Chapter 5

Five

Alastair stepped through the door of the musty old gas station, his usual demeanor returned as Lazarus followed behind him wearing a weird expression. He looked at me, forcing a smile before weaving through the aisles. Cain's grip across my waist tightened as he led me from the reach-in refrigerator to the checkout counter.

Sitting behind the counter was an older, rough looking man. He wore a weathered baseball hat and had a long, tangled, heavy gray beard that matched his short, disheveled hair and overgrown, bushy brows. His dried, wrinkled skin looked as though it had sat in the sun for years, clashing against his uncaring eyes. Unknown stains soaked the aged flannel shirt he wore buttoned beneath his faded overalls. He watched us closely with jaundiced eyes tucked beneath dark bags of exhaustion that hung from his sockets. Cain placed a case of beer on the counter, pulling his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. He tossed a stack of bills across the counter at the man with no emotion.

"That's for the beer and whatever that'll give us." He turned his head, motioning towards his car parked in front of the rusted gas pump.

The hillbilly reached his frail arm out, snatching the cash with dirty hands, grunting as his fat fingers slammed the keys of the old cash register. He glanced throughout the small store, eyeing each of us individually before settling back on Cain and myself. "ID?" Cain scoffed, retrieving his driver's license, tossing the thin card across the counter at the man. His wrinkled fingers held the ID up as he examined it in contrast to Cain. He grunted, sliding the card back to him. "I'd be careful with that there dog of yours. Dangerous things be hidin' in these woods." He huffed, revealing his discolored teeth, a few of them missing as he retrieved some coins from the register.

I glanced back at Alastair, who was behaving perfectly well next to Lazarus as he scanned a newspaper. "He's not a dog," I snapped, turning to meet the old man's eyes. "Besides, he can handle himself just fine."

He stood still for a moment, making me feel uneasy, before moving his eyes back to the register. "You kids must be from out of town." The statement felt heavy as he slapped the change across the counter.

Cain reached for the coins, grabbing the case of beer, rolling his eyes. "No shit."

Ruby and Jinx approached the checkout counter beaming, their arms filled with various snacks and drinks. They pushed Cain and I apart as they unburdened themselves of the junk food, patiently waiting to pay. Jinx looked at Ruby.

"I think I grabbed the entire stock of licorice," she signed. Ruby giggled.

"Nothing wrong with that," she responded with her hands. She then leaned over, giving Jinx a sweet kiss. The man's expression hardened as he carefully eyed Ruby and me. I could feel him glaring into our glowing irises, mine meeting his as I silently challenged his gaze. He forced his eyes away, totaling up their cost, Ruby paying as they gathered everything. The group collectively began to exit the gas station when the man suddenly shouted a warning from behind the counter, his words hitting me like a brick.

"Be careful out there. You never know what might be hiding in those trees." Cain held the door for me, oblivious to the man's warning, but I glanced back to see the hillbilly staring with dark eyes. "The habitants of New Bedeville don't take kindly to strangers." He pointed in my direction, his finger shaking. "Specially not your kind."