writing adventure 6- All We Can Do

     "So that's it?" she asked, her hand resting on the sign that had once told her this was the end to Oregon. "We just leave everything the way it is, and run as fast as we can to freedom?" Tears were welling up in her eyes, not because she had anything good back at what was once home, but because she couldn't see anything good anywhere else, either.
     "That's it," he sighed, relieved. He couldn't hear the tone in her voice, the cracks at the ends of sentences, the cracks in her heart. He could hear nothing but the wind on the open road. She could hear nothing but tires bearing down on them.
     There was so much at stake here, between state lines. As soon as they left, there would be an entire gang looking for them. They could never go back to this town, even this state. But leaving was just as difficult. There was nowhere to go, no money to take with them. If they didn't find a charitable person within two or three days, they were dead. If they turned around, they were dead.
     And she knew, standing with one foot on freedom. She knew in her broken heart that they were dead.
     Unless.
     "Victor?" she called, her voice stronger now, her resolve hardening. "Victor, you have to run. And then you have to come back for me."
     His mind barely registered her words. As he turned towards the red-head, his smile faded, and his brown eyes held such confusion. He spiraled downward inside himself. "What do you mean? We've been planning this for weeks, we know what we're doing. Why can't you come with me? Why can't we run?"
     "It's not that simple, Vic. What about your father? What do you think they'll do to him once they realize you're not joining their crew?"
     "What do you think they'll do to you, Leah!" he yelled at her, closing the gap between them in a second, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her as close to him as possible. "What do you think they'll do to you?" he whispered.
     "They don't know me. They're only after you. If you go to Georgia and find someone else who survived, maybe we can save this whole town. I can keep an eye on your dad, we don't have to leave him to die. We can do this together, but only if you go alone." Her voice was muffled by his chest and her tears, but he heard her clearly. And he knew, standing with one foot on freedom. He knew in his broken heart they were dead.
     Unless.