Chapter 3 - In the Dead of Night"Daddy?" Lily was awake now, peering out the window. "Are we home?"
"Not yet, peanut," Daniel said, climbing back inside, dripping wet and shivering. He looked at the dashboard clock: 2:15 AM. They were still forty miles from Pine Hollow.
Sarah was crying again, silent, racking sobs that shook her entire frame. "I’m going to miss it. She’s going to pass, and I won't be there."
Daniel pulled out his phone. No signal. Of course. The storm had knocked out the local towers. He looked at Sarah, then at Lily, who was watching them both with eyes that seemed too old for her years.
"We have to walk," Daniel said.
"Walk?" Sarah gasped. "It’s miles to the next town!"
"There’s a gas station about three miles up the road. I passed the sign before the storm got bad. If we can get there, we can get help."
He grabbed a heavy blanket from the trunk and wrapped it around Lily. "You stay here, okay? I’m going to walk to the station and come back for you both."
"No," Sarah said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "I’m going with you."
They stepped out into the dark. The wind was so strong it felt like a physical blow. Daniel held Lily tight, while Sarah struggled through the mud of the shoulder, her expensive boots ruined, her spirit frayed to the breaking point. They walked for what felt like hours, the rain freezing on their clothes.
"Look!" Sarah screamed.
A faint, flickering light appeared in the distance. The gas station.
As they approached, a beat-up pickup truck was idling near the pumps. A man in a heavy coat was filling his tank. Daniel didn't think; he ran, his legs burning, his lungs screaming.
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"Please!" Daniel shouted. "My daughter—we have a car back there—we need help!"
The man stopped, eyeing them warily. When he saw the small, shivering girl in Daniel’s arms and the distraught woman behind him, his expression softened.
