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“I – Paigelynn, please,” he says, pulling over into a gas station. On rare occasions, I have been to one, but only with Rudy. The pungent scent of gasoline assaults my nose as he stops the van.
He leans over the console and stares at me, hard.
“Don’t get any ideas.”
“What ideas?” Heat radiates off him, hard and intense, and I want a kiss.
I also want to slap him.
How can I want both at the same time?
In my arms, Winnie begins to whine. I look out the window to see Cam at the pump, grumbling. His phone buzzes again and I reach for it, unable to unlock it but the preview of a text from someone named Debbie says:
I know you stole her.
Stole.
Stole.
Who is this Debbie and what does she mean,stole?
Is Cam a bad man? Is this Debbie trying to help me? Why would my own husband, my king, need to steal me?
A muffled buzz from the back of the van forces me to look at the bodies.
I need to know.
I need to know now whether Cam is lying to me.
A television screen above the gas pump comes to life, the video one of Makiah Rooney, smiling and graceful. His words flow about being redeemed and how the holiness of belief is far better than any experience on Earth. The Mother warned me that his church is truly about our prophecy, but that he uses the mainstream God to gain people’s trust. They believe in a god who is far less powerful than the one we will usher in soon.
Rooney is a bridge. A liaison.
A powerful man of belief.
I look toward the gas station mini-mart and see Rooney’s church behind it. If anyone knows about Cam’s real motive, it is Rooney.
And yet Cam says The Mother lies to me. If she lies to me, then is Rooney part of the lie, too?
Liars lie, right? If Cam is a liar, then he would lie about the truth-tellers. Convincing me not to trust Jason, Malcolm, The Mother – that would be exactly what a bad man would do.
“I’m so confused, Winnie. Help me. Help me decide what to do.”
All she does is lick my nose.
Winnie is not a well-trained operative.
In an instant, a plan forms. Normally, my plans are tiny. Convince Rudy to let me get a candy bar. Ask Jason for permission to buy a new shirt.
Today my need to plan has changed radically. Planning involves my very survival. I cannot get this wrong.
Humanity needs me to survive.
My eye catches two white metal doors on the side of the gas station, one marked MEN, the other WOMEN. I could ask Cam for permission to use the bathroom. There must be a small window in there I can climb out of. Cam is smart. He would watch me too carefully. If he knows I am trying to escape, he might hurt me.
Or worse – I might hurt his feelings.
No, it won’t work to use the bathroom as an escape. Going inside the small gas station store and making a scene will only do more bad than good. There are bad men out here in the world. Someone will call the police if I ask for help.
