Chapter 19
Of course, the exit I took was at the opposite end of the huge mall from where I'd parked. I walked all the way around the exterior of the mall, including the parking garage, to the outer edge of the lot by Nordstrom's with my little bag of lip gloss. I wanted to make sure the guardian didn't see me. As far as she knew, I was gone. As far as Gregory knew, I was gone. I hoped the bond wouldn't register if I kept my energy usage to zero and I kept my distance. It's not like he'd be looking for me if he thought I was over the border. I'd have to be even more careful about my energy than before. I'd also have to make sure I avoided any proximity with those of my kind over here. If Gregory showed up to get them, he'd sense my presence nearby and know I'd remained.
Could I possibly be free? Free to take the assets I'd hidden and start a new life. I couldn't assume a new form, but I could use the human methods to gain a new identity. They were very clever about their forgeries, if you had the money to pay them. I'd contact Wyatt and have him meet me. I'd have to get a new identity for him, too. He could still kill zombies with a different name.
I took the highway home, slogging through traffic, then pulled down the road past Wyatt's house. I should feel happy. This was my choice. I felt just as miserable as before, though. I looked over at Wyatt's house, thinking of his broken fridge door, and shooting guns in his back yard. I wandered about my yard, patting Boomer, dipping a toe in the pool and watching my horses in the field, grazing peacefully. My eyes were getting misty, which was a human thing, not typical of my kind. I went inside, and saw the blinking button on the answering machine. It hit play, thinking this would be the last time I'd hear this person's voice. It was Wyatt.
"Hi, Sam," he said sounding miserable. "You're not picking up your cell phone. I don't know if you'll stop by your house, or even listen to your messages before you leave. Probably not, but I wanted to leave a message just in case. You must have shook up Althean pretty bad, because he killed someone outside of Hagerstown today. He bypassed Waynesboro entirely. We're heading down to Sharpsburg which looks to be his next area. There are only a couple werewolf residences there, so I'm hoping we can nab the guy and wrap this up.
"I'm tagging along with Candy to help her out for a couple of days. If this thing isn't resolved by then, I'll probably call a friend to come pick me up and I'll head back. I know you said Michelle was arranging for your animal care. I called her to make sure she'd cover for the next few days until I get back. I want you to know I'll go right to your safe and follow all your instructions. I'm hoping you'll find a way to come back, although it doesn't look like that's going to be possible. If you ever make it back in the next sixty years or so, I might still be alive. I'd love it if you looked me up, even though I understand we'd hardly be able to pick up where we left off."
There was a few seconds of silence on the tape before he continued. "Sam, knowing you made all the difference in my life. Everything is different when I'm with you, risks are fun, amazing things are possible, anything can be overcome. I was never a serious person, but with you I really saw how humorous and fun life could be ? if I only took a chance. I'll always remember you. I know you're immortal, and that your time with me was a grain of sand on the beach of your life, but I hope that knowing me meant something to you, too. Good luck, Sam."
I really had been away from home, living as a human for too long, because my eyes were leaking all over the place and my chest was heaving air out in choked bursts. It was very unpleasant.
I cried until I felt like I didn't have any more in me to cry. Didn't make me feel any better and I looked like shit. My face in the mirror was red and blotchy with puffy eyes, and I couldn't breathe through my nose. I missed home, missed my own kind, but wasn't ready to go home and deal with the politics, the power struggles, the stupid breeding petitions. I liked my life, here. When it got boring, fun was within arm's reach. Humans were plentiful, and very entertaining. And Wyatt. I really liked being with Wyatt.
There was no logical reason for what I was about to do at all. I was staying here in this realm, but I wasn't going to run off and hide under a new identity either. I couldn't really go back to the way things were before this week. I'd just have to make the best of what lay ahead. What I was doing was a leap off the cliff, trusting in my instincts that things would somehow be okay. I got a much needed hot shower, changed my clothes, packed a small bag and headed west toward Washington County and Sharpsburg. Whatever happened, happened.
Sharpsburg was a dot on the map. A series of country routes led there from the highway around the mountain and through Boonsboro. I prefer the steep winding narrow roads right over the mountain and down into the heart of the little town. With less than a thousand residents, it's got that typical small, one street town kind of feel. The place would have faded into oblivion except for the fact that it saw the bloodiest day of the Civil War right on its doorstep. Over twenty three thousand dead, wounded or missing. That's pretty impressive, even by demonic standards. The historical folks did a decent job with the battlefield site, too. It had scores of informative plaques, monuments and some cannons. It would have been far more impressive to have tens of thousands of mannequins posed for battle, bloody and shot to bits, and scattered around the fields so visitors would walk amid the carnage and really get a feel for the action, for the scope of the slaughter. It's a shame preservation groups didn't take these things more seriously.
It was such a tiny town. I searched for Althean, trying different vantage points to make sure I covered the whole area. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, now that I was actually here. Should I wait for Althean to show up, and then swoop in dramatically? Should I text Wyatt, letting him know that I hadn't left? Should I search for Gregory? Maybe not. I wasn't sure what he'd do to me since I had not crossed the gates as told me to. I knew I was going to have to face him, eventually. Either way, I knew he wouldn't be pleased. No, I really didn't want to find Gregory. Not yet. I searched again for Althean, then went to the General Burnside Tavern for a drink. I was not really good at this waiting thing.
The bar was small. One room with a few tables and a couple of dart boards. Some guy with a guitar played in the corner with his case open for tips. It didn't have a lot of money in it and I suspected what was there was placed by the guitarist himself in an effort to prime the pump. Everyone ignored him. There were four guys at the bar drinking beer and watching football on TV. It was too early for the pro season or even college. Did they show football re-runs in off season? The best of last year? I plopped down next to them and ordered a Bud Light. I knew better than to ask for vodka in this place.