Program 13 Book One by Nicole Sobon Page B

mood. “Well, they wouldn’t believe wrong. I was actually killed in a car accident, remember?”
    As much as he tried to avoid cracking a smile, he didn’t last long. There was only so much one could take before they broke. All of the tragedy surrounding us was now allowing us to break free and live.
    “So, where do you want to go, ma’am?” Colton turned towards me, smiling. “We can’t go into the city, that’s for sure, and we’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere right now.”
    “How about we head to Portland ?” I suggested. It was far enough from Vesta Corp, far enough that, hopefully, no one would realize I was supposed to be six feet below ground.
    “You want to go out of state?” He started to laugh. “Eh, what the hell. Why not?”
     
    We packed our belongings, unsure if we’d be coming back, and made our way to the front door. Colton opened it and gently pushed me out front, locking the door behind him as he followed me out. The walk down hill was a lot easier than the walk up, something I was incredibly thankful for. Colton took off towards the car, a smile sprouting from the corners of his mouth. He reached the car before me since a few twigs gave me trouble, causing me to lose my balance a couple of times.
    Given the fact that I’d been experiencing random dream episodes, I figured it’d be best for Colton to drive. “You do have a license, right?” I asked, trying not to laugh. Truthfully, I didn’t care whether or not he did, but then again, I wasn’t the police. Avoiding trouble would probably be more beneficial in this situation than allowing it. Just a guess.
    “Of course!” He grinned.
    Before I could question him, he handed me his license.
    “Everything check out okay with you?” Colton elbowed me trying to be funny, but hurt himself in the process. “I really need to remember that your insides are solid.”
    I looked over at his face to make sure that he was okay. There was a tear streaming down his cheek, but he was bent over laughing.
    “Are you sure that you’re good to drive?” I asked, handing over the keys.
    He didn’t say a word, just grabbed the keys and went to the driver side door. Colton ’s excitement captivated me, causing me to run around to the other side of the car.
    By the time I reached the passenger door, he was already buckled into the driver seat. He threw open my door, waiting for me to step inside. But once Colton put the key in the ignition, it became clear that we weren’t going anywhere.
    “The damn thing won’t start!” He groaned, looking over at me for an answer.
    “It was working fine yesterday. What’s wrong with it today?” I was just as puzzled as he was, although I had a slight idea of what could have happened. We were on the run. People were looking for us. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. “ Colton , wait…” I said, throwing my arm over the steering wheel. “Go check the battery cables, make sure they haven’t been cut.” He looked at me like I was crazy before making his way out of the car.
    As soon as he lifted the hood, I knew I was right. Someone had found us. Someone that didn’t want us to get away. It couldn’t have been McVeigh or his men because we were still alive. So who was it?
    “The damn wires are cut,” Colton whined from under the hood. “What are we supposed to do now?”
    He dropped the hood and headed over to the passenger door, pressing his arms over the open window.
    “Well, for now we can stay here.” He tried to protest, but I lifted my hand, indicating for him to hear me out. “Now look, whoever it was that cut the battery, I’m fairly certain they don’t work for Vesta Corp or McVeigh. If they worked for McVeigh, we’d be dead.”
    “But we’re still alive,” Colton said, understanding where I was headed.
    “Exactly, there's no way McVeigh would have let them leave us alive. I'm rather certain that we're still safe here. Unfortunately, we just won’t have