Rules of Fate

Chapter - 15 Too Laid Back

I waited for Scott to speak. Nothing, he just turned the key in the ignition and revved the engine before pulling out of the gas station. I tried to clear my throat, choked on the water I had just drunk and glared at my companion.

'So...?' He barely glanced at me. 'What the hell just happened?!'

He shrugged nonchalantly which irritated me no end. 'The cashier is a bit spooky huh?'

A bit spooky? I thought this strange phrase over for a second. I wouldn't call what had happened "spooky", my brain preferred the adjectives terrifying, life-threatening, horrific...but definitely not spooky. I decided to go with terrifying.

'Are you serious?' I asked him, swivelling round in my seat to face him, 'Spooky? He tried to kill us!'

'A misunderstanding. He thought we had taken some stuff and he has a minor personality disorder.'

'A minor personality disorder?! As in dual personalities? What are they exactly, weirdo and psycho?' I asked sarcastically, still nursing my throbbing hand.

He laughed at my remark. 'Well, anyway I cleared up the misunderstanding, paid him to get his nose checked, good job by the way,' he winked at me, 'and he apologised. No harm done.'

I couldn't believe my ears! No harm done?! Was he serious? I had to believe he was joking so I smiled through my tears, instead of berating his limited sensibility. 'I thought he shot at us?'

'Oh, he did,' Scott smiled reassuringly at me nodding, 'but you did break his nose.'

'I know,' I replied blandly, 'my hand's broken.'

'Nah, just sprained,' he announced confidently, 'Here take some painkillers.' He handed me two white pills that I swallowed gratefully.

Why wasn't he as upset as I was? I couldn't understand it until it finally dawned on me...he was in shock. Of course! Why else was he smiling like an idiot? I decided to confront him about it. After all, I reasoned, a shocked person should not be driving. 'Are you sure you're OK?'

'Never been better,' he assured me, overtaking a large semi which reminded me about the near accident we had almost had earlier.

'Today's just not our day!' I lamented, watching him cautiously from the corner of my eye.

'Yeah, well, stuff happens.'

'Like nearly becoming road kill and then getting shot at?'

'Yeah.'

'That doesn't exactly fall in the category of stuff. More like catastrophes,' I pointed out firmly. He was going to come out of his shocked state one way or another.

He lifted one shoulder lazily. 'Potato, potaato.'

'OK pull over.' I'd had enough.

He didn't seem to have heard me so I repeated the request louder. He looked puzzled as he found a place to stop. I glared back defiantly. No way was I getting driven god only knew where by a guy who thought everything that had happened was normal. OK fatelists' idea of normal wasn't exactly like everyone else's but there were limits and mine had been crossed several miles back.

The car came to a stop and I surveyed our surroundings. Road and more road and grass; fields of the stuff. Everything looked OK. I glanced at his hands checking for the shakes. After a while of breathing calmly I turned to him to find he had closed his eyes and for all intents and purposes appeared to be sleeping. Oh yeah, I thought, this is what the last straw looks like. I exhaled as much as I could, hoping my frustration would be expelled too. No hope of that happening any time soon I realised as soon as I opened my mouth to speak.

'Scott?' He opened one eye lazily in answer. 'Scott, you sure you're OK? I mean you were shot at.'

He shrugged like it had been a walk in the park. 'I didn't get hit.'

'You sure?' I wasn't. Maybe the bullet had hit him in the head. That would explain his current blasé attitude. I thought for a second, Scott continued to nap.

'Did you feel that weird surge?' I asked finally.

'What?'

'The feeling, you know, when there are ripples on the Fate plane and we feel them?'

He shook his head in a firm negative. 'When?'

'After we got shot at, before that psycho let go of the gun.' I thought back. 'I felt the same thing with the semi.'

'Your imagination,' he replied with a yawn and sat up. 'Can we go now? I have to get some place.'

'Which brings us to my next question. Where are we going?'

'To see some of my friends.'

'Where? Canada?'

He laughed and gunned the engine. 'You'll see. Surprises are good.'

'I hate surprises,' I told him fervently and I meant every word. As a kid surprises were good things. As a fatelist they were at best unusual. At worst life-threatening. Yup, I definitely hated surprises.

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