The Marradith Ryder Series Part 8
Ok, so the hot wiring the car took longer than I expected.
Not because I had any trouble doing it, but the neighborhood was just bad enough that no one wanted to park their cars there. Finally, Justin and I found what seemed like a suitable candidate; a midsized Japanese car, silver. We went through a whole little ritual; a quick search of the trunk, glove compartment, and a few other places to make sure there was nothing illegal inside. We switched the plates as well.
The car was clean.
Hooray. Theft from a law abiding citizen.
I got the car started with a touch of the steering column. Justin was impressed, I could tell.
He saw the tiny spark from my fingers as I did it. “You have got to teach me that,” he grinned.
I shrugged. “Hmmmph. Anyway, you’re driving today. I don’t want to get caught driving this thing. When they pull us over, I’ll be sure to tell them you kidnapped me, too.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Partially.”
That shut him up for a while.
We were leaving the state, and I couldn’t help feeling sad about it. This was where my family and I lived most of my life. I wondered if I’d ever see them again, or ever see our house again.
I wondered what Mom would say if she knew her car was at the bottom of the river.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked.
“There’s a couple of choices, but we’re heading North.”
I was surprised. This was an improvement,
He got us onto the highway and we lapsed into an uneasy silence.
Neither one of us brought up the fact that I woke up in his arms that morning.
Not that anything happened. My clothes were on, so were his, and there was a layer of blankets between us. When I woke his chest was against my back, his arms around my waist.
He was warm. It felt nice.
That bothered me. A lot.
It made me wonder about other things. Did he have a home somewhere, and was there a woman in his life? Did being a part of the Sojourners even leave time for that?
What kind of life could I expect if I was going to be one of them?
“When was the last time you ate?” Justin asked.
“Yesterday, probably around lunch. God. I didn’t even think about it.”
“Adrenaline will do that to you. We’ll stop and get a bite. I’m starving.”
“By the way, what do you eat?”
He glared at me. “Not humans, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
We turned into a diner a few miles off the interstate, a Mom-and-Pop diner. There was a good sized crowd inside. The front counter was full, mostly with laborers and truck drivers.
The regulars, I figured. The smell of coffee, eggs and bacon hit me the moment the door opened, making me even more hungry.
We took a booth towards the back. I noticed Justin looking around.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I wished we’d kept moving last night. Just being careful.”
I started looking around at the crowd myself. No one stood out. I didn’t feel the electricity in my spine; the closeness of a Wolf nearby. No one seemed to notice us.
“I think we’re okay.”
He tried for a smile, but it quickly disappeared.
I was relieved when the waitress came. Apparently, so was Justin. He unceremoniously ordered almost everything on the menu. She eyed him. I could tell she was trying to figure us out. Were we a couple? Was he my brother? He paid no attention to her eye batting and lip biting. He nodded politely when she came back with our coffee.
When our food came, we ate in silence.
There was a flat screen television over the counter, and I heard two men at the counter talking.
“Some guy in Fairfield went batshit,” I heard one of them say. “Turn the volume up.”
The waitress grabbed the remote and I watched the bars go up on the screen with dread.
“Justin,” I whispered, and he turned around.
The local anchorwoman was standing in a parking lot that looked familiar.
“This is Shannon Vega reporting from the LessCost Superstore in Fairfield, where
Ted Brown, store manager, went on a shooting spree nearly twenty minutes ago.
We are told that there are eleven confirmed dead, and nine injured. According to the information we have been given by the police department, Brown emerged from the back of the store with a loaded riffle and began shooting at random. When he stopped to reload, two customers attempted to subdue him. With one bullet left in the chamber, he jammed the riffle into his mouth and pulled the trigger.”
The cameraman took a sharp turn to the left, and zoomed in on a girl with tears in her eyes.
“I have with me,” Shannon paused, “Yesenia Lopez, an employee of LessCost who left on a break just before the melee began. Yesenia, is there anything that you can tell us about Mr. Brown’s state of mind? Are there any stressors in his life that you know of which may have caused him to act out today?”
The girl shook like a leaf. “I don’t understand, what happened, it was just a normal day.
He acted the way he always did. I can’t imagine why he’d do something like this. Ted had a wife and kids. I just can’t believe it.”
Shannon snatched the microphone back. “That’s the story here at LessCost Super Store, and we’ll keep you informed of further developments as they arise. Back to you, Tim.”
Justin turned around slowly, but I saw the look in his eyes. “That was the store you went to last night.”
“Yes.”
“Come on, we gotta go.”
“Justin…?”
“That’s not a coincidence. Ryder. They’re following us.”
___
© 2009 Lori Titus
Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears in episodes on Flashes in the Dark. Many of her short stories appear on MicroHorror.com, DemonMinds.com, and Shadeworks.org. An upcoming story will also be featured as a pod cast on SFZine.org. For more information see her at http://www.myspace.com/talesforthedark.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
March 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I could almost smell the bacon and taste the hash browns from here! And I liked the touch of sensuality in this chapter. I could picture the waitress as you described her. Good stuff!
March 27th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I’m glad that you like it!
Watch out for a new person in the next episode.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Another awesome installment!
June 16th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
A hungry wolf could eat quite a bit I would guess, and I am sure she can put it away almost as well.