Page 7 of The Stranger

Just as soon as she comes out of the bathroom…

After a while, I start to worry that she’s left already, and I missed her. I check the parking lot to be sure she didn’t steal the car somehow, but to my relief, it’s still there. Right where I left it.

Soft footsteps echo down the hall, and I look up, seeing her come into view. The first thing I notice is that she’s dry, the calf-deep dampness from earlier now gone. She must’ve used the hand dryer to dry her clothing, which means, just minutes ago, it’s possible she was standing half-naked in the bathroom a few feet from me.

What if someone had walked in?

What if someone had seen her?

What if… What if I’d walked in?

I swallow, looking down to shield myself from the possibility of her reading my thoughts somehow, then back up. “Any luck finding a phone?”

With her arms crossed, she shakes her head. “We should get going before we end up stuck here.”

I follow her eyeline to the glass doors, where the storm seems to have gotten even worse outside. “We could stay,” I say softly. “I mean, until things calm down. At least it’s warm in here.” I gesture to the vending machines. “We have food, water, and bathrooms. We could hang out until the storm calms down and then get back on the road.”

She chews the inside of her cheek, drawing it inward, then shakes her head. “I can’t stay here.”

“What are you talking about?” It can’t be that she’s not okay with spending more time with me, surely, after she just asked to leave with me now. “Why not?”

“I just need to keep moving.” Her eyes squeeze shut. “Look, I can’t force you to come with me. Maybe it’s not safe. But I can’t stay here.”

Something about the way she says it, the panicked look in her eyes, tells me she’s running from something. And running fast.

“Just tell me one thing…”

She nods.

“Are you in danger? Or trouble? Is there a reason you need to keep moving when you’ve already said you have no idea where you’re going?”

She swallows and drops her chin to her chest. When she looks back up, it’s with a steely gaze. “Look, I can’t make you do anything. But I’m leaving. I’m not wasting time on some little sleepover here.”

“I never suggested?—”

“Storm or no storm, I want to get to my family. Friends. I do not want to spend New Year’s Day with some stranger I met on the interstate.”

I try not to let the words sting. I shouldn’t care, but I do. “Fair enough. I get that, but it’s not safe. Wouldn’t you rather be cautious and actually make it to them than try to go when it’s dangerous and get hurt? Or worse…”

She heads for the door without pause. “I’ll take my chances.”

CHAPTER THREE

BEFORE

Snow makes this all so much easier.

I follow the footprints and trail of blood across the white ground like a hunter chasing a rabbit. Carefully. Methodically. Using my phone’s flashlight to light the way. I don’t even have to move quickly, really. He’s too hurt to get far. Soon enough, he’ll have expended all his energy. His body will give out. He’ll collapse and wait for me to end it all, and that’s exactly what I’ll do. Happily.

So, while I wait, I play my favorite game. The one he’s learning at the moment.

Hunter and prey.

At least, I have to assume this is what a hunter would do. I have no actual experience with the sport. Maybe they’d sic a dog on them instead, but I don’t have a dog.

Just me.

And I haven’t let myself down yet.

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