It would’ve been a straight shot down the coast, but after getting stuck in traffic, Alex tried to find an alternate route that would get them there more quickly. Unfortunately, it only succeeded in leading them to a dead end, but not until they’d been driving off course for fifty miles.

That led them to stop at a gas station, where Daniel got an atlas and mapped out the route. Harper fumed quietly about the unnecessary detour for a few hours, while Alex sulked.

According to Daniel’s earlier calculations, they should’ve reached Myrtle Beach around midnight. Thanks to all the stops and starts, it was almost twelve and they were still over two hours away.

That was when the length of the trip started wearing on Harper. She would’ve thought that her excitement and nerves would’ve kept her awake, but she’d slept terribly the night before, and the whole situation simply exhausted her.

In the backseat, Alex snored fitfully. He’d nod off, but almost as soon as he did, he seemed to become aware of it and would wake himself up again.

“He should’ve gotten a Red Bull at the gas station,” Daniel said, referring to their pit stop about an hour before.

“What?” Harper blinked. She’d been spacing out and had barely heard him.

“Alex.” He gestured to the backseat, and Harper glanced behind her.

Alex’s chin had fallen to his chest, and he swayed slightly in motion with the car. He snorted loudly, but didn’t wake up this time.

“Yeah, I guess, he’s really out,” Harper said, stifling a yawn, and turned her attention back to the road.

“How are you holding up?” Daniel asked.

He sat next to her, appearing surprisingly chipper. The map was on his lap, folded in just the right way so their path was sitting faceup, and he had a can of Red Bull in his hand. So far on the trip, he had yet to yawn or sleep or even complain of being tired.

“Great,” Harper said, but that was at least partially a lie. She was fading, and the highway seemed to stretch on in an eternal blackness that made her eyelids heavy.

“You sure?” Daniel asked. “Because I can take the wheel. You’ve been driving this entire time, and it wouldn’t hurt to trade off.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

There was no real reason not to let Daniel drive, except that it made her feel a bit more in control of the situation. She wasn’t, really. Gemma had run off and turned into a monster, and there was nothing Harper could do about it.

But she could drive the car. She could keep them moving in the direction of her sister, and that was the best she could do right now.

“Let me know if you do get too tired,” Daniel said. “I’ll be happy to take over.”