Rob started moving. He was shaking. The hard asphalt beneath his feet felt like it was on the verge of turning into quicksand. That would be great, actually. Super. Let the world open up and swallow him whole. It couldn’t be any worse than having some crazy chick with a gun take him for a ride down the highway to hell, which was sure to be a dead end.

Emphasis on dead.

Somehow, though, he managed to reach the Galaxie’s other side without falling over or otherwise freaking out. A miracle. He opened the driver-side door and slid in behind the car’s big red steering wheel.

He pulled the door shut and started shaking again. “Oh, Christ. Fuck. Oh, fuck.”

The girl stared at him. “Scared?”

“Shitless.”

“Good. You’ll be fine as long as you’re too scared to try anything stupid.”

“Okay.”

“Start the car.”

Rob stared at his right hand and made himself concentrate until it stopped shaking. The key was already in the ignition. He twisted it and the old V-8 engine roared to life.

He leaned back against the seat and looked at the girl again. “What now?”

“Hold on.”

She set the gun on the dash and began to root around in the tote bag. He heard a lot of things clanking around. He looked at her. The whole of her attention seemed focused on the task of locating something inside the bag. He looked at the gun.

He reached for it.

Her fist came out of nowhere, drilling hard into the side of his nose. Pain snapped through him and he rocked backward in his seat. A trickle of blood leaked from one nostril and dribbled past his lips into his mouth. His eyes went wide as he stared at her. The gun was still on the dash. But any thought of reaching for it again withered and died. Rob’s mind reeled. The world was spinning off its axis. The things happening to him were so completely alien and beyond the realm of his experience. He’d seen his share of schoolyard scraps like anyone else, but no one in his adult life had ever punched him. The violence was beyond shocking.