OF THE NIGHT ∘ Seth Gecko

01 | Vayas Con Dios

It doesn't take too long until I feel like I should stop. The hot weather is obviously working its trick on me and giving me ideas. However, I'm not completely convinced that I'm normal, not with the little things that I've been noticing and feeling in the past few months. As stupid as it may seem, I'm just curious to see what will happen. 

Sighing, I tell myself to give up and I look away for a second when I notice something moving. I immediately snap my head back to look at the air freshener, which is swinging from side to side, as if a strong wind is hitting it. The thing is, today is a hot, dry day without wind here in Texas. I look from left to right, searching for something that could explain what just happened. All I find are cranky drivers in the vehicles around me. When I look at the freshener again, it's almost still and a chuckle escapes my lips. I really need this vacation, I think as I lean my head on my hand and close my eyes.

With all the noise around, it's impossible to fall asleep, yet I stay with my eyes closed for what feels like several minutes, trying to rest from what is turning to be quite a tiring day. My muscles relax as I wonder how long it will be until the next car will pass the border and I'll have to move my car forward. A second later, I feel something hitting my car and my eyes open widely. Through the review mirror, I notice that the RV behind me seems closer to my car than it was and the startled look on the driver's face.

Murmuring a few curses under my breath, I unfasten my seatbelt and get out of the car to assess the damage, not forgetting to make sure that my gun is still tucked safely into my pants in the process. Within a few seconds, I already feel hot in my long jeans and boots, but I ignore it because all I care about is how bad my car was hit. I step around it until I find a bend under the right backlight. 

How the hell can someone bump into another car when stabding in a line? I wonder as my irritation grows. I turn the look at the RV, where the driver is talking to another man. The two look very different from one another in appearance — the driver, a man probably in his fifties, is wearing simple clothes, while the other man is wearing a suit and looks around my age. The fact that they're ignoring me makes me glare at them and I knock on the front of the vehicle to draw their attention. Both of them look at me and I raise my eyebrows, which the younger one responds to with gesturing for me to wait a second.

With pursed lips, I look at the bent part of my car. Again, I feel like the world is trying to prove to me that crossing this border is a bad idea, which only makes me feel more determined to do it. Then, I hear someone approaching and I see the driver of the RV walking towards me with an expression I can't read. He doesn't look like trouble, though, and I hope that things will go smoothly with him.

"Hi, uh... you just hit my car," I say as I try to remain calm.

His eyes study my car for a moment before he meets my gaze. "It seems so. I'm sorry, my foot must have slipped for one second," he explains and stretches out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Jacob Fuller, Bethel Baptist."

His excuse doesn't sound very convincing and the way he presented himself makes me suspect that he's trying to use the preacher card in his favor. However, I put on a polite smile and shake his hand.

"June Dawson," I reply. 

Before I can say anything else, Jacob speaks up. "It seems that the damage isn't too bad, so, uh... we can 'vayas con dios', right?"

With that, he gives me a wide smile and starts walking back into his RV. My mouth opens in surprise, but I quickly recover and take a few steps after him.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not familiar with that expression," I tell him and he turns to face me, my smile now laced with obviously fake sweetness. "The damage might not be too bad, but I don't have money to fix it. I'm going to need your details."

"Well, I can give you my phone number..." he offers innocently.

Somehow, I think I manage to hide my annoyance quite well. It angers me that he is trying to make a fool out of me, but I know his tactics, enough people try them while being questioned. 

"I'm going to need more than that, like your insurance details," I say.

Unfortunately, Jacob tries to make excuses again. "The card's in there and..." he points at the RV.

Still unimpressed, I keep my expression blank and simply say, "Go ahead, I'll wait."

My answer obviously annoys him as his expression changes. I don't feel threatened by him and I hold his gaze to show him that I stand my ground. 

"I really don't have time for this, ma'am," he says, no longer being nice.

After looking around, I say, "It doesn't look like you're going anywhere. Look at the traffic here. And I'm sorry, but you're not getting away with—"

Suddenly, he pulls me towards him and puts his arm against my neck, my back against his chest. It takes me a moment to realize what's happening, but my defensive mechanism kicks in quickly and I start struggling against him, looking for a way to get him off of me. I manage to get away from his grip, but when I face him, I'm soon hit and am overtaken by darkness.

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I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, let me know what you think :)