Remedy

Chapter 7

"You do know you're about to run out of gas, right?" Evan piped up, eyeing the needle that pointed to the E behind the steering wheel.

"Does it look like there are any gas stations around here? I haven't seen a single building in the last hour."

"Wait, look!" Evan sat upright from his laying position in his seat, pointing in the distance at a small, worn down building with a few gas pumps in front of it. "There's one up ahead."

"Wow, what a miracle." I said monotonously.

I pulled the 9 year old minivan into the driveway. It looks as if this place was abandoned.

"Are you sure it's open?" I asked Evan, who looked around anxiously.

"There's an open sign in the window." Evan pointed in the dirty window, a crooked OPEN sign hanging in front of it, the N hanging upside down.

Real nice.

I opened the car door to step outside.

"Be careful, there might be some Texas Chainsaw shit going on out there." Evan joked.

"Well if that's the case, you're coming with me." I slammed the car door shut, not because I was mad of course, but simply just because the car is old and the door just won't stay shut if you don't slam it.

Evan hurried after me as I walked toward the building.

"Is anyone here?" I yelled, opening the mossy, dirty screen door.

"Doesn't seem like it." Evan muttered as he walked in. I turned to give him a look.

I looked around me. The place wasn't very big, but the only light that shone in there was a single lightbulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling. It flickered occasionally, giving off a dull glow. The aisles were filled with snacks that looked as if they haven't been touched in years. Water and beer bottles were scattered everywhere. There was a broken window on the other side of the building, glass shattered on the floor beneath it. But most conveniently, there was dead silence, and it was very uncomfortable might I say.

"Lily, instead of admiring the place, maybe we should leave."

"Without gas?"

"Steal the gas." Evan smiled. I rolled my eyes in annoyance, now was not the time to joke.

"How can you joke at a time like this?" I turned to ask Evan, a serious look plastered on my face.

"It's the only way to get through tough times, to laugh like it doesn't matter at all." Evan's smile quickly faded, his eyes no longer had a twinkle in them. He looked away, moving his gaze toward the floor.

"Let's just get some gas, ok?" I snapped, instantly regretting my wrongful attititude.

Evan began to walk out, the screen door creaking as it was opened.

"Evan, wait." I gently grabbed his arm, causing him to turn to face me, a look of sadness on his face. "I'm sorry, it's just-"

"Hard." Evan finished for me. "I know. It's ok." He turned to walk out the door, letting it slam behind him. I watched him walk up to the gas pump before chasing after him.

He was spamming all the buttons at once, trying to get the gas to work I guess.

"There's a button inside you're going to have to push." Evan said without looking up.

"Yeah, you think?" I said sarcastically. I could see a smile forming on his lips. I have to admit, it made me smile a bit. I brushed it off my face before he could notice. He waved me away, motioning me to go turn on the gas.

I walked off, noticing a shadow dash across the screen door inside the gas station.

"Hello?" I called out to particularly no one as I opened the screen door. Maybe I was seeing things. I walked inside, looking behind the cash register desk for any way to turn the gas on. That's when I had an idea.

Now I'm not the type of person to steal, but it technically isn't stealing if it belongs to no one. Besides, there probably hasn't been a single person here in the last decade.

The cash register opened without any trouble, leaving me sighing in relief. I gasped as more money than I have expected was laying before my very eyes.

A whole stack of $100 bills! Laying in this old dump? Definitely not a coincidence. Or was it?

I picked up the stack, something shiny catching my eye underneath. I picked it up. It was a key.

A key?

That wasn't the only thing that was in there, a neatly folded note was laying underneath the key, the paper, which was once white, was beginning to turn green, the edges of the paper beginning to wear down.

I unfolded the paper, careful not to rip it. I began to read:

Even loved ones stab you in the back.

- Darkness

How...?

He thinks I'm dead! There's no way he knows I'm here.

But he is capable of many things.

My family must be in danger.

This note looks old, however. Maybe it's for someone else. Or maybe it's there to freak people out.

"Lily, how long does it take to-" Evan burst through the door, causing me to jump, dropping the money and the key on the ground. He eyed me suspicously. "Did you steal the money?"

"I uh-"

"Let me see it." Evan held out his hand. I picked up the money, shoving the note and the key into my jeans pocket. I handed him the money stack. He shoved it into his pocket. "We won't lose it now."

We.

"What took you so long?" Evan asked.

"I was just looking. The gas is on now." I avoided his eyes. He shrugged, walking back outside to fill the car with gas. Hopefully there was a little bit of gas left.

"Hello, Lily."

What? Evan is outside and no one else is in here.

However his voice was unlike Evan's. His was much deeper, and somehow familiar.

I turned around. A shadowy figure, all in black, was face to face with me.

It was Darkness.