear? I don't know."
Chlo shrugged and nodded, and added it. "OK, so we should find either a Walmart or an REI. Got it!"
Beca laughed. "Yeah, an REI store would totally match Bertha's aesthetic."
"Wait do you like camping? No, you hate the outdoors."
"It's not like I hate the outdoors, I just hate, like, sleeping on the floor, bugs, cold, sweating—"
"So the outdoors…" Chloe reasoned.
"Basically. Yes. Look, I'll do it if I have to but I won't be happy about it."
Chloe nodded, remembering Beca's constant complaining during their time at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves all those years ago. Remembering those days brought back memories of the other Bellas.
"You know who'd be great at this?" Chloe asked with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Making lists?"
"And camping."
"That's easy, Aubrey," Beca answered immediately.
The mention of Aubrey brought back a flood of memories of chaotic days filled with hard work and redemption. Days of growth and loss. As Chloe remembered those days, her expression darkened, and she stared out the window. Beca noticing Chloe had gone eerily quiet, reached out and grabbed her hand, snapping her out of her darkness.
"Hey, I'm sure we'll see her again," Beca said.
Chloe turned to meet her gaze, her face showing a constant shift of expressions, and she asked in a soft voice, "How do you know?"
"Hey, this is Aubrey we're talking about here! I wouldn't be surprised if she's running a band of marauders or raiders with an iron fist right now."
Chloe nodded with a smile. "Yeah, you're right, I can totally see that. I just hope she and Stacie and B.B. are doing alright."
Beca quickly turned her head and gave her a confused look. "I'm sorry her and Stacie?"
"You didn't know they started dating after our Europe tour?"
Beca gasped excitedly with a big smile. "Dude! What? No! How-Why? I- I just have so many questions right now. I need all of the details, and I need them now."
Chloe giggled, the bit of gossip was cheering her up. They laughed as they talked about how Stacie and Aubrey started to date after Bella's USO Europe tour. Aubrey, who already lived relatively close to Stacie in the retreat, would drive down as often as she could to help Stacie with B.B., and the couple eventually fell in love.
Beca and Chloe fell into a comfortable silence, both women smiling contently. Beca felt happy that their friends had found love like they had before all this chaos happened.
They drove in silence for a while, the only sounds that accompanied them were the soft hum of the engine and the crunch of the snow beneath the winter tires. The weather conditions weren't bad this afternoon, it was snowing lightly with almost no wind.
Beca kept her eyes focused on the road. After a while of nothing but the snow-laden road, dead trees, and empty miles, she found herself spacing out. She exhaled in exasperation. She started tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, trying to come up with a cohesive beat. But then she stopped abruptly as she realized that without power, she wouldn't be producing new songs for a long time. Beca groaned, needing a distraction. She broke the silence, "What time is it?"
Chloe looked at her phone but, it was dead, she plugged it into the car charger, and once she was able to turn it on she said, "Fifteen past two,"
"OK good, still plenty of daylight left, how much further do you think?"
Chloe looked at the map and after some quick mental calculations, she said, "Well two hours and a half maybe? But…" Chloe leaned over and saw they were going 30mph, "at our pace, maybe four to five hours?"
"Ugh, can you check the radio?"
Chloe nodded and tried to turn on the radio in the car but there was nothing. Then she checked the emergency crank handle radio in Beca's black tactical pack but there was nothing there either.
"Nothing," Chloe said with disappointment in her voice.
"Figures. You know what the worst part about all this?"
"What?"
"The boredom," Beca whined. The drive was long, and all she had to do was be mindful of snow banks.
Chloe sighed and put the map down, "Agreed. Oh! We can sing! Want to sing?"
"Um, I'm not really in the mood for music right now," Beca responded. She was trying her hardest not to think about all those unfinished songs.
Chloe pouted. "Fine, what do you wanna talk about then?"
"Well, umm, are you looking forward to seeing your mom?"
"Oh yeah. It's been weird though, I feel guilty, maybe, but at the same time, if I hadn't come then…" Chloe didn't finish her sentence, she didn't want to think about what could have been.
"Yeah OK I see where you're going, that sounds rough."
"Don't get me wrong, I don't regret coming here, it's just, that I'm worried about her."
"We'll make it Chlo, I promise." Beca reached over and placed her hand on Chloe's.
"I hope so" After a second Chloe added with a smile, "She really likes you know."
"Mama Beale mentioned me? Oh, God."
"Yeah, before I came out here, didn't I tell you?" Chloe said as she tried to remember.
"Ah yeah, but like it was a good talk, right? We're sure she likes me? Cuz I like her!" Beca became flustered and a little defensive. She'd met Mama Beale once before and thought she was an incredibly sweet and warm person, it was easy to see where Chloe got it from. But now it felt different, now she wasn't just Mama Beale, her best friend's mom, now she was her girlfriend's mom, and now she needed her approval.
"Becs it's fine, she likes you! I swear - although," Chloe paused and giggled to herself.
"What? What is it? What'd she say?" Beca asked, her voice just a little higher than usual.
"It's just that my mom calls you the one with the raccoon eyes," Chloe had to laugh.
"Raccoon eyes!" Beca shouted and pulled down the vanity mirror to check her makeup, the last time she did her makeup was back at the gas station, because why not? It was a habit, that gave her a sense of peace and normalcy and besides it also made her feel confident. "I guess I do look like the freaking Hamburglar, maybe I should ease up on the eyeliner."
"Don't you dare, I love it when you get a little emo."
"Emo? Ew, dude, I am so not emo! Jesus, why do people keep saying that!"
"Come on, you can be a little emo. It's OK you can talk to me, this is a safe space Becs,"
"I will pull this car over right now!" Beca threatened, gesturing to turn the wheel.
"OK! Fine! If you're going to get all uppity about it, you aren't emo!"
"Thank you!"
Chloe looked out the window and started drawing circles on the windshield as she softly hummed the opening keys of Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. Beca immediately glared at her. Chloe acting oblivious continued and then softly sang to herself.
"When I was a young boy"
"Chloe, I swear to God!" Beca threatened with a growl but her fingers were twitching a little and she tried to restrain them by gripping the wheel tighter.
"My father took me into the city"
"Damn it Chlo," Beca protested, but her fingers were involuntarily tapping against the steering wheel. She looked over at Chloe with a forced frown, who just smiled as she looked up nd away innocently.
"To see a marching band,
He said Son, when you grow up,
Would you be the savior of the broken"
Beca groaned in frustration, it was getting harder and harder to resist. Chloe's voice was too magical to ignore. A dozen memories of the redhead singing just for her made her melt into her seat. But this was something else entirely, to have her sing this song, was something she never thought would be possible. She couldn't resist anymore and, giving in, continued the song with hesitation in her voice.
"The Beaten and the damned"
Chloe pleased that it was working, decided to continue louder and with more passion in her voice.
"He said will you defeat them,
Your demons and all the non-believers,
The plans that they have made"
Beca feeling the redhead's voice vibrate in her smiled and gave in. Now she really belted.
"Because one day,
I'll leave you a phantom,
To lead you in the summer,
To join the Black Parade!"
Both girls sang at the top of their lungs. Their voices were in perfect harmony, and using their finely honed acapella instincts, they would complement each other. They didn't have the same beatboxing skills as some of the other Bellas but while one would do the vocals the other would hum the melody beautifully. And by the end of the song they were laughing and sharing knowing glances.
Even if it was for a fleeting second, it felt good to have music in her life again. Beca was able to put aside the fact that all her dreams to be a music producer were likely crushed beneath the frozen remnants of New York City, along with her laptop.
After a moment as their elation settled and silence sunk in, Beca still in a good mood asked, "So you know My Chemical Romance?"
Chloe scoffed indignantly. "Seriously, we're doing this again?"
"What do you mean?" Beca asked.
"Oh, you know David Guetta? Remember that?" Chloe mocked. "I listen to all sorts of music Beca you know, you wanna sing Metallica next?"
"Metallica? What the —Look, in my defense, you did not look like someone who likes that kind of music!"
"What does that even mean? I was naked! What did I look like then?"
"Nope! Nice try Beale, I am not falling for that one, now tell me how you know My Chemical Romance."
"Only if you admit that you can be a bit emo," Chloe said
"The most I'll ever admit is that maybe, maybe! I like a few songs that coincidentally fall under the emo persuasion. But like whatever, who cares? They are super fun to mix."
"Ha, I knew it!"
"Whatever, now tell me how you know My Chemical Romance?"
"Okay, okay, fine! I went through a teensy tiny emo phase at one point, which lasted like a month tops," Chloe admitted with a roll of her eyes.
"Shut up! You had an emo phase?" Beca asked in complete disbelief.
"Uh-huh," Chloe nodded and looked away.
Beca stared expectantly and when Chloe didn't expand she said, "Well, what happened? Did you just suddenly wake up and decide to wear something else?"
"Not exactly, broke up with a boy and well—meh whatever I was super young and a bit dramatic, it was silly. Lasted like a month or two."
"OK, so you dated an emo kid, broke up, and then what happened?"
"A girl in my class told me to try for the cheerleading squad. And Mom loved it, so I just went with it."
"So you went from Emo to cheerleader in the span of a month or two?"
"Basically."
"That is just amazing," Beca said
"Is it?" Chloe asked.
"You never fail to surprise me, Beale. I bet you were one of the super nice cheerleaders too right."
"Of course I was! You know me! I had lots of friends."
"I'm dating a recovering emo and a cheerleader, that is just awesome!" Beca said with a smile.
This made Chloe smile, and she stared out the window.
After a brief period of silence, Beca couldn't continue to pretend to focus on the road anymore, so she cleared her throat. "So, do you by any chance have pictures?"
"Of my very brief emo phase or my cheerleader phase?" Chloe asked, confused as she tilted her head to the side.
"Yes."
Chloe laughed out loud and turned on her phone to look for her saved pictures. Breaking them out of their reverie, the Subaru abruptly dropped loudly into a smooth road.
"What the—" Beca said, surprised to find that the road was plowed. The Subaru started to pick up speed.
"This is really weird," Beca said suspiciously, her eyes keenly focused on the road ahead.
"Beca?" Chloe's voice trembled, she was looking behind them.
"What" Beca looked up at the rearview mirror, the white truck was coming up behind them.
"It's the truck!" Beca shouted as she instinctively accelerated. Trying to put some distance between them. But the Subaru's meager horsepower was no match for the F-150s. But the Subaru had one advantage, AWD, and it was lightweight. Beca was able to navigate the curves with confidence, effectively keeping the truck at bay. But as soon as they were in a straight line, the truck closed the distance with ease. And as a warning, the truck nudged their rear bumper. The hit was jarring, and they shook uncontrollably.
"Beca!" Chloe screamed as the hit rocked her in her seat.
"Hold on!" Beca shouted as she felt the distinct sensation of floating inside her, she knew they were sliding, even with the AWD and her winter tires, the impact made the rear tires slide. Beca having grown up in snowy conditions, knew to instantly counter-steer. She did it just in time to avoid going straight into the guardrail, instead they sideswiped it without losing much momentum. The impact of metal on metal made them jerk violently, and they could see brief flashes of sparks. Beca slammed the accelerator audibly and the car lurched forward. The F-150 slowed down considerably to prevent going off the road. Buying them time.
Shit, shit, shit, shit think Beca! She cursed repeatedly and quickly looked over at Chloe, who was hyperventilating and holding onto the door handle for dear life. Beca focused back on the road. She was worried about Chloe, but she needed to pay close attention to the road ahead. There was another corner coming, and she knew if they bumped them again this time they might go off the road for real. She tried to get as close to the guardrail as she could without hitting it with the intention of accelerating as she pulled out. But the car slid again and hugged the guardrail. The sound of metal scratching was deafening and the sparks blinding. Chloe being the closest to the guardrail was screaming as loudly as she could. "Beca what the hell?"
"I'm sorry! It wasn't my fault!" Beca protested and slammed the accelerator once more. They effectively slid against the guardrail enough without losing momentum and gained some distance. Beca was sure the passenger side was now all scratched up to hell.
Shit, I'm so sorry Bertha! Fuck! Beca apologized to her car.
The truck made the mistake of getting too close to the now bent and mangled guardrail and it stuck to their bumper, leaving them no choice but to slam on the brakes. They hit the reverse to untangle themselves from it but the rear wheels spun against the icy roads.
"Yes! Fuck you! Assholes!" Beca shouted triumphantly as she saw the rearview mirror. She noticed Chloe wasn't screaming anymore. She looked over at the redhead who had gone quiet and her eyes glazed over, staring far into the distance.
"Chlo?" Beca whispered.
But Chloe didn't respond, her eyes were transfixed. This worried her but knowing that they were still in danger Beca had to focus on the road. She blamed herself for accidentally hitting the guardrail and scaring Chloe.
She looked around, desperately looking for a solution to this mess. But there was nothing just more road in front of them and when she looked in the rearview mirror she could see them in the distance, and she frowned in anger. It wasn't her fault that Chloe was scared, it was their fault, and Beca had never been so angry in her life. There wasn't a hint of fear, that was all gone now all that was left was pure unbridled burning anger. It reminded her of the time she punched that Tonehanger who was messing with Jesse. She really wanted to punch whoever was driving that truck right now.
With anger driving her she turned her attention forward again, and in the distance, she saw something that resembled a mailbox. And if there's a mailbox, there had to be an entrance to a residence somewhere. That meant shelter, and maybe help and maybe just maybe she'd be able to punch this asshole. She uttered a nondenominational prayer and took her shot in the dark as she turned the wheel abruptly after she passed the mailbox.
Her gamble paid off, they were on a long downhill path. Unlike the road this area wasn't plowed and the Subaru struggled to keep its speed. A quarter of a mile ahead of them there was a farm surrounded by the snow and the woods. In the center, there was a two-story white house with a wrap-around porch. On the left, there was a red barn and she could see a grain silo in the back. The place was big, and she hoped to god there'd be someone in the house who could help them. Beca checked the rearview mirror and noticed the truck had just passed their view, but she knew he had to have seen them taking the entrance. It was just a matter of time.
Beca turned to Chloe, forgetting the road in front of her for a second. "Chloe, talk to me! Are you OK? Are you hurt?" But still no response, the redhead was just staring ahead. Beca was starting to panic.
Then the Subaru crashed into a large snow bank. Thankfully they weren't going too fast so the impact wasn't severe but it still deployed the airbags. Chloe snapped out of it and screamed Beca's name. Panic surged as the airbags enveloped their faces. Beca automatically started to punch and claw at it to get it off her face and was able to deflate it. She saw Chloe doing the same and helped her deflate it.
Beca scrambled over to Chloe and grabbing her by the shoulders yelled, "Chloe, are you hurt?"
She studied every inch of Chloe's face, and noticed that the redhead had a small cut on her forehead and was bleeding. Beca's eyes focused on the small drop of blood, it was all that she could see. It felt as if time had frozen still and the only thing she could hear was the sound of her heartbeat. Chloe was bleeding and it was their fault. That deep crimson color slowly tinted everything.
"Beca?" Chloe said in a far away voice, as her pupils expanded, focus and recognition set in. There was a brief flash of love and then she remembered their current situation. She softly began to hyperventilate as she started to repeat, "Oh my god Beca." Chloe placed a hand over her heart, it was pounding and she felt like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. She knew what this was, it'd happened before and she hated it. Chloe was about to have a panic attack.
Beca came back to the redhead in front of her, seeing Chloe hyperventilate like this overrode whatever she was feeling and filled her with concern. Unsure of what to do she decided to let her instincts take over and embraced the panicking redhead and whispered with a soft nurturing voice, "I'm here Chlo, I'm here baby, I got you! It's going to be OK! I got you!"
Chloe's heart slowed as the soothing words of the love of her life released a flow of oxytocin and dopamine that helped ground her. Chloe closed her eyes and let her girlfriend's embrace bring her back to reality. Her breathing slowly came back to normal. But when she opened her eyes, she saw it again. The white Ford F-150 had stopped at top of the hill by the entrance.
"Oh no, they're back," Chloe whimpered with a shaky voice.
Beca pushed Chloe away and turned to where she was looking. She glared at the truck.
"Let's get out of here," Beca said in a soft dangerous tone and adjusted her seat. She tried to turn the car over but it wasn't working. The car refused to come back to life.
"Beca, what do we do?" Chloe whispered with that same shaky frightful tone.
Beca growled and tried to muster a softer tone. "Come on Bertha! Baby, come on you can do it! Turn over! Ah!" But it wasn't working, Bertha wasn't cooperating.
The F-150 started coming towards them, making short work of the snow. Beca knew she had to make a call, and as she kept trying to turn over the Subaru, she scanned her surroundings, searching for options. They were still in the middle of the farm, but the house wasn't too far, maybe a few yards away. They might make it if they ran for it. And hopefully, someone there could help them. Beca gave up on getting Bertha to turn over and turned to Chloe.
"Chloe! Look at me!" Beca grabbed Chloe's face and looked deep into her eyes. Chloe's panicked gaze finally settled on Beca, and she nodded.
Beca continued, "We're going to have to make a run for it! OK?"
"To the house?" Chloe asked as she looked towards the house. Beca undid Chloe's seatbelt and then her own.
"Yeah! Think you can make it?" Beca asked as she reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the hunting knife and the flare pistol. She still had 2 flares left. She stashed the hunting knife inside her coat and held the flare gun in her right hand.
"Yeah, yeah!" Chloe was unsure but nodded. "Yeah! I can make it!"
They jumped out of the car but Chloe immediately tripped and fell over. Chloe had never hated a pair of boots more in her life. Beca ran over to her side.
"Come on! Get up! We have to go!" Beca urged as she helped her up.
They ran towards the house as fast as they could. The F-150 was coming down the hill, and it was getting closer and closer.
The women ran through the deep snow, but Chloe struggled. Her legs felt heavy and clumsy, a feeling she knew too well and panic coursed through her again. Beca stayed with her, pulling her up and pushing her forward at every turn. Chloe tripped again and when she stood up, one of her boots slipped off.
"My boot!" Chloe yelled looking back.
"Forget it! Keep going!" Beca yelled as she pushed her forward.
Beca looked back, the truck was getting dangerously close. It was about to pass the Subaru. Beca looked at the distance they still had to cover and just knew they weren't going to make it. The house felt impossibly far. She knew what she had to do, and Chloe wasn't going to like it but she had no choice.
"Keep running! I'll draw him away! Go to the house and ask for help!" Beca said in a hurry as she took off her black backpack and shoved it in Chloe's arms.
"Beca! Wait! Don't leave me!" Chloe protested as she tried to reach for her.
"No time to argue, just do it for me!" Beca shot back and sprinted in the other direction, the flare gun still in her right hand.
Chloe wanted to stop her, but it was too late, Beca had already darted in the opposite direction. Chloe stared amazed as Beca ran with surprising efficiency through the snow. Chloe was angry but she had to trust her. Reluctantly she did as Beca instructed. Chloe kept moving towards the house, she was short one shoe, and the freezing snow pierced through her socks and made her foot numb. She ignored it and tried not let the snow slow her down. Beca was counting on her.
"Come on, you asshole! Come get me!" Beca yelled, waving her arms frantically to get the truck's attention. As the truck took the bait, she ran parallel to the woods towards the barn. Pausing, she whirled around and aimed the flare pistol. Grabbing the grip with both hands, she focused on the small orange sight, her vision shaking violently. She barely made out the truck's grill as she squeezed the trigger.
It went high? Beca thought surprised, she was sure the last thing she saw was the grill.
The burning flare, stuck on the windshield temporarily blinded the driver and caused him to steer to the right crashing into the wood fence, buying Beca a few precious seconds.
"Yes!" Beca yelled as she opened the barrel and loaded her last flare. She knew it wouldn't do much. She turned and went back to running, past the house, and towards the barn. Maybe it was open and she could lose them there. She just had to run faster to make it. For a flashing second, she regretted not taking Aubrey's cardio instructions more seriously.
The truck came back to life, and she could hear it barreling towards her.
One more time Beca, you can do this you just need a few more seconds to make it to the Barn. She whirled around and raised the flare gun. She decided to do it exactly as she did before, grabbed it with two shaking hands, aligned the barrel. But the shaking was for worse, the truck was closer and the pressure was getting to her.
Stop shaking! Remember it goes high! She commanded her hands and took a well-practiced deep breath, hoping that would help calm her down. Her hands settled for just a second. This time she aimed low but hoping it would go high towards the driver's side of the windshield. And unknowingly she squeezed the trigger in between heartbeats, and just as her lungs emptied. The flare shot off, its aim true but it bounced off the driver's side of the windshield.
Her eyes went wide with disappointment. But without another second of hesitation, she ran towards the Barn and when she reached the big double doors she tried to open them but they wouldn't budge. Beca quickly tried the smaller door to the side and nothing.
Fuck! Beca thought as she banged on the door as hard as she could. She turned around the truck had stopped, it was less than a yard from her now but because of the dark window tints she couldn't make out the inhabitants. Beca got the impression that it was mocking her.
This felt familiar Beca thought, it was the wolf again. It mercilessly stalked her, and now with her back against the wall, it was seconds from pouncing. But this time there wasn't a shelf she could topple over the truck. Beca looked to her right, the woods were just past the barn. It wasn't very far and maybe she could lose them in the tree line.
Maybe if I make it to the woods, Beca thought and with her back pressed against the barn she started to inch towards the woods.
The truck lurched forward and stopped menacingly. Beca flinched and closed her eyes, her heartbeat deafening her. She opened one eye and saw the truck still there. It was daring her to try it, whoever was inside the cab was toying with her now, relishing in her desperation.
This realization led to overwhelming outrage, which became an intense anger that quashed the fear in her heart. Beca effing Mitchell was pissed again. This asshole was getting off on scaring her, and the sick bastards had probably enjoyed making HER Chloe afraid too! That realization made her feel both cold and hot at the same time. Her heartbeat still pounded but it was steady, and her eyes reflected pure hatred and determination. With a steady hand, Beca reached into her coat and pulled out the hunting knife. In one swift motion, she unsheathed the knife.
Yeah, a knife against a truck? I don't even care anymore. "Fuck it! Come on asshole!" Beca yelled at the top of her lungs, and she gestured with her free hand to bring it on.
The truck lurched forward and paused again, wanting to taunt her. It was telling her to try to run, to try to make it to the woods.
This time Beca didn't flinch, her eyes were pure blue steel and she held her ground. Beca had never even used a knife like this before, but she didn't care anymore. She gripped the handle with both hands and raised the knife, fully intending to use it. Images of Chloe's bright blue eyes full of fear, flashed in her mind, and it fueling her hatred.
Whatever happens, whatever I have to do, and— and—
Beca's inside voice was filled with rage, and with each single syllable it intensified until it could no longer be contained. "— And with everything I got! Asshole!" Beca roared, her voice filled with emotion, echoed in the silent, frozen lanscape. "I'll protect her!" Beca screamed as loud as she could, the force of her words reverberating through her, filling her with bravado.
The truck lurched forward once more.
To be continued.