unknownfate

Two more hours on the road had Mius pulling into a convenience store. Helena considered running but there was nowhere to go. It was just the interstate and another gas station in sight on the other side a ways down. Mius was the only one that could open the doors, so he had to let both of the girls out. Not-Catelyn headed into the store without a flinch, but Helena felt Mius’ hand steering her towards the door.

Someone had to be seeing this, she thought again. She was still a bloody mess. Her hair was matted to the side of her head. She was filthy. She desperately sought eye contact with the clerk. It was a matronly old lady in an employee’s vest. Her eyes seemed dull though, like she wasn’t really seeing them. That may have been the only reason she would let someone who looked liked Mius in her store.

Not-Catelyn made a beeline for the slushee machine in the back corner. Mius was roaming the aisles with a critical eye toward the merchandise. Helena gathered her courage and approached the counter.

“Hi,” she said when the lady wouldn’t look at her. The blank stare slowly turned to her. “Can you help me?”

“Bathrooms are that way, hon,” the lady said, pointing to the corner opposite the slushee machine.

“No,” Helena said, hopes crumbling all over again. “No, I mean I need-“

Mius’ dirty hand dropped on her head and she cringed from it.

“Bathrooms are that way,” he echoed. He turned her head to make her look that direction. “Go on, tater tot.”

And so she went. What else could she do? She halfway hoped there would be someone in there that she could plead with, but it was empty. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked so bad, she couldn’t believe the clerk hadn’t screamed at the sight of her. She tried to scrub the dried blood off since it wasn’t helping her get noticed by anything but flies. She tried to finger comb her hair down where it had come of her braid. She was going to end up as cruddy as Mius if she didn’t do something.

That made her think. How did whatever was in Catelyn know about Mius? He had been way up there in the woods in his bone lair, but Not-Catelyn had tricked the Marcus' into driving out there and then made their way straight to him. Had Not-Catelyn done this before? Had they done it to Mius? Was that what was going to happen to Helena?

She looked around the bathroom. There wasn’t a window, just a vent. It was held in with screws and she didn’t think she could climb up to it even if she had a way to unscrew it. The bathroom door swung open and Not-Catelyn glared at her. ‘

“Hurry,” they said, and let it close again. Helena decided she had better try to use the bathroom. She didn’t know if Mius would stop for her if she had to go later and he might not care if she went in the back seat, but she would still have to sit back there with it.

When she was done, she saw Not-Catelyn leave with their arms full of snacks. The idea that the worst thing that could happen if she was caught shoplifting was that they would call the police and she might finally have someone to tell this to came to her. She took a breath and went to get a jug of orange juice out of the cooler. She grabbed a bag of jerky and filled her pockets with candy bars. She found some tuna and crackers packs near the counter and a pack of trident gum since she didn’t even remember how long ago it had been since she had last brushed her teeth. The clerk was just staring into the middle distance, so she grabbed some debbie cakes and a bottle of water too.

Mius was waiting by the car. He held the back door open for her with a smile. Helena couldn’t help but wonder how far she would get if she would just run. Just dropped everything and ran as hard as she could.

“Not far,” Mius said, smile going toothy. “Not far at all.” She ducked her head so she wouldn’t have to see his canines and got back in the car.

“And just so you know,” he added, leaning down to peer at her. “I was “like this” long before they were.” He nodded his head towards Not-Catelyn who looked between them with narrowed eyes. Their eyes were almost solid black now, with a faint green sheen. They were eating a pack of three flavored sugar wafers. They had a blue creme Nehi and an open bag of twizzlers, and bucket of a slushee held between their thighs. Helena felt a little sick just looking at it.

She set her food stash behind Mius’ driver seat so it would be harder for him to reach and take from her. She left some in her pockets, just in case. She drank some juice, ate a piece of jerky and a debbie cake. Then she chewed a piece of gum.

“Does anyone know that my folks are dead yet?” she asked after awhile.

“No,” Not-Catelyn said around the straw. “All their bills are direct pay. They missed so much work caring for me that their jobs are used to them working from home. It won’t be until the account dries up that anyone worries.”

“And I’m not there to clean up,” Mius said. “By the time we get back to them, there might be little bird nests built into their bones. They won’t be alone. Don’t worry.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Helena said.

“Even if you weren’t with us, you would never see them again,” Mius said it like it was meant to comfort her.

“Could something like you move into them?” she asked Not-Catelyn.

“Too broken up,” Not-Catelyn said. “Too hard to move with that much damage.”

“Was it easy to get into Catelyn?” Helena hoped her voice was steady. She wasn’t accusing. She was just making conversation. There was no reason to keep secrets now, was there?

“It wasn’t hard,” Not-Catelyn finished off the sugar wafers and brushed the wrapper into the floor.

“Will you tell me your name?” Helena asked. “I don’t know what to call you.”

Mius looked sideways at Not-Catelyn, smirking.

“I will never tell you that,” Not-Catelyn said, going cold again.

“I’m going to need to make a stop when we cross the North Valley Mountain,” Mius said. “Got a thing to pick up.”

“You just keep going east,” Not-Catelyn said, turning back to the slushee. Helena waited a little while to make sure neither of them was angry or impatient.

“What is to the east?” she asked.

“Sunrise!” Mius said.

“Please tell me,” Helena said. Mius whapped Not-Catelyn in the arm so casually that Helena wondered how he dared. What was he that he could be so unafraid of them? Was he really worse than they were?

“Tell your poor sister what you’re up to,” he said. Not-Catelyn ignored the touch and didn’t look at either of them.

“Her sister is dead,” they said.

“I said your sister, not hers,” Mius said. “The claim was made and none of us disputed it. And you haven’t given her to my care that I know of. Have you? Can I have her?” He winked at Helena in the rear view mirror. “What do you think, filly fawn? Would you rather belong to me?”

“She’s a child,” Not-Catelyn said. “Weak and mortal. My children were not. Even newborn they were strong and hungry and fierce. Even Heaven feared them.”

“Why?” Helena asked. Neither of them were expecting her to speak again. Mius grinned but Not-Catelyn made a displeased clicking sound.

“They cast me down for them,” they said. “I burned for it, for ages. Time out of mind in agony because I dared have something for myself. That wasn’t punishment enough, so they flooded the earth to rid themselves of my children.”

“And your nieces and nephews,” Mius added.

“But we chose our wives too well for that,” Not-Catelyn said. “They saw what was done to us and fled with our children. It takes a long time to build an ark. Decades. By the time the rain had started, they were far away, on other boats, distant kingdoms. Some may have been lost and the rest scattered, but enough lived to carry on our line, generation after generation. Our blood doesn’t thin.

“And now they have been called. One of us still has their old power. They had awakened our ties of blood and are calling all the children to them. That’s what’s east. That’s where we’re going.”

Helena had to process that for awhile. Her parents hadn’t been religious, so she only knew a few Bible stories. They had only prayed when Catelyn had been in the hospital. They had asked for angels and miracles. She knew about the ark and the animals of course. She knew some about angels and less about demons but she was doing her best to piece it together.

“How will you know which ones are yours?” she asked after another long while. Not-Catelyn was thrown again. They growled at Helena, clearly put off by the question.

“I’ll know,” they said.

“What will happen then?” Helena asked. This time, Not-Catelyn turned to look at her. There were more eyes now, Helena saw with a sick tingle of fear. Two more above the original pair, just as black and shiny. Like a spider, Helena thought. Mius sniggered again. Helena thought he was laughing at her thoughts again.

“Everything,” he said.