Sang's P.O.V.
As soon as I drive off, Sean says, "You know, you should really invest in some new wheels."
"Yeah, I'll make sure to do that with all the spare money I have lying around," I say. "Also, if you don't like it, feel free to just jump out now and take the three hour walk to Mt. Pleasant."
"Sang is hyper sensitive," he nods. "Duly noted."
I turn up the radio, the rock music Jami was listening to earlier fills the car. I drive for a little bit and when we're close to Mt. Pleasant, I see a car on the side of the road.
When we're a few yards away, we can see the door on the driver's side is partially open. I don't know why I decide to stop, but I do. I just have a feeling.
I park behind the car and get out. Sean gets out, equally as intrigued as I am.
"What's going on?," Sean asks.
There's no sound. I wonder if the driver is around. I keep one hand on my gun as I approach the car, just in case.
When I get close enough to see inside, I notice there's no trace of the driver. The keys are still in the ignition, and the engine is off. This makes no sense.
Yeah, some people leave their cars on the side of the road, but not with their keys. Especially if that key is on a keychain with house keys and other important things.
This road is vast and basically empty. No houses or businesses, just some large and empty fields.
In the backseat, I can see a blanket with something bulging from underneath. I slowly open the back door and reach for the blanket, my one hand still on the gun.
"Careful," Sean says lowly as I pull the blanket back. Thankfully, it's just a bunch of tools.
Sean walks around the car and when he's near the hood of the car, he waves me over.
"What is it?," I ask as I approach.
"Headlights are on, but they are starting to dim," he points them out. "Which means the driver left the car a while ago. My guess is late last night or really early this morning."
"And nobody has come to get it yet," I say, more to myself than to Sean.
"Hey, you should just go ahead and salvage this car. It's in way better shape than yours," he says.
"Nope, it's nowhere near as good," I say. "Besides, I'm not a thief."
Still, I get in the car and turn it on. "It's working perfectly fine. People don't just abandon perfectly good cars with their belongings in it and the keys still in the ignition."
I search the car for any information on who our mystery driver is, but come up empty. No insurance papers, no identification, nothing.
When I get back out of the car, I notice footsteps leading to the field. Sean comes over and inspects them as well.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Sean says.
We follow the footsteps into the field. The man or woman who abandoned their car really went a long way from the road. But why?
"The driver wasn't running away or being dragged," I say to Sean. "Doesn't seem like there was an emergency or struggle of any kind."
The footsteps are completely normal, and always the same distance from each other.
We continue following the footsteps, until they suddenly just disappear. People go missing all the time, but they don't just vanish into thin air.
We walk a little further and then there's tracks going everywhere, like somebody was fighting. Sean bends down and brushes aside some weeds, studying the area intensely.
After a minute, I ask, "What is it?"
He stands up and points down. "Come see for yourself."
I bend down and push the weeds back like Sean just did. I'm surprised to see the prints of a very large animal. My guess would be something like a coyote, but much bigger.
"What could this have been?," I ask.
Sean shrugs. "Honestly? No clue. But at this point, I don't think anything would surprise me."
We find nothing else in the area. The animal tracks also disappear pretty quickly. And even though we haven't found any answers, I just can't leave this alone. And neither can Sean, apparently.
"I'll call Victor and give him the license plate number. He can find out who the mystery driver is and see if they've been reported missing," he tells me before rummaging through his pockets. "Shit. Must have left my phone in Owen's car."
"I'll call Taylor," I say before grabbing my phone. It's low on battery, but I have enough to call her. Often times, I forget to plug my phone in.
She answers almost immediately. "Well you're certainly taking a long time pants shopping," she says as soon as she answers.
"I got the pants," I say quickly. "But we found an abandoned car and something about this just doesn't feel right. Will you search the license plate and see if the driver has been reported missing or something like that?"
"Of course, give me one second to grab a pen," she says, sounding much more serious. "Okay, I'm ready."
I read the license plate number to her and she promises she'll give me a call when she finds something.
Once I hang up, Sean and I get back in the car. Unfortunately, there's nothing more we can do here right now.
"Shit," I say. "Give me one second."
I reach into the backseat and grab a thing of wipes. Sean looks at me as if I'm insane. "What are you doing?"
"If that man is reported missing, or if he ends up dead, they'll do a thorough search of that car," I say. "And both of our fingerprints are on it. It might be a little more difficult for them to find me, but I really don't want the cops investigating us."
He nods. "Good call."
I go back to the car and wipe down everything I can. The keys, the leather seats, and the door handles. I make sure there's no hair left behind or anything out of line.
Once I get back in the car, I immediately start it back up and head to Mt. Pleasant.
——————————-
The next night, we're back in the same area. Taylor was able to find out the the driver was one Tyler Jackson who was reported missing by his wife.
Other than that, we don't have much to go off of. Except for the place he went missing and whoever, or whatever, might be prowling the side of the road at night.
Sean thought it would be a good idea to patrol the road we found the car, and surrounding roads for anything suspicious. And for once, I agreed with him.
Meanwhile, Taylor is keeping an eye out to see if anybody else goes missing and she is also trying to find something on potential demons or creatures who might have taken him.
I don't know how people do this daily. It's tiring and boring, if I'm being honest. But I stay focused. I scan the fields for any slight movement, but I see nothing.
"As much as I love watching you drive, we're getting nowhere," Sean says.
"Maybe going on patrol wasn't such a great idea," I say.
"No, I think it was the right call. But we have very little information right now," he says. "Maybe we should continue this tomorrow."
"You're right. Let's go back now," I nod.
But as I hit the gas, my car begins to slow down. I don't understand what's happening. We've been driving for a few hours, but we still have plenty of gas.
"Am I dreaming or are you really pulling the whole, 'Oh no, the car broke down, what are we going to do now' routine on me?," Sean asks.
I roll my eyes but otherwise done acknowledge what he said. "I don't get it. I have enough gas."
I tap the fuel gage and suddenly the needle drops into the red. I can't help but groan. It was stuck and I'm an idiot for not realizing it sooner.
"Told you, you should have just taken Tyler's car," he laughs.
I cradle my head in my hands. We're a long way from the house, and from a gas station. This road is secluded and I'm stuck with Sean of all people.
Sean, however, seems to find this so amusing. He's not worried at all. "I believe we are fated to find ourselves on our own, far away from everyone in a broken down car."
"Can you be serious for one second?," I ask.
He playfully rolls his eyes and takes his phone out. "I'll call North. It's going to take him a bit to get here though."
Sean calls North, who will be on his way when he's "finished something up". It's going to be at least an hour.
I guess I can ask Sean what I've been wanting to ask him for over a week now. "I'm assuming Gabriel and Raven told you all everything? About my amnesia?"
He nods. "I knew there was something about you. Something you were hiding, but I would have never guessed that."
I nod. I just had to ask, even though I knew the answer.
"Even then, you are still the most talented demon hunter I've met," he says.
"Yeah," I laugh. "I must have just sucked at it back then. It just sucks, you know? Not having a past.
He draws closer to me, looking distressed. Now, I can fully appreciate his face. As annoying as he may be at times, he is attractive. And he cares. He doesn't show it all the time, but I can tell.
"There's no point in torturing yourself over it," he says. "You have a future."
Do I? Can I really see myself ten or twenty years down the line, still doing this? Because in all honesty, I don't think I'll make it that long. Many Protectors and hunters die pretty early on.
And even if I do make it that far, is this all I'm going to do with the rest of my life? I love what I do, but I can't imagine myself getting married and having kids.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice just how close Sean is until I realize I can feel his breath on my face.
He cups my face in his hands, and I don't push him away. His eyes move down to my lips before quickly meeting my eyes again.
And then his lips press lightly against mine. I enjoy every second of it. His lips are soft and warm, and they rekindle something in me. I just don't know what it is.
There's a moment of fear. What's going to come of this? It's so much easier to pretend you don't care, than to let somebody in.
But all my worries melt away. Right now, I'll just enjoy this moment.