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Wil was still loading a shelf, but his stack of pasta boxes on a little hand truck was almost gone. He paused when he saw me coming around the corner and stood.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi.” I hesitated again. I didn't really have a plan beyond just staying near someone I thought I knew. If too much time passed and no one showed up, I’d ask Wil to call a cab for me to take me to the diner. I wasn't totally sure where everyone else was, but the diner was the one place where I could count on at least one Academy person to be.
Abandoned
Nathan
Nathan’s lungs burned to push air out before he’d fully gotten his legs out of the car.
When he surfaced, he sputtered out, inhaled. It was the first moment he realized how freezing cold the water actually was. There was barely a breeze, but the cool air was enough to make him see his breath as he exhaled.
His next thought was about alligators. How active were they in January? He scanned the area, trying not to go into hyper paranoia about feeling movement around his legs.
The water lapping into his face made it harder to see. Everything around him was shadows, black on black, sometimes barely darker than other places. Rain continued to splash into his face.
He breathed in sharply, filling his lungs full of air and dove toward what he was pretty sure was land.
It wasn’t far, and he was soon standing on the ramp the car had dove in from. Once he was there, he kept walking. Alligators would follow him onto land for a short while. He’d drawn too much attention. He knew his survival training enough to get away from a body of water when he didn’t know what was in it.
But once he walked through the tree line, all was far too dark and he paused. The lake had indicated his only reference between land and water among the shadows. And now, everything looked the same.
He wrapped his arms tight around his body, the jacket and pants he wore were heavy with water. He wasn’t going to freeze to death, but the clothes were extremely cold and heavy. He wondered if losing at least the jacket would make it easier to be on the move. Rain pelted him through breaks in the trees, some drops much heavier as they collected on branches, combining. There was no chance the clouds would pass and give him enough light to see.
Now what?
And Volto. What a psychotic asshole. He saw Nathan fly into the water. The Jeep was gone now. He’d found his escape.
Nathan hadn’t given him the ability to back off, but he never imagined this. That he’d be this reckless.
Standing still and thinking about it wasn’t going to get him anywhere. No one knew he was out here. He had to get to the road.
Nathan pushed a palm through his wet hair and started to follow the lane forward. He couldn’t see around him well, but he used the lane’s ruts and walked along one side. He felt brush by his leg. If he went too far, he’d end up in grass and swerve back until he could walk clearly.
Soon, he could see an opening at the end and used that as a guide.
When he caught his breath after the shock, he started to jog. He wiped occasionally at his brow and face to clear what rain he could, keeping his vision clear.
What about after he got back to the road? What was the next step? No phone. It was unlikely Volto called out for help.
He’d have to find his own way back, or maybe risk approaching one of the nearby homes and asking for access to a phone.
But doing so might mean risking those people calling the police. And explaining all of what happened would be complicated.
He’d lost two vehicles now. Who knew where the Jeep would end up? And Victor...The restoration might take ages. They’d have to fish it out first. He wasn’t sure they’d even bother. Was it fixable after all this?
He’d need to remember where it was. The lane had been unmarked. It was highly possible the turnoff wasn’t even on a map.
It seemed to take ages to jog the lane, and his legs were heavy in the wet jeans. He kept his arms tucked around his body the whole time, trying to stay warm. He should have grabbed a phone on his way out. There was a chance it could have still worked, even after being submerged for so long. His case should have been at least water resistant.
It’s not like he could go back for it.
Once he passed the trees, he came by the small parking lot, empty except for one small boat on top of a trailer. Nathan checked it quickly, looking for any type of communication, maybe an onboard radio.
Nothing. A little cooler and an old fishing rod.
Nathan jumped off the trailer, heading toward the main road. Once he got there, he debated turning right or left. Back toward the school, or the opposite way, which might be shorter for reaching a business of some sort. The rain was coming down, not letting up for him. He tried to remember how far in either direction it was, which way might get him to a public phone faster.
A car was coming from the left, the lights on, heading toward him. He debated if it could be Volto, and the possibility he might try to run him over.
The model of the car was different. Not a Jeep.
Nathan readied a story and waved to the vehicle, daring to walk into the road and try to block it to get the driver’s attention. He kept his hands up, showing distress and need of help.
The car slowed and stopped several feet short of Nathan in the middle of the road.
The driver sat behind the wheel, but with the lights bright on his face, he couldn’t see. He guessed the person was debating getting out.
Just a call, he thought. One call. I don’t even have to get in.
The driver got out, and Nathan internally groaned the moment he recognized her.
She braced against the rain with her hand hovering over her eyes. “What are you doing out here?” Erica Lee asked him.
Caught
Sang
I stumbled over what to talk with Wil about. Then I noticed the boxes he’d finished putting on the shelf. “How...did you get the job here?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “This one? Why? Are you interested in working here?”
“Maybe,” I said but then nodded. I needed something to talk about to take up time. I forced myself to make conversation. “What’s it like? Is your boss nice?”
He shrugged. “I guess so. Nicer than my old one.” He paused. “Didn’t you work at that diner?”
“How’d you know?”
“Someone mentioned it,” he said. “I thought about applying there. But to be honest, I don’t know how good I’d be at any of it. I can’t hold a tray loaded with plates to save my life.”
“Me, either,” I said, pretty sure that was true at least. I hadn’t dared tried to wait tables. “I’m usually at the register. Sometimes I seat people if it’s crowded.”
“That’s something I could do,” he said. He smirked a little. “Maybe we could switch for a bit. See how we like the jobs we’re doing.”
His kind words eased my nerves a little and allowed me to smile. I clutched the basket. “Yeah. Loading boxes onto shelves seems easy enough.”
“Yeah, they hire everyone,” he said.
I realized it might
have sounded rude and then waved my free hand at him. “Oh no, I didn’t mean...” I wasn’t sure how to word it.
“No, it’s true. This isn’t something I’m doing forever. It’s just closer to everything I need to be near right now.”
“For finishing up school?”
“I guess,” he said. “Something like that.”
There was a pause in the conversation, a little too long, where I knew I should have let him get back to work. The aisle was empty for now, but on occasion, someone with a cart or an employee walked by the ends. I tried to ignore it and drum up something else to talk to him about.
I fiddled with the handle on my basket.
“Are you really okay?” he asked. “You look...stressed.”
Maybe I should tell him. With time passing and the guys not showing up, I worried about what was going on. Did the message not get through? Maybe I should see if he could drive me somewhere else. Just in case...Getting to the diner, I’d be able to reach out to someone.
And where was North? How long had he planned to be in the back of that truck? What if the woman couldn’t reach him? If he thought he could get back to the Jeep because I was waiting there, then he could run into Volto. The whole situation was problematic.
I was about to turn away from Wil, second-guessing asking him anything, when he looked closely at my clothes and then at my face. “Sang. If you're in some kind of trouble...”
I shook my head. “No, no, I...”
“It’s okay,” Wil said. His face was calm and he was smiling gently. “Look, I’ve got a few personal things, too.” He paused and then looked up and down the aisle, but it was empty for the moment. “Remember when I told you about not being in class? A special school program giving me a half day?”
I nodded. A short time ago, Mr. Blackbourne and others were working with a Mr. Toma to look in on Wil. When I found him, he gave me his number to check up on him. Only I waited for Mr. Blackbourne and the others to suggest I call. They hadn’t done so yet. Mr. Blackbourne seemed wary of him for some reason.
