I set a box of junk in the moving van and sighed heavily. What a day it had been. Who knew moving just a couch and a bed could make a person so tired. Looking at the setting light over the top of the van, I wondered how much more we had left to move. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and turned to go back out of the van just as Zane walked up to put a beside lamp down in the corner. He smiled at me, but it was tired. "You look as dead as my arms feel right now," he said.

I ran a hand through my sweaty hair. "I'm sure I can relate to that feeling," I replied.

Zane chuckled and we walked back towards the house. "I think I'm gonna head home soon," I said. "I'm pretty tired. Plus, my mom will throw a fit if I'm late."

"I guess I'll see you in a few weeks, then," Zane said. "We will probably be too busy to meet before then." He looked disappointed to admit it.

"Yeah, I have entrance exams to study for," I said, also disappointed. "The university I want to go to isn't easy to get into, so I want to prepare as much as I can."

He grinned, flaunting his freedom with a wave of his hand. "I don't have any exams to study for. No tests, no homework, no nothing," he said confidently.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You've got the easy life of running from the police and living with a killer," I said. The two of us laughed, but there was an underlying seriousness.

"I'm gonna get my phone and be on my way," I told Zane, jogging up the porch steps. "I'll see you later."

I ran inside and grabbed my phone off the counter. Rowen and Cliff were talking, so I figured it was best not to bug them. Zane could tell them where I had gone. I started towards home. As I pushed my bike off the curb, I noticed some kids playing baseball with their dad in the front yard and smiled. They looked happy. I hadn't played any sports with my dad in a long time. Maybe I'd break out my football over the summer, I thought.

I was passing behind the moving van when I saw a box sitting on the ground just outside the van's back door. It was a small box that would be easily stepped on if it wasn't put away properly, and whoever had left it there might have just not noticed it. I decided to put it inside the van before I left, just to make sure that whatever was inside didn't get crushed or something.

I picked up the box and stepped up into the moving van. After surveying the interior of the van for a secure place to put it, I saw a spot just big enough on the other side of the bed. I had to move some things out of the way, and step over several others before I was able to wedge the smaller box down on the floor in between a few bigger boxes that would hold it in place. It fit perfectly.

Satisfied with my handiwork, I was just turning back around to leave when there was a sudden pain in the back of my head that made me stumble. For a moment, I was just confused, and I blinked a few times, trying to right myself. However, my vision soon filled with spots and I knew it was over. Collapsing behind the bed, I blacked out.

*******

Rowen checked his list for not the first, but hopefully the last time that day, and nodded. "I think that's everything. You guys made sure to check off the loaded things as you went along, right?" he asked.

Cliff and Zane nodded. Rowen slipped the pad of paper into a travel pack he had by the door and smiled. "Then I am free to go," he said cheerfully. "Have either of you seen Kevin in a while?" he asked when he realized the visitor wasn't in the room.

"He left about thirty minutes ago," Zane explained. "He said he had to study."

With a dramatic sigh, Rowen pulled the backpack over his shoulder. "What a brat. He didn't even say goodbye to me."

Cliff chuckled. "With the way you treat him, I'm surprised he came over at all."

"I treat him like a prince," Rowen said in protest, though they all knew he was just mocking.

"You treat him like a prize to be won," Cliff said.

Rowen scoffed. "Not at all. My feelings for Kevin are completely pure," he replied.

Zane made a face. "Sure."

After Zane and Cliff had retrieved any belongings of their own, they all stepped out of the house and Rowen closed the front door, locking it firmly. The sun was setting fast and Rowen knew he wouldn't make it to the cabin by his scheduled arrival if he left any later. For set up purposes, Rowen had planned to be in the mountains by late afternoon tomorrow at the very latest.

Rowen waved goodbye to Cliff and Zane as they got into their truck and walked over to close the doors to the back of the moving van. As he was grabbing the edge of the left door, Rowen heard rustling. He squinted into the back of the van, wondering if a squirrel had found its way inside. It was dark in the dimming light and Rowen strained his eyes to see if anything was out of place. After a minute though, he shrugged and slammed the doors closed. If there was something in there, it'd be released when he got into the mountains. It may not like its new home, but it served it right for intruding where it didn't belong. Rowen didn't have time to go looking through everything just to get it out. He only hoped it would chew up the couch cushions.

Rowen walked around to the front of the van and pulled himself into the driver's seat. He shut the door, started the van, and turned his metal music all the way up. Time for a twenty hour drive into nowhere.

*******

I frowned in my sleep as the ground moved under me. My bed felt kind of hard... uncomfortable and bumpy. I rolled over to readjust and knocked something with my head. There was a light thunk before something rolled closer and tapped my forehead. I frowned and opened one eye. here was a baseball in front of my face. I opened my other eye. Behind the baseball was a metal wall. My head hurt as I sat up, and I winced, grabbing the ball off the floor subconsciously to stare at it. Then I looked around.

Chairs, tables, boxes... the usual stuff... I stopped. Wait, boxes? I blinked at the pillars around me and my stomach dropped. Boxes. In an instant, I was wide awake and looking around in horror. I was inside the moving van and it was moving! I stood up, ignoring the pain in my head at the sudden movement, and hurried to the doors of the van. I tugged on them, but they wouldn't budge. In hindsight, that was probably best as the vehicle was currently in motion, but at the time, it was terrifying.

I turned away from the doors. The driver's seat was on the other side of the luggage area, so I shoved things out of the way in haste to reach it. I pounded the wall with my fists as hard as I could. "Rowen! I'm in here!" I shouted.

I could hear music playing on full blast and knew he would never hear me. I looked around the van again. Though I searched my surroundings for a spark of saving inspiration, there was nothing useful to help me. However, I suddenly remembered my phone and yanked it out of my pocket. I dialed Zane's number quickly. It rang once before a beep blared through the speakers.

"We're sorry, but we can not complete your call as dial. Try again once you have connection to a service tower."

I pulled my phone away from my ear with a despairing glared. Sure enough, as preidicted by the  automated voice, there was a "no signal" sign at the top of my phone screen. I couldn't call for help, I couldn't get Rowen's attention, and I couldn't open the doors. I couldn't do anything...

I sat down on the bed with a plop as all my energy drained out of me. I was trapped in the back of a van, on my way up into the mountains with no way of getting home.

I dropped my head into my hands and gripped my hair. 

*******

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