Star struck

Celeste sighed, resting her elbow up against the glass window, watching the stale, dead shrubs whizz by. "Are we close yet?" Ophelia, her younger sister, was jostling around in her seat, head spinning backward and forward as her eyes chased every tumbleweed. Stella, their golden retriever, sat on her lap, head swinging in time with hers. The mother chuckled. "Not quite yet Heli, we still have an hour or so to go." Celeste groaned loudly. It felt like she had been baking in this hot car forever. With every turn of the wheels she felt her resentment growing, her despair at having to leave her whole world behind eating away at her heart. Her dad cleared his throat, glancing back at her through the rear view mirror. "Try to look on the bright side Cel, this doesn't have to be a bad experience." Celeste rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say." "Celeste," her mother turns around, placing her elbow on the top of the seat. Even with a scowl darkening her brow, her deep blue eyes sparkled. "we've been through this." "Oh yeah, that's right," Celeste bit down on the bitterness of the words, feeling the sarcasm rise from deep within her throat, "how did that conversation go again? 'Oh hey Celeste,'" Celeste did a mean but rather accurate impression of her mother, "'your father and I have decided to piss off to the desert, to the middle of nowhere, to chase a dream we never mentioned before and, uh, by the way you're coming with us. So say goodbye to your school, your friends..."' Celeste could feel the burn of fresh tears begin to sting the edges of her eyelids, "...'to everything you've ever worked for and ever known because what we want is more important than you."' She all but spat the last few words. Her dad slapped the steering wheel aggressively, causing the car to shake. "God dammit Celeste, when are you going to stop being so selfish? It's not the worst thing in the world to go on an adventure is it? Your mum and I are planning to set this hotel up for you, for your future. Not to mention that it could help other astrologers discover wonderful things!" "I'd rather make my own discoveries, follow my own dreams." Celeste bit back, feeling her cheeks flush. Why was that so hard to understand? "Oh yeah? well you know what..." Her dad turned around to face her, dark brown eyes almost black, voice thunderous. "Caelum look out!" Celeste's mother pulled at the steering wheel, too late to avoid a collision with a fully grown red kangaroo, that had hopped lazily into the road. There was a sickening crunch as the fender of their Brando Raptor made contact. Celeste felt herself lurch forward sharply. The car began to spit smoke. "Is anybody hurt?" Her dad looked around frantically, fighting the airbag that had deployed from the steering wheel. Celeste rubbed her left shoulder and neck, feeling the raw skin where the seat belt had dug into her skin. She turned and grabbed Heli, inspecting her for cuts and bruises. Heli, who had hidden her face in Stella's neck, looked up, her beautiful purple-blue eyes locking with Celeste's for a moment before the tears began to gather. She threw her head back and wailed, golden hair mixing in with Stella's golden fur as the dog threw up her head to howl with her. "She's fine." Celeste yelled over the ruckus. Just scared. "Well thank goodness for that." Her mother was inspecting a cut on her own arm. "Alright, everybody out." "The tire is totalled Caelum." Celeste's mother shook her head, looking sadly down at the bent rim on the front left tire. "We won't even be able to get the spare on." "I'll radio the encampment." Her dad headed back to the driver's seat. "It's not a great first impression, they're already going to think we're city folk." Celeste looked at the wheel. The whole front of the car was still steaming, an arid stench emanating from the pieces of red meat and fur enmeshed in the grill. The kangaroo was, mercifully, dead, it's body slumped unceremoniously in the dust and dirt of the road. Celeste swallowed hard. "Don't feel bad honey." Her mum came over and put an arm on her shoulder, as if reading her thoughts. "It's unlikely we would have been able to avoid him anyway. They come out of nowhere, they're considered a pest out here. My dad always told us that if a roo jumped out, it was best to speed up, as they were more likely to damage your car than themselves." Her mum smiled down kindly at her, golden hair ringing her face like a second sun. Celeste wondered how someone could be so callous and so beautiful all at the same time. Her mum shrugged, as if reading her mind (or maybe her face?) once again. "Sometimes I think you forget where I grew up, girl." Everybody's civilised until they have to gut their own meat." "Look!" Heli hiccuped her first words out since the accident. She pointed directly behind them, small arm still shaking slightly. Celeste felt another orang of guilt. She followed her sister' gaze. A wall of dust appeared to be moving towards them, growing larger with each passing moment. "A car!" Her mother shielded her eyes, appearing relieved. "Caelum, a car!" Celeste took a few cautious steps back towards their own car, not quite sharing her enthusiasm. Her dad popped his head out of the car, radio still in hand. "Well flag them down if you can." "No need." Her mother stepped forward as the car approach, its pace obviously dropping. Celeste noted that it was a high-end jeep, shining as if brand new. "Hello!" She waved as the car slowed to a stop just beside them. Celeste felt a strange shiver in the heat of the desert sun, as the engine cut off, its tinted windows giving nothing away about its occupants of the car. Something was off. Why were these people all the way out here? Why did they have such a nice car out on a dirt road? Something was definitely off. But what?