Ranger [ON HOLD]

Chapter Eleven - ibuprofen and Politicians

For the longest time I pretended nothing had passed. It was only a thank you. And throughout my silence, Ethan and Ranger spoke in soft undertones to one another. Every now and then, I felt the conversation switch to me - felt, but didn't hear... It was an unsettling feeling.

For the next few hours, as my thoughts drifted from home to Supernatural creatures I had sen thus far, I could feel Rangers in particular gaze drift between myself and the road.

Hours and hours of driving. The road seemed to curve impossibly along the edges of mountains, then dip low to a straight line between the hills and mountains. Ranger was quiet, but every now and then I could feel his gaze on my face. Ethan was snoring softly in the back, but I knew he would be awake right away were something to happen.

My leg was cramping, and my wrist hurt more than ever - my back I couldn't even think about. The pills that had been given to me by the fake doctor were gone. I suspected it wouldn't have been wise to use them anyway, but still the thought that maybe those pills had actually been pain pills...

My hand clasped itself over my injured wrist, fingers twitching as I itched to stretch them. But I couldn't, and it made the discomfort worse.

"How is your hand?"

Christ, did he seriously just pull the classic 'asking at the right time' thingy on me?

"Hurts a bit," I answered with a small dry chuckle, looking down to my bulked wrist. The cast was unbearably stiff, and it pained me to know I would have to wear it for a few weeks. My knee was throbbing numbly, but otherwise was no real problem.

"When we stop for gas you can get something for it."

I gave a small nod, and it was quiet again. I shifted in my seat, finding myself leaning more toward the window.

"Ranger?" I asked after a small moment of hesitation.

"Hm?"

"You asked me if that... thing... showed me anything..."

His fingers tensed on the wheel, but he continued to calmly gaze out the windshield as he nodded.

"It was a messenger. Not a real name for 'em, since not many people see 'em. They stay to themselves unless someone... unless someone they want is around." He scowled, bringing a hand up to run his fingers through the short slap of blond hair on his head. I noticed then just how wild it was, almost in a funny way. The guy had one hell of a cow lick, but not exactly a bad one.

Note to self: Cow licks may not be bad...

"So... when you asked me if it showed me something... it finds people it wants to show things?"

"Yeah. But its rare to find one. And since the human population has grown, no one can keep tabs anymore. When it touched you, you should have seen something."

Part of me perked up with slight irritation.

"Well gosh, next time I have some kind of weird evil twin choking the life out of me, I'll take a moment to ask them if they can show me again." I practically snapped at him, folding my arms over my chest and turning my head back toward the window. The passing scenery was nothing but blurry green trees and black concrete.

"Ella..." Ranger began, and holy crap I felt a lecture coming on. " you have to understand that this is serious."

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand, my head snapping back over to him so fast I almost gave myself whiplash.

"Excuse me?"

I knew how serious it was. God knew that I knew. And somehow, a part of him thought I didn't know.