Going Nowhere Fast

21. Twists

I look a good look at this man. He was wearing a black shirt and cargo pants. He had full sleeves of tattoos and he had brown, messy hair. He seemed like someone I could trust.

"Hey," I said back to him.

"I couldn't help but notice your head was bleeding."

"You must have good eyesight," I said with a smile.

"Yeah, my buddy cracked his head open a few years back and he tried to hide it at first and your hair looks like how his looked."

"Really?" I asked sounding surprised.

He ran two fingers down a lock of my hair and looked at his hand. "Really" he said showing me his now-red/brown finger tips. "You gonna tell me what happened?"

"It's um," I started unsure of what to say. I couldn't just tell him about the dead kid in the warehouse. Or could I? Probably, not. It was definitely better to wait until I was with someone I trusted. "I was hiking and fell and I hit my head on a rock."

He looked me dead in the eyes. He could tell I was lying. I wasn't a good liar.

"Okay," he started. "Assuming I believe you, why aren't you going to the hospital?"

"It costs too much," I responded without missing a beat.

"Pal, you're in Canada. Even if you're not from here it still costs a fraction of what it cost in the states to go to a hospital."

Damn, he seemed insistent on this. If I went to a hospital they would definitely figure out who I was. I couldn't go no matter how much I needed to.

"Are you going to go?" he asked sounding annoyed.

"I can't," I said.

"So, you are the kid from the news. I knew I recognized you."

"Mother fucker how popular is this goddamn story?" I shouted slightly in anger.

"I'm not sure. I know it's pretty big in the states, and around the border areas of Canada." He looked at me with a look of sympathy. "I think they're saying a lot of bullshit about you."

I was surprised by this response. "Are they still saying all that satanic bullshit?" I asked.

"That's one of the things," he started. "They said there was no proof of anything like from what they could gather about you, yet all of these satanic groups have been talking about it online and saying that you're giving them a bad name."

"Of course, why wouldn't they?" I asked, sarcastically.

"You going to tell me what actually happened?" he asked me.

"I really don't want to get into it. All I can say is that I didn't rape the first girl. I didn't kidnap the second one. In fact, she was the one who took me with her."

"Then why did you take your car?" he questioned, suspiciously.

"That was her idea because she didn't have one." I responded growing a bit defensive.

"I believe you." He said point-blankly.

"You do?"

"Yes, but I don't think it's safe for you to be in public like this. You should probably come with me."

"Where?" I asked sounding a bit frightened.

"I work at a tattoo shop down the road. You can stay in there until you figure out what you're going to do next."

I wasn't sure about it, but he did seem right that I shouldn't be out in public. I stood up and walked with him back to his tattoo shop.

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