Sighing, he nodded in agreement, but added. “I know Cassia, but these men…they’re unlike any you’ve ever known. They have…ways of breaking people. Of making them talk. Your people would only get hurt if we involved them.”
Exhaling and bumping the back of my head against the headrest, I was frustrated and irritated.
Where were we going to go then? I realized then that he had no real plan; we were just drifting along a lonely highway, avoiding the inevitable. I knew he was just trying to get us as far away from the Majestic 12 as he could but we desperately needed a destination.
What was I going to do, have this baby in the backseat and we’d just keep driving? Live in the car?
And what was going to happen if—when—I told Keanu that this baby might be Agent Meyers’? Was he going to leave us by the side of the road?
Keanu was an awesome guy but I was pretty sure that a blow like that was going to send him running in the opposite direction whether he loved me or not.
Staring up at the blue fabric ceiling of the sedan, I decided I needed a diversion from my thoughts. Leaning over, I switched on the radio. A familiar medley immediately filled the car and soothed me.
Humming along to the tune, I looked out at the world drifting passed my window. The snow had disappeared several hours before. I could tell we were moving into warmer climates the further we drove, but I had no idea what state we were in now.
The sun was setting, filling the sky with shades of orange and coral. I really wanted to sleep in a bed tonight. I wanted a fluffy pillow under my head and mattress cradling me while I slept. With Keanu’s determination to keep driving, I didn’t know if he would even consider the idea.
Oddly enough, like he’d been reading my mind, he suggested it first.
“We should find a room for the night.” His voice was thick with fatigue.
Nodding enthusiastically, I smiled as I thought of indulging in a hot bath and a good night’s rest.
“Cassia, I really think you should do something with your hair.” He glanced over at me with an apologetic expression.
“My hair? What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure if I should be offended or not. Did I look that rough?
“Considering how recognizable you are with long black hair, maybe we should…cut it.” He looked as crushed about it as I felt. Then he added quietly. “And color it.”
His suggestion made perfect sense. Seeing my face plastered on the national news, labeled a fugitive, I knew that Keanu was right. Altering my appearance was logical, but I didn’t know if I even cared anymore.
Sure, I could change my hair, but hiding my growing belly, however, was not going to be as easy. She had grown dramatically over the last week or so. By my calculations, I was finishing my fifth month soon.
I wished I could give her the attention she deserved.
Instead of being trapped in a car with little food or water, we should have been eating healthy or going to doctor visits and listening to her little heartbeat. The poor little creature inside me was just an unwilling passenger being dragged along in a nightmare.
Her mother should be an upstanding citizen, not a fugitive and freak of nature. Well, in all fairness, the fugitive part wasn’t my fault.
Then it dawned on me.
What are they telling the world that I did?
Keanu waited until it was dark before we pulled into a motel. I was too tired to notice what town we were in and really, it didn’t matter anymore. All the road signs had become a blur; I didn’t even know what state we were in.
The passenger door groaned as I opened it as though mocking my weariness. Dragging myself into the motel room, I flopped down on the queen sized bed and nearly fell asleep upon impact. My twenty year old body was drained of all energy. Pregnancy, coupled with being on the run, had worn me down to a mere shadow of myself.
I faintly heard Keanu walk across the room and flick on the television. The mattress sank near my feet as he sat at the end of the bed. Flicking the channels, I could hear the minor blips and noises of each channel as he passed by them. It didn’t occur to me that he was looking for anything in specific, but I knew the moment he’d found the channel he was looking for.
“The fugitives are thought to be travelling west. Last spotted in Davisville, Ohio, they were driving a 1998 black sedan.”
I sat straight up after I heard the first sentence.
They’re talking about us!
A large picture of Keanu looking dark and angry flashed onto the screen. “The male accomplice is 6 foot 2, approximately 230 pounds, black hair, brown eyes and light brown skin. He is skilled in martial arts and is considered armed and dangerous.”
Staring into Keanu’s dark brown eyes looking out from the television screen, the moment turned surreal. Up until now, the whole thing felt unreal.
My face was up next.
A less than flattering picture of me was displayed. My long hair hung like black string around my sullen face. Ashen semi-circles settled under my eyes making me look insane and malnourished. The vacant stare behind my lifeless amber eyes gave me an aura of unintelligence. I had no idea when this picture was taken. It didn’t even look like me.
The news anchor continued with a grave tone. “The female fugitive is 5 foot 6, approximately 125 pounds, long black hair, hazel eyes and about five months pregnant. She is also considered armed and dangerous. If you see these people, do not approach them. Contact the local authorities immediately.”
“This is ridiculous.” My voice sounded hollow as I watched a real life nightmare unfold in front of me. “That doesn’t even look like us.”
“They doctored the photos,” Keanu explained, his shoulders hunched and his head hung in his hands as he listened.
“Again, the FBI is asking for your assistance in this matter. Anyone with information pertaining to the fugitives or the murder, please contact your local police immediately.”
“Murder?! What murder?!” Tears welled up in my eyes and I moved to the end of the bed with Keanu. His head sprang up with the word murder. “They’re blaming us for a murder?!”
“Shhh!” Keanu shushed me as the news anchorman continued.
“Yesterday, the body of a Stanley University student was discovered stabbed to death in Cassia Tiponi’s dorm room…”
The anchorman’s words faded away as I stared at the picture now on the television screen. Bile rose to the back of my throat as the room began to spin.
Right before I fainted, I heard myself whisper, “Amy.”
I didn’t know which was worse, the searing ache I felt in the pit of my soul for the loss of my dear friend or the blazing hatred I had for the Majestic 12. How could they have killed such a wonderful and innocent person just for the sake of capturing me?
Keanu had to force me to get dressed and walk to the car the next morning. After I fainted, he told me I’d slept for over six hours, which is good that I got some rest, but I started to cry inconsolably immediately after I woke up.
My imagination was concocting all these terrible scenarios in my mind. Visions of Amy’s blood smattered against every wall of my dorm haunted me every time I closed my eyes. A young and beautiful girl’s life had been extinguished, all because of me.
The Majestic 12 wanted to make a point—and they made it. They wanted to show me their power and to what lengths they’d go to get what they wanted and what they wanted was me, and worse, my baby.
Grandmother!
Panic seized me as I thought of what they might do my other loved ones. Would they systematically destroy the lives of every single person that I’d ever cared for? And what about Keanu’s sister? Was she already dead?