24: Last Chance

On the road, Sophie and Aaron didn’t speak. Aaron’s bike roared as it tore through the wind. He just kept his head down and checked his six every once in a while. He was running through the crowded streets and cramped alleyways to keep out of plain sight. Sophie was getting really winded by the lack of sense all of it was making.
“Pull over”, she suddenly ordered.
“We are not safe yet”, said Aaron without taking his eyes off the road.
“I don’t care if they shoot me the second we stop. Just stop!”, she erupted. The bike screeched to a halt, attracting the unwanted attention of the crowd. She got off the instant it stood motionless. Aaron foresaw an incoming onslaught.
“I have been shot at and almost been kidnapped in the last three days. I want answers now!”, she exploded. He motioned her to keep it down. That didn’t help.
“I will NOT calm down. You owe me an explanation and it better be a good one!”, added Sophie, somehow even more pissed. The onlookers saw them as a married couple having a public fallout over some minute thing.
“You want answers? Fine. Let’s get inside”, Aaron pointed to a coffee place. Sophie still eyed him if he was avoiding it. “No bullshit. I promise”, he added. He parked the bike in front of the Café and the two walked inside.
The Café was owned by an old woman who seated herself at the cash register. She hand counted every bill before putting it in. The interior was at least five years behind on renovation. The natural light barely entered the establishment and they depended on the tube lights that flickered enough to give someone a seizure. Nobody but the old lady noticed when Aaron and Sophie entered. The two quietly walked to a booth and claimed it. The table looked like an etched newspaper. Not an inch was left unwritten. A young waitress dashed to it and ran a cloth over it just before they sat down. The cloth didn’t pull off any miracles. Two cappuccinos were ordered.
“How did you manage to piss off THE RICK HUDSON?”, Sophie spoke as soon as the waitress was out of sight. Aaron gathered some courage to respond. “Go ahead. I don’t think anything can shock me now!”, she added. Aaron wished that she knew how wrong she was.
“I killed his only son”, Aaron mumbled just loud enough for her to listen. As he expected, she was shocked.
“You what!?!”, she yelled. She felt dizzy. The news of the unfortunate demise of Sam Hudson, the heir of Rick Hudson, had been an international breaking news. A great deal of businessmen and world leaders offered their condolences yet none of them were responded to by the grieving father.
“But wasn’t he …”, her question was interjected by the answer.
“He decided to declare it an accident to make people forget”, he told her but she glared at him.
“See? This one makes way more sense than that werewolf BS”, she taunted. Aaron shook his head.
“It’s connected to that BS”, he muttered. Sophie rolled her eyes. He could see plainly on her face that she was having none of it.
“So why did you do it?”, asked Sophie, expecting another fictional rollercoaster.
“He came at me and I … defended myself”, he responded briefly. The couple sat silently for a while. She wasn’t even sure what to ask.
“I’m gonna go now”, Sophie said as she gathered her belongings that she had placed on the table to leave.
“I’ll drop you off”, he offered but was turned down.
“I can handle it”, she calmly said and started to walk away. Aaron could sense that she had had enough and it was probably the last time he would see her if he didn’t do anything right now. She would leave his life and without him near her, something worse might happen. He looked around for any idea. His heart was sinking and beating fast. He caught a torn calendar hanging on the central pillar of the café. Half of it was dates and the upper half was an artwork. The artwork was a drawing of a man surfing the waves in the pale moon light. It dawned on him. The idea would definitely save him but it was the last recourse he was hoping never to resort to.
“Sophie!”, called out Aaron. She stopped but didn’t turn around to see him. He ran to her and got in front of her. He moved close to her. There were mere inches between their lips.
“You’ll have all your answers. I promise! Come at the cemetery midnight tomorrow. Look for a sign near the largest tree”, he whispered. She was listening attentively. She was willing to give him another chance but the last one. “Spend today and tomorrow inside your house. Don’t come out no matter what”, he added. She was going to do the same anyway. He realized that he hadn’t paid for the coffee. He looked to the cash register and the old lady glared right into his eyes. He rushed back to the table and left a couple of bills. He walked her to the bike. She didn’t resist this time around. The two rode off in the direction of Chloe’s home where Sophie stayed.

The darkness gained strength quite swiftly and the sky was totally dark in a matter of minutes. The lights were on and the city was entering the brief pause before the colorful night life began. The roads were jammed but the traffic was mostly made up of people going back from something. Fortunately for the couple, they were on the other lane. They arrived at her street. A weird feeling came over Sophie. They passed the spot where she was almost kidnapped. And saved by the shenanigans she wasn’t sure anybody was going to believe if she decided to share. She shuddered. Aaron felt it. He couldn’t decide how to relieve her. They had arrived and Sophie got off the bike. He pulled out a leather pouch from his jacket.
“Wear this when you come and come alone. Both are extremely necessary. There’s no room for error”, he whispered. She opened it and found a necklace made of leather strip and an amulet made of carved bone. She was staring at it when he rode off. She was getting creeped out about all this but she had decided to give it a shot.