The Dawning

Chapter Six

A 'few hours' turned out to be close to a day of driving and during the whole time, I watched. We were on an interstate highway Charles had said and it seemed to go on for forever. Fields, trees, even lakes passed us by and for the first few hours after I had woken up it was almost peaceful. I felt myself relaxing into the cushion, my muscles sore, my body heavy, and yet I was breathing easy, watching the endless blue sky with lazy white clouds blocking the severity of the sun, making it feel all light and warm. Tommy was still sleeping near me, his little body a bundle of warmth and comfort, his father's soft humming under his breath every now and then to a song playing on the radio, and then his scent that seemed to waft towards me with every blow of the air, circling around me-enticing me.

It was strange to be comforted by him, for he didn't smell anything special, matter of fact I could detect blood, sweat, an underlying musk of dirt, and yet there was that hint of spice and freshness as well. Combined together with the fact that I was getting more and more away from the Clan with each passing second, I felt almost safe. As if some part of me knew that I would be safe as long as that man was around.

We pulled into a rest stop about two hours after Tommy had woken up, who had complained that he was hungry and that he had to pee and kept complaining until John finally caved in. He called the others, informed them of the stop, and half an hour later they were all pulling into parking spots.

John shut off the engine and got out with a bag in his hand and I watched as he walked past me, threw the bag into the trunk and then turned to me. Grey eyes met mine and he reached for the door, opening it and letting the sun and a breath of fresh air in.

"Come on," he told me, holding the door open. His voice wasn't cold despite the look in his eyes, it was clear and firm, not loud but heard. For a second, I just stared up at him, at his brightly lit face and realized there was flecks of silver in the dark grey depths. Heat shot up my spine, my power peek its head to look at him and as if liking what it saw, I felt that need in me grow. That hunger.

I quickly unbuckled my seat-belt, realizing that Tommy and Charles were already gone and that there were noises coming from the front of the car. I stepped out and as I moved, John backed away and I was grateful for any type of distance from him. I didn't like the way he made me feel. Matter of fact, I didn't really like how any of them made me feel.

"Thank you."

"No problem." He closed the door and glanced towards the back to which I followed his gaze. The jaguar was nowhere in sight, instead a man sat where it once laid. He had long black hair that reached past his shoulders, light blue eyes, a thick beard, his body was modestly built but I saw a quiet confidence in him that seemed to scream danger.

My hunger spiked a little more.

"That's Christian, we're going." John stepped aside as if waiting for me to pass so I nodded at the jaguar who was putting sandals on and forced my legs to move. They hurt a bit after everything that had happened in the last thirty-four hours but I was walking ahead, catching up to the familiar faces who were moving up the sidewalk towards the entrance of the big building.

A rest stop wasn't a big deal and yet I couldn't help feeling excitement as we grew closer, even if I was now in the middle of the pack. They seemed to form a protective barrier around us, especially Tommy and me. Some of them strayed beyond us, almost as if scouting but keeping a comfortable distance. A group circled us, branching out here and there. And another group stalled behind us, some stayed outside to smoke, one or two stayed by the cars. I had forgotten in the little time in the car just how many there was. The automatic doors opened and a gust of cold air conditioner gushed over me, I shuddered once under it and focused on what was in front of me.