It's Just the Way We're Diseased

I punched Jimmy three times in the arm the moment I saw the lights. "How fucking fast were you going, Jimmy?" I yelled.

"It was only ten miles per hour over!" He spat back. I groaned. Everything we worked for. Everything we did, and now its gone. Out the window.

"Fuck!" I yelled. I punched the dashboard because I had nothing else to hit.

"Lisa, quit with the violence! Shelly doesn't need to be blamed." Jimmy scolded. I stared at him.

"You named your van Shelly?" Tears formed in my eyes and I started to laugh. I was slowly dropping into hysterics.

"Lisa. Calm down. Just think. What are we going to do?" Johnny asked. I sighed. Always coming to me for a game plan.

"We play calm. Jimmy, you have a license under a false name, right?" I asked. He nodded some, confused.

"OK. Present yourself as such. We'll get a ticket for there being so many people in the back with no seats. Take our losses. If any of us are recognized we'll take him out." They nodded Matt tried to wake Grace up but she was stuck in her nightmares. It was going to take him a while.

The police officer walked up. "Sir, do you understand that you were going eighty five miles per hour in a max of 70 mph lane?" I took two years of psychology, one year as an intro and the second year as an advanced class. I got the best scores both years out of anyone in the classes. This guy was a rookie. It would be easy to distract him.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Jimmy replied.

"Well, an apology won't get you out of a ticket. I need to see your license and registration, please." He looked up to see me. I had my head back against the seat glaring out the window. I opened the glove box for Jimmy as he reached over for the registration. "Mr... Alberto Silva?" the officer asked, shining a light on Jimmy's face. I slowly rolled my head to the side to stare at Jimmy. Sometimes he amazed me. Sometimes I just wanted to punch him.

"Yes sir. Its a family name." Jimmy played it up.

"And who is your companion?" The officer asked.

"I'm his sister. Bertha." I gave a sweet smile though I was certain my eyes showed a different emotion, anything other than friendliness.

"Howdy." He bowed his head some, I could tell his eyes wondered down my shirt a little. I leaned over more to shake his hand, putting my breasts more in view for him. He seemed a little distracted now. We might get away with it. All of a sudden Grace started making noises. My eyes widened. Everything got white hot, my body felt cold, my vision blurred, and everything got louder. Grace was crying out, screaming, and Matt was trying to calm her. Johnny out right started freaking out. The officer shined the light toward the back of the van. "I need everyone to exit the vehicle."

I got out first, went around to open the back of it. Everyone got out, Syn wrapping his arms around me a little. Grace finally got up and they exited.

"Everyone state your names." The rookie was trying. We could take him easily, hell even Grace while half asleep and out of her mind, she could take him. It went in a circle.

"I'm Synistor." Syn said, pronouncing it all weirdly.

"I'm Maxima." Matt offered a hand shake.

"I'm Lydia." Grace said. She didn't get the theme of off names, but it was ok.

"Hey bro, Julius." Johnny introduced.

"Custodes. Roman for guardians. My mother was a real Latin freak." And there is Zacky, coming up with weird things at all times. I yawned some, leaning against Syn, knowing that showing affection toward him ruined my slutty act, but I figured it was over now anyways.

"These are your real names?" The rookie arched his brow. Everyone was tense, waiting for the signal. If they could look at me without looking guilty, they'd all be looking to me for the game plan. They were waiting for my cue, I was the one who came up with on the spot life savers.

"Yeah, we're hippies. We just roll from one place to the next. No IDs. Thats the man's way of keeping us down. Alberto is the only one who drives so he's the only one with the license. And our birth certificates were lost long ago, you know, alcoholic parents and household problems. All we ever wanted was peace." I said calmly. Syn, reading my mind, played the next part.

"Yeah, man, just peace, love, and harmony." He kinda danced with me. I grinned.

"No being bound, no being held back, just one with nature and the loving mother of our world." I grinned again. He was creeped out by our wicca slash hippie-dippie shit.

"Well... Listen, I'll you go off with a warning. As soon as you can find an autoshop, get seats installed in the back for the rest of the passengers."

"Yes sir." Jimmy promised. I let out a slow sigh and slumped against Syn. Everything was fine. We just successfully pulled of one of the greatest escape plans ever. and then everything went terribly wrong.

"Grace!" Matt exclaimed out of shock. I opened my eyes to see Grace running, with a rock, and bashing the cops head. She started beating him, ignoring the sounds and cries he made. The rock bashed his face several times. By the time Matt and Jimmy broke out of their shock it was too late. The rookie was dead and Grace blacked out. I stared in shock, everything going quiet. I heard nothing. Not the sound of Matt trying to wake up Grace or the sound of Syn protesting when I walked toward the rookie.

I fell to my knees and whispered, "Grace..." knowing she won't hear me. I barely heard me. I sounded like ghost speaking. "Why would you do this?" I felt tears running, but still no sound reached my ears. "His only flaw was being interested in a women he found attractive. There was nothing about him that made him fit our MO. Nothing. Gracie... Why?" I reached out stroking the man's bloody, beaten face. I felt arms pull me back, I heard a faint noise but I couldn't make out what it was saying. I complied to the arms picking me up and then my ears popped. So many noises came at me at once. I looked at Syn's face, he was terrified. Johnny stared at my hand that had the guy's blood on it from touching him.

"What are we gonna do?" Zacky asked. And that was my cue. They needed me to come up with a quick fix.

"Fire." I said, without thought. My mind whirred to life, the thoughts rushing to me. "Get a fire started, Jimmy. And we need to get rid of the car somehow." I closed my eyes thinking. "Until we can figure out how, Johnny, follow the van in the cop car. Ignore all calls on the radio. Jimmy, get a damn fire going." I snapped at him. He looked at me in surprise then quickly got into action. He grabbed some supplies out of the van and him and Zacky started getting things set up to get a fire going just off the road. I was thankful that we were on a damn near deserted road.

"When you get it up enough, place him in the fire and we won't leave until everything is in ashes. If there is a single bone left, take it with us. We'll figure out how to get rid of it later." I turned and hopped into the van, closing my eyes.

After half an hour the deed was done. We had the bones that remained in a bag in the van and Johnny was in the cop car, going to wait ten minutes before following us.

"Holy shit, man, gets get the fuck outta here and to a motel. I'm so tired." And with that, everyone piled into the van, and Jimmy started driving again. Officially the longest night ever.