Chapter 26: Taunton Hollow

Taunton Hollow, where they eventually stopped, was a small nondescript town consisting of one main street with a few run-down shops, a dilapidated gas station, and a typical McDonald’s situated beside a modest liquor store. The sun had crossed the sky and hung weightless in the blue sky above the treeline on the western horizon. Brady pulled into the empty McDonald’s lot and reversed deftly into a spot away from the entrance doors. Without a word, he opened the driver’s door and walked away from the Charger, leaving Sarah and Ivan alone in the car. It had been at least four hours since they’d abandoned the van under the bustling city.

“I’d like to stretch my legs,” she said, unsure of whether or not she needed to ask. Better safe than sorry.

Behind her, Ivan gazed out the rear passenger window towards the abandoned main strip and merely grunted. Sarah interpreted this as assent, and she opened the passenger door, swung her legs out and dropped to the cracked pavement of the lot. Despite being exposed to the elements, the pavement under her toes seemed somehow more wholesome than the dusty concrete of the parkade. The asphalt bled residual heat into her bare feet. She stretched, pulling her arms across her chest and rising up on her toes. She was peripherally aware of Ivan’s gaze shifting from the main strip to her motions. It felt strange to be in civilization barefoot, but she was also simply glad that she wasn’t completely naked. With that thought, she began to walk slowly away from the van, her legs protesting after sitting so long, her toes revelling in the solid texture of the warm pavement. She felt Ivan’s eyes watching her intently, but there was nowhere for her to run, no other soul visible from the parking lot, and even if there were, despite her growing unease, Sarah wouldn’t have risked betraying Brady or Ivan.

Sarah walked slowly around the perimeter of the lot three times before Brady re-emerged from the restaurant carrying two white bags with the golden arches emblazoned upon them. He glanced at her with curiosity, but simply strode towards the muscle car. She reversed course, returning to the Charger a few steps before Brady. She dropped back into her seat, settling in ahead of Ivan, followed by Brady. The scent of Big Macs and fresh fries filled the space. Her stomach gurgled; she hadn’t even realized that she was hungry.

Brady drove sedately out of the lot, turned right and followed the main road, passing by the dilapidated shops and at the edge of town, a police station with lazy black and white Crown Victorias. West of the town, Brady pulled off the road to the shoulder, tires crunching against loose gravel. He turned off the ignition. The engine ticked in the resulting silence.

The sun began to lower below the treeline, a flaming ball of red and purple and orange.

Sarah idly wondered if that was the last sunset she’d ever witness.

A slight pressure tickled behind her right eye. It may have been tension from the long road trip; it might have been something more sinister.

Three days had passed. A grandfather clock began to chime in Sarah’s ears.

Sarah had resided at Blessed Shelter for the better part of nine or ten months, seeing the seasons change, experiencing a family that she hadn’t even known she needed. She loved them all, even Ivan, but especially Brady and Rebecca. In all that time, she had eaten healthy food, prayed, slept in a comfortable bed, shared her body, soul and mind. Paradise without a Big Mac in sight.

Her palate didn’t immediately register the hamburger, special sauce and fries. After a few bites, memories of her childhood and teenaged years flooded back, both the good and the bad, contrasting with her life at the Blessed Shelter. Her brand tingled beneath her breast. The pain behind her right eye slowly intensified, spreading to her left as the sun dipped below the horizon, chasing shadows into the car. As evening descended, small firework displays began to light up the rural sky. She wondered what old Victoria would have thought of the light display, or Sarah’s journey to be here tonight.