Ben's skin was slick with sweat. He was warm and a lock of hair stuck to his forehead.
Maybe he was tired, so he pulled me into the bedroom. I was lying on my back with Ben's head on my chest and his arms around me. The heat caused sweat to form on the back of my neck. Ben took off his shirt before climbing into bed. The abdomen was still wrapped with gauze. I can only imagine how terrible his infection was. He was showing symptoms of an infection I had read about in the Caribbean textbook Oliver had given me.
I got up from the bed. Ben was in a little pain and hugged me tightly. At one point I managed to get out of bed, but the door creaked and Ben quickly jumped out of bed.
He knew exactly what I wanted to do.
When he finally woke up completely, it was already dark outside. He watched me as I heated a can of soup on the stove. He hasn't put on his shirt yet. My eyes glanced down at his belly. A mixture of blood and pus soaked the gauze.
twenty four
"We'll leave in an hour," Ben said.
I realized I was staring, heat rushing to my cheeks. I poured each of us a bowl of soup and brought it to the table. The wood was scratched and one of the chairs was missing.
"Is this Bethany's cabin?" I asked. "Yeah, yeah," Ben said.
"It seems this isn't luxurious enough." I traced my finger along a large gouge on the table.
"She was shopping with her boyfriend many years ago," he said. "She rarely comes here. She only comes when she wants to leave the city. So it's ours now,"
I nodded and stirred the soup with a spoon.
Ben took me into town. He wanted me to be his partner in crime, but I might derail his plans. I have been arrogantly wanting to run away. As for where to go, let’s go out. I have been seeking help, and finally formed our team of human organ transplants, and then stopped similar horrific crimes. . . .
I know how it ends. I knew it would turn into innocent people being killed, like the guy at the gas station. But I couldn't get the thought of escape out of my mind. I have to get out of here, and I have to get out of here alive.
"Is no one out here?" I asked.
"No." His lips curved into a smile. "It's very secluded here, so we don't have to worry about anyone finding us."
Ben finished the soup and pushed the bowl to the middle of the table. He looked at my bowl and saw it was full.
"You need to eat," he said. "I'm not hungry," I said.
"Dee, you have to eat."
I dropped the spoon into the bowl. I crossed my fingers under the table. Ben took a deep breath. He combed his sweaty hair from his forehead. He stood up and grabbed my bowl.
"Get up," he said. He put my bowl in the refrigerator and held out his hand. He stretched out his fingers, gesturing for me to come forward. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bedroom.
Ben pulled a pair of dark jeans and a hoodie out of his duffel bag. He wrapped a scarf around his neck to hide his scales. He gave me a pair of dark yoga pants and a sweater. Ben tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans. He took something out of his pocket and put it in my hand. I looked down at the cold thing in my hand. It turned out to be a knife.
“It followed me the whole time we were in the pharmacy,” he said. "This is just in case, I promise I'll take care of you."
"I can stay here," I said. "If you're really worried, I can stay here and I'll be safe."
Ben shook his head. "I want you to be with me all the time," he said.
Ben handed me a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses. The hat covers most of my short hair. Ben found a black toque and placed it on his head. He dumped the contents of his duffel bag onto the bed.
"Okay," he said, throwing the bag over his shoulder. "let's go."
He led me to the car. A forest of images of me wanting to run, rushing into my dad's mind overwhelmed my thoughts. Soon my back was riddled with bullets. Ben's fingers curled tighter around my shoulders, like he knew exactly what I was thinking.
"Don't try anything stupid," Ben whispered in my ear. "I don't want anyone to get hurt because they're scared."
I nodded and sighed. Ben kissed my cheek before opening the passenger door. I slipped in and buckled up. Ben got into the driver's seat.
He pulled out of the driveway and moved into Aurora. Walk down the gravel path. Headlights are the only light illuminating the dark forest. Ben put his hand on my leg.
I fingered each other as I drove. We drove in silence for nearly an hour before we drove into a small town. There are a few shops lining the streets, but most have their lights off. A building with a pharmacy painted on the window was one of the only places still lit. Ben parked the car on the street in front of the drug store. Ben took the duffle bag out of the trunk and into the back seat.
“Don’t say anything and don’t take off your glasses,” Ben told me. "If everyone does what I say, I guarantee no one will get hurt."
"Book--"
He interrupted me by pressing his lips against mine. He got out of the car and I followed him. I stood a step behind Ben as he walked into the pharmacy. There was an old woman sweeping the floor with a broom. An old man with thinning white hair stood behind the counter and counted a few bills. They both looked at us together as we opened the door as two little bells jingled.
The woman smiled at us and pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Hello," she said. "How can we help you? We're closing in a few minutes."
"We're looking for some antibiotics," Ben said. He reached behind me and grabbed my hand. He pulled me forward so that I was standing next to him. "My fiancée has a terrible virus. I'm really worried it's pneumonia."
"Have you gone to the doctor?" the man said. "We do need prescriptions."
"I really hope you can do this without anyone," Ben said. "I'm willing to pay."
My breath hitched and Ben squeezed my hand tighter. He never told me his plans. I thought he was going to barge in and start yelling. This calm, collected attitude was not what I was expecting.
"I need a prescription, son," the old man said.
"Please do us this favor," Ben said. "We can't go to the doctor."
"I'm sorry, but I can't." "What a shame. I didn't want it to end up like this."
Ben pulled out his gun and the man's eyes widened. The woman behind us let out a scream. I glanced back and saw she had her hands covering her mouth.
"Please take the money," the man said, pushing the counting cash towards us. "Please, don't hurt my wife or me. We still have children and grandchildren."
"I don't want your money," Ben said. "All I want is some antibiotics."
Ben let go of my hand and I stayed behind him. The man raised his hands and took a step back, leaning against the counter. The woman clutched her chest and cried bitterly. My hand hovered over the knife in my sweater. I could pop the blade out and stick it into Ben's chest, but I wasn't fluid enough to do that. He would see me fumble with the knife and then shoot these two innocent men.
Ben turned away and started rummaging through the medicine shelf. He threw some things into his bag. The man's eyes flickered between Ben and me.
Help, I tried talking to the man. He raised an eyebrow, confused by my action. I looked back at Ben and saw he was still reading the labels on some bottles. I put my fingers on my glasses. I wanted to knock them off, but I knew Ben would kill us all for it. I slid my glasses down my nose a little. I tried to hide the movement, like I was scratching just above my eyebrows. I'm not sure if the guy saw my eyes, but his jaw definitely dropped. Ben glanced back at me and I pushed my glasses back.
"With any luck?" I asked.
"I found something, but I'm looking for more," he said. Tears streamed down the woman's face. Her eyes were red, she kept shaking her head and mumbling something. I turned away, unable to witness her fear any longer.
My eyes followed the label. My eyes jumped back to a name I recognized.
Hydromorphone.
Little green pills in a yellow bottle. I saw this in that textbook. This is an opioid used for pain relief. The chapter it's in has a lot of warnings about the power of this drug and how it can stop someone.
That's how I got out of trouble. I could crush them and somehow get them into Ben's system. Ben would go to bed with me if I convinced him that I was tired and wanted to sleep. He lay in his bedroom and slowly stopped breathing.
I looked over at Ben and saw him stuffing an array of medications into a bag. I grabbed a bottle of hydromorphone and stuffed it into my sweater sleeve. I turned around when I heard Ben unzipping his duffel bag.
"I'm sorry to ruin your evening, guys," Ben said. "We'll leave you alone now." "
He grabbed my elbow and yanked me out of the store. I stumbled trying to keep up with him. My fingers were still curled into my sweater sleeves, keeping the medicine on me.
Ben tossed the duffel bag into the back seat and sped off into the darkness, onto the unpaved road. The car bounced as Ben carelessly sped down the road. I turned my arms towards my body to hide the impact of the bottles on my sleeves.
A smile formed on my lips. I might actually have done it. I may finally be smarter than Ben.
He noticed my smile and put his hand back on my knee.
"We'll be fine now," Ben said.
"I know," I said. "It's all going to work out."
