We drove and drove and drove. We didn't stop once, no matter how much Ava begged. I had no clue what Gomez's plan was, but I had no choice but to trust him.

What if he was out of his mind? What if when I had hit him with that frying pan, it knocked something loose in his head? That thought resonated in the back of my mind, haunting me for the entire car ride.

After a while, Gomez told me to sit up front so that Ava could get herself together and put on some clothes. Reluctantly, I obeyed, climbing into the passenger side.

Ava looked inside of the bag of clothes I had stolen from her house. She reached in and pulled out a pair of the underwear that I had picked out for her. She wrinkled her nose.

"Really?" she asked in an exasperated tone. "What if I'm on my period? Girls don't wear thongs during their time of the month..." her voice trailed off. "I mean, unless you're weird..." Ava must have seen the smirk that grew across my lips in the rear view mirror, because she immediately elaborated. "But I'm not weird, I'm sorry to inform you. Besides, I hardly ever wear thongs anyway, only with yoga pants and leggings, which it doesn't look like you packed any, so I don't-"

"Knock it off!" Gomez shouted. She shrunk back in her seat. "I knew this was a bad idea..."

"Then why did you do it?" she whispered. His eyes narrowed.

"You know why."

After that, Ava changed pretty quickly and brushed out her still semi-wet hair.

It was getting dark and dry where we were going. The grassy views of hills and mountains shifted to that of tumble weeds and sand. It was a different sort of gloom from what I was used to, and I can't particularly say that I like this setting more than the one at home.

I am no gangster. I am a serial killer. I am filled with a certain elegance and grace, and use those things in what I do. It only seemed logical for me to be in a dark house on a rainy day, murdering someone with my bare hands. I certainly was not accustomed, nor did I want to be, to shooting someone in cold blood in the middle of the day on a street. That's just not me. I looked up at Ava. I would rather she die by my hands than someone else's gun. That was how much I loved her.

We drove all night. Gomez didn't stop for sleep once. I made it a game with myself not to fall asleep until after Ava did. After hours of waiting her out, I finally beat her. Her eyes fluttered shut peacefully, and not a moment later, I completely lost consciousness.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When I woke up, we were driving down an urban street. There seemed to be a hooker at every corner and gunshots were more common than birds in the sky. I looked behind me. Ava had awoken as well, and looked at me with a worried expression. I shrugged and turned back to the front.

"This is where I grew up," Gomez informed me again. "It's rough and tumble here, so keep a look out for danger."

"Well we're surrounded in it..." I mumbled.

Gomez began driving down a street near a neighborhood. The heat waves reflected off of the street ahead of us. The street was dry and cracked, with no sign of repair anytime soon. The houses we passed were all falling apart or abandoned.

Gomez drove slowly, as he did not want to get pulled over. As he drove at this speed, several boys and young men walking past the car spotted Ava in it and let out long cat calls and excited noises.

Angered by their outburst, I jumped out of the car and viciously started after them. They didn't seem fazed by me at all. For the first time in my life, I felt physically weaker and...afraid.

"Luther!" Gomez shouted. "Get back into the damn car before I shoot your ass!"

Furrowing my brows, I ran back and hopped into the front seat. Gomez started off again.

"What the hell are you thinking, man?"

I sat there, arms crossed, brooding in silence. I just wanted this to be over with.

"Ava," Gomez spoke more gently to her. "Tell me. How did you escape?"

Her expression grew dim and her eyes shifted about. "I...when you two had brought me back to Gomez's house, I finagled my way out of the bin, filled it with marajuana, and re-taped the lid, and hid behind the plywood that I found the pot was behind. After you two went inside, I made a run for it."

Gomez shook his head. "You're a very smart girl, chica." Ava stared blankly at him. "But from here on out, you're not getting out of our sight." She gulped.

Suddenly, up the street, I saw two teenage boys, about my age, running towards us in fright, waving their arms.

"Help!" they screamed. "Help us!"

Gomez began to slow down. I rolled my eyes and looked at him. "You're not actually going to help them, are you?"

"I've been in their position," he replied as we heard gunshots up ahead. We all ducked down.

"Who wants to get in a car with a serial killer, drug dealer and an abductee?"

"Someone trying to escape from their enemy."

He pulled the car to a stop as the two Caucasian boys slipped into the backseat next to Ava. They lowered their heads as Gomez drove at a normal pace, trying to stay low key. We drove past a car full of Hispanic men who eyed us, but continued on driving.

"Thanks man," the blonde one said.

"Hey, I know how tough life can be here."

The brunette one sniffed around. "Do you have weed in here or something?"

Gomez suddenly got tripped up. I rolled my eyes. "Um...there was...last week. My amigo had it."

The boys' expression became disheartened.

"Where do I need to take you?" Gomez asked.

"Just keep driving straight," the blonde said. "We'll arrive at our man Taco's house."

"Taco?" Ava asked, confused by the street name the man had.

The two boys suddenly took notice of Ava and began laying their hands all over her.

"Well well well, I don't think I have ever touched anything so nice in my entire life," the brunette boy breathed as he tried wrapping his arms around her, for he was the closest one to her.

My breathing got heavier. I was about to turn around and strangle them, but Gomez grabbed my arm to stop me. He flashed me a discerning look, causing me to stop.

"I know Taco," Gomez commented. This distracted the boys from toying with Ava.

"You do?" The blonde one asked.

Gomez nodded. "We worked together a lot while I lived here..." his voice trailed off, memories suddenly starting to come back to him. He pulled up in front of the house, for he apparently knew where it was.

Gomez stopped the car and turned around in his seat. "Do you boys need anything else today?"

The two looked at each other and shared an evil grin. "Yeah, actually..." the brunette on said. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Gomez and I. We both stuck our hands up in the air. The boy sucked his bottom lip behind his top row of teeth aggressively and flicked his head towards Ava. "We'll be taking the chick."

I rolled my eyes. "So, you want to abduct our abductee?"

The two of them exchanged a confused glance, but still nodded. "Yeah," the blonde agreed. I lowered my head and looked up at them, my eyelids practically touching my brows.

"Be my guest."

Ava frantically looked around as the boys chuckled to themselves and forced Ava out of the jalopy with them.

"Luther!" she desperately cried. The blonde shut the car door and began forcing Ava into the sore excuse for a house they were walking towards. The brunette walked up to Gomez's window and looked at us.

"Thanks amigos," he mocked with a large, toothy smile. He pulled out the gun and shot me in the shoulder. I let out a cry of pain as I heard Ava scream in horror.

"Shit!" Gomez cried. He suddenly pulled the car in reverse and started off, driving as far away from that house as we could.

No... I thought as my consciousness slipped away from me. What have I done?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So poor Luther got shot! Ava's been abducted yet again, and who is this mysterious Taco that Gomez knows? Find out soon!

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