a brief moment, pain fills my chest, actual pain. It feels as if my heart is being torn, and for one crazy second, I consider opening the door and throwing myself back on the road.
But just as quickly, I right myself and wonder what the hell’s the matter with me. Collin’s wolf would kill me. Have I not learned that? Why would I go back to him?
Perhaps the logger was right to be leery of me after all, cause at the moment, I’m acting like a lunatic.
∞ ∞ ∞
An hour later, we cross the state line into Arizona, and not long after that, I spot a country bar off the road. It’s the first business we’ve come across in the hour I’ve been riding with the logger, so I jump at the opportunity to leave.
“Do you mind dropping me off here?” My hand’s already on the door handle.
“You sure you don’t want to drive on a bit farther?” he asks. “I have to turn off this road in a mile, but I know there’s a gas station a few miles down after that if you don’t mind walking a bit. A few stores too.”
“Nah, this is fine. I’m back in civilization, which is all I was hoping for.”
He nods. “All right then.” He slows the truck and when it comes to a stop, I jump out.
“You take care,” he calls.
“Thanks, you too, and thanks for the ride.”
He flashes the peace sign, then shifts back into gear. I slam the door and breathe in the hot air.
Evening’s arrived, and the sun has begun its descent. That hasn’t stopped the heat, but at least there’s life around here. The two-lane highway has cars driving on it, and the front door bangs on the small bar when someone enters it. Rowdy laughter comes from within. Several pickup trucks and beat-up cars fill the parking lot. Beyond that, it’s endless desert.
But there are people here.
Inside my pocket, my cell phone presses against my thigh. Its comforting weight makes me feel even more secure. Thankfully, its battery is mostly replenished since the logger let me use his charger, so I pull it out and turn it on.
As my phone glows to life, I hitch the backpack higher on my shoulder while the logging semi-truck rumbles off and leaves a plume of diesel smoke in its wake. I finger the backpack’s strap. Now that I’m back in civilization, I no longer need the supplies in it.
That strange guilt steals over me again. It’s so ridiculous, and I’ve had an hour to stew about it. Collin abducted me. He may not have hurt me in the end, but he still took me. It’s absolutely crazy that I haven’t called the police even though I have no idea what the Supernatural Forces might do to me—other than wipe my memory.
Still if I’m being honest with myself, fully honest, I haven’t called the police not because of the SF but because I’m protecting Collin.
But why am I doing that?
I bite my lip just as my phone’s home screen pops up. Seeing the familiar apps and the background photo of me and a bunch of my girlfriends following a match we won brings a smile to my face. I wait for that happy feeling to grow. I’m alive and officially free. I got away. I lived. I accomplished exactly what I set out to do the minute I roused in Collin’s trunk, but…
That feeling of elation doesn’t come.
I nibble on my lip again. I’m about to call my friends so I should be ecstatic. Instead that feeling in my stomach—that feeling I’ve had ever since I left Collin behind me and had the ridiculous urge to jump out of the semi—grows.
I take a deep breath and let my gaze wander toward Utah. In the distance, the mountainous peaks look more like small mounds. It reminds me of a pack of chewy Dots candy scattered on a kitchen counter. From here, the mountains look small and inconsequential, yet when I’d been held captive on one of their peaks, that environment had felt unsurvivable.
Shielding my eyes from the setting sun’s glare, I scan the peaks. Where’s Collin now? Is he still a wolf? Or is he a human again? What will he do in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a car that he can’t drive anywhere?
I reason he could return to the cabin. There were still supplies there that he had left behind. But then what? What will he do