The Shadow of Winter

Chapter 14

        (Name) bit into a large ham and swiss sandwich, relishing the warmth of the ingredients even as much of it spilled onto a paper plate. It was the first thing she had eaten that day, even though the time was nearing noon. With the thickness of the cloud cover outside, which dropped not only snow but rain, too, it would have been easy to mistake the time as either very early in the morning or late in the evening. When the sandwich was quickly polished off, (Name) was grateful to receive a small yogurt from the woman in front of her.

        She was at a gas station, somewhere past the border of Indiana. Earlier that morning, a young family had spotted (Name) traveling alone in the freezing, sleety weather and decided to pick her up. They were on a road trip with an end-destination at Disney World, starting from the upper peninsula of Michigan. Despite having two children under the age of five years, the parents couldn't let the girl stay out in the cold and on dangerous roads. After figuring out where (Name) needed to go, the family had decided to drive her into Ohio, where they had stopped at a gas station to refuel the tank as well as refuel their bodies. Unfortunately, after that point, they would be bypassing (Name)'s home state on their route to Disney World.

        Though she was a little irked about that, (Name) was grateful to the family for taking her this far. During the car ride, she had been able to sleep four or five hours, and that was enough for her to continue her travel by foot. All she had to do was walk eastward for a day or two—which would be less time if she was able to catch another ride—and she would be back in (Hometown).

        "Are you sure you don't want to stay with us the rest of the ride? We could take a detour to your home," said the woman sitting across from (Name). Her soft shadowed eyes looked at her husband, who was scratching at the poorly-grown stubble on his chin.

        "It is pretty dangerous for a girl to be out on the freeway, let alone this weather," he agreed with a nod. "Could you at least call your parents and have them pick you up here? It really doesn't feel right leaving you alone at a gas station."

        (Name) sighed. She didn't want to waste this family's time and gas money driving back to (Hometown), and she had told them that when they had first picked her up. From the worried look in the couple's eyes, (Name) knew they weren't going to leave without knowing for sure she was taken care of.

        "Yeah, I can call my parents. They were going to pick me up a couple miles from here, but I'll tell them to come here instead," lied the girl. "I lost my phone on the way here, though." As (Name) said that, the man pulled his own cell phone out of his coat pocket and handed it to her. Taken aback at how quick he was to offer it, she hesitantly took the phone and looked down at the keypad that was currently showing on the screen.

        Who could she contact? Even if she knew Agent Shadow's number, she wouldn't dare call it. He'd only yell and scream and try to get her back just to lock her inside a bedroom. But she couldn't call (Friend), either. If (Friend)'s parents found out, then they might send another government agent after (Name) before she was able to get to them and ask them to adopt her. She needed to speak to them in person. With the family watching, there was only one number she could call that she knew.

        The dial tone chirped and led to a ring. Another ring sounded after that, then another, and another. Finally, a voice came through the phone. "This is the (Last name) residence," said a cheery woman. (Name) didn't speak a word, wanting to hear her dead mother's voice uninterrupted. "We are unable to get to the phone at this time. Please leave your name, message, and number, and we'll call you right back!"

        Almost choking as a loud beep signaled that the message machine was recording, (Name) hastily regained her bearings and spoke into the cell phone as if someone were on the other end. "Hey, Mom. ...I'm in Ohio right now at a gas station on the interstate. Could you come pick me up here instead of where we were going to meet before? ...thanks, can't wait to get home!" Hanging up the call, (Name) handed back the phone with a false smile of appreciation.