I woke up the next morning with sore legs and a nauseous stomach. I roll down the window with urgency, spinning the handle as fast as I can before I throw my head out the window and throw up the Cheetos and Pepsi I had yesterday.

I was starving and I knew not eating for this long was not good for the baby. We had to find food and fast because I had just thrown up the only thing I had to eat in twenty-four hours.

I wipe my mouth and roll up the window again, leaning back against the seat.

"You okay?" I look over at Nick, who had just woken up.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm great."

He yawned and I admired his bed hair. It was messy and undone, opposite to how it usually is. His sleepy eyes only made it look more adorable.

"How did you sleep?" He asked, his tired eyes settling on mine.

I smiled at the way he looked at me. "As well as anyone could in the backseat of this piece of shit."

He chuckled and ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to fix it. It only made it messier; I wasn't mad.

Abby and Owen were still asleep in the front two seats, their heads resting on the windows next to them. I remembered what had happened the night before and I sighed heavily. We had decided to just sleep in the car since we were all past fatigued. We were supposed to figure out a plan as soon as we woke up.

All I knew was that I was hungry, ergo the grumbling in my stomach.

"I'm starving." I announced to Nick who nodded his head.

"Me too, but I have no idea how we're going to eat. We have no money, no means of transportation, and no idea where the closest restaurant is." I sigh again and lay my head against the window.

I felt gross. We walked miles yesterday and I hadn't taken a shower or changed my clothes. My skin was sticky with sweat and I knew my deodorant had to have worn out by now. I just wanted to take a long shower.

"Do you know anything about cars?" I ask him hopefully.

He shrugs. "A little? My dad and I used to work on cars together when I was little but we haven't done it in a long time."

"Maybe you can take a look? No harm in trying. You'd be my hero." I tease and he smiles.

"All right, I'll look at it. But that doesn't solve our food problem." I sigh and lay my head back on the window.

I noticed Abby stirring in her sleep; she reached up rubbed her eyes, causing her mascara to blacken the skin under her eyes. It made her look more tired, older. Her hair was static-like from rubbing her head against the window.

"What time is it?" She had asked, covering her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

"Uh," I look up at the sky through the window. "About ten in the morning."

Her eyebrows furrow towards each other, her eyes squinting at me with a mixture of exhaustion and confusion. "How did you figure that out?"

"The sun," I point at the sky. "It's about about sixty degrees from the east where the sun would rise."

"Sometimes I forget how smart you are." Abby tells me as she scratches the back of her head, looking around the car. I smirk.

"How did you know that?" Nick asked me, his dilated eyes watching me with side smile.

"My dad and I used to go on 'digital cleanse' trips when I was younger. We would go into the woods for a weekend with nothing but fishing poles, a tent, and a lighter." I told him and his smile widened, his eyes dashing between mine.

I smiled back.

"Man, I'm starving." Abby blurted out, turning her head back to us. "What are we going to do about food?"

I shrug. "We were supposed to figure out a plan when everyone woke up. We're just waiting on Owen, now."

Abby's eyes darted to Owen, his head against the window and his body hunched over with his muscles relaxed. His breathing was deep and slow.

"Wait, Abby-" I started, already knowing what she was going to do.

Abby slammed her hand on the middle of the steering wheel, the horn blaring loud into the silence. Nick and I both jumped, but Owen sprang up, hitting his head on the ceiling of the car.

"Oh, FUCK!" He cried with gritted teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. Abby snickered, her eyes wide and her mouth hidden behind her hands. "What the fuck Abby?"

"Sorry," She said with a gasp-like tone. "I didn't mean for you to hit your head."

"Are you okay, Owen?" Nick asked, leaning over towards the driver's seat.

"No, my head really hurts."

"Let me see." Owen moved his hand from the top of his head and Nick inspected it with intent eyes, his mouth a jar as he focused.

"Uh," Nick started. "Can you repeat the alphabet backwards for me?" He asked sitting back slightly.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything? Don't play games with me, Nick." Owen winced at the intensity of his own voice, touching the top of his head.

"I'm not!" Nick told him defensively as he sat back into his seat. "You might have a concussion."

"A concussion!" Owen whipped his head back to us, but quickly squeezed his eyes shut. "Ow! Nice going, Abby!"

"I'm sorry!" She screeched, her eyes wide as she watched Owen. "I told you I didn't mean for you to hit your head."

"Oh wow, your apology made the pain go away!" Owen said, his eyes wide and his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Would you just once accept my apology for once!" Abby yelled, her hands clenched in fists as she rested one of the back of her seat and the other on the dashboard, her body turned towards Owen.

"Accept your apology? I have a concussion because of you." They started to bicker and I rolled my eyes.

Nick leaned his body towards mine, his lips only inches away from my ear. "Do they ever stop fighting?"

"No." I sigh and lay my head back against the headrest to my seat. "They've been fighting since the tenth grade."

Nick smiled and leaned back over to his seat.

"All right, SHUT THE HELL UP!" I yelled. Owen and Abby both stopped talking, but Owen squeezed his eyes shut. "We need to figure out a plan about food. Nick said he'd look at the engine and see what the problem is."

"Even if we get the car fixed, we don't have any money." Abby said, glaring at Owen.

"It's a start at least. Come on, Nick." I pull the handle to the car door and push it open.

Nick follows me and we both slam the doors closed before we walked around to the front. I cross my arms over my chest as he pulls open the hood. Smoke flew out and we both cough and swat it away.

"Jesus, what the hell." I cough, my nose wrinkling at the smell.

Nick leans his body over, his right arm holding the hood over his head. I stand back a few feet, watching inquisitively. Cars always fascinated me. Maybe Nick could teach me one day.

"Do you see anything wrong?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "Not that I--oh wait-" He reaches his left arm down into the car and pulls something. And like straight out of a movie, oil exploded all over his face, like a squid spraying ink on it's predator.

I gasp, my jaw falling open and eyes wide. He spits oil out of his mouth and slowly turns his body to face me. I couldn't contain my laughter.

"O-Oh my God." I choke on my laughter. His face and a little bit of his shirt was soaked in black oil. "It's not funny, I'm sorry." I pinch my lips together and cover my mouth with my hands, but I could feel the giggle rising in my throat.

"You think this is funny?" He asked as his lips turned up into a smile; I shake my head. "How about a hug?"

I shake my head faster and take a step back. "Nick, stay away from me."

He smiles and takes a step towards me, his arms wide open. "Come on, just one hug?"

"No--NICK!" I squeal as he started walking towards me.

I made a run for it and I could see Nick was already chasing me from the corner of my eyes. I ran around the car in a circle and then turned around and ran across the street. Nick was more agile than I originally thought so he quickly caught up to me. I screamed like bloody murder, the thought of oil getting on my already dirty clothes made me cringe. I felt his arms wrap around my torso and he lifted me off my feet. I screamed and kicked, feeling the oil rubbing onto the back of my shirt and neck. I could hear him laugh, which only made my heart flutter when I should have been mad. But I wasn't.

"Are y'all going to fix the car, or continue to play tag like second graders?" Abby's voice yelled out and we both look over to the car; she stood with her hands on her hips.

Nick placed me back on my feet and I noticed that the oil wasn't as thick on his face anymore, which meant it was all over me. I shivered.

He noticed I was looking at him and he smiled; I blushed like an idiot.

"Yeah, about the car," Nick started when we approached Abby and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "There was a little accident."

"I can see that, Oil Man." Abby and I snickered.

"Hardy har har." Nick said flatly which only made us laugh harder. "I won't be able to fix it without any tools."

"What's with all the laughing?" Owen asked as he stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He winced. "Why is it so bright out here?"

"Nick can't fix the car." Abby tells him and he groans.

"So what are we supposed to do?" We all shrugged.

There was nothing to do. We had no money, no phones, no car, and no sign of civilization for miles. All we knew was that we were tired, hungry, and dirty.

We were about to give up hope when a buzzing sound came into contact with our ears. It was far away and faint, but it was there.

"Holy shit, is that a car?" Abby asked, her eyes watching the moving object coming towards us from down the street.

"I think it is." Nick mumbled from behind me, his breath hitting my neck. My breath catches in my throat and I shiver.

"We have to get it's attention." Owen said, looking between the three of us. And like we were reading each other's minds, we all started shouting and waving our hands in the air.

It was closer now, close enough for me to determine what type of car it was. It looked like Volkswagen Beetle, probably made sometime in the 1970's by its physical characteristics. I saw that it was a maya blue, but the paint was chipped a little towards the bottom of the car. The tires and bumpers were coated with sand and dirt from driving around in the desert.

The four of us scream at the driver to slow down, and by some miracle, it did. The car slowed down as it approached us, stopping right in front of our bodies. The window rolled down to reveal the driver.

It was a man, probably in his early fifties, wearing a plain beige polo shirt and khaki shorts that reached just below his knees. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses on his nose and his hair was almost completely grey.

In the passenger seat there was a woman, probably around the same age as the man. Her hair wasn't grey, though, it was brown. A cinnamon brown that reached just to her shoulders in curls. She was wearing a blue floral button down but kept it unbuttoned. Underneath she had a peach colored shirt. Even though she was sitting down, my eyes spotted the fanny pack around her waist.

"Can we help you?" The man asked, his Minnesota accent evident in his voice.

"We were wondering if you happened to have some tools in your car? Our truck broke down." Nick answered him, shifting his weight from one leg to another.

The man looked at the women, who I presumed was his wife, and then looked back at us. "Oh, sorry kid, we're not ones for machinery and stuff like that. Tell you what, though, we can give you a ride."

Nick looked back at us, his eyes squinted to shield the sun. I look back at Abby and Owen; Abby was shaking her head violently.

"I am not going to get in a car with these random strangers. They could be serial killers for all we know." Abby whispered covering her mouth with her hand so the couple couldn't hear.

"We don't have much of a choice now, do we? We either die here of starvation, or get killed by this nice couple." I whisper to her, mimicking her position.

"We were just heading to a diner a few miles down. You kids look hungry enough." The man told us, looking between us.

I looked back to Abby, who's eyes were wide and her mouth in a straight line. She looked back at me and I raised my eyebrows.

"Fine, but if we get murdered, I blame you." She told me and I smiled.

"That would be great, thank you." I told the man and he smiled.

"Hop in!" He cheered and the four of us scooted into the back seat.