Chapter
1
It
was dusk when she rolled into town. The
sun was starting to set but you could already see the full moon as it rose in
the sky. It was a typical autumn
evening and a perfect night for werewolves, if you believed in that sort of thing.
She
found a small diner and felt she would finally be safe. She pulled into the parking spot and turned
off the engine. She thought back over
the last year and what led her to this little town.
Her
parents had been killed in an accident and she thought she had dealt with their
loss. At least that was what she
thought but Scott had a different opinion.
Scott
loved her and she loved him or at least she thought she did. She had started dating Scott about six
months before her parents' accident. He
had been perfect and her parents loved him like a son. It was just understood that she would marry
him, but about a month after the accident he started to change. It happened slowly at first. One by one Scott began to disapprove of her
friends, he was convinced they were using her.
One wanted her money, one wanted her job, and one even wanted him, there
was something about each one. They all
took advantage of her giving nature and he had to protect her from them. So he believed.
It
took him two months to drive away all of her friends. Some of them tried to tell her what was happening but Alex
wouldn't listen, Scott loved her so Scott must be right about her friends. She was just too close to see how they were
using her. Yes, Scott must be right.
It
wasn't until about three weeks later that she realized there was a
problem. Scott tried to convince her
she didn't need her job, he would take care of her, she didn't need to work.
Alex
liked her job. She was a receptionist
for a publishing company. It didn't pay
lots of money but she had been there for five years and her boss liked
her. He was very generous with raises
and bonuses so she made enough money to live comfortably. Alex liked the people she worked with and
the clients that came into the office.
Scott
had convinced her to move in with him, he had convinced her she didn't need her
friends, he convinced her she didn't need a telephone or a television. He was all she needed; he tried very hard to
convince her of that. The one smart
thing she had done when she moved in with Scott was she didn't tell him how
much money she made. He insisted that
she give him her checks because he could take care of her. But she only gave him half her
paychecks. She kept the rest hidden in
her closet, just in case.
She
lived like this for a couple of months until two weeks ago when things had
started to escalate. He insisted she
quit her job. He started calling her at
work all hours of the day getting angry when she couldn't talk to him. He knew what time she got off work and how
long it took her to get home, if she was five minutes late he got very angry
and a lecture was sure to follow. But
the day he showed up at the office was the last straw.
Scott
had come to her office at closing and stood at her desk scowling as she cleaned
off her desk to leave. Matters got
worse when her boss told him he couldn't stay in the office. Now he waited at the car and he wasn't
happy. She had to listen to a lecture
before she could get in her car then after following her home he gave her
another lecture. He wanted her to quit,
actually, he demanded she quit her job and stay home with him. That was when he had started locking her in
the house.
Last
night her chance came to get away.
Scott had gotten a call on his cell phone, which seemed to upset him and
he quickly left the house forgetting to lock the door. Alex acted quickly, not knowing how much
time she had before he returned. She
got her extra set of car keys, which she kept hidden with her money, packed some
clothes and left not looking back.
She
had driven all night and all day until she found this little town. She felt that he would never find her here.
Now
here she sat in front of a diner in the middle of nowhere tired and
hungry. She would go inside have
something to eat and maybe find a place to spend the night. She would have to find a job soon or she
would be out of money.
Alex
got out of the car and looking around one more time, just to make sure she
wasn't being followed, she walked into the diner and chose a booth in the back
where she could watch the window and the door.
A waitress, about Alex's age, came to take her order. Including Alex there were five people in the
diner.
"Evening. I'm Michelle, what can I get you?" the
waitress asked.
"The
meatloaf special and a glass of milk please."
'Scott
would never let me eat this' she thought as she smiled to herself.
She
observed the other patrons as she waited for her meal. There was an older couple that was
discussing the weather and the possibility of a cold winter. There was a man sitting at the counter who
obviously had a crush on Michelle the waitress. Alex smiled as she watched the man flirt with Michelle. The remaining man in the diner was partially
hidden, she tried not to stare but she couldn't see him clearly. Michelle brought her dinner just then so her
perusal of the man was interrupted.
"Is
there anything else I can get you?"
"No
thank you this is fine."
Michelle
left her to eat her dinner and returned to her flirtatious patron. Alex relished her meal. Scott was a vegan and wouldn't allow her to
eat meat or drink whole milk. Two
things she enjoyed. Michelle's admirer
finally left with a wink and a promise to pick her up after her shift was over
at 8:00.
"How
are you doing?"
"Fine. It was really good thank you."
"You
are new in town. Just passing
through?"
"Actually,
I'm looking for a place to spend the night.
Have you got any suggestions?"
"Old
Time Inn across the street is pretty good.
They have clean rooms and are reasonably priced."
"Thank
you, I'll check it out."
"Where
are you headed?"
"Actually,
I was thinking about settling down here.
Any ideas where I can find a job?"
"What
do you do?"
"I'm
a receptionist/secretary."
"Let
me think about it and I will see what I can come up with. My shift starts at 10:00 tomorrow morning,
come back after that."
"I
will. Thanks for the help
Michelle."
"Would
you like some dessert with that?"
"Yes
I would. How about a piece of apple
pie?"
"With
a scoop of ice cream?"
"Of
course." Alex smiled at her new
friend as she walked away to get the pie.
Finishing
her conversation with Michelle, Alex noticed that the man in the corner was
leaving. She couldn't see his face
clearly but after he paid his bill he seemed to stop at the door and look back
at her, then he was gone. Michelle
brought the pie and all thoughts of the man were driven from her mind as she
enjoyed her dessert. Something Scott
would never have permitted.
Alex
paid her bill noticing that Michelle had not charged her for the apple pie so
she left her a nice tip. She then
headed across the street to the "Old Time Inn" in search of a room.
* * *
"She's
here." The man reported almost in
a whisper.
"Where?"
"The
Old Time Inn."
"Good."
a smile was hidden in the darkness of the room as he stared out the window at
the full moon.