Conspiracy Part II

The sun was threatening to rise, but not quite there yet. So far it had been an interesting morning for the duo. Mystril packed the cigarettes, beating them against her palm until satisfied, then removed one from the pack, and started rolling down her window. Aiden cut her off, annoyance creeping into his voice, “Not in the car." Mystril eyed Aiden quizzically at his protest, but deciding not to push her limits with her remarkably yielding captor, she placed the cigarette back in the pack. The man shook his head grimly, and started driving again from the deserted parking lot of the gas station. He wasn’t even sure why he was so annoyed with it. If what he thought was gonna happen happened, then the car was the least of Aiden’s concerns.

Over the last two hours, they had both come to the conclusion that it would be unwise to drive across the border at this point. Mystril didn't have an ID, and looked rather strange. There would be too many questions. That, and Mystril reminded him they had cameras. Assuming this really was some massive conspiracy to turn the poor woman into a mutant of some kind, it would be best to avoid anyone a paranoid schizophrenic would be afraid to interact with. That's not how either Aiden, or Mystril would put it though. The morning had moved from out of place ice breakers to strategic planning. Mystril could sense just how uncomfortable Aiden was in his position, and unfortunately for her, his distress was very much convincing. She was also on the edge of her seat, figuratively of course.

She thought about how funny it was that she had finally turned 21, and still she had to ask others to buy her smokes for her. Mystril watched the sunrise in the distance idly, and listened to the crunch of the gravel as they pulled off to the side of the two lane highway. She stepped out, practically falling out of too large flip flops, and struggled a moment with her new, almost childish hands to get the lighter to catch. Aiden watched her, clearly exhausted over the top of the car. She had started to appreciate him. He reminded her a bit of an overprotective big brother.

"Can you put the hood up on the sweatshirt at least? Just on the off chance someone stops thinking we've got a flat or something?" Aiden was audibly cranky. By his report he had already been up for nearly 16 hours. Mystril sighed, "It just feels overly weird." She fingered the strange new appendages on top of her head. Instead of her hair's texture, these had a very fine layer of fur on them, almost like a fleece blanket. Whenever she touched them they would fold into her head as if by their own volition, and they would sometimes twitch at a gust of wind. She decided to listen to reason though, and pulled the oversized hood over her head. It looked like she was wearing cultist robes..

Aiden's glasses were now reflecting the first crimson rays of morning light as the sun climbed a quarter way up the horizon. It obscured his eyes slightly, but his scowl made his temperament obvious as Mystril took her first drag. She visibly twitched, almost like a sudden chill ran up her spine at the relief of it. Then, she asked him, "So, I figure I really should ask. I doubt you're keeping me from them just because you're an animal activist or something. What's your end goal here?" Aiden's eyes were still hidden, but he sounded bored. His reply was prompt like normal, not seeming to buy into the interrogative sparring matches Mystril apparently sought to indulge in. "I just want to sleep at this point." He sighed, and then yawned.

"So, any last second changes to the plan?" Mystril asked for the third time. Aiden rested his forehead on his thumbs, and refrained from answering. Mystril was bouncing the heel of her right foot, clearly uncomfortable as she took another drag, then she shifted her hips to lean on it, "If there are actually people after me, then they probably know the car you drove off in. We need to get into town, and then when we park it we stake it out. Looking for what, like, weird vans or something?" Aiden nodded slowly, "That is still the plan." Was all he said. Mystril nodded back, confidently. If Aiden had to guess, she was getting a kick out of playing spy. He could tell she was nervous, but there was clearly the misinterpretation that the young woman was somehow winning a game.

Aiden knew for a fact that if what he thought was happening was true, then they would probably kill him. Both he and Mystril were under the impression that Mystril was much too valuable. If an opportunity presented itself, Aiden was confident he wanted out of this game. He wasn’t one to forsake others, but he wasn’t a saint either. He had been up for 16 hours, and it was clear he wouldn’t get back to his normal life any time soon.