Inner Predator

Another Goddamned Stray

Chapter 15

Once I'm good ways out of the town, I drop my Glamour and make a few changes. It takes a good amount more effort to hold an invisibility Glamour than it does to change something like my hair color or height. So I make myself appear to the rest of the world as a girl with a short bob of black hair who is a good head taller than I really am.

I might look strange walking on the road at night, but to any passers by I shouldn't be suspicious. It's late so the roads aren't too crowded as I enter into the next town. Green River is in the opposite direction of Chesterville from campus, so I'm not too worried about getting caught, though I won't dare let my guard down.

The parking lot of the Wal-Mart is almost completely empty, but the supercenter boasts an 'Always Open' sign so I walk right in. A few people give me funny looks, but everyone keeps to themselves. I imagine that stores at this time of night aren't typically filled with people who want to be social.

I head to the clothes section first and throw a pack of underwear and a cheap bra into the cart before grabbing a couple shirts and a pair of blue jeans that were hanging on the sale rack. I'm careful not to grab too much, since all I have is a backpack.

I grab a pair of thick frames that don't have any prescription. I figure the glasses will take attention away from my large, striking eyes. The one that sucks about being a Fae is that we all have really noticeable, too large to be completely human, eyes. And I want to look completely human.

I laugh a little at myself for the lame disguise. I feel like Clark Kent, thinking glasses will confuse people enough that they don't recognize me. So, just in case the people I run into aren't as oblivious as those living in Metropolis, I weave through the aisles until I find the hair products and pick up a box of black dye. I don't need to waste energy on Glamouring myself all the time when there are more permanent solutions, like hair dye. I grab the box with a frown because I really have no desire to part ways with my red hair. Strolling down the next aisle over, I grab a pair of scissors for hair and toss them the cart too.

Once I have everything I need and a couple candy bars to snack on, I head to self-checkout lanes and pay for my things.

"Have a good night," the old woman by the door says to me as I leave.

"Thanks," I say as I walk past, but quickly stop and turn back to her. "You wouldn't happen to know where a motel is, would you?" I ask since Chase made me ditch my awesome phone that had maps and GPS and all sorts of fun information like bus schedules and hotel locations.

"Of course dear, you exit out the front here on McGuire Street. You're going to want to take a left and keep going maybe a mile down there's a little hotel right off this same road."

"Thank you," I say and then quickly leave.

The walk to The Great American Inn is uneventful. Though I do feel it necessary to point out that The Great American Inn is in no way great. In fact, it rivals The Bates Motel in appeal. It looks like a total murder motel. But I'm not really in a place to judge considering that I am on the run... for murder. Maybe this is the perfect place for me.

The man behind the front desk does nothing to calm my nerves. He's short, too skinny and has long greasy hair. Everything about him screams pervert, but I force a smile on my face as I walk up to the desk.

"Hi, do you have any rooms available?"

"How many nights?" he asks in a dull voice as he picks the gunk from underneath his fingernails, examining what he finds before rubbing it off on his shirt.