by Chase Connor
“You’re being crazy.” Lucas shook his head. “I have my memories, remember? Mrs. Wagner has been with you since you were a little kid, Rob. She’s your grandmother. You started staying with her when your parents…um, left…remember, babe? What are you even—”
“I lived in that house with my parents before they ran off, Lucas,” I said sharply. “That isn’t Oma’s house. It was my parents’ house. Then they disappeared, and Oma showed up. I have no memory of her before she just showed up one day.”
“What?”
“That’s odd, right?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “I mean, she’s supposed to be my dad’s mom, but I never met her before he disappeared. No family reunion where she showed up with potato salad. No Christmas visit where she brought a gift. No phone calls to catch up. She didn’t exist in my life before my parents were gone, Lucas. She is not my grandmother.”
Pulling on Lucas’ hand, I managed to get Lucas to take a few steps towards the stands while in his stupor before he was pulling on my hand again. With a groan, I turned to face him again.
“That’s insane, Rob.” He admonished me. “I mean…maybe you don’t have memories of her before then. You were young, right? Maybe you just don’t remember? Or maybe she wasn’t in your life before then—I mean, you said that she didn’t like your mom much and didn’t get along with your dad, so—”
“That’s what she’s told me my entire life.” I hissed. “But I have no proof of that—just what she told me. How am I supposed to keep believing someone without proof? Especially with everything that’s going on now? Lucas—everyone in this fucking town is in cahoots with the man in the black hooded cloak. Even…the Barkley’s.”
Lucas stared at me with wide eyes.
“And I think you know what I’m talking about but don’t want to admit to it,” I said. “You know where your particular type of powers come from. I’ve seen what happened to you when you were a kid in your bedroom late at night. You met him before you and I became friends…and more. Maybe you’ve forgotten. Maybe you’ve repressed it. I don’t know what’s going on anymore, Lucas. The longer I stay in this fucking shithole town, the stranger things get. The less anything makes sense.”
Lucas shivered.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” I said. “Especially here, right now. But we both know that things are getting worse by the minute in this town. We both know that he is coming back sooner rather than later. This is how things felt before he showed up the first time, right? So…let’s just go. Let’s get in my car, go to the airport, and get the fuck out of this fucking state.”
“Tonight?”
“You still want to leave me with me, right?” I asked.
“Of course.”
“Then let’s go.” I urged him on. “We can’t risk staying here any longer, Lucas. If we do…something really bad is going to happen. I can feel it. If we leave…maybe things won’t get better, but he won’t have any reason to return. I won’t be here. And if he still wants me, he’ll have to come to California. Because we won’t be here.”
“But, babe—”
“Let’s get into the car, Lucas.” I pleaded. “We’ll drive straight through to Hopkins. We’ll buy two tickets for the first plane going to L.A. and then we’re gone. We’ll never look back.”
“I don’t have clothes…”
“Babe.” I smiled at him. “I’ll buy you anything you need or want when we get to L.A. Fuck your house. Fuck my family’s house. Fuck our things. Fuck our families. Fuck this town. Right now is our one chance to get out of this town and stop what’s coming. If we don’t leave now…we’re never going to leave. And you know it.”
Lucas looked sick but nodded.
“Yeah.” He said, the nodding becoming more confident. “Let’s get the hell out of here, Rob. You’re right. You’re right. I just…okay.”
Grabbing his face in my hands, I looked him in his eyes.
“It’ll be okay,” I said. “I promise. If you’re worried about your grandpa, you can call him from the plane. Or once we land. He’ll understand.”
“I don’t think he will.” Lucas shook his head. “But that doesn’t matter, does it? We have to leave.”
“Exactly,” I said. “So…you are all in, right?”
Lucas nodded.
“Yes.” He said affirmatively. “Let’s go, Rob. Let’s just get the hell out of Ohio and never look back. It’ll be okay as long as I’m with you. I know that.”
“Just one of those things you know?” I smiled warmly before kissing him gently.
“Yeah.” He smiled as I pulled away. “I know it’ll be okay if we get out of this town, babe.”
Instead of saying anything else, I grabbed Lucas’ hand once more and pulled him towards the stands. We raced up the stairs to the stands and then up the stairs that led to the top of the stands towards the parking lot where I had left my car. Whether or not Lucas’ family would be upset that he stole away in the middle of the night with me didn’t matter to me in the slightest. We were leaving—together—and we weren’t looking back ever again. That’s all that mattered to me. That both of us would be safe.
Of course, when we reached the parking lot, and our eyes landed on the dozen men surrounding my car, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Of course, I should have expected that.
Chapter 13
Lucas gripped my hand tightly, his body freezing up as we slid to a stop several yards away from my car and the pack that surrounded it. He gave me a concerned look as I laughed loudly at the sight of the large men—all of them cookie-cutter versions of what werewolves in human form should look like according to movies made for horny teenagers. It wasn’t so much that the pack was waiting by my car that I found amusing—though it was funny that I hadn’t seen it coming—the fact that Jason was with them was the most entertaining part. And he still had his head.
Jason stood there, evilly smiling ear to ear as Lucas and I kept back, our hands clasped together for support and courage.
“So…” Jason began, “you cut off my head and just leave. Didn’t even shut the door.”
Lucas looked over at me.
“Rude.” Jason shook his head.
I half expected it to partially detach like a character from Harry Potter, lolling around like a balloon on a stick for a moment before he shoved it back into place. Surely it wasn’t completely healed and reattached so quickly after having been lopped off. It looked pretty secure as he grinned and chastised me, however, so I decided that the next time I took his head off, I wouldn’t leave it behind. Get a bowling bag, I thought to myself. Then you can carry it around like Melanie Griffith in Crazy in Alabama.
The thought made me chuckle, which caused Lucas to look at me with concern once more.
“Head in a bowling bag,” I mumbled to myself with a chuckle.
“Rob.” Lucas squeezed my hand.
“Sorry.” I glanced at him before turning my attention to the pack and its leader that had my car surrounded. “Get away from my car, assface.”
“Don’t think we can do that, Rob,” Jason said, reaching up to scratch his head.
Or reposition it, I wasn’t sure.
“We’re not allowed to let you leave.” Jason shrugged. “We have to keep you here until he comes.”
“Well, we have other things going on,” I replied, clasping Lucas’ hand tighter as I took a step forward. “So, please, give him our regards, but we don’t have time to wait around.”
Under our feet, the ground vibrated for a split second. Lucas gasped and moved closer to me. Jason just grinned over at us like the dipshit that he was. His entire pack started growling and yipping, their heads turning towards the sky. My heart started beating faster in my chest, but I did my best to appear outwardly calm as I stared down my rival.
Who should be deader than a doornail.
“Your head’s good.” I shrugged.
“That’s what they say,” Jason smirked.
“Fuck you,” Lucas responded for me.
Jason gave a barking laugh, which his pack echoed.
“I cut his head off earlier this evening,” I mumbled to Lucas out of the corner of my mouth as we stared at the pack.
“Really?” Lucas’ eyes were like saucers.
“Didn’t take, I guess.” I shrugged.
“Apparently not,” Lucas mumbled.
We waited for the bark-like laughs to grow silent and for Jason to turn his attention back to us before either of us said anything. There was no point in trying to talk over a pack of puppies that were all riled up. The ground shook faintly once more.
“Okay,” I announced once the barking had stopped. “Get the fuck away from my car. Maybe cutting your head off didn’t do the trick, but I know fire will do the job.”
I held my hand out, a flame blooming immediately from my palm. The red and yellow flame illuminated Lucas’ and my face with dancing lights, hopefully making me look way more intimidating than I probably did to such a large group of werewolves. Jason smiled at me a moment longer, then sniffed the air, his head tilting skyward. Frowning to myself and casting a glance at Lucas, I didn’t know what to make of the behavior. The ground rumbled roughly underfoot, and my heart began beating faster. Jason stopped sniffing the air and turned his attentions back to Lucas and me.
“He’s coming.” He said.
“I know,” I replied. “Move your asses or get used to ‘em being crispy.”
For the space of a few breaths, Jason and I stared at each other across those few yards that separated us. Then, he suddenly stepped aside. His pack didn’t even look confused by his actions but instead started to move away from my car. Lucas’ hand gripped mine tighter as we watched Jason and his pack give us a clear path to the car. When they moved, I fully expected the windows to be smashed in, the tires to be flat, wires and parts lying everywhere on the ground. However, my car looked fine, and they all continued to move until they were far enough away from the car for me to feel safe enough to start walking towards it.
I’m not an idiot. I knew that Jason and his pack giving in so easily was a bad sign. However, I had no further plan for how to make an escape from Point Worth, so my car was my only option. Lucas and I needed to be in my car and headed in the direction of Cleveland as soon as possible. With the way things were progressively getting crazier and crazier in Point Worth, every second we spent lingering in the fucked up little town brought us closer to a situation we couldn’t resolve. I squeezed Lucas’ hand and pulled him towards the car.
Easing our way into it, the two of us walked towards the car, keeping all of the pack members in our line of sight as we walked. They had given us access to the car too easily. Either they knew something we didn’t know, they figured we’d never get in the car and out of town quickly enough, or they were planning to pounce on us as soon as we got close to the car. However, Jason and his pack continued to stand clear as we made our way over to my car. Usually, Lucas would get in on one side, and I’d get in on the other, but I knew that separating was the worst plan.
As we approached the car, my hand still held out with the flame flickering in my palm, I indicated to Lucas to get the keys out of my pocket. Lucas’ hand went into my pocket, which drew some snickers from pack members and made Jason smirk, but I ignored them. He fished the keys out and let go of my hand to unlock the driver’s side door. The pack continued to just watch us as Lucas opened the door and I jumped in, sliding over to the passenger’s seat. Lucas followed quickly and slid into the driver’s seat, slamming the door behind himself.
We glanced at each other nervously as I mentally extinguished the flame in my hand. As Lucas started the car, I watched the pack members through the windows, my head jerking around to look at each of them, to make sure that nothing odd was going on. They were all still watching, which was why I had chosen to ride passenger in the car. If Lucas was driving, I was available to shoot balls of fire at anyone or anything that got too close to the car. The car started when Lucas twisted the key in the ignition, and I wasn’t sure if the rumbling feeling beneath us was the car or the ground beneath us. My stomach was in knots as the idea of the car blowing up entered my mind, though I knew there was no one in the pack smart enough to make and plant a bomb that would go off when the car was started.
“Go,” I stated when Lucas glanced over at me.
“They’re all around us,” Lucas muttered.
“They’ll move or get run over.”
Lucas looked at me for a moment, then gave a firm nod. He threw the car into gear and started to pull forward. For a second, it looked as though Jason and two of the pack members standing beside him would refuse to move aside for the car, but at the last second, they dashed to the side, letting the car pass. I stared out of the passenger seat window at Jason as we eased by. He merely smirked down at me as I squinted in anger up at him.
“Go.” I said again. “Faster. Get us out of here.”
Lucas gunned the car, gravel and dirt kicking up behind us at the pack. I smiled to myself as I watched pack members jumping out of the way, silently cussing and stomping angrily as debris pelted them. As the football stadium and the pack grew smaller in the rear window, I turned around in my seat to find Lucas smiling proudly. I couldn’t help but smile at his expression. He was happy to have caused a little pain and anger. I definitely couldn’t blame him. The ground was still rumbling. Or maybe it was the car?
“How much gas do we have?” I asked.
“Enough to get to Cleveland,” Lucas replied.
“Good.”
“Are we just going to leave your car here?” He asked. “I mean…won’t you need it in L.A.?”
“I have another.” I shrugged.
“Babe.” He glanced over at me with a grin.
“I know.” I chuckled. “But I never want to come back here. Ever. I don’t care if leaving a car behind is douchey.”
Lucas chuckled, but his facial expression betrayed him.
“They let us go too easily.” He said. “Why even bother meeting us at the car if they were just going to let us go?”
“They were killing time,” I said.
“Huh?”
“Don’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“The ground,” I said. “It’s shaking.”
“Yeah.” Lucas looked sick again. “I felt it.”
“He’s coming,” I said. “We just have to get out of this town before that happens. If we get out of here quickly enough, we won’t have to worry.”
“What do you mean?” He asked. “Just because we’re gone doesn’t mean he’s not a problem.”
“He won’t come back if I’m not here,” I said. “Just trust me. Okay?”
Lucas gave a sharp but understanding nod.
“Gun it, babe,” I said, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. “Drive like the police don’t exist, okay?”
“What if we get pulled over?”
“I’d like to see a Point Worth officer try,” I said.
I held my hand out again, producing another small flame.
Lucas looked at me with concern.
I gave him a wink.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “If you drive fast enough, it’s not something we’ll have to think about, babe.”
Lucas stared at me for several moments as the car carried us onto the highway, and he pressed the accelerator down. Finally, he gave me a smile and a nod, then turned his attention back to the road. I sighed to myself, extinguishing the flame, as I stared out at the road before us. I wanted to grab Lucas’ hand, to feel his hand in mine as we watched Point Worth fly by and felt the ground rumbling underneath us. However, I didn’t want to distract him on his mission to get us outside of the city limit in record time. So, I stared out of the window on my side of the car and counted the stars.
All we had to do was get out of town.
It was that simple.
A few minutes later, when I w
atched the “Welcome to Point Worth” sign pass by the car, I let go of a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. Lucas kept the accelerator down for several miles before easing off and letting the car drop to a reasonable speed. Finally, he looked over, a smile coming to his face much more easily than it had mere minutes before. He reached over, grabbed my hand, and laced his fingers through mine. I accepted his hand in mine. Quickly, I leaned over and gave him a kiss, noticing that the ground was not rumbling under the car any longer.
If we were lucky, we’d be in Cleveland before the sun came up.
Oma stopped the car right outside the gates of the carnival, her foot slamming on the brake pedal, which caused Opa’s truck to skid to a shuddering stop. I hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt, so my sternum used the dashboard to stop my forward momentum. Dust and gravel from the country road kicked up around the sides of the pickup. Unfortunately, my window had been down, and I had been talking, so I was also treated to a mouthful of dust and dirt. Coughing and hacking, I bent forward, trying to clear my eyes and throat of crud. Oma threw the truck into park, though she didn’t bother killing the engine, and leaned over to slap me roughly on the back. Oma slapped, and I coughed, and finally, I was able to breathe again, though I had to slide the sleeve of my shirt over my hand to wipe at my eyes. It’s hard to wipe your eyes clear of dirt and tears when your grandmother is pounding on your back. That’s just one way to really hurt yourself, though I somehow managed to avoid any serious injury.
“Jesus Ladling Up Gravy, Robbie!” Oma grumbled, finally pulling away from me, her hand no longer assaulting my back. “I told you to roll that damn window up and put your damn seatbelt on.”
I gagged and coughed again.
“Goddamn teenagers think they know better than everyone.” She shook her head.
“If you hadn’t slammed on the brakes—”
“Don’t you sass me.” Oma barked. “I drive just fine, thank you.”
“You drive like a crazy person,” I mumbled.
“What was that?” She snapped.
“Nothing,” I grumbled and pulled myself up to sit properly in my seat once more, trying to breathe the crisp October air that poured through my window. “I like the taste of dashboard and dirt.”
