Runaways (Orphans 5)

"No sign of them. I think you totaled their

bikes," she said with a smile.

"Just keep-going," Raven gasped. "Don't slow

down too much," she begged.

I didn't. We drove on, no one speaking, only the

sounds of Butterfly's sobs and our heavy breathing

filling the air.

"Butterfly, it's okay, we're fine," Crystal said as

she put her arm around Butterfly and started to

comfort her.

"You better watch the map and the road,

Crystal. We can't afford mistakes now," I said. "This exit," she said. "It's about twenty-five

miles to 1-287. Watch for that."

When it came up, I made the right turns and we

were heading southwest. Crystal directed us to

another highway and then we were going west toward

Pennsylvania. There was no sign of the bikers. I was

confident enough to sit back and relax, but Crystal

was worried about Butterfly. I could see it in her face

when I looked in the rearview mirror. Instinctively, I

pulled off the road at the next rest stop and we all took

a deep breath. Butterfly looked like she could go

catatonic on us at any moment.

"We need it," Crystal said. I looked at Raven

and she nodded. The two of us got into the back seat

alongside them and we put our heads together. "We're sisters. We'll always be sisters . ." We

chanted and held each other and after a few moments,

it was as if the tension rose out of our bodies and

floated away.

Then we sat back.