The car ride had been long, and the silence inside was oppressive. For two hours, I sat in the backseat with Marshall beside me, staring out the window, the weight of the situation pressing down on my chest. Tony was in the driver's seat, occasionally glancing back through the rearview mirror but keeping his focus on the road. The world outside blurred past, nothing but endless stretches of barren land and the occasional industrial building as we moved further away from town.
I hadn’t eaten properly in days, and the gnawing hunger had long since turned into a dull ache in the pit of my stomach. My head throbbed lightly, a reminder of how weak I’d become, but I didn’t dare complain. Not in front of Marshall. He didn’t like weakness.
I stole a glance at him out of the corner of my eye. Hi
