A SPEEDING old hybrid Toyota Camry travelled on a highway to the interstate. Marlin was driving shirtless—and beside him was Joana Gilman grimacing in pain, punching the dashboard hard with her fist and cursing...

"Fuck-motherfucker!"

The Adonis noticed that the bleeding has stopped but Joana was refusing to seek any medical attention until they get out of the danger zone...

She has a low tolerance to withstand the pain from her gunshot wound—Marlin had suggested earlier that he will go and rob for medical supplies at any pharmaceutical store but she turned him down...

"No goddammit, we will be fucking caught, you dumb freak! Just take me to my grandmother's farm and she will know how to fix me!" her voice growled.

After hours since the Adonis had taught the Aryan Commander a lesson about 'respect' in the backstreet earlier, the girl was back being her abusing-self—Marlin grasped that she was unquiet and still was in deep pain despite she had eaten the last of his few Oxy pain-killers that he had earlier offered her—despite he too was in a state of twinge from his rib-injury, after falling from jumping off the fire-escape ladder during the strafing Apache chopper attacks in New Orleans...

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"No, don't stop anywhere, I can wait—arrr...just give me your hand...please!" the crying girl placed her head on Marlin's side and both her shaking palms clenched his hand tight to her chest; she was warm and burned with a fever. Marlin was left manoeuvred the steering wheel with the other hand.

"Just drive, Marlin...it hurts, the pain is hell," he heard her mumble in between her sobbing tone. He gazed at the open road ahead—and at the same time, he felt sorry for her.

He saw his Japanese tattoo on his own arm that held on the steering wheel...

This girl was as vulnerable like Suki whom he had failed to protect a long time ago—and now Suki was lost and forever gone out from his life. Marlin clenched Joana's palm hard, and he accelerated the pedal on the hybrid car—it will be a long journey into memory-lane for him before they reached Jackson, Mississippi.