“Quentin, please slow down.”

The empty roads only serve to enable the lad. Driving close to 100 mph, Quentin was convinced that he had committed a heinous crime. His only solution was to immediately ditch town.

“Quentin, please. They’re going to pull us over.”

Quentin’s silence is sickening. Marigold sits passenger seat, mustering up the confidence to talk better sense into him. She glances at the dashboard only to notice the speedometer further increasing in speed.

“Quentin.. please.”

There is no chance at reaching Quentin. 30 miles ahead, a sign bordering on to the next town makes an appearance. Marigold begins to think back to the events that took place only the night before. She whispers to herself:

“It was all my fault.”

The sun begins to set as Quentin turns on his headlights.

“We need gas.”

His first words spoken all night.

“Now you want to talk?”

“Marigold, don’t start.”

Marigold abides to Quentin’s rebuttal, too tired to push back. The two pull over to a nearby gas station to fuel up and grab some snacks when they encounter one of the attendants from last night’s Murder Mystery. Quentin spots the attendant first and attempts to warn Marigold.

“Wait, don’t get out of the c—-.”

Quentin is too late.

“Marigold? I uh, didn’t expect to see you here.”

An awkward silence takes place as Jade looks around suspiciously.

“Who’s in the car with you?”

Marigold takes a step back in order to cover the view of Quentin with her body.

“Jade, what are you doing so far from town on a week day?”

“I could ask you the same!”

She chuckles nervously.

The two exchange glances of mistrust before resorting to an awkward silence. Jade senses that Marigold is hiding something and proceeds to defuse the situation by heading into the gas station first.

“Well, see you inside.”

Marigold follows after hesitantly. Inside the gas station there’s a Clerk playing modern music. A song comes on that was played during the Murder Mystery. The girls look down to the side with guilt. Marigold attempts to redirect the focus to gas prices.

“Damn. We’re really in the trenches huh?”

“Tell me about it. These gas prices are absurd.”

The two exchange a glance once more. Jade looks troubled. She glances at Marigold guiltily before attempting to blurt out a confession of some sort.

“Marig————-“

“I— I’m getting a phone call! It was nice seeing you Jade! Get home safe again.”

“Wait. Don’t you need gas?”

“I—- I just remembered I had my card on me! I’ll text you?”

“Um.. yea? No problem.”

“Catch you later!”

Before Jade could respond, Marigold is out the door. She runs back into the car, successfully masking Quintin’s identity.

“We need to get the fuck out of here, now!”

“What the fuck happened in there?”

“Just drive Quentin!”

Jade looks out the window in despair. It is difficult to see all that clearly with the poorly lit station merging with the night skies. Though it is clear that Marigold did not end up getting her gas.

Flashbacks from the murder mystery begin to infiltrate Jade’s mind. She thinks back to her encounter with the Mikal, the deceased, in the kitchen pantry. She recalls splashes of blood, Mikal gasping for his life, and then everything goes blank. Jade begins to rub her arms in discomfort.

“Ma’am. Ma’am? Hello! You okay in there? Did you still want gas?”

Jade snaps out of her trance.

“Oh.”

Jade chuckles nervously.

“So sorry. Um, yes. Can I get $45 on Pump 4 please?”