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onaipwolf

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A terrified scream broke out, shattering the quietness, and tearing Hayley from the comforting bliss of sleep. Hayley shot up, searching for the culprit to the horrifying sound that had pressed itself so unwillingly into her ears. She looked over at Brennan in the darkness and noticed he had woken up as well. He had pushed the leather jacket off onto the floor and was sitting up against the wall. His hair was all messy, but in a strangely attractive, roguish way.

“What is that?” Hayley demanded as she covered her ears with her hands in an attempt to block out the vocal cacophony that surrounded her. The sound grated at her ears, the anguish evident behind it, sending an uncomfortable chill down her spine.

“I think it’s our friend in the bathroom.” Brennan replied, a smirk on his face.

“Well, aren’t you going to do anything about it?”

“No, why should I?”

“Because.” Hayey said, feeling exasperated. “That’s his dead friend you stuck him in there with.”

“It’s pitch black in there. I doubt he was thorough enough in his discovery to know exactly who it is he is sharing the room with.”

“So. It’s cruel anyway.”

“I didn’t hear you being so adamant about this earlier.”

“That doesn’t matter. Just listen to him. God, he sounds like he’s dying.”

“I doubt that.”

The screams continued, mixed with unintelligible sounds that soon developed into words. “Help! Someone, oh please, someone, help me!” The voice broke down again into gut-wrenching sobs.

It grew to be too much for Hayley. “I’m gonna go let him out.”

Hayley stood up and dashed out the office door, letting it swing open and slam hard into the wall with a loud thud.

“Hayley, no!” Brennan shouted as he got up and ran after her.

Hayley raced through the interior of the convenience store to the door of the men’s bathroom with Brennan not far behind. The place looked a little creepy in the semi-darkness. The normally ordinary rows of shelves had a vaguely ominous feel to them, almost as if there were someone lurking in the shadows just beyond her sight. The incessant cries that shook through the air did little to calm her. She could barely see the handle as she turned it in the dark hallway. Feeling a little tense, she quickly opened the door and, peering inside, saw the outline of the man hunched beneath the bare sink, his wrists tied together and pressed against the pipe that ran into the wall. His face and chest looked damp, and she realized he had probably thrown up on himself. The nauseating stench of blood, death, and vomit swirled around her head, and, holding her breath, she covered her nose and mouth with her hand.

Brennan cursed loudly at the man, roughly picked her up from the floor, and pushed her back towards the front of the store. She stumbled, putting weight on her leg. Pain shot through her and she cried out, collapsing on the floor again. She pulled her pant leg up to see what damage had been done, and was relieved to see that he hadn’t broke the skin. He had, however, left a dark purple and green mark on her leg. She had a feeling that was going to be hurting for awhile.

Brennan, still swearing, tried to shut the door again, but the man fought back with all his strength, frantic cries echoing from his throat. In a final last attempt, Brennan slammed it closed once more. As he suspected, the man kicked it back open before it could latch. He realized the man was too hyped up on adrenaline for him to get the door closed and took a step back out of the man’s reach. They paused, glaring at each other.

In the brief truce instituted between them, the man spoke. “Just get away from me you, you demon straight from the pits of Hell.” He fell silent again, regarding Brennan with an eerie look on his face. He had seemed to have calmed down a little bit at least, but he still seemed very on edge.

Brennan laughed once harshly, his breathing heavy. “I hardly think so, but thanks for the compliment.” Brennan turned towards Hayley who was crouched on the ground, her leg clutched in her hands, tears in her eyes, and pain written plainly across her grimacing face. “See, I told you to not open the door.”

The wind had picked up again outside, and Hayley could hear the howling sound of the wind beat against the building, like a creature attempting to eat its way inside. Hayley struggled to speak through the pain. “Well he just seemed so scared.”

“Yeah scared. And dangerous. Why do you think I tied him up?”

“If you hadn’t knocked him out you wouldn’t have had to.”

“And what else did you expect me to do, have him find us here and call the police? We broke in here; I have my fingerprints on the body. If you want to go to jail again then by all means, but I would rather avoid that, thank you very much.”

“You were in jail?” Hayley asked, shocked. Instead of overwhelming agony, the pain had receded to an aching awareness.

Brennan stopped, the look on his face betraying his surprise at revealing that tidbit of information to her. “Yeah. Six months. Unarmed robbery.”

“How long ago?”

“I just got out last week.”

Hayley stared at him, the silence growing between them once again. “You lied to me.”

“So. You weren’t so truthful to me either. Do you really think you would have ridden with me if I had told you the truth?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s bull, admit it.”

Hayley glared up at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her acquiescence. “So are you really a construction worker?”

“Yeah. Well sort of. My cousin owns a construction business in Watertown, and I hear it’s pretty good money, so I called him up. He didn’t know about my stint in jail and he said he could use an extra hand for the spring and maybe the summer but only if I came up right away.”

“Don’t people in prison get on probation or something for awhile after they get out?” Hayley, asked feeling suspicious.

“Yeah. My probation officer doesn’t know where I am right now.”

“Great. Just great.” Hayley muttered to herself. “And I was just starting to like you.”

“What was that?” Brennan asked her.

Hayley looked up at him, the blood rushing to her face as she realized he had heard her. “Nothing.”

“No, I think you said you like me.” Brennan grinned.

“Liked.”

“What?”

“I liked you. Past tense. Get it right.”

“Yeah, sure.” Brennan leaned down next to her and looked in her eyes. Their faces were inches apart, and Hayley looked up into his eyes, a deep midnight blue, she noticed. Light emanating from the front door fell on his face, giving it an ethereal glow. A million thoughts ran through her mind in an instant, a million fears and possibilities, until they all faded away and she was left with one: she wanted him. Not in the drunken lustful way she had with Jaron, or in the obligatory way with Derek, no this was something different, something new. For the first time in her life it seemed, something else stirred within her, an entirely new and strange emotion. Brennan touched the side of her face lightly with the tips of his fingers; a gentle caress that left her feeling weak. He leaned his face down into hers and their lips met. She didn’t know what to call the feeling that rose within her, but it felt so soft and sweet. And safe. Safe most of all.

Brennan spoke first, his voice barely a whisper. “See.”

Hayley knew he had just called her bluff from earlier about her not liking him, but suddenly it didn’t seem to matter as much anymore.

“And you said you didn’t like me.”

“Yeah…” Hayley said, her voice trailing off.

Then a loud voice sounded from the bathroom, causing the reality of their situation to come rushing back in and crushing the fragile moment between them. “Free me, I demand you.”

Brennan looked back at the dark figure crouched in the bathroom. “Why should I?”

He paused before answering with pain in his voice, “Just get me out of here. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Isn’t there something we can do for him?” Hayley asked as she gingerly stood to her feet.

Brennan faltered as he stood as well. “I’m not sure where else we could move him that he wouldn’t escape.”

“What about the women’s bathroom?”

“Then what will you use?”

“Well, I’ll use it once now, and then you can put him in there. You said that the storm was probably going to end by tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s not guaranteed, and I’m not sure if you realized, but you had to go to the bathroom about ten times yesterday.”

Hayley blushed. “That’s because I’m pregnant. I can’t help it.”

“I know, but that’s not an option unless you want to use a bathroom with a dead guy lying on the floor of it.”

“What about the staff lounge?”

“There’s nothing in there that I could tie him to.”

“Hey, why don’t you just let me go?” Interjected the man.

“Stay out of this, ok.” Brennan snapped, and then turned back to Hayley. “You see what I mean? I’ll leave the door open, but that’s the most I can do.”

Hayley frowned, but realized he was right. “I guess. I just hope the storm ends and we can get out of this place soon.” She looked at the man, and with pity in her voice, said, “I’m sorry, I tried. I’m gonna go back to sleep.”

Hayley turned to walk back to the office, but faltered on her hurt leg, and Brennan caught her by the arm before she could fall completely. “Careful. Is your leg ok?”

“Yeah, it’s fine, just a little sore is all.”

“Here, let me help you.” Brennan said as he reached down and picked her up.

“Ok, if you insist.” Hayley said, tired of fighting for the moment.

“Are you just going to leave me here?” The man said, panic beginning to rise in his voice again.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to get you some breakfast in the morning.” Brennan replied as he rounded the corner, walking in front of the counter.

Brennan walked back into the office, and set Hayley down on the floor. She lay down, and he eased himself down beside her, placing his jacket back over them and putting his arm around her waist. She began to shiver from the growing chill in the room, so Brennan held her a little closer to his body for warmth. His body felt good against her, and she smiled unconsciously.

“Are you cold?” He asked.

“Yeah, but I’m sure I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

“Ok.”

Silence ensued, and Hayley began to drift off to sleep when Brennan spoke again. “What are we going to do when the storm lifts?”

“Fix your truck.” Hayley mumbled. All she wanted to do right now was go back to sleep.

“And then what?”

 “I guess leave in your truck.”

“Ok. But after that. What then?”

“Oh. I hadn’t really thought about that.” Hayley paused. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” Brennan said. “Well, I guess you’re tired. Good night.”

“Good night.” Hayley answered. She almost asked him what he was trying to get at but decided against it, her exhaustion overpowering her curiosity, and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.