Page 33 of UNAwere

‘Remember some of the lyrics and look it up.’

‘Fine.’ I start tapping them into my phone as he opens his door.

‘Wait. I need to pee.’ I get out with him.

He lets out a growl. ‘If you’re getting out, I need to check the place first.’

I wave a hand, putting my phone on the passenger seat. ‘It’ll be fine. How many places have we been already that have been safe?’

He stares at me across the centre console, eyes dark. But then he nods, once.

‘Just straight in and out.’

‘Can I get a slushy?’

He sighs. ‘Red…’

‘Yes, I was planning on getting a red one,’ I joke.

Briggs presses his lips.

I hold up my hands. ‘I’ll pee and get a slushy. Four minutes.’

‘Hurry.’

I salute and skirt around cars and people as I make my way inside. The service station is fairly big, and it’s a busy time of day. There are people everywhere, ordering food, paying for fuel, lining up for the bathroom. I spy the slushy machine while I wait for the toilet to be free.

When it’s my turn, I go in and pee and wash my hands. I’m headed towards the back of the store to where I saw the slushy machines when someone grabs my shoulder.

‘You said I could get a slushy!’ I hiss at Briggs, turning to him.

A man who is definitely not Briggs stares down at me. He’s a bit older, his hair greying, his eyes an icy blue. He smiles, exposing crooked teeth.

‘Oh. Sorry,’ I say. ‘I think you’ve got the wrong redhead.’

‘No, I don’t think I have.’

‘I don’t think you have either,’ a woman says, stepping forward.

Use your senses, idiot.

Why does the voice in my head suddenly sound like Briggs?

Weres. This couple are Weres.

‘Oh…’

The woman smiles at me kindly. ‘C’mon, sweetie. You’re gonna come for a drive with us, and you’re not going to cause a scene, okay?’

I swallow, scanning the shop for Briggs. There are so many people and so many smells, I can’t even catch his scent.

‘Okay,’ I say dumbly.

The woman comes towards me, and I flinch, but she simply puts a beanie on my head to cover my hair and wraps her arm around my shoulders, taking me back outside, the man trailing behind us.

They take me to a silver sedan, and she sits me in the back seat with her, as the man gets in the driver’s side. I spy the pickup truck and Briggs by the pumps and grit my teeth, leaning towards the window.

The woman suddenly grabs the back of my neck and slams my face against the glass, and I lose my vision for a second, the senses knocked out of me.