Woman Put Your Weapon Down

My Baby Is A Rebel

The night concealed Brennan as she walked down the residential neighborhood, bundled up in her tattered jacket. She could no longer feel her toes and her muscles were sore from pointlessly trying to contain her incessant shivering. Ahead, Brennan could see the incandescent glow of a gas station and she mentally sighed in relief. She had been walking for nearly 2 hours, trying to find somewhere with a payphone. Her clunker of a car had decided that it was empty; Brennan never knew when her car was empty since the censor broke somewhere in Nevada. Apparently fate has decided Finley, Washington is where she is to find her safe haven, and after Brennan's journey, she is just relieved to find somewhere she might not have to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life. Her feet began to drag and her legs began to cramp just as her sneaker-clad feet shifted from tar to cement.

"Thank god," Brennan muttered as she pushed open the door to the heated oasis. Her nose, fingers, and toes tingled as the cold dispelled and the heat washed over her. Her eyes shifted to the side and landed on a slender man, but she could easily make out the muscles under his black tee-shirt and faded jeans. His feet were propped up on the counter and his face was hidden behind a local newspaper. The oscillating fan behind him pointed towards her and brought a scent that startled her, a scent that was not human.

Her voice quivered as she meekly asked where the restrooms were. He never dropped the paper and answered gruffly, "Back left of the store, ma'am." A hint of his southern accent slipped through, and calmed Brennan enough that she was able to walk to the bathroom instead of running.

Inside the women's restroom, Brennan was able to breathe through whatever anxiety she was feeling and slow her heart rate. She splashed the cool tap water over her face and on the back of her neck. She was absolutely shocked to already find someone inhuman. Being half fae gave her a bit more active instincts, and the past week has taught her to trust them. She couldn't quite tell what he was, and she didn't have much experience around fae to decide, but she did know that he wasn't exactly like her. Was he a full fae or is there something else her mother left out? The questions ran through her head and caused her anxiety to creep back up on her. She repeated her process from earlier before she walked back out to the front of the store.

She wandered the store before she located the payphone, and quickly inserted her quarters and dialed the first tow truck company she came across. The conversation wasn't too long, but it did last long enough for her to feel like the clerk was staring. After giving all the pertinent information to the tow company, Brennan grabbed a soda and a random candy bar before walking to the front. She might as well buy something now, while she is waiting for the tow truck to pick her up.

"Is that all?" the clerk, Warren according to his name tag, asked. Brennan nodded and pulled out a few bills from her back pocket.

"Stranded?" Warren prodded, hoping to gather any information from this woman to give back to Mercy and Zee. It is not often that a half fae walks into the Stop and Rob, and certainly not one that smelt like Tad. He let his southern accent slip through as he tried to sound laid-back. It seemed to work as he noticed her shoulders relax and her eye widen from the barely noticeable glare.

"Just a bit, but I have it covered," Brennan answered, trying to keep the fear out of her voice and unconsciously letting her own southern accent out. The consequences of being raised in Texas is whenever you hear one, your accent always shows.

"Are you from the south also?" Warren questioned, still trying to gather whatever information that he could.

Brennan's eyes narrowed once again, and simply answered, "Yes, Texas," before walking outside to wait for the tow truck. After a considerable wait, with most of it trying to slyly stay out of eyesight of the clerk inside, the tow truck showed up and took Brennan to her car and onward to the cheapest motel.