Page 88 of Submitting to Them

I have to do something.I refuse to drive this stupid car back into the desert so as to allow this asshole the chance to shoot me.

“Joel, seriously.Let me out up here.I’ll be stranded in a town that’s so small it doesn’t even have a name, and you can keep driving out of the country.”

“Shut the fuck up, Ella.You don’t know what you’re talking bout.”

We’re fast approaching the gas station.There’s a squat, tiny building.In front of it are two pumps, covered by an overhang.A large sign on a giant post proclaims the place’s name: Gas’n Up.

“Fuck it, where are those goddamn pills?”Joel pulls the gun from his pocket and points it at me.“You.Don’t fucking try anything, you got that?”

“I—what are you doing?”

The idiot unbuckles his safety belt.

My mind races.This is the chance I need, the one I couldn’t have even hoped for.

I need something that won’t cause damage to other people—just to this car.And I need it fast.

The sign post, right next to the gas station, will do the trick.The base of it is made of a giant concrete block.

“Slow down,” Joel says, a warning in his voice.“You’re supposed to turn around here, remember?So I can take you somewhere and set you free.”

“Yeah, slowing down now,” I say.

He must hear the jangle of nerves in my voice, because he spins around in his seat to face forward.Instead of seeing me slowing down to turn around, he finds us speeding straight toward that concrete sign post.

Joel shouts and tries to yank the wheel.

He’s too late, and my grip is too firm.

Metal screams a protest as we hit first the curb, which spins us up on two wheels.And then the side of the car hits the post.It’s not a direct hit like I’d hoped, but maybe the car will be totaled.

There are no airbags.The car spins and rolls—at least, that’s what I think it must be doing.The world is a blur around us.

The car lands on its side and something heavy falls on top of me.Joel.He’s not talking, not moving.Could he be dead?I try to dislodge one of my arms, but something’s keeping it in place—the steering wheel, as well as Joel’s weight.I should check for a pulse.What if he’s dead?Immediately my mind scrambles to all the worst-case scenarios—Joel trapping me here and the car’s engine catching fire.

My heart thuds as rhythm of panic.I have to get out.

My arms won’t budge.

“Joel?”I whisper.

He groans.

“Joel, we have to get out of the car.”

“You…fucking…bitch.”

His heavy weight shifts over me.Strong hands wrap around my throat, squeezing, choking.I try to fight him off, but my arms are still pinned underneath him.My legs are trapped, I can’t move.I can’t do anything as the world around me darkens to gray, and then black.

Twenty-Two

Kingston

I break every speed limit.We pass Ridge Rock and travel west along a deserted highway.Signs for I-5 continue to inform us that we’re getting closer to the major freeway.Where is Joel hoping to take her?A crowded city is a bad fucking idea.If he were smart, he’d stay away from others.

But if the past few months have taught me anything, it’s that my son is full of bad fucking ideas, and he isn’t smart at all.

“What’s that up ahead?”Sebastian asks, leaning forward and squinting.