Chapter 5. On the road again.
Cynthia's hands were none too steady on the steering wheel. She kept them on the road, checking the rear view often. She looked at her passengers.
"Hey guys. Just relax. We are headed out of town. Terry, Gloria and I have family 1 hour out of town. My godmother has a lovely home. We went to the gas station across the street while you were inside. We got some supplies. No one was around so we just left a 20 on the counter and got our stuff ourselves."
Gloria looked over at her mother. She had had to admit she smoked. That had been awkward but she needed one so bad. She twisted uncomfortably in the seat.
"How long was I in there before you guys came to my rescue?" Terry asked with a confused expression.
"About 20 minutes," Gloria replied. "We were able to walk across the street, go to the bathroom, grab some snacks and some cigarettes and a lighter and have a quick fight about my smoking, which I SO won by saving our lives with the lighters being VITAL to our not being dead Mom!". She had tried to sneak around while her mom was in the bathroom but Cynthia had caught her red handed.
Cynthia looked at the two kids as they once again talked about silly things while she focused on driving. They would head up 205 to Willamette away from the Clackamas Town Center Mall where they had their terrifying encounters both with a resurgence in her alcoholism (which they had not discussed and which was the reason they were done discussing Gloria's smoking as it had actually saved their lives, that and Cynthia having two evil brothers who used to set her jeans on fire with hairspray) and with the Jimmy-Thing.
"So speaking of supplies..." Terry broke into her internal monologue and halted her lovely daughter's endless chatter for just a second, not without affection, "Did you guys mention any uh... food in your supply run" his hope was evident in his expression and it was contagious as all three heard their stomachs growl.
"Oh shit! Yeah!" Gloria slapped her hand over her mouth with a horrified expression looking at her mom who regarded her cooly for a moment in kind, "Sorry mom. Yeah Terry we did get good stuff!" She proudly doled out her trove, first to her mom: some cheese crackers and beef jerky and a grape soda. "Your favorite, you are welcome and I love you!" Gloria weedled. "For me, some fruity candy, some trail mix and a Dr Pepper, contain your jealousy fellow survivors of the Clacamas Town Center Werewolf!" oblivious to the pained expression on the other two riders' faces she turned to Terry, "For you my good man I have pizza flavored combos,double stuff Oreos and an electric blue energy drink with a Unicorn on the can because it seemed to rule so hard. I uh... didn't know what you liked but this stuff spoke to me of Terry. They whispered in my ear. Terry would dig me, they said. Grab me and make his burger guy super hero dreams come true!" At this she made enthusiastic and overcompensating eye contact with Terry while batting her eyelashes fetchingly and pretending to swoon.
Terry turned bright red and snatched the stuff away from his tiny tormentor in the Unicorn T Shirt and ripped, overly tight jeans, her blonde hair miraculously unmussed despite their harrowing day. "Thanks." He muttered. "I do like Pringles for future reference but combos and Oreos are cool too!"
He could not argue with his new exuberant young friend and her snack choices. She would be a killer at getting high. At this thought his eyes got misty and he had to choke back a sob at the thought of his dead friend in the cooler. Lewis would have loved these two. Hell Jimmy would have too before he went all demon night but a werewolf.
"What the fuck do you guys think is happening here?" Terry asked. The girls were happily chewing and he felt guilty for sort of ruining it but... what the fuck!
They all looked at each other and no one said much. Cynthia quietly ate her food and drove and looked back and forth between the two. Gloria got a big eyed concerned expression around her fruity candy and trail mix (she was in fact awesome at getting high and had a joint in her clutch she had surreptitiously thanked Cosmo and even Jesus for since this all started as they couldn't get to the lighters without a clerk in the gas station. This was info she hadn't shared with her mom. She claimed that she had simply opened them for a smoke. Both lighters. It sorta looked like Cynthia was buying it? Maybe) and didn't say much.
Even Terry, who had asked, was quiet as he realized that he had exactly as much bubcuss. He decided to voice this before they all got too worried. "It occurs to me that uhh none of you girls are experts at Werewolf outbreaks or Faustian pacts leading the opening fry cook to become a psycho dog beast murderer guy. So. I WORK there and I got shit. So maybe don't worry about my stupid question. Why don't we just hear some tunes while we ride?"
He thought this last was truly inspired as it would allow him some influence over the song choice, as the suggestion had been his.
"That sounds good." Gloria agreed.
"Sounds good to me guys. Pump up the jams. Next stop Willamette, hot water, my godmother and then glorious naps for all!" Cynthia wholeheartedly agreed.
Cheered for the first time in a good while at the thought of seeing one of her favorite people (and the shower and nap). Pam and her husband and her little girl were solid folks and their place was lovely and big enough to give everyone a chance to reset.
Gloria reached out and turned the knob. Silence greeted the car. She turned up the station but each channel was the same. She looked at the other riders.
"I can just hit seek." And she did. Silence. Click. Static and silent. Click. More Of the same.
The voice that echoed out much louder than they all expected was so shocking Cynthia almost jerked the wheel. Terry caught her eye but she shook her head and colored a bit. She was a good driver! Recent evidence notwithstanding.
"We repeat. There have been scattered reports of animal attacks. Violent assaults and 5 murders since 10 pm yesterday in Lake Oswego, Sunnyside, Clacamas and 3 other locations with more info to follow. Emergency services are still available but they are stretched thin. We have pulled cell service to keep the lines clear for emergency services and 4 hours each day so that families may stay in contact with loved ones. Please preserve your batteries and try your personal calls during these times. If you are in a crisis you may still call 911, however." The voice paused as if shifting a page in a script. "No further information regarding the source of these outbreaks although there was an incident at a local Tribal owned Themed convenience store and several reports of escaped wolves from the Portland offices of Fish and Game. The Canadian authorities assure us the wolves were zoo animals and are quite well fed but these attacks cast that assurance into a stark relief."
Gloria reached out and snapped off the nob.