by Lee Taylor
“Yeah, my name is Si, and thanks, man,” I said as I rolled my eyes and patted the dashboard, whispering thanks to Promethia, too.
Damon nodded, turning to signal the petrol attendant, who flicked a switch activating the pump. With the petrol now flowing out from the nozzle, he started to fill the tank singing to himself the whole while.
With his “princess” now refuelled, he crossed the forecourt, pulling out a wad of cash, handed some bills to the attendant through the window slot, mumbling something and pointing through the glass. The attendant came back a few moments later with a hand full of potato chips and drinks. Casually strolling back to the car, he paused, grabbing hold of the door handle; he squinted and gazed out into the dark.
“Whoa, hey... Do you wanna get out? I think your buddies are following us-”
“No.” The words dove out of my mouth, he looked at me, nodded and jumped into the driver's seat and threw his bag of snacks at me. I flinched.
Cold can, cold can! I whimpered to myself; you don’t need to know where they landed. Damon fumbled with his keys, dropping them on the floor in his haste. Blasting out an obscenity, he rummaged around frantically for his keys. Increasingly nervous, I stared out over his head of the driver side window.
“Can you get a move on man,” I said. The sinking feeling had returned in the pit of my stomach like I had swallowed a black hole at some point, sucking me helplessly into the void. I could make out three of them, the same black and grey Schwarzenegger hound plus its friends, all at the edge of the forecourt, just barely being illuminated by the garage's light. The grey flecked one was motionless, staring at me and showing its teeth. It turned in a blur and bounded out of view. The rest of the gigantic pack started slinking slowly towards us, callously approaching Damon's car. I jumped as I heard a tearing sound of metal on metal; the lights flickered in the garage. I tapped Damon on the back, trying to get his attention as the lights went out completely. Now sat in pitch dark, I anxiously unbuckled my seatbelt still looking at were the creatures were, and frisked the door for its handle. Finally, Damon sat up triumphantly.
“Don't worry, I got em! Hey... What's happened to the lights?” Looking at me, he saw me searching blindly for the handle. I could see the icy tendrils of fear sweep over him as his eyes widened, turning to see the approaching threat.
“Nope, it’s too dark to see anything.” He turned his radio on, and the blue glow from his MP3 player lit the front of the car. His window started to fog up from our stressed breathing. Squinting out through the fogged glass on our side, he rubbed at it with his sleeve.
“Still foggy... but...” Twisting the key, his car roared to life. The headlights revealed the russet coloured wolf beside the window; its warm, sweaty breath sticking to the window. Grasping the gear-stick, Damon slammed it in place. With a crunch and a shudder, we accelerated, just managing to swerve the black and grey wolf as it dove for the car, out from the shadows, smashing into the side.
“YOU, SON OF A BITCH! WHAT DID SHE EVER DO TO, YOU!?” Damon screamed the words looking at the figure. It was my good friend, Schwarzenegger wolf.
“Damon, if we get out of this, I will get you a damn car,” I said. Damon sombrely nodded as he jolted his car into gear again, wincing at the sound of his now struggling four wheeled princess. The wolves were circling again, looking to charge at the windows until his motor sputtered to life and we began to accelerate. The petrol station was barely visible in the rear-view mirror.
“I hope that petrol attendant is going to be alright,” I mumbled. A sudden jolt shook the car, and the passenger window shattered, spewing glass across my lap and into Damon. Fighting the jolt, he swerved struggling for control. We were fishtailing all over the gravely road until we slammed the driver’s side into a grass verge side on. With a thud and a clunk, the engine cut out. I rubbed my neck and pushed the cars cigarette lighter in instinctively; Damon was already attempting to restart the car.
“Well, Si, there's your answer. The attendant is fine because those fucks are after us!” Damon angrily twisted the key in the ignition; there was only the sound of the starter motor ticking over to silence the screams of dread that nearly overwhelmed me.
“Yeah, I get your point, Damon... please say that you have a gun or a knife in the glove box?” I wasn’t ready to give up just yet, not when I had managed to get out of one situation miraculously.
“If I did I would be swinging it around by now. Look at what those shits did to my baby!' Damon turned his attention back to his car. “Please, girl, start for me come on please, please...” His cooing was getting us nowhere. I noticed a shadow moving in the wing mirror; there was a grey flick in the moonlight.
“Hasta la vista, Lassie is back; how’s the car looking?”
The wolf cautiously approached, sniffing the air, it grunted and I couldn't tell exactly where it was until it was reaching in through the broken window, brushing more ice cold glass fragments onto my lap. I panicked and grabbed hold of a hand full of its fur as I punched it as hard as I could in the side of its snout. It turned to snap at me, chewing on mid-air. My head was by Damon, trying to get as much distance from it as I could. Saliva flicked off of its colossal canines onto my face. Its breath washed over me; I had to turn away from the smell. The lighter popped out of its position without a second thought, I snatched it from its cradle.
“Take the hint, I am not playing hard to get.” I plunged the lighter into the wolf’s snout, with a snarl it reeled; pulling its head back. Shaking viciously it snarled once more, the malice in its eyes sent more fear drenched chills through me. The wound scabbed over, and it paused, sniffing the air before finally slinking away into the shadows. I dropped the lighter; the aroma of cauterized flesh filled the car with its sickly odour. I wasn’t ready to cheer yet, desperately looking to Damon who was still trying to “woo” his car into life.
“Come on, princess, do it for me. Please, come on... listen you piece of shi-” The engine roared back to life, “YES!” Slipping into gear, Damon put his foot to the floor.
Chapter 5
“Okay!” Damon had to shout over the current of air coursing in through the broken window.” So, they're now going to be even more pissed at us... That's so awesome, and we're only like five miles away from town. So as long as Promethia can keep her pace up, and they don't try anything else, we just might make it. So... what part of town do you live in?” Damon asked as he was expectantly eyeing the mirrors to see if the moon’s glow revealed any figures following us.
“I live with my folks, just off of Bagot Street.”
I looked down, brushing some glass fragments off my lap. “You haven't got anything else to put on have you? It’s a bit chilly from where I'm sitting.”
Damon gave me an odd look.
“Where in Munising's is that, Si?” His quizzical expression was comical to me.
“Not Munising, it’s Kingston. Kingston, Ontario,” I said, feeling slightly annoyed at having to explain.
“That's in Canada, Si. We are in Michigan at the moment. As in sunny old, United States of America.” He said the last part with a flourish.
“What? That's impossible; I was just at a club in Kingston... I don't believe you; you have to be pulling my leg or something.” I shrugged uncomfortably in my seat. Reaching between my legs, I rummaged through the bag and peeled a beer out of its holder. I gulped it down and cringed at the bitter taste. It tasted like fizzy gym socks, but I needed a drink. With a disgruntled yawn I turned to face the broken window, hoping that the night's air would help sober my thoughts.
“First thing, Si, that would be a poor choice in a joke, and secondly, dude, would I pull your leg if you were on fire, dressed like that? You’re still bare-ass naked, wearing my old trench coat. Oh, and by the way, I don't remember saying “hey, have a beer”, so take it easy will ya?”
I sighed, staring vacantly into the distance.
“Whatever, dude, the sooner we find some proper civilisation the sooner I ca
n call my parents and the sooner I can get home,” I complained. I knew that I should have been more gracious; after all, he had saved my life, but I didn’t feel like it at the time...
How long was I out? I considered it for a moment, keeping my thoughts to myself as I took another mouthful of the foul tasting beer.
“Umm speaking of... Do you have a cell phone so I can call my folks?” Damon didn't answer; he just concentrated on driving with an almost smug expression on his face.
“Damon... Thanks. I know it must be hard, what with me sitting here naked, wearing your jacket, drinking your beer and sweating profusely... Just don't get any ideas though, okay?” I turned to him, pursing my lips. Whining and arguing like an infant was getting me nowhere. I figured why not make the mime laugh?
After rummaging around in his pockets for a moment, he threw me his phone. “You won’t get any signal until we are in town though; the whole Hiawatha national park is a dead cell area.” He said quietly. I was relieved that he wasn’t pissed at my emotional outcry.
“So, you’re not just trying to wind me up then?”
“Nope, tell you what, as soon as we are in Munising, we can swing by my girlfriend's place; she's been expecting me anyway, and we can call them from there. Plus, I don't fancy turning around and heading back through those wolves... Shit, I think the only reason they have backed off is because we are getting closer to town... well, that and you've burnt a hole in one.”
“You still think they're wolves? I thought they were bears to begin with. I had never seen wolves that grew to be that big.” It was more of a statement from me than a question.
“I don’t know, man... Maybe my girl Kaitlyn will know more,” Damon said; his heavily layered eyes still fixated on the road ahead.
“Really? How do you expect her to know about giant frigging wolves? She's not one of the ‘eco-chicks’ who will blame it on hairspray or something stupid?” I released a sigh. Even though I had been asleep for God knows how long. I was exhausted. “Look, man, I know you have risked your ass saving me tonight, and I really appreciate it; I just think that I might still be having a nightmare. They have been more vivid of late,” I said, taking another swig of the beer and leant my head back on the seat. Damon said nothing, apparently not reading into my little rant.
“That's why I'm taking you to Kaitlyn's. She said I was going to save a life tonight …. 'Course, she didn't say anything about that life being stark naked. That part, I was not ready for.” He muttered something else as he shook his head in exasperation.
“Huh? I have to be missing something.”
“I don't expect you to understand right off the bat. But she has said things before that have come true. No one listened to her because of her mom. She got locked up in a psychiatric hospital when Kaitlyn was a little girl. So when you see her, dude, be respectful, and don't make me bury your ass out here in the woods.”
Damon stared at me for a few seconds. My guess either he was serious or he was crushing on me. I was hoping for the first.
“Damon, don’t worry, I owe you that much at least, right man? Even if I think you are completely nuts, for example, right?” I raised my can as a salute to Damon; facing forward, I couldn't help but worry. If Damon was telling the truth, and it seemed like he was. I was more scared on how the hell I was going to explain it to my parents... Hi, Mom, yeah... sorry I haven't been home in a while. I was getting chased by a pack of wolves. Oh, and by the way, can you pick me up? I am in Michigan, and I forgot my passport... What? No, it's not Mike's fault... I haven't seen him since my drink was spiked at the club... Part of me wanted to bail out the car and let the wolves devour me. It wouldn't be as bad as the 'chewing out' I was going to get from mommy and daddy dearest.
Fifteen minutes later, in a rather quiet last leg of our journey, we pulled up outside a block of apartments. Kaitlyn was standing, waiting for us in the edge of the car park with a black hoody that drowned her. As soon as Kaitlyn could see Damon's car she began to run towards us with a large bag in tow. I looked at her face. She had large green eyes, sat either side of her skinny, bridged nose, and finely plucked eye brows, framing her face with a light, blue eye-shadow that surrounded her black matted eyelashes; dark lipstick painted to her lips seemed to almost sparkle with her porcelain pale complexion. Her hair was tied back with purple streaks, being stretched back into a high ponytail. I could see crescent moons hanging over her shoulder, glimmering in the pale moonlight. They had been braided into her hair. Déjà vu hit me.
When was it I saw this? I thought to myself quietly, my head was all blurred. Like my brain was full of scar tissue. I know déjà vu is supposed to be where one eye sees and registers something a mini second faster than the other, making your brain think “hang on I just saw this...” But still, I knew I had seen something identical. Unfortunately due to some ill-timed fogginess, possibly grogginess, I couldn't discern where I had seen such designs before. And to be honest, I was kind of distracted and curious to see what she was wearing underneath her hoody... in a purely academic point of view, of course. As soon as she was sat inside the car, Damon sucked in his gut.
This is weird: a mime going out with a mime wannabe. At least there are probably no arguments in their relationship... only in America. I sighed.
“Damon, keep the engine running we can't stay here.” Kaitlyn said, looking at me through her thickly layered eyes.
I squirmed not knowing what to say exactly for once, and so I just shut my legs so not to give her too much of an eyeful.
“Here, Ursine, put these on they should fit.” She said, throwing me a bag while a mischievous smile revealed her dazzling teeth in comparison to her oily lips. Putting a hand on her eyes as she sat in the back of the car, I looked into the bag at its contents.
“Get a move on, would you? I have seen more than enough of you” Damon spoke harshly as he faked a shudder. I rolled my eyes at the comment. Without another thought, I rifled through the garments; it was amazing. These were my clothes. They were the same that I had been wearing before I had passed out... but they were all brand new. To say I was a little freaked would be sugar-coating it.
“Hey, umm thanks for the clothes, but how did you?--” I asked timidly before being abruptly interrupted.
Kaitlyn stubbornly shook her head. “I'm not going through it with you now, Ursine; we should get you something to eat and quickly, in case your ‘hunger’ flares up.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but that wouldn’t be saying a lot. Honestly, I had no idea what day it was let alone anything else of importance. I pulled my new clothes on instantly while shedding the trench coat. Still Kaitlyn hadn't replied. Part of me thought it was because they were watching me change... If someone told me a week ago that I would be getting changed in a battered car in Michigan somewhere, with a mime and geisha, I would have laughed in their face. Yet, here I was.
Kaitlyn finally broke the silence as I hastily got changed. “I think it will be easier to explain when you have had something decent to eat and drink.” Nodding to Damon, he looked back, a confused expression crossed his face, and she mouthed something to him. I couldn't tell what it was from where I sat... I hated being left out of the loop.
A few moments later, we pulled up at a restaurant, Sydney's. The outside smelt of diesel and nicotine, with the smokers discarded cigarette butts littering the floor. Parts of the packs and empty soda bottles were also decorating the entrance lying by the steps. One of the plant pots had more cigarettes than living vegetation in. A real charming place, if my mom was here she would make my dad take us back to the car and keep driving, even if it meant eating at a drive thru... I pressed Kaitlyn for answers, but she stuck true to her word, and refused to speak about it until I was fed.
Damon and Kaitlyn offered to pay for me, knowing well that I had no money... Hell, if I did there would have been only two places I could have hidden it...
Damon ordered me a large ranch burger with fries. When it showed up I w
asn't sure if I would have been able to finish it, but instead, it was devoured in no time flat. I began to feel sorry for myself. I had just eaten half a cow in less than ten minutes.
“Well, Kaitlyn, if I eat any more I think I am going to... You know what, you don’t need to know. So, please tell me what you know, like why Damon was expecting to find me.” I was fidgeting about aimlessly. It was a nervous tell of mine.
“Ursine, you're going to find this hard to swallow, so please try to keep an open mind.” Kaitlyn was looking at me timidly, like she was having a problem believing what she was about to say. I nodded to her expectantly.
“I am sure Damon told you I was witch... and that I can see certain things? Well one of those things is the dead, and your grandma came to me a few weeks ago, telling me I should get ready for you, as well as some other things...”
I was surprised to say the least. I was hoping that she would say something like 'a purple leprechaun appeared and told her about me, and a magical sherbet- flavoured asparagus...' Needless to say, mentally at least, I was knocked for six.
“Okay, let’s say I believe you... What other stuff are you talking about?” I asked. By now I had stopped fidgeting, recollected my thoughts and waited anxiously for Kaitlyn to continue.
“Well, Ursine, she told me that you are special... different than any other before you...” I really didn’t like where the conversation was going; it never was straight forward when it involved my grandma, though it's part of the reason why my parents tried to keep me as far from her as they could muster. I involuntarily tuned out of the conversation, and my gaze shifted to Damon who seemed pretty unbothered as he casually checked his hair and make-up. I would have thought that he would have been more rattled with what had happened earlier; but truthfully, he looked like he could care less... I envied him because of it.