What a quiet world winter was. Not even another car rode along the same frosty roads Benny drove on. The only company he had was the low hum of the car's engine, a dull yet soothing ambience that filled the pervasive silence of the night. Darkness had taken over only an hour ago (around 5:30PM he believed?) far sooner than fall had accustomed him to. Only the frail beacons of his headlights pierced through the seemingly endless gloom, lighting up only a few feet of the highway before him. Unfortunately, the glaring reflection of the falling snow and ice threatened to blind him if he chose to turn on his high beams, but that did little to dissuade his urge to push the uncomfortable intimacy of the night away.
It was at this point he regretted not choosing to stay the night in his parents' home; they did everything they could to convince him to not weather the dangers of the night, and they did have a guest room specifically set aside for him... But he was desperate to get out, to escape. Even after he moved out, he found their presence just as suffocating as the pitch-black that surrounded him. They were always overbearing, too judgmental, even if they were trying to be kind. They always were trying to find a reason to make him stay, and he didn't want to spend an entire day out in the boonies.
Regardless, it was too late to turn back anyway. The reddish hue of his dashboard glared at him, nagging him constantly of his quickly depleting fuel. Luckily enough, there was a gas station ahead, not too far from where he currently was. He could go there and refill his tank before continuing his journey home. Benny was familiar with the spot: a rural store out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees and the like, surprisingly modern for the area. There was certainly a market for it, considering there wasn't another place like it for around a hundred more miles. He figured it should still be open. It was still pretty early after all.
Eventually, he arrived and not a moment too soon. He had spent a lot more gas than he expected making it here, and it was clear his car was on its last legs. As he stepped out of the car, the harsh lighting hanging overhead stunned him for a second, filling his vision with white as his eyes slowly adjusted themselves to the brightness that stood in sharp contrast to the evening. The shining lights inside the store implied it was still open, thankfully, and he felt like he could use a little pick-me-up.
As he stepped into the establishment, Benny was overcome with the earthy smell of coffee, dark roasts mingling with the sweeter, seasonal blends: exactly what he wanted. Waving a small greeting to the blonde woman behind the counter, he took his position at the coffee machines and began to serve himself, filling up his cup with one of the seasonal blends, a little something for his sweet tooth. The man knew that his father would definitely glare at his choice. Actually, he swore that he could be hearing his father expressing his dissent right now.
... No, that was something else entirely. A pat on the shoulder quickly snapped him out of his stupor, causing his head to pivot towards what he soon discovered to be the blonde with her arms crossed and lips pursed in consternation. "I know you're not deaf, Ben. You could at least answer me one of the first three times," she chastised. "What are you doing out in this snow?"
"Huh? She knows my name? Then... why don't I know her?"
His eyes began to dart around at her, searching her chest for some kind of identification.
The woman's brow furrowed as her expression grew considerably less warm than before, and worry quickly replaced annoyance that snatched away his gaze. "Wow. I can't believe you've forgotten me... again." She sighed and kneaded at her forehead. "No, never mind... I can believe it. I just wish you were better than this." Begrudgingly, she stepped away and pointed at her nametag.
"Kristine? Wait, do--"
Benny flinched as the realization hit him, blinking the confusion away and offering a vivacious grin to her. "Oh! Kris! You changed your hair again! It looks just, just great. How's the family?"
"You know? That won't work a third time," she grumbled back at him. "And here I thought I made a good impression on you..." In an abrupt manner, her expression shifted to ambivalence, though her eyes betrayed the resentment she was holding back. "Anyway, what are you doing out in this snow?"
Similarly, the man's jubilance faded into an awkward smile as he rattled off shamelessly: "So, funny thing. Mom just decided to talk my ear off, and she wouldn't shut up, so I--" He caught himself and cleared his throat; the proverbial eye daggers were already digging into him. "I mean, she was trying to stall so she could keep me for the night. I... I just wanted to go home; you know?"
Her right cheek curled into a faint grimace as she stared the man in the eyes. "You should've stayed. Didn't you check the weather forecast? It's gonna get worse if you keep going."
Benny shrugged in return and picked up his coffee, grabbing onto a lid and locking it into place. "Hey, I got this far. This isn't anything I haven't done before."
Kristine folded her arms firmly across her bosom with a conflicted expression on her face, frustration and worry battling with each other. "Ben, keep this shit up, and you're gonna die alone. Do you want that?"
The man's face scrunched up in distaste as he looked down at the blonde. "Jeez. Why so doom and gloom? I'm just here to get some coffee."
"Yeah, you know what? Forget I said anything in the first place." With defeat filling her face and her hands thrown up in the air, the woman scoffed and turned away from Benny to settle back behind the register.
As he approached, Benny fiddled with his pockets and set his coffee down on the counter, pulling out his wallet and a card free, keeping his head down at its contents. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired of hearing that kind of stuff all of the time."
"Yeah, whatever, man." She rang up the coffee and took his payment wordlessly, her eyes similarly remaining on the screen. "Just drive safe, okay?"
"I'll be fine," came his flippant reply. He pivoted back to the doors and walked back out to his car, sipping idly from his coffee. But something was off. He just couldn't place his finger on it. Taking a few more contemplative samples from his coffee, the man let his eyes drift over his fuel cap as he tried to identify what it was. Oh wait! He forgot the peppermint creamers!
However, upon turning around, Benny found that wasn't all that was off. Staring back at him were two white, luminescent circles gazing at him from within the depths of the forest, and a few fangs glimmered in the pale moonlight, obscured slightly by the lamplight. Benny's breath hitched at the sight. His heart jolted into a full sprint, pounding against his chest. In a panic, he quickly threw open the passenger door and slammed it shut behind him, awkwardly shuffling over into the driver's seat, setting his coffee down, and cranking his car to life.
It was no exaggeration to say that he nearly swiveled into a crash just trying to leave the pump, but thankfully, he was a way better driver than people gave him credit for. Back on the road again, Benny found his hands tightly clenching the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening from the effort. With a jittery hand, he grabbed onto his cup and sipped its contents once again, letting the bittersweet taste soothe him. What even was that? He'd been along this road several times before, and never before had he sighted a wolf, much less whatever that was. At least, he thought wolves didn't have glowing white eyes. Whatever it was, nobody was going to believe this story. That was for sure.
After roughly a half hour of driving, the car began to slow to a crawl until rolling to a full stop.
"Shit. Out of gas already? I thought I--"