Chapter Nine

Apprehension did not begin to describe Isaac’s mindset as he stepped back out into the parking lot. Even if his ward wasn’t currently “present” in the normal sense of the word, he was now fully aware of the weight on his back. All logic said that he should not have let the creature crawl back onto him, that he should have been far more concerned with the fact that his freedom had cost a few lives, that he had been told outright that he was carrying a parasite and willingly allowed it to rejoin him. Was he completely insane, or was it the right decision, given what Sterius had done for him so far? Really, he hadn’t done anything wrong up to now. He’d given the parasite a couple of rats and had been wholly unaware of the rest up until this point. Wasn’t that the case? Surely, he would never have allowed Sterius to claim lives if he’d been aware, and wasn’t it all going to be okay now, now that he was aware and could limit the damage? Was Isaac telling himself this, or was he falling for Sterius’s tricks and listening to his whispers again by thinking it? He told himself this was all his own belief, that he really had missed all the signs of trouble and that he hadn’t consciously ignored warning signs as was convenient. Sterius was forthright with him in their confrontation moments ago, so surely he was also leaving Isaac’s thoughts to himself.

No matter what came about of Isaac’s concerns, one thing was certainly true: his deal had gotten him out of prison. And it could almost certainly get him farther if he maintained the relationship for a while longer. He had to keep Sterius fed, sure, but that didn’t necessarily require people, did it? The rats and the bacon had been something, had they not?

It doesn’t have to be. You can do this… I think your word is ethically?

Ethics, right. Those were Isaac’s strong suit. Well, they were going to have become his strong suit very quickly. Keeping this, this pet, for lack of a better word, was going to be a responsibility, but he could manage that. Isaac didn’t have victims, he didn’t hurt people.

That’s right. I’m a good person. I can manage him safely.

Isaac relaxed as he walked through the fading sunlight. He could do this. Now that he understood what was happening around him, everything was going to work out. He just needed to figure out how he was leaving this place. He stood near the exit for a while with his thumb in the air, hoping somebody would stop for him, but had zero luck. Maybe he had to be more proactive.

“Sterius,” he whispered, “Folding space. Can you only move us, or could you say, put something small into my pocket?”

I could do that. I did just eat, so I have the energy for it.

“Okay. We’re going to patrol the parking lot. If somebody drops their keys, or if you just see them hanging out of someone’s pocket, grab them for me.”

Isaac began wandering the parked cars, pretending to look for his own. He made a conscious effort to stay close to people that were walking out of the stores. The way he saw it, it was only a matter of time before someone was clumsy or careless enough for this plan to work. He couldn’t steal a car, obviously that would bring too much unwanted attention towards him, not to mention the possibility of his being tracked by the license plate. That didn’t mean a little polite conversation and doing a small favor for somebody wouldn’t get him out back on the road. After what must have been the eighth time he subtly followed someone to their car, he finally caught a break when a middle-aged woman carrying too many shopping bags for her own good passed by. She fumbled for her keys and dropped them. While they would normally have fallen into one of her bags from that angle, Sterius worked his magic and Isaac felt a small object appear in his coat’s breast pocket. He slipped them into his hands and approached the woman as she set her bags down to search them for her missing keys.

“Excuse me!” he called, “I think you dropped these.”

Isaac held out the keys for the woman, who took them with a quick thank you.

“Do you need a hand with those bags ma’am?”

She looked surprised by the offer, but accepted. Now he just had to hope she was going in the right direction.

“Is that your car? It’s very nice. I hope you don’t mind my asking, but you wouldn’t happen to be going towards Kinsley, would you? That general direction?”

“Kinsley? I’m not going nearly that far, but I am headed in that direction. Why do you ask?”

“I would hate to impose, but I missed a bus and there’s not going to be another one for hours. If you’re headed that way, I would really appreciate a ride at least part of the way.”

Isaac gave her his best smile. She considered it for a moment, then asked, “I’m only going half an hour that way. Is that far enough?”

“Every town has a bus station. Even just a ride to one instead of being caught on the side of the freeway would be a massive help.”

She agreed to drive him into town if he loaded the bags into her car. He happily did so, carrying her purchases into the trunk of her black Honda. Isaac had to push the passenger seat back slightly once he was in the car, which still had that new car smell. Between the lack of trash in the car and the feel of the seats, Isaac guessed his new driver had bought this fairly recently. She had good taste.

“So where are you going that you managed to get stuck out here stranger?” the woman asked.

“Tim,” Isaac gave the same fake name as before as the next of his fake stories brewed, “I was on vacation and got mugged, believe it or not?”

“You?” she said incredulously, almost with contempt, “You let that happen to yourself? No offense but you’re built for football. How many guys are there that you’re letting them get away with it?”

“Just the one,” he replied, “but you don’t risk a fight when they’re armed, even if you think you can win. So I tried talking to the cops later but they couldn’t find the guy. So now I’ve only got a few bucks in my pocket and I’m trying to make my way home because I couldn’t take my flight home without my ID. I’ve been working my way back home for almost two weeks now. It’s been a tough road, but kind people like you are making it possible.”

Flattered, she responded, “Well you’re almost home Timmy. You can call me Betty. And you do have enough money for the bus once I drop you off?”

“Of course,” Isaac lied, “It’s only three dollars for a ticket.”

Betty’s face screamed ‘oh you poor thing’ and she reached back to her purse with one hand. She rummaged through it and produced a ten-dollar bill. “It must be more expensive than that. You should take this just in case.”

Isaac thanked her while pocketing the money. He hadn’t been planning on a bus after the news report and was even less interested now that he knew neither of them had any idea what the price was, he was even less interested in that option. This might get him a cheap meal at least, so he appreciated the charity. Or maybe he should just suck it up and risk the bus; the alternative was praying he kept running into generous people going in the right direction, and he wasn’t looking forward to another night on the street if he could avoid it.

Why don’t we stay with her longer? We should have gotten the couple to drive us the entire way Isaac.

Ignoring Sterius’s suggestion, Isaac continued making small talk with Betty. He did not find her particularly pleasant; she had the same disposition many of his old clients did, a certain stuffiness that came from being born into old money. He also got the sense he had completely lost her respect the moment he lied about the mugging, and while that made him less of a potential threat to her, he still found it terribly annoying. Isaac was nothing less than relieved when she got bored of him and turned on sports radio. The match he’d seen the pre-analysis on the day before had apparently ended in a tie, which he thought rendered the entire thing pointless.

“They really should just keep playing until somebody wins,” he grumbled.

“God no,” Betty laughed, “One game would ruin a whole week that way. They’d all be too exhausted for the next game a day later.”

Even her laugh was annoying, and Isaac wasn’t typically one to care about such things. God knew he could ignore that, given that Talia’s worst trait was her laugh. He was aware of these things, but saw it as the pettiest thing you could hold against a person. This one instance though? This was the one time he was truly bothered by it. She laughed again at something the radio host said, and it was the most grating sound he’d ever heard.

You didn’t want to steal the car because she might have reported you. But think about it Isaac? We could keep the car and stop her from making any reports in one move.

Isaac once again tried to ignore Sterius, though the implication was becoming more appealing by the moment. He shook his head to clear that ridiculous thought.

I don’t even like her. And the world just doesn’t need that sound she keeps making.

Sure, she was annoying, and the world would almost certainly improve without her laughter in it, but that wasn’t a good reason to condone what Sterius was suggesting. He could use the car though. No, it was ridiculous; it also ignored the fact that it would take days and require her to wear the coat for most of that time. He could entertain the thought of having Betty’s nice car, but that was as far as he was allowing the concept to go.

I know I just ate, but I’m a growing boy Isaac. We have an opportunity here, one that completely solves both your problems and mine. Please just think about it for a minute. We don’t have that long you know.

Isaac mumbled into the coat, adjusting it to hide his mouth, “She’s not going to wear this thing. And we aren’t going to be with her long enough. Stop talking about it.”

She doesn’t have to wear the coat you know.

Out of the corner of his eye, Isaac saw a thin, slimy yellow tendril slide out the side of the coat and rub against his car seat. He felt himself straighten up as something appeared to fill the space between his back and the chair. Sterius was feeling more aggressive now that he felt Isaac had agreed to his terms. Isaac slid a hand down and tried shoving the yellow tendril back up beneath the side of the coat. It went back up into hiding without a struggle, but Isaac’s fingers felt sticky and numb. The tendril had been so cold that all feeling had gone out of the part of his hand that touched it. He rubbed his fingers along the palm, trying to warm them up. Was the rest of Sterius’s body that cold, or was his thin shirt protecting him that well? He turned the radio’s volume up.

“Sterius! Get back in there! We’re in a moving vehicle and you’re going to get us hurt.”

You’re right. We need her to pull over.

“No. We are taking the bus. I know what I said before but we are taking the bus now. Since you can’t control yourself if we’re alone with people.”

“Did you say something?” asked Betty.

“Nothing. Just can’t believe these two are still arguing over a draw,” he pointed to the radio.

“Ah. You don’t mind if I pull over for a second, I need to make a call.”

Isaac froze. Sterius had just suggested getting her to pull over. What was he putting into her head right now? He pressed himself against the back of his seat as hard as he could, hoping to squeeze Sterius back to wherever he was normally hiding. A tapping against his shoulder told him that Sterius didn’t like that, but he held position as Betty pulled to the side of the road and fished the cell phone from her bag. He could only hope the call was quick, because he could feel the squirming tendrils writhing against his back, saw the same one he’d pushed away slither back out next to him. Betty was absorbed enough in dialing that she hadn’t noticed anything wrong yet. Isaac focused on holding his position and trying to pull the sides of his coat down, using his knees to pin the sides to the car, too focused on his task to hear what the call was about. There were claws pressing into his back now, drawing beady drops of blood, and for a moment he was certain Sterius would rip him apart for what he was doing.

This will stop if I lean forward and let him out. I should let him out.

He should just lean forward and let it go. He should just… that wasn’t right. That was Sterius talking, and he knew it. Isaac had accepted that he was caring for this creature, but he was going to protect this woman too. They would find an animal for Sterius later. In this, he was resolute. Isaac didn’t hurt people. Not really.

Betty finished her conversation and hung up the phone. “Sorry about that. Now! Back to the road.”

Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. All at once, the tendrils and the claws against his back vanished, and he fell back into his chair, banging his skull against the headrest. He leaned forward and rubbed the back of his head, which was when the pressure returned in full force and the coat was thrown over his head.

Isaac couldn’t see, but he could hear. He could hear Betty shriek in horror and tendrils slosh against the seats and console. He fumbled with the coat, but some clawed appendage clamped down on his head, holding the cloth in place. There was a sickening crunch that he felt certain was the sound of bone shattering, then the shrieking stopped altogether. Whatever held the coat in place released him, yanking it into the backseat. He turned first to the back, just in time to see the coat flattening against the floor of the car. Then he turned to the driver’s seat, where Betty’s mutilated body sat. Half her head was gone, and Isaac could see directly into her skull, see the grey matter pulsing as the last throes of her dying consciousness ceased. Blood had splattered all over her leather seats. Slowly, Isaac reached for her, feeling the wound as if there was anything he could do for her, feeling the jagged lines where something had either shredded her bones or bitten straight through them. He grabbed at the door handle, only to realize it was locked.

Stop panicking Isaac. I feel much better now.

He turned back to the coat lying on the floor of the backseat. It looked like any other innocent piece of clothing, but he knew Sterius was somehow hiding beneath it, chewing on the missing portion of this kind, if irritating, woman’s head. He couldn’t stop hyperventilating.

You’re not thinking straight Isaac. Without this car, you’ll take forever to get where you’re going. And until you’re in a stable place, it’ll be hard for you to feed me. Then I’ll have to feed off you like I was before. And I don’t want to do that Isaac. I don’t want to do that to you. This woman was nothing but an obstacle. Someone who had what you needed, and who could be what I needed. I made the right choice for us Isaac. You know I did.

Isaac nodded, terror answering for him where his thoughts failed.

See? You get it. Now could you push the rest of her body back here? It’ll be gone in a bit. And don’t worry about the blood on the seat. I’ll get that when you stop for gas. Her purse is still back here, so you have money now.

Isaac numbly did as he was told, too dumbstruck by the situation to do anything else. Then he sat in the passenger seat, staring straight forward while he heard the slurping sounds from behind him. When he had finally processed what had just happened, he realized he had no choice but to go with Sterius’s plan now.

“E-eat her phone too. They can- they can- they can track that thing.”

Of course. And Isaac? What you just tried to do, keeping me from a meal. Do not do that again.