Created By

onaipwolf

Rate this Story

Embed

Hayley woke up cold. She felt like icy fingers had crept into her veins overnight, leaving her feeling numb. She groaned once and shifted. The movement caused pain to shoot through the numbness of her lower extremities and into her head. The events of the night before flooded into her mind, the remembrance leaving a sense of trepidation behind. She looked across her body to the small office window set in the far wall. Muted light shone through, giving her hope that perhaps the storm had finally ended.

She lay next to Brennan, not willing to move just yet. Her nose and cheeks she knew were cold by the half-numb sensation in her face. Gradually, she grew restless with curiosity about the day’s weather, and stirred from her place beside Brennan. She gently moved his arm from around her waist, pushing the jacket of as she did so. Her shirt had traveled half way up her body from her movement in her sleep, and the icy air struck the newly exposed skin on her stomach, sending another volley of shivers up her spine. She pulled at the hem of her shirt, covering her midsection again. Hayley smiled as she gazed at his calm face. He looked so relaxed, so peaceful, just lying there with all the cares of the world wiped clean from his face. A lock of his dark hair flopped over his left eye and down across his nose, a stark contrast to his cold and pale skin. Brennan shifted in his sleep, a light groan escaping from his lips as he did so. At first she thought he was going to wake up, but he merely turned over onto his stomach, one side of his face smashed into the carpet, and continued his deep and stead breathing.

She stood up, her crossed arms pressed against her chest in an attempt to get warm. She opened the office door and stepped into the main room of the gas station. She looked at the mess of wrappers scattered across the counter top and sighed as she began gathering the empty containers in her fists in order to throw them away. She heard a clunking thud and she looked swiftly back at the hallway, half expecting to see the man from last night standing in the entryway. It was empty however and she uttered a sigh of relief that she had been mistaken. It must have been Brennan in the other room, waking up. She turned to throw away the trash in the garbage can next to the entrance, looking outside as she did so. The wind had finally died down, leaving a peaceful calm in its wake. Wispy clouds hung up in the sky, the sun just above the horizon, sending its welcoming rays down to warm the frigid earth. Wind swept snow scattered the landscape, covering the ground with several inches of the powdery white substance. Small banks of snow snuggled up against the gas pumps and the wheels on Brennan’s truck off to the left of her field of vision. The early morning light shone brightly off the front windshield, dazzling her eyes with its intensity. She noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye, and she turned to see what it was. A brown and tan sheriff’s car pulled in front of the first pump on the far side. Dread seeped into her and she felt her stomach turn, her heart filling with fear.

She dumbly watched as a young, uniformed, clean-shaven officer stepped out of the driver’s side, shutting the door securely behind him, and then opened the latch on the side of the car. Her mind screamed for her to move, to get the heck out of there, but her body refused to oblige. She just stood at the door, watching the cop unscrew the cap, grab the pump handle, and insert it into the car’s gas tank. He flipped up the switch to turn on the gas, and pressed the handle, his eyes trained on the white numbers behind the clouded and yellowed plastic. A frown crept across his face a few moments later. He flipped the switch back up, placed the pump back in its silver holder, twisted the cap back on, and slammed the latch closed on the car. He turned and began to walk in a steady gait towards the door.

She found herself able to finally move, the spell broken. She sprinted into the office and kneeled down next to the still sleeping Brennan. “Brennan. Brennan, wake up. A cop’s outside.”

He stirred and opened his eyes. He focused onto her face, and he smiled. “Hey. I was just having a dream about you.”

Hayley disregarded his statement, feeling annoyed at his casual attitude. “Did you hear me? A cop is outside and he’s gonna be in here in a matter of moments.”

“What?” Brennan’s face grew serious and he sat up, grabbing his jacket as he did so. He pushed his fists hurriedly into the sleeves of his coat and shrugged it onto his shoulders. He swore loudly, panic evident in the curse. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“What about the guy in the bathroom?”

“Leave him.” Brennan relied simply as he jumped to his feet and ran back into the main room. Hayley followed close on his heels, panic starting to overwhelm her as well.

Brennan began swiftly shuffling through the shelves beneath the counter.

“What are you looking for?” Hayley asked, confused that he would stop to rifle through some old papers and junk when a cop was practically knocking down the door.

Brennan found the item he sought, and shoved it into this right coat pocket. “Let’s get going.”

Hayley couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but she couldn’t mistake the gleam of metal that flashed in the light for a moment before becoming obscured by his black leather jacket pocket. She breathed in sharply, as the possibilities of how many hand-held objects could be made of metal ran through her mind. It’s a gun. She thought with a shiver. She heard the door open and she looked up to see the police officer walk in the door. Brennan crouched down behind the counter, his body tense and ready to spring.

“Hello.” He said as he smiled politely at Hayley, and extended his hand. She grasped his hand and shook it firmly. His fingers felt like frozen porcelain in her hand. “I’m Sheriff Murray. It seems that the pumps won’t work.”

Hayley paused before replying. She realized he thought she worked here. Thank goodness it was someone from out of town and not a local. If it had been she most likely would have been suspicious of her presence here instead of the rotting corpse in the bathroom. “Yeah. The power went out in the blizzard.”

“Of course. A lot of power lines went out yesterday. I guess you just got here then.”

“Um, yeah. To open up the station. Now that the storm’s over I might as well. Lost a whole day of business yesterday, you know.”

“Of course.” There was a brief lull in the conversation, and Hayley tried to think of what to say next. What would he believe? But she was thankfully spared from producing another acceptable response, as he continued to speak. “Are you going to start the generator, or does Tom have the keys to it?”

“Oh yeah, the generator.” What did she know about any generator? If she’d known about that, she would have turned that thing on when the power first went out. “Um, yeah. Tom has the keys to it. I was supposed to work today, and I didn’t know the power was out until I got here. I was just about to call him, actually.”

“Ok. Well I guess there’s not much I can do. I’ll head out then.” Murray turned to leave and Hayley felt her body relax in relief.

“Bye.” She called after him in a gesture of friendliness.

“Bye.” He replied, a smile in his voice. Then he stopped and turned. “On second thought, I’m going to use the facilities before I leave, if you don’t mind.”

Facilities? Oh, the bathroom Hayley realized. Yes, the bathroom, which held a sleeping prisoner and a dead body. Crap. She thought as adrenaline surged through her once again. “Oh, about that.” She said, trying to keep her voice even. “I think the toilet’s broken.”

Murray stopped as he reached the beginning of the hallway, and turned towards her. He paused before speaking again, and the silence was pure agony for Hayley. “Well, in that case, I’ll just get out of your hair then. Enjoy your day, ma’am.”

“Yes. I’m sure I will.” As long as you’re not here. She thought, completing her sentence silently.

He walked back over to the door and pushed it open. He took a step out of the threshold when a yell erupted through the air. “Help! Whoever’s out there, please help me! They’re going to kill me!”

Murray’s head shot up, and he entered the store once again swirling around in place. His mouth was set in a line, surprise mixed with a hint of fear evident in his eyes. “Who’s that?” He demanded as he pulled his 9mm from its holster.

“Nothing.” Hayley replied, her voice tight with fear. “I have no idea.”

“Stay here.” He demanded, pointed the barrel of his gun at her, then racing down the hall.

“Let’s get out of here.” Brennan said, popping up from behind the counter.

Brennan paused to shut the door, but Murray grabbed hold of the frame of the door before he could. Hayley involuntarily cried out in terror.

“Step out of the vehicle immediately!” Murray yelled as he struggled to keep the door open, and train his weapon on Brennan at the same time.

Brennan held the door with one hand, trying to pull it shut, and fought with Murray’s pistol with the other. Murray started to get the upper hand, so Brennan released his grip on the door. It swung wide open, allowing him easier access to the interior of the vehicle. Brennan kicked at Murray’s stomach and he staggered back, off balance, and landed on his back. In the brief reprieve, Brennan reached into his pocket for the object he had placed there earlier.

“Brennan, no.” Hayley cried, knowing he intended to kill the officer.

Brennan ignored her plea and jumped out of the vehicle. He dropped out of sight onto the ground. She heard a scuffle, then a gun go off, and a loud thud. She jumped at the sound, afraid. She realized in that instant of time, that she was more afraid for Brennan’s safety than the officer’s. Silence pulsated through the air, creating so much tension she could almost taste it.

“Brennan, are you ok?” She asked as she leaned over to see what had happened. Brennan was sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. The new snow had been scattered and disturbed across the ground in the still morning air. Murray’s body lay slumped over on his face next to Brennan, and she gasped in surprise. Blood had begun to pool beneath his head, staining the pure white snow a bright red. “Is he dead?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Brennan said, as he stood shakily to his feet.

“What happened?” Even as she asked, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“We fought over the gun. He tried to shoot me, which I think he succeeded in doing. Then I hit him over the head with this.” Brennan said as he picked up a silvery metal box from the snow. It looked to be about nine inches long, several inches wide, and two inches deep. Realization and relief hit her all at once, leaving her feeling weak. It wasn’t a gun it had just been a silly box!

She managed to find her voice. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I think so. It’s just a graze. It put a hole in my coat though.” Brennan said as he lifted the edge of his shirt, to show a deep gash running along the bottom edge of his lowest rib. Dark blood oozed from the wound. He winced as he pulled it gently back over his waist, then stepped back over to the truck and slid back behind the wheel.

Hayley sat back in her seat, her thoughts swirling once again through her head. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about all this, though relief seemed to be the dominant feeling at the moment. Her thoughts began to slowly settle down from their jumbled form and into more cohesive thoughts.

“Let’s hope it starts. At least it’s been in the sun for a little bit.” Brennan said as he turned the key in the ignition. The engine turned over once and started, filling the air with the soft rumble of the engine. “All right. That’s it.”

Brennan leaned over to grab the seatbelt strap but stopped half way through the action, and looked over at her. “Are you sure you want to go with me? I could just let you stay here and wait for everyone to come.”

Hayley looked at him and smiled as she grasped his hand in hers. “Yes. I’m sure.”

“But you don’t know anything about me. That guy in there. I…” He paused, stumbling on the right word.

It doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know.” She said smiling. “The past is the past. Who am I to judge?”

Brennan looked deeply into her eyes, searching for something hidden within them. An eternity passed. “Ok. But if you’re gonna stay with me you should know this. I sort of lied to you earlier. That first night I woke up before you, at about seven. I went into the station to break in and rob it, but it was already open. Stupidly, I didn’t think too much of it, and decided to continue the heist. I was going to take all the cash in the register, dump you out of the truck, and head out, after I got it started. I cleaned out the drawer and placed the cash in a metal money case. Before I could pocket it, a man coming out of the office caught me behind the counter. He yelled at me, and I got nervous, and it dropped from my hand, landing somewhere on the floor. I already had my knife out, and when he came towards me, I stabbed him in the chest. It wasn’t on purpose, but I got him in just the right spot. His skin paled, and his eyes glazed over. I caught him before he could slump onto the floor, and I drug him into the back room, putting him behind the couch. I didn’t know what else to do. Luckily, all the blood was on the front of him, so I didn’t get much on me. I washed up and walked back to the truck. I opened the door, intending on grabbing some stuff and just leaving without saying anything, but then I saw you sleeping, and I couldn’t just leave you. I decided to just lay with you for awhile. Well, then you know what happened after that.” Brennan finished his story lamely, feeling unsure and exposed.

“Yeah.” Hayley said.

“Still believe the past is the past?” Brennan asked with skepticism in his voice.

“Yes, yes I do.” Hayley looked at him, her face drawn with intensity. “Things happen. No one is perfect. You took me for who I am, why shouldn’t I do the same?”

Brennan smiled at her in response, and Hayley grinned back. She could get used to being with this guy.

“So why did you want to go back in there then?” Hayley asked, as she realized he didn’t seem to have a whole lot of incentive to stay after what he’d done.

“To get the money. And it was freezing cold. There was no way my truck was going to start yesterday. Believe me, I tried. Despite the danger of staying around, it seemed that fate would have me stay for longer than I’d intended.” Brennan’s voice trailed off again, and he dropped her gaze as he finished buckling up. He released her hand for a second to put the truck into gear, and then tentatively took it back. The gesture pleased Hayley to no end.

He began to move the truck forward when Hayley suddenly realized her purse. “I forgot my purse in the office.”

“Well, let’s just leave it then.”

“Brennan, that has all my stuff in it, My money, my makeup—“

“You don’t really need makeup.” Brennan said, interrupting her. “And I have enough money.”

“My license.” She said still insisting, My phone. She thought

“Ok fine. Just be quick. It’s already 7 and now that the storm’s over people are going to start waking up soon.”

“I will.” Hayley said. She looked at the broken passenger door then back at him. “Um…”

“Oh, right.” He opened his door and stepped out, letting her through.

She sprinted back to the gas station and into the office. Once she entered the building, the tortured sounds of the man in the bathroom assailed her ears. She shut the door to muffle the sound and grabbed her purse. She opened it up to make sure everything was in there and noticed her phone. On impulse, she flipped it open, and turned it on. As the phone lit up, it beeped, informing her she had one voice mail. Intrigued, she hit send. The electronic voice detailed the time and date of the call, which was yesterday at 10:30 pm, and then the message started.

“Hey Hayley. It’s me, Derek. I know it’s late, but I just had to call. Deb told me a woman called but didn’t leave a message. I just knew it was you so I called the number I didn’t recognize from the caller id. When I heard your sweet voice on the voicemail message, my hopes were confirmed. I just knew you would come back to me. I’m sure we can get your little problem fixed and have you back in the ministry in two weeks tops. I’m so happy you’ve returned. Things just weren’t the same without you. I can’t wait to hear from you this week. Love you, bye.”

The message ended and Hayley hung up the phone, not bothering to save or delete it. The phone beeped at her, indicating it needed to be charged soon, or it would die. Hayley felt anger at Derek’s incorrigibleness burn within her. How could he just assume a simple phone call meant she wanted to go back to him, back to that place, and just pretend nothing had happened? Yeah right.

Her phone beeped its death knoll, the screen turning blank. In order to revive it, she’d need her charger which was back in her apartment, back there, in her past. She didn’t need it that much. She walked out of the office and stepped quickly into the women’s bathroom. She dropped the phone in the toilet bowl, and watched as it sunk to the bottom. She could always buy a new phone later on if she wanted.

She glanced over and noticed a bottled of off-brand bleach sitting on the floor next to the toilet. She considered for a moment trying to disinfect everything so no fingerprints would be left behind. Then she realized in order to get all of them, she’d have to go back into the employee lounge, and then the man would see her. Besides, she was running on borrowed time here, and she didn’t think she could get it all done without risking another customer coming in, wondering why the gas wouldn’t pump.

She stepped outside once again into the cold morning air and hurried back to the truck. She got in first, and then Brennan shut the door tight behind them. As he put the car back into year, and pulled into the street, he quickly reached for her hand and squeezed it.

“Did you get everything you needed?”