by S. S. Segran
Running his hands from his blonde hair to his short beard with a sigh, he strode out of the bathroom to the coffee table to pick up a small, beautifully chip-carved wooden box. He opened it and peered in. Then, with a glint in his eyes, he latched the lid and carefully slid the box into his backpack. He grabbed his car keys and quickly made his way to the garage. He flicked on the light and smiled as his prized Shelby GT500 greeted him. The classic red Mustang, handed down to him by his father, was continuously maintained to preserve its pristine condition.
Once inside the car, he opened the garage door with the remote and started the engine. Backing out onto the street, he shut the garage, and activated the home security system via an app on his phone. With that, he drove toward the highway and hoped that the events scheduled for the evening would go as planned.
6
Someone was shaking Mariah’s knee. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Jag and Tegan looking at her. “Oh, hi,” she said, letting out a large yawn. She noticed Tegan looked a bit groggy, then realized that Kody and Aari were asleep on either side of her. “Gosh, how long have we been out?”
“A good few hours,” Jag answered.
Mariah looked apologetic. “And no one kept you company?”
He smiled. “Nah, but I’m fine. Mind waking the two clowns up?”
Mariah picked up the box of donuts and took one out. She held it in front of Kody’s face until the scent reached him and his nose began to twitch. His eyes eased open after a few moments. When he saw the donut, he sat up and took it from Mariah. “Now that’s the proper way to wake a man up,” he said approvingly as he took a bite.
Mariah rolled her eyes and shook Aari’s shoulder until he woke up. As Aari rubbed his eyes, Mariah looked out of the window. The sun was only just beginning to set, so it was still quite bright out. She realized that they were parked on the side of a somewhat busy street and leaned forward curiously so she was between Jag and Tegan. “Where are we?”
“Salt Lake City,” Tegan answered. “We’re staying here tonight.”
“We’re in Utah?”
“Yep. It’s almost eight, so we’re trying to find somewhere to eat before getting a place to rest.”
“See if you can find a Denny’s,” Kody suggested.
“Sure . . . Okay, yeah. There are a few.” Tegan tapped the GPS screen a couple of times and the robotic voice of a woman came on, giving directions. Jag guided the car back onto the road and drove along, following the instructions. It was nearly ten minutes later when they saw the yellow sign of the diner just off the road, with a motel nearby. The parking lot was half-filled with cars and motorcycles. Jag, who Mariah knew wasn’t fond of parking near so many vehicles, drove toward a back lot where there were no cars.
The five hopped out of the Jeep and made their way toward the diner, stopping only to let a red Mustang drive past as the driver searched for a spot to park in. Mariah thought she saw the bearded driver of the Mustang scrutinizing the friends for a fleeting moment.
Inside, they sat in a booth and ordered to their heart’s content; Kody naturally ordering the most. They chatted for a while as they waited for their meals to arrive. Mariah looked up and happened to see a man sitting alone at another booth, sipping his drink and looking at his phone. She stared at him for a moment, wondering why he seemed so familiar, then realized that it was the driver of the Mustang.
The man glanced up from his phone and caught her eye. She quickly looked away—it was strange how some people seemed to almost have a sixth sense about being watched.
“I can’t wait to hit those Carpinteria beaches,” Tegan said dreamily. “Just lying in the sun with a good book . . . You may have to drag me away from there when it’s time to leave.”
“Carpinteria?” A young man sitting at a table beside the five and having pancakes for dinner looked up at them. He had short, honey-colored hair and a bright smile that was as charming as it was rascally. “You guys heading that way? It’s quite a drive.”
Tegan nodded. “It is. And we’ll be checking out other places in California as well.”
“Have you been to Cali before?”
“When we were younger, yeah. Our families went together. Don’t remember much about it, though.”
The young man’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you’re going to love it there. I’m driving that way, too. Took a week off work so I can visit my girlfriend in Morro Bay.”
Mariah smiled. “A week off to be with your girlfriend? That’s really sweet. What do you do?”
“I work for a security contractor.”
The friends all tilted their heads. The guy was slim-bodied and didn’t even touch the six-foot mark in height. He most certainly didn’t seem threatening in his flannel shirt, skinny jeans, and striped socks with penny loafers.
He noted their looks and laughed. “I know what you’re thinking. I actually have black belts in taekwondo, karate and judo.” When he saw that they didn’t believe him, he pulled out his phone and tapped it a few times, then passed it to them. “Proof. Go through the album.”
Tegan took the phone and held it, the others craning their necks to get a closer look at the screen. Jag let out a low whistle as she swiped through the photos of the blonde-haired fellow sparring in the black belt division of countless martial arts competitions. “Dude, that’s insane.”
“Looks are deceiving, aren’t they?” Kody muttered in awe.
Tegan passed the phone back to its owner. “We didn’t mean to doubt you, it’s just . . . ”
The young man laughed again. “Don’t worry about it. But that’s the beauty, right? I don’t look like I can defend myself, but if someone ever tries to best me, they’d be in for a nasty surprise!”
Jag grinned. “Good stuff.” He reached past the others and held out his hand. “I’m Jag, by the way. And these guys and girls are Aari, Tegan, Mariah and Kody.”
“Pleasure making your acquaintances. Name’s Anthony, but you can call me Tony.” He shook Jag’s hand.
The five chatted with him until their meals arrived a few minutes later, at which point Tony smiled at them and returned to eating his pancakes.
The friends gladly dug into their food. “Who’s paying, by the way?” Kody asked as he munched through his dinner.
The others just stared at him and grinned in response. He stared back at them, then groaned. “I had to ask . . . ”
While the five ate and laughed over stories, Mariah couldn’t help but notice that the Mustang driver in the other booth constantly glanced in their direction. He had a rather imposing air about him and Mariah felt a bit uncomfortable.
They spent nearly an hour in the diner before Jag finally said, “Alright, we should find a place to stay the night. We’ve got another early morning tomorrow.”
“What about that motel right across the street?” Mariah asked. “It looks decent enough.”
“Let’s go check it out, then. Kode-man, you’re up.”
Kody grumbled as he grabbed his root beer and trotted to the counter to pay for their dinner. The group then said goodbye to Tony before leaving.
As they headed toward the exit, Mariah saw the bearded man get up. He ignored them completely as he went to the cashier, but Mariah still felt uneasy and hurried the others out of the door.
They walked past the rows of cars until they came upon the Jeep parked in the back. Mariah saw the red Mustang parked a few slots away from them and frowned slightly as the five of them got into their vehicle and buckled in.
Jag was starting up the engine when a knock on his window startled them all. They looked out to see who it was. Mariah’s eyes widened when she saw that it was the bearded man who had been surveilling them.
As Jag was about to press down on the button to lower his window, Mariah stopped him. “What are you doing?”
“Seeing what this man wants.”
“I don’t think we should.”
“Why is that?”
“I . . . I don’t know. We should ju
st get going.”
“That would be kind of rude. Look, he’s holding up a map. I think he needs directions.” Before Mariah could protest further, Jag lowered his window and smiled at the man. “Hello, sir.”
“Hiya.” The man’s voice was low and pleasant, his smile cheery and disarming. The five noticed some scars on the left side of his face as he brought up his large map to show to Jag. “Could you tell me where exactly we are on this thing? My phone died and I have no GPS, so I’m stuck using this dinosaur.”
Jag chuckled. “Sure. We’re just passing through here ourselves, actually, but we are right—” As he raised his finger to the map, the man suddenly shoved the chart toward Jag. Mariah heard a quick metallic clinking before seeing the man toss a spherical object the size of his palm through the window. Jag let out an oath. Before anyone could react, a pall of light blue smoke filled up the car completely.
Mariah felt her chest tighten at once as her breathing shortened. She tried to yell out but it felt as if invisible hands were wrapped around her neck, choking her. Terrified, she reached out to the others for help but saw them all struggling to breathe through the strangling smoke as well.
Jag was the first to open his door and throw himself out. Tegan followed suit, as did Aari and Kody. Mariah was the last one out of the vehicle. She fell onto the gravel as she desperately tried to gasp for air. Her airway, filled with smoke, rendered her attempts futile. After several panic-filled moments, she finally felt minute streams of fresh air seep into her lungs. Feeling a glimmer of hope, she gulped in as much as she could.
She lay on the ground for a while, feeling weak, before slowly rolling onto her back and covering her face with her hands. The sounds of the others’ sputtering and gasping reached her ears as they lay on the ground, splayed and exhausted.
It took a couple of minutes before Jag was able to pull himself up. “You guys alright?” he wheezed.
“Think so,” Mariah answered feebly.
Aari coughed for a bit before replying. “Well, I can breathe now . . . ”
‘Yeah’ was all Kody could say before he resumed sucking in air.
“Teegs?” Jag called.
“I’m okay,” Tegan responded from the other side of the Jeep. “Just trying to get my breath back.”
The friends eventually got to their feet and staggered to the front of the vehicle. “What just happened?” Kody rasped. “Who was that man?”
“And where is he?” Mariah looked around; their assailant was nowhere to be found, and neither was the red Mustang.
“He’s driven off,” Jag said angrily before erupting into a series of coughs. “We should report this.”
A silver SUV pulled up beside them. To Mariah’s surprise, Tony jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward them, looking worried. “Hey, you guys okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so.” Jag dusted himself off. “Thanks.”
“What happened?”
“Some guy acted like he wanted directions. The next thing I know, he popped a smoke bomb into the car and drove off.”
“Any one of you know him?”
The five shook their heads.
Tony stared at the exit of the parking lot, eyes narrowed. “Going after a bunch of kids . . . What’s wrong with the world today? You know what, you guys stay here. I’ll be right back. Do you know what car he was driving?”
“It was a red Mustang,” Mariah answered wearily. “But what are you—”
“Stay put!” Tony was already running back to his SUV. “I’ll be back as soon as I can!”
The friends watched the silver vehicle tear out of the parking lot as if in pursuit. “What is he doing?” Aari asked, bewildered, between sporadic coughs. “Is he really going to go after that jerk?”
Mariah leaned against the hood of the Jeep. “I think so.”
“He’s like a guardian with black belts in multiple forms of self-defense.” Kody paused dreamily. “You know, I quite like that.”
Mariah sighed and rubbed her eyes as Jag took it upon himself to check over every one to ensure that they were, in fact, alright.
It was nearly fifteen minutes later when the SUV returned to the diner’s parking lot and pulled up beside the five. Tony got out, wearing a look of satisfaction. “That guy’s not going to be bothering anyone anytime soon.”
Jag looked over at him. “What did you do?”
Tony shrugged and smiled a little. “Taught him a lesson he’s bound not to forget. Don’t worry, he’s just a crazy prankster. You guys are safe.”
Kody shook Tony’s hand, obviously liking that they seemed to have gained a protector. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem. You guys found a place to rest tonight?”
“We were gonna check out that motel there,” Aari said, pointing to the building across from the diner.
Tony grimaced when he saw the motel. “I wouldn’t suggest staying there. Weird stuff goes down inside—not particularly family-friendly. There’s a hotel a few blocks away where I’m staying. I’d recommend that one. Not too expensive either.”
Jag nodded. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Anytime. I could lead you guys there. Just follow my car.” The young man turned and started toward his vehicle.
“Sure,” Jag called out after him, then shepherded the others into the Jeep.
Inside, Mariah picked up the small glass container that had been tossed in and was about to chuck it out of the window when Aari intercepted her.
“I’d like to have a look at it later,” he explained when she looked at him questioningly.
Jag pulled out of the parking lot and followed the SUV down the road. They turned into a small but clean hotel a few minutes later and got out. As they stood in front of the building, sizing it up, Tony joined them. “Not too shabby, right?” he asked.
Jag gave a half-smile. “Nope. Just hope there are a couple of rooms available . . . And thank you, by the way. We really appreciate your help.”
“Hey, don’t even mention it. Come on, let’s get you checked in.”
“Hold on, someone’s gotta make the call,” Mariah reminded her friends.
They stared at her blankly. She raised an eyebrow. “We call one of our parents every night we check into a hotel, remember?”
“Oh! Right, right. I’ll do it.” Kody took out his cell phone. “You guys go ahead, I’ll join you in a bit.”
Once checked in, the five gathered their bags and headed up the elevator to the fifth floor where they found their rooms, which were right across from Tony’s.
“Alright, I’ll be on my way now. I’m exhausted. Have a good night, guys.” Tony waved at the friends before entering his room.
The friends smiled slightly and waved back, then Aari turned to Kody. “What exactly did you tell your parents when you called?”
Kody wore a sheepish look. “That we’d arrived safely in Utah and just checked into a hotel. I opted out of telling them about the, ah, incident. I mean, just imagine how they’d react. On the first day of our road trip, we get attacked by some lunatic with a smoke grenade. Oh yeah, that’s just perfect. We’ll never be allowed to leave our rooms until we’re forty. And even then they’ll probably have us on a short leash.”
The others exchanged uncertain looks, then Jag grunted. “Kody’s got a point. I’d hate to have our trip cut short within the first fourteen hours because of some nutcase. And you guys know that we need this.”
“And Tony did deal with him,” Kody added. “We’re safe. No need to worry anyone.”
“Yeah . . . alright.” Tegan heaved a sigh and opened the door to the room she and Mariah were sharing. “I’m really tired. Bedtime for me.”
Mariah yawned. “And me. Good night, guys.”
Jag smiled as the guys headed into their room as well. “Sleep tight, you two.”
* * *
It was half past three in the morning when Jag woke with an outcry. He threw the blanket off himself and stumbled into the bathroom. He
slapped the wall, trying to find the light switch. The light came on, nearly blinding him, but he didn’t care and quickly turned on the tap to splash ice-cold water on his face. His undershirt became soaked but he didn’t notice as he stared himself in the mirror, eyes stretched wide.
Aari and Kody poked their heads into the bathroom. “Hey, what’s the matter?” Aari slurred, looking confused and sleepy.
“I—nothing. Nothing at all.”
Kody snorted. “I’m not even going to tell you how lame that sounds. Come on, dude. Nightmare?”
Jag continued to stare at himself for a while longer, then picked up a towel and dried his face and neck. He remained silent, which annoyed the other two.
“Jag, we’ve been best friends all our lives,” Aari said. “If you can’t talk to us, then something is really wrong.”
Jag glanced at them. “It was a nightmare.”
“There you go,” Kody said triumphantly and turned to walk back to his bed.
“No, hold on.” Aari grabbed Kody by the collar of his shirt and yanked him back. “Jag, this isn’t like you. I know there’s more to this. What’s going on, bro?”
Jag took a deep breath. As he opened his mouth to tell them the story of his recurring nightmare, there was a scream, followed moments later by frantic pounding on their door. The boys hurried over and opened it. Tegan stumbled in, Mariah following closely with a worried look on her face. Tony was behind them in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, his hair tousled.
