Legacies Rising

Chapter Four

They had been driving for a couple of hours. Kate had watched the prairies glow golden from the setting sun before the night covered them in a dark blanket.

Her head rested against the cold window, with her legs curled beside her and her arms wrapped protectively around her torso. She stared out at the night as a gentle pine scent filled her senses. Despite the oddly comforting smell, she wouldn't allow herself to fall asleep. Her body ached for rest, but she wouldn't allow it. The pain of fighting to stay awake distracted her from thinking about her parents. She knew she would eventually have to face what happened, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. Once she began grieving, she was scared that she would never stop, she was scared if she let herself feel the pain, she wouldn't survive it.

"Are you hungry?" The deep voice of Agent Sorensen broke her from her internal battle. It was the first thing spoken between the two since the station.

She looked up at the man driving and for the first time, Kate realized how young he was. He couldn't be older than twenty-five. She'd always thought that it took many years of career-building to become an FBI Agent. Although the vehicle was spacious, he made it feel smaller, due to his tall and muscular frame. He drove with his right hand at the top of the steering wheel. His left arm bent, his elbow rested on the car door at the base of the window. She ran her gaze up his arms which were hugged tightly by the thin dark fabric of his long-sleeved shirt. When her eyes landed on his face, she noticed for the first time he had a thin scar running from the base of his jaw halfway to his chin. Briefly, she wondered what had caused it.

"Katelyn?" He startled her. Realizing she had been staring, Kate blushed. He glanced from the road to her with a curious expression.

Embarrassed, she murmured, "Sorry, what did you ask?"

"I asked if you were hungry?" he said patiently. "We can't go in anywhere, but we could go through a drive-through?"

The truth was she wasn't hungry at all, but she felt guilty saying no, in case he wouldn't get something for himself.

"Sure," she said quietly, "I'm fine with anything."

He glanced at her for a short moment before nodding lightly. "We will stop to get gas and use a restroom before getting some food."

                                           •

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at a small gas station on the border of Wyoming. Agent Sorenson still hadn't told her where they were going, and honestly, she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Let me fill up, and then we can go use the restrooms around back." He got out of the vehicle and began filling up the tank.

While the gas was pumping, he went around to the trunk and pulled out a grey hoodie. Closing the trunk of the vehicle, he came back to the driver's side and passed it to her.

"Here, put this on and make sure to pull the hood up. I know there is no one around, but we can't be too careful."

Doing as he said, she took off her windbreaker and pulled the hoodie over her head. The baggy material felt cozy as if she was wearing a large blanket and the light pine scent was comforting.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He stared at her a long moment before clearing his throat and uttering, "no problem."

He went around to put the pump away and then drove the vehicle around back to the restrooms. "We will be driving through the night, so if you'd like to freshen up, I have some of your things in the trunk."

They both got out of the SUV and went to the trunk. He handed her a light blue duffel bag, and she opened it searching through to see what he had grabbed. It was weird to think that a stranger had gone through her personal belongings. From what she could tell, he had gotten her a pair of dark jeans, exercise shorts, leggings, and grey sweatpants. For tops, he grabbed five basic t-shirts of different colors and two long-sleeved shirts. She turned a bright red when she saw a bunch of her underwear and bras in the corner of the duffle. She snuck a glance towards the agent, but he avoided her gaze.

She reached in and took out her familiar toilet tree tote, a shirt, and a fresh set of undergarments. "I'll be quick," she told him before scurrying off to the woman's restroom.

She was grateful to discover it was a single stall and clean for a gas station. She laid down some paper towels on the counter before placing her items down on top. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she wasn't surprised to see her hair had come almost completely undone. Grabbing the hair elastic, she used her hands to comb back her hair into another bun. She changed into the fresh set of clothing before pulling Sorenson's sweatshirt back on. Once she finished rinsing her face and brushing her teeth. She used the toilet, washed her hands before gathering her belongings, and returned to the SUV.

Agent Sorenson leaned back against the wall, in between the woman's and men's restrooms. Falling into step beside her, he reopened the trunk to place her things back into the duffle bag.

Kate's eyes fell on her school bag, and she quickly grabbed it. Opening the main compartment, she searched for her phone.

"I had to destroy it, we can't risk being traced or you reaching out to a friend."

She wanted to say something in return but didn't have the energy. Instead, she placed the bag back down, and went around to climb into the front seat.

Agent Sorenson soon followed, sliding his body into the seat next to her.