What I Lost

2: sprained ankle

I woke up early to the faint sound of whining. Finn needed to pee. I opened my eyes to see his face inches from mine. Groaning, I sat up, stretching my back. He climbed into the seat with me, and I reached over to the door and opened it just enough to let him out, trying to keep the warm air inside the car.

I sat in the car for a few more minutes, rubbing my eyes and gathering the will to step into the cold outside. Eventually, I hopped out of the car and locked the door. Finn was still wandering in the patch of trees next to the parking lot, smelling around. My stomach growled so I headed back to the motel with the hopes of there being a free breakfast, leaving Finn and my backpack behind.

As I crossed the street, I noticed the Impala was still parked in the motel's parking lot. They would probably leave later today, chasing a new case. My stomach growled again so I searched the motel until my eyes settled on a small sign that read "Free continental breakfast" hanging off a door near the office

The food was as good as could be expected of free motel food. There were some cheap bagels, undercooked eggs, small boxes of cereal, bland toast, and a bunch of little containers of jam. I got three pates and loaded them up with everything I could carry. As I was leaving some lady noticed all the food I took and she pressed her lips together and stared at the plates. I made a point of swiping an extra bagel on my way out as she was still watching.

Finn's tail started wagging at the sight of me carrying all the food. I placed the food in the back of the truck and unlatched the trunk. He hopped into the trunk and I sat down next to him, setting down a plate covered in bread and eggs for him while I started on one of the bagels.

As we were finishing up breakfast, I watched the Impala roll out of the parking lot and down the street. Time to move to the next town.

I jumped down off the trunk and unlocked the drivers side door, pulling out a clunky black device from the side pocket. Its screen dimly lit up while it took a minute to fully turn on. When I picked up the device a few months ago, I stuck the tiny black tracking chip that came with the tracking device to the bottom of the Impala. As the ancient thing finished powering up, a small red dot was located on the digital map, moving southwest. I waited a few more minutes before starting my truck and getting on the road, wanting to keep a good distance from the Impala.

These long drives always reminded me of my parents. When I was little we would sometimes take road trips and go camping. Those car rides with them were anything but boring. Every time they woke me up early in the morning, telling me we were going camping, I would break into a smile and quickly pack before dashing to the car. They always tried to find time to go camping in the Sierra Nevadas. It was my mom's favorite place; she even named me Sierra after the mountain range. We would spend the whole drive laughing and talking, and when it got dark at night I fell asleep easily in the car. My mom always told me when I was a baby and I wouldn't stop crying, she would put me in the car and just drive around until I fell asleep. It would only take a few minutes. But driving these long roads with just Finn in the passenger seat always seemed to feel lonely.

After driving all day with a few stops for food, the red dot stopped in a town in southern Missouri.  I turned off the device and cruised through the town, looking for a motel parking lot that housed the black car. It was already getting dark outside and I wanted to check to make sure they were staying overnight, not just stopping for more food. After a few minutes I found the motel, it was on the outskirts of the town and the parking lot was half-filled with cars, including the one I was looking for. I pulled into the lot and parked in the corner, I sometimes avoided parking in the same lot as them to make sure they weren't constantly seeing my car, but the parking lot was big enough that it wasn't noticeable.