by J. E. Taylor
I followed the signs and finally pulled up in front of the building announcing the biggest ball of twine. Alex giggled again, and I couldn’t help but join him as I walked into the little store to buy my ticket and use the restroom.
Minutes later, I stood in the covered gazebo and stared at the ten-foot ball of twine. I pressed my lips together against a smile and turned to leave.
A shiver gripped me as I thought I caught a glimpse of the same face I had seen earlier. Alex quieted down in my mind, too. My intuition prickled, and I scanned the horizon as I picked up my pace to a slow jog.
My heart pounded in my chest. I caught the camera on the side of the welcome center out of the corner of my eye and a cold chill layered on my skin. There was only one person trying to track me down. As I turned the corner, I bumped smack into the teenager I had seen at the coffee shop.
He stumbled backwards, both eyebrows rising in surprise as he stared at me. His shock quickly turned, and his eyes narrowed as he fumbled with his pockets.
My hands clenched. As did my jaw. This close up, I could see under the facade. He wasn’t human, but I had no idea what kind of beast he was. I just knew he was tracking me. Before he could free his hands from his pockets, I struck out, punching him in the throat hard enough to do significant damage.
I wasn’t sure how much intelligence Fate had on me, but I was just as deadly with my hands as I was with any manner of weapons.
He dropped to his knees and clasped his throat. I skirted around him, jumped in my car, and peeled out before Fate and her minions arrived.
I didn’t look back. Instead, I floored the gas, until my needle was buried beyond a hundred miles per hour. The car shook with the speed. I had open road in front of me, and a quick glance in the mirror showed me there was no tail following me.
Idiot, I scolded myself. I should have been more cautious and diligent after lunch. Seeing the same face in two different locations was a problem. It meant Fate knew the path I was taking across the country. I glanced at the map on my passenger seat wondering if her lackey had a chance to take a look at where I was headed. It was there in black and white had he bothered to look in the window.
My heart raced. I tried to get hold of the jitters accosting me. I glanced back at the road and my eyes nearly jumped out of my skull. I swerved to avoid hitting Leviathan, a monster the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, who was blocking the road.
I hadn’t seen Leviathan since I snuck out of the gates of hell with my brother. The shock of seeing him in his natural form and not a glamour sucked all the moisture from my mouth. If he was here, then Fate and Death weren’t far behind.
I slammed on my brakes to make the narrow space between his legs. Everything in my car shifted, including the cooler in the back seat. Water rushed across my feet. I silently cursed. If I made it out of here alive, my means of rejuvenating while away from the ocean had just been drastically drained. Damn it all to hell.
By some miracle, I cleared Leviathan’s legs and continued careening down the highway, unsure of whether to head north or continue to I-70. The faster I got to a shoreline, any shoreline, the better. I turned off the main road, jostling the remaining seawater in the cooler and on the floor.
Find a more populated road.
I couldn’t have agreed more with Alex’s suggestion because Leviathan wouldn’t be caught dead in his native form with other people around. I gunned it, praying that the direction I was heading would be worth it, but with nothing but flat plains surrounding me, my faith floundered.
Chapter 5
Interstate 70 had more traffic than I expected. I kept checking the rearview mirror for signs of anyone following me. The encounter with Leviathan left me quivering in the driver’s seat. I slipped off my left sneaker and let the standing water absorb into my skin. I had a feeling I’d need every drop I could squeeze out of the flooring.
My heart slammed in my chest, creating shockwaves through me every time I thought I recognized a car behind me. With my mind playing tricks, exhaustion took its ugly toll on me. My eyelids became heavy, as heavy as my foot, and I knew if I didn’t stop soon, I was going to end up in one of the wheat fields bordering the road.
I needed food. I glanced at the array of empty wrappers on the passenger seat next to me. Nothing was left. I had pillaged the food stash on the way to the largest ball of twine.
The gas gauge was near empty as well. I scanned the horizon, hoping to see something that would save my tired ass. In the distance, past the lines of cars driving on the highway, I saw a glimmer of light. I just hoped I would reach it before the gas ran out.
My engine puttered within sight of the gas station, and I was able to coax it the few hundred feet farther. It rolled to a stop within reach of the gas tank and I sighed. I didn’t know whether to gas up first or address my rumbling stomach.
My belly made the choice for me, cramping at the first scent of food. I put the fuel dispenser in my tank and headed inside. When my arms were full of snacks and drinks, I crossed to the counter and dumped it all with an uneasy smile.
I gave the cashier enough for the food and my fill-up and headed out to the car with a grocery bag. I took a moment to clean out the front seat before I started the gas pump. Next I opened the back door and sighed as I pushed the cooler back to an upright position on the seat. One look inside at the thin layer of water barely covering the bottom of the cooler squeezed my throat closed.
If I hadn’t stopped at that damn ball of twine...
I shut the lid. It was enough to perhaps get me through Kansas City, but after that, I wasn’t sure what my form would look like once I got to my destination.
If I got to my destination.
I shivered, closed the back door, and focused on the gas pump. My mind kept turning over my options. All of them bleak, especially with just how tired I was after being on the road for close to twelve hours. I still had another twenty-four hours of driving before I arrived in Maine.
That didn’t include any stops.
Being in a hotel room, vulnerable, for two nights left me cold, and I entertained trying to drive straight through.
That’s a recipe for disaster, and you know it. Alex said.
He was right. If I attempted it, I would end up in an accident, and then who knows what would happen to me and the baby. My hand glided down my front over my still flat stomach.
The gas pump clicked, so I hung the fuel dispenser back on the pump.
With all my ideas exhausted, I slid back in the car and took off without collecting my change. I didn’t have a choice. I had to stop, and a hotel was more secure than the side of the road, especially with Leviathan on the prowl.
Soon, I crossed into Missouri and uttered a silent sigh of gratitude. I started looking for hotels and considered going upscale instead of roadside, but I didn’t want to be trapped in a building with a bounty on my head. I wanted multiple ways out. I decided Kansas City wasn’t the place to pull over and plant for the night so I went farther east until I saw a sign for America’s Best Value Inn right off the highway.
There were only three cars in the parking lot, so getting lost in the crowd wasn’t an option, but the motel had doors at street level, which would do, considering my eyelids were drooping. I didn’t really have much of a choice.
I signed in and got my room key. As I stood in the parking lot, I made a decision to park opposite my room. If Fate and her cronies were able to follow me to the ball of twine, it might be smart to give the illusion of being at the farthest point from where I actually was. I hauled the backpack over my shoulder and paused, glancing in the back at the cooler.
There was so little water, I wondered if saving it was prudent, but I could already feel the dryness in my lips. The desk attendant had given me a questionable eye when I walked into get the room. With a sigh, I decided perhaps I should power up before I went in search of food.
I opened the back door and sat on the edge of the seat, opening the cooler. I dipped my hand i
n the water, and it barely covered the first set of knuckles on my fingers. A sucking sound filled the car, and within a matter of seconds, the water was gone, my cells expanded with hydration. Relief swept through my form.
My next stop was my trunk. I took a quick glance around and then opened it. I plundered through my weapons cache and pulled out a couple of ancient daggers that would stop almost anything that came for me. If I ran into that blue-eyed kid again, I’d be ready.
I stashed the weapons along with a change of clothes into my backpack and locked up my car. With a quick glance around, I hurried across the parking lot and fit the key into the hotel room door. Once inside, I swept my hair up into a ponytail and splashed cool water on my face.
My stomach reminded me that I needed to eat. I glanced up at my reflection and sighed. With dark shadows under my eyes, I looked just as exhausted as I felt.
You’re still beautiful to me.
I rolled my eyes at Alex’s commentary and gave my reflection my “yeah, right” expression.
You are.
I signed thank you to myself and turned away from the mirror. No sense in talking to the ghost in my head at the moment. He already knew I was in a bad place just by way of being in there with me.
Pregnant. On the run. No clue of why I took this brainless adventure. I should have done the Gulf Coast route. Then at least I could have just rented a boat, gone out to sea, and disappeared, but something was calling me to Maine.
If that was where Death’s son was, then maybe he held the key to my salvation.
Chapter 6
The only decent restaurant in the area was a ten-minute drive from the hotel. The food did nothing for my stomach or my mood. Luckily, I didn’t see that kid from Cawker City while I ate. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with either him or Leviathan.
I drove back to the hotel and paused in my seat as a shiver traversed up my spine. I pulled one of the daggers out of the backpack and then slung one of the straps over my shoulder before I got out of the car. The evening shadows made the parking lot seem menacing.
“Kylee?”
The familiar, feminine voice pierced the traffic noise in the background. My heart jumped into my throat, but I kept going, veering towards the office instead of my room. The itch on my shoulder reminded me that I had protection against Fate’s detection, so the questioning lilt in her voice helped make my decision.
Fate shouldn’t have sought me out.
I spun, releasing the knife. Thunder rolled through my blood. I sprinted towards the highway, hoping to catch a ride in one of the eighteen-wheelers passing by before Fate could catch up to me. Her cry of pain didn’t stop my legs from moving as adrenaline ravaged through me, giving me more than enough energy to make the east bound lane.
I stuck out my thumb as I jogged backwards, and much to my surprise, the first tractor trailer pulled to a stop.
Be careful!
I didn’t need Alex’s cautions. I already knew this could be a trap and had my hand on the other dagger stowed in the side of the bag.
I hauled myself into the passenger seat with a smile. I didn’t get that underlying unease that usually alerted me to another monster.
“Where you headed?” The trucker looked as harmless as some of the elderly homeless people I saw occasionally on the streets of San Diego. His bald head reflected the lights, and the rest of his body seemed to be draped in clothing that at one time might have fit, but now looked as if it was at least two sizes too big on his slight frame.
I smiled and set my backpack between my feet before I spelled out Maine with my hands.
He blinked and cocked his head. “Maryland?”
Surprised that he got a couple letters I shook my head and signed each letter slowly.
“M. A. I. N. E,” he repeated.
I gave him a thumbs-up.
“I can take you as far as Buffalo if you don’t mind me rambling on.”
I don’t mind you rambling if you don’t mind me falling asleep on you, I signed.
“Name’s Burt,” he said and put his hand out.
I shook it and then slowly signed my name.
“K. Y. L. E. E. Kylee?”
I nodded.
“Well, Kylee, welcome to my rig.” He shifted the truck into gear and pulled out from the side of the road.
I glanced at the side-view mirror, and the adrenaline fueling my awareness bled away as we put more and more distance between us and the hotel. I bit my lip at the loss of all my priceless weapons in the trunk. At least I had the forethought to stash my cash in my backpack, although it had been difficult to stuff it all in along with my wedding album. The knife was still in reach and hidden from Burt’s view, but I was sure I wouldn’t need it.
Not with how much he actually was rambling. I wondered if he talked to himself when there wasn’t anyone else in the cab. He hadn’t been kidding. His musings were much more personal than I expected.
His voice lulled me into a semi-stupor, and I found it hard to keep my eyes open and my mind alert. It reminded me of the lure of a siren. My eyes flew open. I shifted in the seat and glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.
He didn’t even look over at me, just kept on describing his latest argument with his wife and how upset it had made him to have to leave to haul this load across the country. He wished he didn’t need the money. He wished he could make her understand. Instead, he had left her sulking in the kitchen.
He sighed heavily.
“I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this. It’s not like you can hear me,” he said softly.
I glanced out the window, debating on whether I should correct him or not, but it seemed too much like eaves dropping. I waved my hand in the dark cab, and he glanced my way. I tapped my ear closest to him and gave him a thumbs-up and then my throat with a thumbs down.
The man turned red. “You heard all that?”
I nodded. I knew what disappointing someone I loved was like. I had hurt Alex every time I turned down his proposal, but I had been right. The moment I gave in, the moment I said yes, it all went to shit.
Marrying you didn’t kill me, Alex piped in at my train of thought.
I ignored him. My focus was on the driver next to me who was hurting so much that he had to unload his pent-up frustrations and sorrows to a total stranger.
Call her, I signed.
“She was pretty upset,” he said.
You love her, right?
He stared at my hands. “More than she knows. I can’t leave her with insurmountable debt. We need this run, even though I may lose time with her.”
What’s insurmountable?
“My treatment cost us seventy thousand dollars and it didn’t work.” He nearly growled the statement out.
And this truck run will get you that? Surprise arched my eyebrows.
He let out a laugh. “Not even close. Neither will the one coming back, but I can’t leave my wife with that kind of debt attached to our lives. She’ll lose everything when I go.”
I leaned over and unzipped my backpack. I pulled out two stacks of bills from my stash. Each stack was as thick as a ream of paper. I put them on the console before I zipped up my bag.
The truck swerved enough so I knew he had seen the money.
Will this do? I signed and then picked up the two stacks, offering them to him.
Surprise manifested in his wide eyes and a slack jaw. He pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road before he actually looked at me.
“Did you rob a bank or something?” he asked, his voice squeaking.
I shook my head and handed him the stacks. It’s my rainy day fund, I signed.
Do not tell him there’s an entire backpack of money, or you won’t be getting out of this cab without a hell of a fight.
I almost rolled my eyes at Alex’s narrative in my head, but I heeded his advice.
Burt giggled as he fanned through the money. “This is a lot of money for a rainy day fund.”
I s
hrugged and crossed my arms.
“And what does your husband think of you running around with this kind of cash on you?”
He’s not here anymore. Tears blurred my eyes, and I blinked them away. It was still raw like an open wound. We had been together, in bed, less than a week ago. I shook the oppressive grief away and tried to smile.
“He left you?” he asked, his voice rising.
He died. Life is precious, so you shouldn’t be wasting your time out here on the road. You should be with your wife.
He bit his lip, and his brow creased. I slowed down my hands and repeated what I had said. Burt slowly repeated the words my hands formed, and when my hands stopped moving, he looked down at the money and then back at me. He pressed his lips together and nodded.
“You’re probably right, but I can’t take this from you,” he said and handed the cash back to me. He put the truck in gear and pulled back onto the road.
I sat staring at the money, wondering why he wouldn’t just take the gift.
“I’d never be able to explain it to my wife. She would think I robbed a bank,” he said as if he knew where my thoughts had wandered.
I put the money in the cup holders on the console in front of him. I would figure out how to leave it with him as a thank-you for helping me cross the country.
Do you mind if I take a nap?
He glanced at my question and shook his head. “Not at all. You look like you could use a little sleep.”
Exhaustion pummeled my muscles. I did little more than offer him a smile of gratitude before I leaned against the door and closed my eyes. Trusting the truck driver could get me killed, but my intuition remained calm, and he had given me no reason to think he would try to harm me.
As I drifted to sleep, I prayed I was right, but I was too tired to remain vigilant.
Chapter 7
The downshifting of the engine stirred me from my sleep. I stretched, my joints crackling and popping with the movement, and blinked at the lightening sky. I’d slept the entire night, which made sense the more I tried to shift in the seat. I had stiffened considerably while I slept.