Taking a second longer to further compose himself, he left the car and skittishly made his way toward the petrol cap. A small metal covering flicked out with ease as he began to fill the tank. He watched Marv grab an assortment of items from various shelves and cupping them all within his huge palms. He also observed the attendant who had stopped eating by now and sat there fascinated by the monster winding its way leisurely through the short aisles. A brief moment of terror caught hold of Sy as the young attendant’s eyes darted fleetingly in his direction before returning back to their original focus of attention. The sky started to cloud over giving it a dark and sombre overtone. Perfectly reflecting his own emotions, Sy thought as he squinted toward the heavens. The sooner they got to wherever it was that they were trying to get to, the better for them all, he reasoned.
Droplets of scented liquid splashed upon his wrist as Sy unwittingly overfilled the tank. He jerked the nozzle away just as a final trickle of gasoline leaked from the opening. As he flipped the cover closed again, the flat chime resounded for a second time. Marv strutted back to the car carrying two brown paper bags under each arm. Sy considered for a moment whether or not to offer some assistance to the towering, bald-headed freak but opted to quietly return to his seat instead. The car boot sprung open and Marv unloaded them inside.
Dee had never taken her eyes off the attendant during the entire duration that she sat alone in the car. She noticed an unnatural urgency to his actions, a heightening nervousness about him. Whether it was the fact that Marv was roaming around in the premise or something altogether more troubling, she could not quite fully decide. Marv opened the door and fell into his seat nonchalantly causing the car to groan under the strain.
“OK, guys.” Marv muttered. “That went well. Good job everybody. Let’s get outta here pronto. We’re not too far now. A little ways down the road I’ll park up briefly to pass you some supplies for the boy. That alright, Dee?” There was no response from the backseat. Marv adjusted his mirror. “Dee, you hearing me? Everything good with you?” he asked again with a concerned frown.
A brief pause and finally she spoke. “No. No, it’s not. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.” There was a certain amount of dread behind her words that Marv had never bore witness to until now. “What’s the problem? There’s nothing the matter, Dee. It's all in your head. Can we just go already?” But before he had a chance to start the engine, she had opened the rear passenger side door and hastened with a supressed briskness toward the store front. Both men looked on helplessly as the hooded Dee entered the premises.
She walked casually up to the counter not taking her eyes off the attendant for a single moment. The young boy watched her approach. “Can I help you, Madam?” he asked calmly. Dee studied him discreetly. His outward disposition exhibited nothing but a cool and relaxed demeanour, yet she could tell his heartbeat was racing as if the devil himself was upon him. She stood there silently and scanned the area around him. “Erm. Excuse me but is there anything I can assist you with, Miss?” he repeated, though this time with an added hint of angst. A bead of sweat travelled innocuously down his left temple. That was when it hit her like an express train out of hell. The television that she noticed him watching as they arrived was actually an array of four different surveillance video images. All running in real time. She looked back at the boy who had now crumbled to exposed his absolute fear concealed within.
She placed her palms faced down on the counter very slowly, never straying her gaze from his. As he started cowering in unabashed horror, the masked truth began to unveil itself swiftly. She leaned forward and asked him one question for an undisputable confirmation.
“Who am I?”
The uncomfortable standoff was brought to an abrupt end as the boy howled out every last bit of noise he could muster from his throat. “Please! No! Don’t hurt me! I won’t tell anyone! I swear it! On my life, I beg of you!” he pleaded. In an instant, Dee swooped over the counter effortlessly and cupped a hand over the boy’s mouth. She rested the other hand upon the back of his head for leverage as she whispered into his ear.”Ssshhh. Don’t try to speak. Just calm down and everything will be fine.” Her soothing words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the boy continued to struggle and fight against her with pathetic futility.
Dee observed Marv bolting toward the shop door only to come careening through, shattering the glass panelling in the process. “Dee, what the hell is going on?” he bellowed. She remained crouched in the corner. A look of pure terror gripped her like a vice. One of the camera’s on site displayed a grainy image of their car but on closer inspection, a child’s face was clearly visible through the rear window. A child of distinctly similar proportions and features to the one current being hunted for by the police. The line of sight from the equipment’s vantage point just could not have been more perfectly positioned.
The stifled sound of crunching glass under Marv’s shoes was the only audible residue that echoed noisily within Dee’s ears. The sensation of utter confusion and despair seemed to blot everything else out. The fall from the lofty heights of feeling such tremendous power and control was a deep one. The emotional roller coaster she had just strapped herself into proved to be a series of disorientating twists and turns that even the Samson implant could not have equalled. This was a new level of stress and agitation the likes of which she had never felt before.
The mountainous Marv stood motionless, eyes transfixed in complete horror at the scene before him. “Dee.” he said nervously.
“We need to go. Now.”
“But what about the boy?” she asked in a confused daze. ”What do we do about…?”
As she lowered her eyes and the numbness began to gradually fade, an incessant dripping sound pushed its way to the fore. Her hand's still held the young attendant's head, but not in the same manner she had meant. The back of his skull had caved in an inch or so. The once soft black hair had now transformed into an oily, sticky, red and pink mess. She lessened the pressure of her fingertips as broken fragments of bone rubbed unevenly together. A gush of blood spilled out of a new opening. She dared not look at the boy’s face for fear of having any further visions of horror imprinted forever onto her mind. A faint odour wafted from the gaping bloody crack as Dee looked up and caught sight of a vague blinking light below the counter.
She guessed at it immediately and the world rapidly began to fold in on itself. A silent police alarm had been triggered and it was only a matter of time until the looming face of consequence reared its ugly head.
