Even several hours later after dusk, the night air of Helensview lost none of its heat. Now long gone, the storm left in its wake a lingering residue of moisture in the atmosphere. Chase’s hair stuck to his head, the humidity making him sweat profusely. Not even the water from a drinking fountain in a neighborhood park helped much, though he found much relief in the fact that the fountain still worked at all. Carrying his denim shirt all balled up in his hand, he stopped every five minutes or so to peel his wife-beater off his skin.
He looked up at the sky, finding not a single cloud anywhere. Even a few drops of ice-cold rain would be nice right about now. He swayed slightly to the left, his ears slightly ringing, but then regained his balance a second later. Perhaps he’d lost more blood than he first thought.
It didn’t help that the paramedic’s death still weighed heavily on his mind either. Between this and the loss of his truck, the decision to delay the gas station mission became necessary, his desire to prove Peddle wrong about the tainted gas irrelevant for now. After all, how would it have helped the remaining survivors of Helensview? The deed had already been done. Now they had to contend with the aftermath.
That didn’t mean Peddle was off the hook by any means. The gas station owner would pay for his role in Helensview’s demise when the time came. Right now, getting back to Simon’s with the medical supplies they retrieved from the ambulance took top priority.
Gathering bandages to tend to everyone’s wounds now are you, Chase Weaverson? Your desire to help others is commendable. Come. Help us. You belong here. This is your home now. Embrace us.
Strangely, he found the demons’ words reassuring. Maybe he didn’t have to leave here. Regardless of the multiple crashes, fires, and deaths, Helensview wasn’t all that bad of a place. If things settled down, he could stay here forever. It wasn’t as though he’d actually signed the papers to the family farm, or even made it to Grains Plains in the first place. The family could sell the farm. Or maybe Dylan would do the smart thing and take on the responsibility himself.
No, this was the demons talking, he thought. He still wanted to help Ma and Pa out. That much hadn’t changed. Yet somehow, his desire to tend the family farm didn’t have as much zing to it as it did a few days ago. Were the demons finally wearing him down?
You will be ours soon, Chase Weaverson. If you leave town, death will befall those you care about. We have considered letting them go in exchange for you, but if you abandon your present location, we’ll slice open their innards and use the sticky goo to repaint your vehicle. It is a rather rustic truck, after all, and it could use a new coat of paint.
“Are you even listening to me, Weaverson?” Peddle said suddenly, a note of indignation dangling in his tone.
“Huh?” Chase mumbled. He stroked the skin on his forehead, hoping that something would jog his memory.
“It figures. You might want to rethink taking that second pill. You’re starting to space out. Not a good sign at all,” said Peddle.
He grumbled under the apparent strain of carrying supplies Chase had forced him to carry back to Simon’s house from the ambulance. Towels, blankets, bandages, an Ambu bag, a bottle of saline solution, and some alcohol wipes were about all that they could salvage.
“Whatever happened to you proving how at fault my gas station is?” Peddle said, fatigue tarnishing his voice.
“I need time to heal from my wounds,” Chase said, pointing at his bandaged bicep. “Besides, we can’t just leave Simon. Unlike you or me, the kid has no one.”
“What about his dad?”
Blast it. He still had Simon’s situation to contend with. Unless by some stroke of luck phone service returned to Helensview, there’d be no way to reach Simon’s dad, assuming the man was even alive. Chase wiped the sweat off his brow for the second time in as many minutes. The wretched humidity left behind in the storm’s wake was one more nuisance he didn’t need.
What he wouldn’t give to just be done with it all. He didn’t even know how he ended up becoming the group’s leader to begin with. Maybe no one else had what it took to deal with this crisis head on.
Chase kept his focus straight ahead. Just a few more houses and they’d be at Simon’s again. Then maybe Peddle might stop yapping for the night so Chase could get some rest.
“I’ve been wondering, Peddle…” The very utterance of Peddle’s name coated Chase’s tongue in acid. He didn’t want to think of what he might do to the guy once the pill’s effects wore off.
“Yes?”
“Do you ever think about anything outside of your bottom line?” Chase asked.
Peddle readjusted his grip on the medical tote and pile of blankets burying his left shoulder.
“You have a poor way of showing gratitude for someone who just got done patching up your injury. The same guy who’s keeping you human, by the way.”
Chase sighed. They couldn’t reach Simon’s house fast enough.
“I’d thank you for your help if you weren’t so stubborn about saving your own ass,” he told Peddle.
“I’m not stubborn. I just think there’s no point in stirring something up with those demons.”
Chase stopped in his tracks and turned to face Peddle. “You don’t have much to worry about from them, do you?”
Peddle froze where he stood, swaggering slightly under the weight of his load, his knees shaky and looking ready to buckle.
“You’re still on that gas thing after all, aren’t you?”