Escape to Black Rock Bay

Chapter Two

We drove for hours through Northern Arizona and into Utah and until we had to stop for gas right outside of Moab. At that point, it was nearly 6am and I, like the car was running on fumes. When we went in the vault, I put two stacks of cash in my waistband for petty cash along the way. Before I went into the gas station, I took out $100 from the stack and put it in my pocket. Even in this tiny town, we didn’t need anyone seeing big wads of money and asking questions. We filled up the car and Elle and I went in to pay and get the bathroom key. The gas station attendant whose name tag said “Gary” said, “You girls look like you’ve had a long night.” I just laughed nervously and said, “No just an early morning. May I have the bathroom key please?” He nodded and gave me the key. Elle and I went to the bathroom to pee and freshen up. I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair and put it up in a clip and Elle did her thing. We walked back into the gas station and grabbed two Red Bulls and blueberry muffins for the road. We usually pigged out and bought a ridiculous amount of junk food and candy for our road trips but again, we didn’t want to draw attention to us. Gary rang up our gas and incidentals while making conversation again. “Are you girls up here for some adventuring? It doesn’t look like you packed much gear,” he said as he glanced at our car. I shook my head and Ellie chimed in saying, “No just driving up to Washington to visit our mom.” Nice one Elle. We hadn’t rehearsed that but had talked about making our destination different any time anyone asked. I am paranoid and didn’t like his questions but I’m sure he’s bored and just trying to make pleasant conversation. He seemed to accept my answer and gave me my total, “That’ll be $47.82 please.” I gave him the $100 bill from my pocket, he held it into the light and marked it with his counterfeit pen. I held my breath and hadn’t even considered the fact that Donnie might be laundering money and that the bills may be fake up until that very moment. I let out a small sigh of relief when the mark turned a dark yellow and tried to cover with a fake yawn. I made a mental note to check the rest of the bills once we were in a secure enough location. Just as Gary looked down to grab our change and receipt I swiped the counterfeit pen and slipped it into my pocket. As he was giving us our change he said, “You girls be careful out there. You never know what kind of trouble you can get into.” We grabbed our items and our change as we waved nervously and walked to the car as fast as we could without drawing attention. Ellie went to the drivers side and I got in the passenger side, we both got in as fast as we could. “What the f**k was up with that guy?? What a creep,” Ellie said in a disgusted voice. I felt the same way. What the f**k indeed. “Idk Elle, but let’s get out of here before he commits any more details about us to his memory.” With that, she started the car and drove out of the gas station. We were about half a mile down the road and I was already lost in my thoughts about the entire encounter when Ellie said, “I about lost my s**t when he got out his counterfeit pen.” It took me a minute to register what she had said and I agreed with her. “I thought the same thing! Pretty sure I was actually sweating.” I had never heard Donnie talk about money laundering but I also wasn’t exactly on the inside of things either. He was so greedy I wouldn’t put it past him to be making his own fake money too. Ellie still on her own train of thought said, “I hadn’t even considered the money could be fake! What kind of s**t would that be if we risked our lives for nothing ended up with a bunch of fake money.” We both laughed nervously but knew how f**ked we would be if that was the case. “After we meet the guy and get our new identities, we’ll pull it all out and check the bills with this,” I say as I reveal the counterfeit pen I swiped from Gary. “Isla you sly little fox!” Ellie said with fake disapproval. We both grinned and started laughing, but we both knew it was something either of us would’ve done given the thought. Before we sat down to plan our getaway, we had a very serious conversation with each other about how far we were willing to go to escape Donnie. We both came to the conclusion that we would stop at nothing and make any and every sacrifice necessary to get away from him for good. I knew we’d be on this road for a while but I consulted the map while we discussed the next few details of our travel route. “Next stop Colorado!” I say with as much excitement as I can muster as I stifle a yawn. “ Woo! Can you hand my my Red Bull? I’m dying over here and your yawns are contagious,” Ellie asks me as she yawns too. As she turned to take it from me she said, “Oh damn! You look super tired sis, you should get a nap.” I yawned again and nodded my head as I handed Ellie her Red Bull and turned up the radio. I immediately recognize Frank Sinatra’s voice singing “Fly Me to the Moon,” which is one of my favorite songs. I start humming along to the tune and it’s the last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep.