Charles’ eyes widened, as he could see an inevitable accident occurring. Vera screamed, and hid her head in her hands. The driver tried with all his might to turn the car away from the road, and he succeeded, but not without the car suffering damage. The twirling car hit the back bumper of the car, while the front bumper hit the pavement on the road. Vera and Charles were pushed forward by the impact, but due to the seatbelt, they suffered no injuries. There was a lot of smoke on the street, and when the destruction finally stopped, everywhere elapsed into silence. “Are you okay?” Charles asked Vera, breathing hard. “Y…yes. You?” She asked breathily, raising her head from the solace of her hands where she had hidden them. “Sir, Ma’am, are you…?” The driver who had been staring at the destroyed cars on the road began to ask. “We’re fine.” Both Vera and Charles replied. Little by little, the people began to get annoyed at the woman who had caused everything. From the distance, Charles could see the woman standing, still staring lifelessly at the car that ought to hit her. Then she lost her balance and fell to the floor. A few people rushed to her, and tried their best to bring her back to consciousness. Then the ambulances began to swarm in on the scene. The paramedics ran around, taking out the injured people, and putting them in the ambulance. “You don’t think anyone could have died, do you?” Vera asked Charles, who was still staring at the amount of blood people lost. Faces covered in blood, arms falling lifelessly, people groaning. “That woman ought to be imprisoned. See all what happened just because she recklessly decided to kill herself in the middle of the road.” He spat, looking irritated. “She must be. She broke traffic rules, and caused an accident that cost people a lot. Why wouldn’t she imprisoned? I see no reason why she wouldn’t be.” Vera said venomously. “Just imagine if James were here. I can’t think of what would have happened.” Charles said, leaning back in his seat. “Oh gosh, my heart would have flown out of my chest for him.” Vera replied, looking serious. The sirens continued to wail, and more injured people were taken out. The cars which had been damaged to being incapable of movement were towed off the road, and slowly the minutes turned into hours, as the damage was being taken care of. “I haven’t had a thing to eat. Jeez, my tummy’s empty.” Vera lamented, looking out the car, and wishing the cars would suddenly be free to move. “Do you want to order something? I don’t think we’ll be able to move anytime soon.” Charles said, and Vera sighed. “Alright. Maybe burgers, or sandwiches? Anything.” She replied, and leaned back in the car. “Sir. How damaged is the car?” She asked. “It’s a lot.” “Can it still move?” She asked. “Yes, it can. But we have to get it fixed soon.” He replied, and she sighed again. Charles ordered three large sized sandwiches for the three of them, and their order came twenty minutes later, while they were still stuck on the road. The three of them ate, and even though the sandwiches weren’t hot, their skins were shiny with sweat. The heat in the car was unbearable, and the rolled-down windows only seemed to bring in more heat. The steam from the damaged engines, and crowded people had made it all harder for air to come in. Then Charles’ phone rang. It was Longman. He rolled his eyes, and dropped his unfinished sandwich. “Good morning, Charles.” Longman greeted cheerfully. “Good morning. Do you have anything to say to me?” “Nope. Heard you went out of town with your secretary, and wanted to check on you.” He said, and Charles wondered how he had known they were out of town. He had sent a notice to the company only that morning, so how had Longman known about it so fast? “Why would you check on me?” Charles asked, irritated. “Oh, you see, Charles. I’m wary of your every move, so I’m trying to remind you of the four-letter word in your friend’s arm,” He paused, “Bomb.” Then he cut the call. “Son of a bitch.” Vera spat, unable to stop herself. “Why would he call just to say that? He’s a freaking childish idiot I’ll love to thrash someday!” She blurted out, spitting flecks of lettuce and chewed-up beef in her rage. “People like him die early. They are killed out of someone’s frustration.” Charles said, dropping his phone angrily, and neglecting his sandwich. He had lost his appetite. “Shouldn’t we call on James? Ask how he’s doing.” Vera suggested, and Charles picked his phone up once more. He dialed Amelia’s number because he didn’t know if James was sleeping, and didn’t want to disturb him. “Hello.” Amelia said, picking the call on the first ring. “Hello. How’s James?” “He’s very worried. We heard the news, and he said you guys were going in that direction. Were you affected in any way?” She asked, and Vera waved her hands frantically, meaning Charles wasn’t to say anything about them suffering any kind of damage. “No, we weren’t. Tell him we’re fine.” He said. “He wants to speak to you.” Amelia said, and a second later, James’ voice came on the phone. “Are you really okay?” He asked immediately, with worry alive in his voice. “Yes, we are, and you?” “I’m fine. Amelia and I went on a short walk. Nothing happened; I’m still breathing fine. You should have just taken me with you.” James complained. “So, the bomb can go off after all the heat and radiation of different engines?” Charles asked, teasingly and James sighed. “The bomb can’t go off as easily as that.” He replied. “Let me talk to him.” Vera asked, holding out her hand. “Wait a sec, James. Vera wishes to talk to you.” He said, and handed the phone to Vera. “Hey. Are you okay? Have you eaten?” She asked. “Yes I ate. It’s funny how you’re caring about me now, when you’re usually cold, and overbearing.” He commented, and she chuckled. “Of course, it’s my motherly instinct. I can’t help it. Make sure you don’t skip your meals, and listen to Amelia. If she says no, accept no. Don’t stress her just because you wish to walk around.” She nagged, and James laughed. “She’s smiling right now. I guess it’s because she knows I wouldn’t comply to your rules, and there’s nothing you would do about it.” He said, nastily, and Vera scoffed. “That’s the way you wish to play, uh? Await my return.” She said, darkly, and Charles chuckled. “I will. Don’t you worry.” James replied. After chatting with James for a while, they ended the call, and waited. For hours, they were stuck in the heat, and Vera threw up all she had eaten. The air was stagnant and it seemed like she’d fall sick in the car. Funny enough, it was in the evening when the traffic cleared that the cars were able to move. Then as they drove, cool breeze floated in, and for that alone, Vera was grateful. They drove for a very long time, and night fell. At some point, they had to fix the car because they ran into a car fixing company and decided to make the stop. More hours passed, and by the time they were back on the road, the street was asleep. “Where are we?” Charles asked the driver. “We’re in Los Olivos.” The driver replied. “We’re far from our destination, right?” Charles asked. “Yes, I suggest we find a place to stay for the night. Fuel up the car tomorrow, and continue on your journey.” The driver said. “If not for that suicide lady… I hope she’s charged a lot to pay, and if anyone died, she should be in prison.” Vera said, menacingly. “Alright. Let’s find somewhere to stay.” Charles replied, but they kept on driving and driving with no luck. Almost everywhere was closed. It was only when they had given up that they found an inn. “An inn!” Vera pointed out. “Oh, thank goodness. I was beginning to think we’d have to pass the night in the car.” Charles groaned, trying to stretch. They had been in the car all day, and when Vera got out of the car, she fell to the floor. Charles and the driver stared at her for a while, before bursting into laughter. “I’ve been sitting all day. It’s… agh! That woman.” She said, hitting her legs, so blood could flow properly. “Stop blaming her. It just happened. It had to happen.” Charles said, trying to raise her to her feet. She got up, and tapped her feet repeatedly on the ground, trying to get the feeling back into her feet. “Okay, I’m better now.” She replied, and they walked into the inn. “Oh, the last customers for the day.” A plump woman, with puffed cheeks said, stepping back for them to walk in. She had been about to leave, so she could turn the open sign to closed. They walked in, greeting her, and she changed the sign, before returning, and shutting the door. “Welcome to Madame Boyle’s inn.” She said, cheerfully, and went to stay behind the counter. The place had lots of circle tables, and chairs, a fridge, two staircases in opposite directions, and it looked like they were in a restaurant. Maybe the ground floor was used to serve food to customers. “We have four rooms left, but in different suites.” She said, and Charles looked around. “You have suites?” He asked. He hadn’t expected the place to be extravagant. “Of course we do.” “We’ll take two in one, and two in the other.” He said, and she began to write things down. “You should consider yourself lucky. All our four suites were almost booked. As of now, we have only one room left.” She said, and chuckled. “Your money is non-refundable, so you must be sure you’re making the right choice.” She said, and a man appeared behind her, placing a crate of beer on the counter. He was tall, and had bloodshot eyes. “Beer, breakfast, dinner, lunch, brunch, wine, dessert, snacks… We offer everything at Madam Boyle’s.” He said, in a grumpy voice, and the restless, plump woman opened a drawer of keys, humming as she picked out three keys. “Here.” She said, handing them the keys. The driver got the key for the Third suit, while he and Vera got keys for the second suit. “Wayne. Show the man his room. I’ll show the couple theirs.” She said, and bustled along the staircase on the left. They followed her, and she took Charles’ key, opening a door. There was a little corridor, then a living room with lots of white sofas, scattered around, a little dining area with twelve chairs, and six more doors. “This is your room.” She took out a separate key, and handed it to Charles, pointing to a door. “Sorry. Are there people here?” Vera asked. The sound of giggling from one room could be heard, and conversation from another. The woman giggled, and smiled. “Here. Our suites are occupied by strangers, not necessarily a family or a person. We rent all the rooms we have.” She replied, and walked away. “Suites are meant to be personal and private.” Charles said, under his breath, and Vera sighed. “Let’s just go in. Let’s go. It’s cheap anyway.” She replied, taking the key from him, pushing it into the door, turning it, and walking in. The room was brightly lit, and there were two beds placed on opposite sides of the wall. Vera took off her shoes, and bounced on one of the beds, exhausted. She didn’t want to bother about dinner, bathing, or work. She was exhausted. Charles chuckled, took a bathrobe, and went to the toilet. The inn was crazy. How could they make them share? If he had known, he’d have shared a room with the driver. The only reason he had decided to use the same suite as Vera was because he needed to be close to her for business, and of course, he’d expected them to have different rooms. After taking a shower, he dressed in the bathroom, and the minute his back fell on the bed, he was carted away by the gentle hands of sleep. The two of them awoke later in the day. The sun was high in the sky, and pouring through the open windows. Vera stretched and yawned before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth. There were new sets of toothbrushes, so she took them, and began to brush absentmindedly. When she returned, Charles was awake, and they greeted each other. After taking turns to bath, they walked out of their room, and met people in the living room, laughing and talking. The people stared at them, as they walked past, and Vera flashed a brief smile. “Good morning, all.” She said, and they murmured in reply. Immediately they turned their backs, whispers broke out. “They must be from the city.” “Sure, they look like it.” “When did they come in?” “I don’t recall seeing them yesterday.” “They look so strange.” “They must be rich. See their clothes.” Charles and Vera left the suite immediately, and looked at each other, before sharing a smile, and shaking their heads at the people. They sat on one of the round tables in the full cafeteria, and shortly after they ordered toast and tea, a lady with fiery red hair, green eyes, pale skin, and freckles came to join them. “I’m sorry. Every where’s so full, so there’s no place to… wow! Is that gem real?” She touched Vera’s little stone necklace, staring at it in awe. “Uh, no. It’s not.” “But it looks so real.” She argued. “That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? It’s meant to look real.” Vera replied, and the lady shifted her chair closer to Vera. Vera looked uncomfortable, but didn’t say a word. “I’m Layla.” She said, and held Vera’s arm. “Let’s be friends. I like your style. It’s just like mine.” She added. “Oh, really, thanks.” Vera replied, dryly. “Good afternoon.” Layla greeted Charles. “Good afternoon.” He greeted in return, and Vera tried to ease her arm of Layla’s grip, but Layla clung on. Then she turned, and signaled to someone. A few seconds after, a man joined them. He had dark hair hanging over an eye, and dull brown eyes. He looked like he was unaware of everything happening. His eyes met with Vera’s and she felt a chill race up her spine. He had a dark aura, and for some reason, she felt uneasy… Too uneasy.