Rain fell down in sheets, beating against the dark asphalt as Nina drove out of town. Her hands clenched the steering wheel like a lifeline. Nina felt drained, all that had been keeping her awake and functioning up until then starting to wear out.

At her side, the gun she'd taken from the woman who she'd once thought was a friend rested along with her phone. The latter buzzed as a new message was received. Nina was not the least bit startled by the sound, having expected it. She still ignored it, knowing all too well who it was from and knowing it was best not to answer. There was nothing else she could do anyway.

It would be a long drive home. Perhaps even longer with the added exhaustion of driving through points where she would normally rest. Nina didn't for a second doubt that she was still being pursued. She was still in very real danger, that much she was certain of, and Nina didn't think it would be smart to take any more risks.

The sooner she made it home, the better.

Nina wasn't sure for how long she'd driven, her eyelids heavy and the dull pain of exhaustion running through the whole of her body. The hand with which she'd punched the woman back in the dreary hotel room still stung at times and a steady pain took over her head.

A red grin flashed through her mind. Mismatched eyes turned to green ones and a small hand reached out towards a door. Nina shook her head, focusing her gaze on the road even as the images remained there, in the back of her mind and threatening to burst forth. Nina found that she was too tired to hold them back for much longer.

Just a bit more, she told herself, despite not being certain when everything would be over. When she would be able to rest.

Once again, her phone buzzed, and Nina considered simply tossing it out the window. After all, it wouldn't be of any use to her any longer. It was just as she was thinking this that a faint glimmer in her rear view mirror caught her attention. She looked up and, through the fog that was growing thicker with each minute, she could see what were obviously headlights.

Panic seized her heart before she could even be certain of who the driver of the vehicle behind her was. The empty road that had just a moment ago been a welcome thing suddenly felt dangerously isolated as the car behind her grew nearer. As her heartbeat quickened and her grip on the steering wheel tightened, Nina found herself glancing back to the gun on the seat next to her.

For one brief moment, Nina considered what it would be like to use to gun. To feel the weight of the cool metal instrument in her han and the force she'd just barely felt back in the hotel room when it was fired. Nina thought of how easy it would be and was frightened.

She turned away, fixing her eyes on the road and speeding up. It wasn't a great shift in speed, but enough for it to be noticeable. Enough for her to be able to tell if the car behind her was truly following her.

Nina glanced back up at the rear view mirror, and felt dread welling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the other vehicle speed up as well. The fog and rain made it impossible for Nina to be able to tell who it was that was driving the other car, but she had a good idea. Mismatched brown eyes flashed through her mind. A sharp pain shot through her head. Memories of a childhood that was never hers threatened to surface.

For a second, Nina felt a twinge of pain at the thought of losing a friend she'd never had.

Nina sped up, overly aware of how dangerous a move that was. The rain slicked road glistened in the light of her headlights and the roar of the wind and the storm around her seemed deafening. Her heart thundered in her ears while the weight of the card still in her pocket felt like the heaviest burden she would ever have to carry.

The headlights from the other car were almost blinding as Nina glanced back up at the rear view mirror. She could just make out a silhouette past the light and rain that blurred her vision. For an instant, Nina thought she could almost make out Nat sitting behind the wheel. Could almost feel her staring at her with a glint in those sharp eyes of hers.

For the second time, Nina sped up, the road becoming a blur she could hardly keep up with. Her mind whirred as she thought of where she could possibly go. Of whether there was any place where she might find some semblance of safety. As Nina stared at the road ahead of her, knowing there was still a considerable distance between her and the next town, the answer was all too clear.

Nina was painfully alone and afraid she wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

She drove as quickly as she dared, still mindful of how dangerous the road had become due to the weather. Behind her, the unfamiliar vehicle grew closer and closer while Nina tried not to glance back too often. Already, her hands were shaking, the dull pain in her head growing in intensity. All the while, the gun at her side called to her—promising safety, peace.

The same gun that, not so long ago, could have taken her life.

Nina turned her gaze away from the weapon. A second later, her phone went off yet again, and it was a difficult thing to not pick up. At that moment, what Nina wanted more than anything, was to hear a familiar voice. To hear a friend—a real one. What Nina wanted was what Alice had sought in her hometown, when she felt like there was no one she could trust, and everything to lose. Comfort.

The promise she'd made to her father rose to the front of her mind. She thought of him, waiting for her all alone in a house filled with memories. Nina felt her eyes begin to prickle as the rain continued to rage around her and the wind swept through the trees with a sound like a hundred hushed voices. All the while, headlights followed her path.

She rounded a corner, wheels sliding on the road in a way that had Nina's heart pounding. The car behind her was close enough that Nina feared they would crash into each other. Somehow, they both managed to clear the turn, only for Nina to feel the car behind her hit hers.

Panic shot through her as she struggled to keep control of the car. Somehow, she managed it, the screeching of tires cutting through the storm and her heart feeling like it would burst out of her chest. She glanced back, wide eyed, and could just make out Nat sitting behind the wheel. They were so close that Nina could almost see the rage on the other woman's face.

The car behind her sped up, attempting to bump against Nina's. Even then, Nina didn't dare speed up any more, memories of fire and pain like a warning in her head.

Just a bit more, Nina thought, hoping against hope that she would be able to make it someplace where she could get help. As unlikely as that was in the dead of night, Nina had to hold onto that last shred of hope to keep going. All the while, the card in her pocket was an all too prominent weight.

Then, she felt the jolt of her car being hit once again, this time with more force, and Nina feared that would be the end of her journey. As she coped with what was happening, struggling to stay on the road, Nina knew she had no more choices. With a deep breath, she reached over to the passenger seat.

Her fingers slipped around the cool metal of the gun. The weight of it gave Nina pause, but only for a second as she saw the headlights behind her growing brighter. She thought of the woman driving that car and memories of a childhood that had never been her own flashed in her mind. Memories that made a twinge of sympathy that she shouldn't have felt, shoot through her.

Nina thought of a smiling child walking at her side. She thought of shattered glass and blood and the wailing of sirens. Her heart clenched even as her mind told her it was all a lie—to pull the trigger.

She heard the rain and wind roaring all around her, water hitting her face as she opened the window, and ignored it all as she stuck out her hand. The sound of the gun going off cut through it all, almost deafening to Nina's ears. Tires screeched as a bullet hit the car. The shock of it had been enough to startle the driver into swerving violently. Nina was jolted forward as her car was hit in the process, the vehicle sliding on the rain slicked road.

Fear gripped her heart as she fought to regain control, even as she knew it was too late. The car skid along the road, turning violently while Nina frantically tried not to crash. She saw the other car swerving, heading straight through her, and felt her heart stop seconds before the impact.

A sound like a cry echoed through the empty road followed by the shattering of glass. Metal twisted and bent in every way and the world turned as Nina tried to understand what was happening. Pain burst from more places than she could identify as he was tossed around, the seatbelt pressing against her and shards of metal and glass flying around her. Nina thought she might have screamed, a sound that was lost in the rush of sound around her.

And then, there was stillness and pain and the cool drops of rain hitting her face. There was a burning pain on her side and wetness that she was certain was blood. More concerningly, Nina felt heat. It was just a faint warmth at first that grew in intensity, a familiar thing that sent Nina's heart into a frenzied state. A scream drowned in her throat, stifled by pain and fear, blood bubbling forth and spilling through cracked lips.

Terror could still not dispel the haze taking over Nina's mind. I couldn't keep her from slipping away no matter how much she fought to stay conscious.

Nina heard the wailing of sirens in the distance.

They're too far, some distant part of her mind thought, past the horror and the panic.

The heat grew and the small relief that was the rain began to taper off. Nina lay there, amidst the mess of twisted metal, and listened to the sound of the only hope she had left.

Too far.

The thought was lined with a hopelessness like she hadn't felt before. Nina suddenly thought of her father, waiting in a home filled with memories. The thought of the promise she wouldn't be able to keep was her last as she lost her grip on the world.