7| Good Samaritan

Matt grabbed the wheel so hard his knuckles went white. He turned the wheel as fast as he could to correct the car's motion, but when he saw how fast they were going, he tried to press the brakes even harder to know if he could entirely stop the car's motion.

Women, he thought snidely amid the action, all they ever did was scream in a moment of crisis. Why couldn't they just shut up and shout out ideas for him to try out instead, saving them all from getting killed?

Matt's eyes widened in horror as the car flew past green shrubs and grass on its way to collide with the tree. He shut his eyes when he suddenly felt that the situation was out of control and they were all going to die.

But Janey had seen her husband close his eyes and prepare himself for death; she could almost hear him say, 'All man shall die someday.' The bloody fool.

Well, not today, Matt. Not today. She leaned over and took the wheel from her husband's hand, jerking the gear while simultaneously rotating the wheel. At this point, Claudine had closed her eyes; if she was going to die, she didn't want to see death.

But alas, as if by a miracle, the car tumbled to a stop just a few inches away from the tree's bark. Janey exhaled a slow breath through her nostrils and mouth, and Matt prepared for the onslaught that he knew she would throw his way for acting as he did earlier.

"Matt, I can't believe you wanted us all to die just like that. Why would you close your eyes at such a dire moment?" questioned Janey angrily.

The car had idled to a stop, and the only sound heard was tinkling, presumably coming from the car's engine. They had stopped in the middle of a forest, right in the centre of it, if it was Ariella's geographic opinion that you wanted.

Matt tried to reply calmly to defuse some of Janey's annoyance. "I don't think I'm the one to be blamed for this incident here."

Janey, who had been spoiling for a fight, shouted at Matt then. "Whose was it then?"

Claudine relaxed a bit in her seat. It was high time the Zaynaders put on a show.

"Wait up, mum, I truly don't think it's dad's fault," she turned quietly to Claudine after making the proclamation.

Claudine suddenly started to feel hot. Her palms had gone sweaty, and her tongue had gone dry in her mouth. What now? She wondered as she watched a rabbit tear past a fallen tree and twist its way into its burrow. Claudine wished she could disappear with the rabbit down its hole and never return.

Janey raises an eyebrow at her daughter, "What are your thoughts then?"

"It was Claudine's fault," said Ariella as she slanted another gaze at Claudine.

"Exactly my thoughts!" Matt was glad to have found an ally. Two against one, although Janey, all on her own, could still make quite a formidable team.

"Get out of the damn car, girl," snarled Janey as if she couldn't bear her presence any longer.

She didn't say 'dear' this time, thought Claudine. Should she take that as a good sign or a bad one?

Ariella decided to lend more voice to her mother. "Get out, bawdy!"

Bawdy sure sounded like Claudi, a shortened version of Claudine's name. She had heard some girls use the name Claudi when they waved Claudine goodbye from the door of the orphanage home. Ariella knew then that she had just discovered a beautiful name for Claudine. Who knows? She might just come up with another one just before she got home.

Claudine meekly stepped out of the car like she had been commanded to. At this point, she had no strength to argue or shout. She didn't want to get struck again.

She surveyed the car for damages from the angle she stood and watched the family of three trade words with each other afterwards. There was no hope for her. They would all agree to punish her for nearly trying to kill them today, even though she wasn't the one driving.

Ariella asked her parents excitedly. "What punishment should we give her?"

She never really felt as alive as she did when she thought about torturing someone or carrying out the actions herself. When she was younger, Ariella loved to pinch babies and watch their pink lips part and have a terrible wail ensue from them. She was fascinated with pain and torture.

But as she had grown up, she had wondered if that was the proper reaction to have towards torture. She had asked her father, who reassured her that she was alright. His little princess, that's what she was to him and the only thing she'd ever be.

"I'm sure you have something in mind, my dear. We'd be sure to let you have your way," remarked her mum, then she turned to her husband, "Check the car, Matt. See if it can start up again so we can leave here."

Matt stepped out of the car and looked at Claudine with so much hatred that Claudine was sure she would be seared with it if hatred was a physical thing like fire. She blanched and looked down at her toes.

The car's front bumper had slightly come off, probably from the collisions with surrounding shrubs as it hurtled down to this place. The paintings were scratched off at the sides, too, while the rearview mirror on the right had been smashed in.

"Just a few scratches," he reassured Janey and Ariella as he climbed back into the car. He turned the car's ignition, and it came on, and they had all whooped in joy. It would have been terrible having to trek this distance till they found a gas station or a good Samaritan to give them all a lift.

Matt turned the car around and started to drive for the tarred roads. He found a radio station that played a favourite jam of the family.

Claudine heard their happy voices as they drove past her while tunelessly crooning to a song on the radio. They were leaving her behind in the middle of nowhere. Her eyes were welled with tears.