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All of us stepped out of the RV.

Maeve didn't bother taking a look at the flat tire. She immediately began walking around in circles, holding her phone up towards the sky in hopes of catching a signal. Mallory kneeled down and touched the flat tire, before giving me a 'we're-so-screwed' look. I placed my hands on my hips and glanced around at the surrounding forest. There was nothing but trees for miles. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen another vehicle.

Our father walked back to us after searching the RV for a spare tire. He didn't need to say anything. I saw it in his expression. "We don't have a spare."

"Are you kidding me?" Maeve blurted, having heard him. She stomped back towards us, her flip-flops clacking against the bottoms of her feet. She swatted away a bug as she said, "What are we going to do, Dad? I can't survive out here!"

"None of us can survive out here," I responded, rolling my eyes.

Maeve glared at me. "Shut up, Madrina!"

"It's Mads."

"Gah, you're so stupid!" she cried out, turning away and throwing her hands into the air in exasperation.

The lack of confidence in our father's figure was concerning. He scratched his chin, then looked both ways down the street, saying, "Well, I suppose we wait here for someone to drive by. It shouldn't be long."

I blew out a tired breath.

"We're lost," Mallory stated, straightening to her feet. "Isn't that right, Dad?"

Our father didn't respond.

Maeve twisted on her heel, returning to us. "What do you mean 'we're lost'? Is that true, Dad? I thought you knew the way to the cabin like the back of your hand?"

"He missed the turn on purpose," I answered her, choosing to be the bad guy. I was always the one delivering bad news. Maeve was too slow to comprehend situations, Mallory was too sensitive, and our father had a habit of becoming quiet when it came to his faults, like he was now. I was the only one capable of being honest, even when the truth sucked. "I'm sure we can figure out where we are if we pull out a map."

"You dragged me on this stupid vacation and you missed the turn on purpose?" Maeve spoke, infuriated. "I can't believe this!"

He dropped his head.

"Come on, he feels bad enough," Mallory said, shaking her head. "Don't be so hard on him."

"He should feel bad," Maeve argued with her. "Look at where we are!"

I leaned back into the RV. "Stop being so dramatic."

"Excuse me?"

"Like Dad said, someone will surely drive by soon," I responded, calmly. "We just have to wait."

"Then I'm waiting in the RV," Maeve declared, stomping around to the other side. The RV shook against my back as she climbed inside, her feet heavy. Her voice could be heard in murmurs. She was undoubtedly complaining about the situation to herself. From the corner of my eye, I watched my father squat down and peer closely at the flat tire. Mallory shrugged her shoulders, not sure what he was doing.

"This is strange," he said, frowning. "It looks like something cut it."

"Cut it?" I repeated, then approached them. "How's that possible?"

"Did you run over an animal?" Mallory asked. "Maybe that could have done it."

"I don't remember seeing an animal," our father said, running his fingers down the tire. I quickly noticed why he believed the tire had been cut. There were two deep slashes in the rubber. An eerie feeling washed over me and I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Everything did happen so fast, so maybe there was an animal or a branch in the road..."

Mallory nodded. "Yeah, it was scary."

I wasn't so convinced.

"It is what it is," he said, rising to his feet. "All we can do now is wait."

"I'm going to wait inside with Maeve," Mallory said, swatting away insects. Mosquitoes always loved her. When she was gone, it dawned on me that I was alone with my father. I tried to never be alone with him because he always tried to have deep conversations with me. Our relationship had never been like that. It was my mother who I always had those conversations with.

"Madrina," my father said, leaning against the RV. I didn't bother correcting him on my name. "Why were you on the other side of town that night?"

I knew this was coming. "I won't do it again."

"Do you need to talk with someone?" he asked, taking me by surprise. I hadn't expected him to be so blunt. "We can find you a good therapist and -- "

"No," I interrupted. "I'm fine."

"You never used to behave like this," he replied. "Not before your mother's death."

The words got stuck in my throat.

"I love you girls so much," he told me, his voice soft. Tears were threatening to spill from my eyes, but I blinked them away. "I know that I'm hard on you, but it's only because I care. I was so scared when I got a call from the police station. I thought something horrible had happened to you -- and ever since, you've had this look in your eye. You won't tell me what happened. Do you think I'll be angry? Why won't you tell me?"

I cleared my throat. "You were right."

His eyebrows raised.

"It was a boy," I said, folding my arms across my chest. "I'm going inside the RV now."

I could feel his gaze on me as I turned and walked around the front, entering up the stairs. Maeve was sprawled out on the couch again, grumbling to her phone. Mallory was eating her Skittles in silence. Both of them looked at me -- one of them scoffed and the other one grinned -- and I re-positioned the recliner, taking a seat. I picked up my book and started to read from the beginning, having no recollection of what I had already read.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that, long enough for me to reach chapter six.

Mallory was the one who said what I was thinking, "Haven't it been taking a while? Where's Dad?"

"Of course it's taking a while," Maeve said, clicking through the photos on her phone. "It's just our luck, after all."

"I'm going to go check on him," I stated, closing my book and rising to my feet. I was beginning to feel a little guilty about how our conversation had ended earlier. I jogged down the steps and walked around the front, expecting him to be seated near the flat tire -- except he was nowhere to be seen. "Dad?"

The worst thoughts rushed through my mind. I hurried around, desperately searching for him. I even sprinted a little ways down both ends of the street, wondering if he had strayed from the RV in search of someone. "Dad!"

"What's going on?" Mallory asked, approaching me. "Where is he?"

"He's gone," I breathed out, my heart racing. "I can't find him."

Her gaze shook. "He didn't get taken by a bear, did he?"

"A bear?" I repeated in disbelief, although it wasn't entirely impossible. We were in a dense forest, after all. "There would be blood. I don't see any. I-I don't know where he went, Mallory."

"Maybe he started walking --"

"He wouldn't leave us," I told her, adamantly. "He would have said something!"

"I'm getting Maeve," Mallory said, now spooked. She hurried back into the RV and I could hear their voices in murmurs. My gaze searched the trees in desperation. Our father wasn't a wilderness man. He wouldn't have entered the forest recklessly. I ran my fingers through my hair, reminding myself to remain calm. There wasn't any blood. That was a good sign. I needed to think positively.

Mallory returned with Maeve following after her.

The phone was finally gone from her hands. For once, something else was worth her attention more.

"He probably just started walking to try to find someone," Maeve said, squinting against the sunlight. "I mean, if no one was driving by, that's what I would do."

Mallory shook her head. "But without telling us?"

"I looked both ways," I informed them. "I didn't see him."

"Then he walked farther than you could see," Maeve responded, folding her freckled arms across her chest. "It's only a matter of time until he returns, so let's just hang tight."

Mallory's bottom lip was quivering. "Something doesn't feel right about this..."

As Maeve tried to console her, which included some insults, I continued to squint and look around at the surrounding trees. It would have been a miracle if our father simply walked out from them, unbothered. But, I knew it in my gut that that wasn't going to happen. My gut was never wrong and right now, it was telling me that our father hadn't left on his own accord.

Just then, I caught sight of something.

A dark shadow.

It dashed, leaving me conflicted for a moment if I had seen anything at all, but I needed to trust myself. I could feel eyes on me. I couldn't see them, but they most certainly could see me.

"Guys," I spoke up, interrupting their conversation. "We should get back on the RV."

Maeve was the first to respond, "Don't tell us what to do."

"I want to wait for Dad," Mallory responded, a tear streaming down her cheek. "What if he's hurt? What if he wandered too far and got lost?"

I heard a twig snap from somewhere. There was something moving in the trees.

"Something is watching us," I whispered, but I was so quiet that I wasn't sure if they heard me. Still, I wasn't going to waste time arguing with them. I bolted forward and grabbed Mallory by the wrist, dragging her towards the RV. She managed to grab Maeve's hand, pulling her with us, and the three of us stumbled up the steps of the RV. As soon as we were inside, I closed the door and locked it.

"What the hell?" Maeve snapped. "Why are you such a freak?"

Mallory tried lunging towards the door. "Dad!"

"There is something out there," I told them, stopping my younger sister from leaving the RV. "It was watching us!"

"A bear?" Mallory croaked. "You saw a bear?"

"I don't know what I saw," I responded, honestly. "You just have to trust me when I say that I saw something -- something large."

"It was probably a bear!" Mallory blurted, crying. "What if it got Dad?"

I shook my head. "There wasn't any blood, remember?"

"You're literally making her more worried than she needs to be," Maeve spoke up, gesturing towards our younger sister. I did feel terrible. Mallory's body was trembling with sobs. But, I would have rather been safe than sorry. Maeve stepped towards me, her shoulders squared and her eyebrows arched in judgement. "If this is one of your sick games, you better tell me right now."

"Seriously?" I replied in annoyance. "Our father is missing! How evil do you think I am?"

She shrugged. "I don't know -- you still haven't told us why you were arrested."

"I wasn't arrested!"

"No one believes you," she spoke slowly into my face. "You delinquent."

Something inside of me finally snapped. I raised my hand to hit her, but before I could strike, the RV suddenly jerked to the left. All three of us fell to the ground with a scream. The RV jerked again -- it was as if something was ramming into the side, attempting to flip us. Mallory was the loudest, gripping onto the railing with her eyes closed. Maeve was in a state of shock, unable to make any sound at all.

I tried reaching for my sisters, desperate to cling to them, but the RV was already flipping over into the ditch and sending us into different directions.