We drove in silence, into the dawning of what was presumably going to be the last day of my life. I leaned back in the seat, watching the landscape whiz by with incurious eyes. Wed been in some kind of port city, but by full daylight we were already past the suburbs and into the countryside. Oddly enough, hed turned on the radio once we got in the car, and quiet music filled in the blank spaces in my mind. It seemed an anomalyhe was much too cold and empty a person to care about music. I figured that was the least of my worries. I listened to plaintive voices, some familiar, some not, and waited to die.
I must have slept. When I awoke, the sun was blazing brightly overhead and wed stopped outside a restaurant that seemed to have erupted in the middle of nowhere. I glanced at my nameless companion, wondering if this was one of his creations, but it seemed real enough, and as I followed him out of the car I noticed a sign announcing that they had Fosters. At that point I was grateful for small favors.
Nice of you to feed me, I muttered gracelessly after wed slid into a booth and my captor rattled off an order to a sullen waitress. But you might have let me order for myself. The condemned woman should get to choose her last meal. Though a hot lamb sandwich with gravy and chips wasnt a bad choice, come to think of it.
Deal with it. Hed ordered a veggie burger for himself. So
he could kill people but not animals. Great. I sat back in the booth, taking a surreptitious glance around me. He hadnt used the bathroom since Id been with him, but sooner or later hed have to, wouldnt he? Unless he truly wasnt human, which I took leave to doubt.
I wondered if I could hot-wire a car. Newer ones might be tricky, but there were enough older cars parked outside the restaurant that I might have some luck, if I could just manage to distract my kidnapper for a short while.
I didnt know his name. I didnt want to. For some reason, thinking of him as an abstraction made the situation easier to deal with. If he had a name, like Joe or Tom or Harry, that would make it more real, and as long as it stayed a little otherworldly I could handle it.
When he went to the bathroom I could make a run for it, I thought. I could beg for help from some of the rough-looking customerssurely theyd help a lady in distress. There were two burly ones at the counter, another one toward the back
No one will help you.
It didnt take a rocket scientist to know what I was thinking. Why not?
Because you cannot get up from that seat. You cannot speak.
What the hell do you mean? I began, and then realized my mouth hadnt moved. No words had come out, not even a mute squeak of protest. I tried to move, but my butt might as well have been superglued to the booth. I put all my fury and panic into my eyes, but he simply looked away, bored, as the waitress brought a foaming mug of beer. One. For him.
I reached out, planning to either grab it or dump it in his lap, but my hands couldnt move past the centerline of the table. It was as if there were a Plexiglas sheet between us, thick and hard and invisible. A diet soda had been left at my place, and I found I could reach it. Couldnt swipe his beer, but in fact I was happier with the Diet Coke.
I waited for him to lift his voodoo spell, but he simply drank his beer, looking out at the dusty landscape, ignoring me. I went from fury to pleading to tears and back again, and it was a waste of time. When my food came I could reach it, but my appetite was gone and I just stared at it.
I do not care whether you eat or not, he said, not looking at me. You have another ten minutes and then we leave.
I glared at him, a wasted effort. And then I ate, because if there was a chance I could make a run for it, Id need my strength.
He must have drugged me. That, or hypnotized me. Some way hed managed to fuck with my mind, convincing me I couldnt move or speak.
For a last meal, it wasnt bad. Hed ordered dessert as well, and when the waitress cleared the dishes and brought me a huge slice of coconut cake, my stomach did another leap. I loved coconut cake. How did he know?
I couldnt very well ask him. I smiled my thanks at the waitress, then ate every single crumb of that damned cake.
The stranger rose. Time to go.
My feet were no longer stuck to the ground, but my enforced silence was still in effect. He took my arm in a fairly brutal grip and led me back to the car, and it wasnt until he shoved me inside that I could speak.
I have to pee, I said in a flat voice. It was a lie, but I figured it was my only chance at getting away.
He shot me a glance. Then I expect youll be uncomfortable for the next few hours.
I subsided, not bothering to try the door. Even normal people could lock car doors from a distance. He pulled out onto the empty road, his expression the same. Empty. Grim. Purposeful. He really was going to kill me.
Whats your name? I hadnt wanted to know, but the silence was driving me crazy.
Does it matter?
Hell, yes, it matters. I want to know why youve been following me all these years.