“Can we stop at a rest-ront for something to eat? I gotta pee, too.”
There were plenty of restaurants and diners to choose from in Eustache. Either side of the highway was lined with gas stations and convenience stores. Hayden worried there wouldn’t be much left in any of them worth taking. Most of the plate glass windows had been smashed in. Fuel dispensers were left laying on pavement next to their bowsers like dead snakes. Gas—for the vehicles that still ran—and water would’ve been the first things people took and exhausted on their journeys to wherever it was they were going.
“Pee on the ground, Nicholas. There’s no one left that cares.” The boy did his business in front of Hayden without turning around. Hayden squeezed his shoulder. “Stay outside where I can see you. I’m going to check in that gas station to see if there’s any food.”
The boy tucked himself in and shoved his hands patiently into his pants pockets. Hayden crossed the parking lot of a Shell station and stepped over the last bit of jagged glass in one of the window frames. The drink coolers were dark and completely empty. Hayden went behind the cash-register counter and helped himself to the three remaining rolls of breath mints inside the display case. The chocolate bar boxes were bare. The potato chip racks had been knocked over, the chewing gum containers thrown to the floor. He peered through the plastic window set in the swinging door that led to the kitchen. What wasn’t draped in shadows didn’t look promising. A refrigerator had been left open, and the bit of stainless-steel preparation counter Hayden could see was covered in something dark. There was another dried puddle of it on the floor with bits of grey matter throughout. The kitchen’s smell reminded him of Elton MacDonald’s cellar.
He peered back over his shoulder and spotted Nicholas sitting up against a black garbage container fitted between fuel terminals. There was nothing more for them here. Hayden handed the candy rolls to him. “Cherry flavor! My favorite.”
“Lucky you.”
They crossed the highway and explored another gas station restaurant, exiting with even less than they had from the Shell. The two fared better at their third stop—a small diner called Rick’s Good Food. There was a case of stale soup crackers in the back-storage room, and enough outdated energy drinks to last them a month. Nicholas winced as he swallowed a small bit of it. “Gross.”
“Good. I don’t need you drinking that much caffeine.”
“But the crackers are dry.” He washed a second mouthful down with the saltines.
“Come on, kid, let’s see what else the fine town of Eustache has to offer. We’ll need to find a place to sleep before it gets dark.”
There was little else to be found in Eustache. Three miles east they came across a trucker’s weigh station located on the perimeter of the city. The station itself wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The building set back off from the trucking lane was like any other checkpoint structure Hayden had seen; small, one window, and featureless. What was unusual was the single vehicle parked in front of it—a black four-door Audi. The car was a newer model, no older than two or three years, and besides the missing driver’s side mirror, it looked well kept, and very costly.
Hayden ran his fingers along the door. He spotted some dark streaks on the rear fender that may have been rust. Too new to be rust. He squatted down and inspected the marks more closely. Blood. The driver had hit something recently, a deer perhaps. Hayden hoped it had been a deer. He looked back down the side where the mirror had been. That might explain what happened there. He went around the back and walked along the passenger side. Mud was caked into the tire spokes and wheel wells. A piece of it fell to the ground. Hasn’t even had time to dry.
He placed his hand on the hood. It was still warm. Hayden leaned against the front passenger window to see if the keys were still in the ignition. It triggered a blaring alarm, and Hayden jumped back. He fell into something and turned. A big black woman sneered at him and threw a punch into his nose that drove him back over the Audi’s hood.
“You can look all you want, pretty boy, but you can’t touch.”
Nicholas appeared out of nowhere and kicked behind one of the woman’s knees. She fell forward, face-first into Hayden’s crotch. Hayden went to push her off before she could take a bite out of him, but another woman with grey hair wearing a man’s dress shirt got in between them first.
“Enough! They weren’t doing anything wrong!” The second woman shouted.
“Pretty boy was looking inside, he was going to steal my fucking car!”
The grey-haired woman saw Nicholas for the first time. “He’s got a child with him. Can’t you quit swearing for one minute?”
“Child my ass.” She was massaging the flesh behind her knee. “Little bastard almost broke my leg.”
Hayden soaked blood up from his nose with the front of his shirt. “His name’s Nicholas... he’s my son.”
The smaller woman helped him down off the car’s hood. “I’m Angela. The car belongs to my friend, Caitlan. You might want to watch yourself around it.”
He held his hand out. “Hayden, and thanks for the advice. I’ll take it.”
Caitlan shrugged. “A girl’s got to watch out for her things. No offence?” Hayden shook his head as if getting punched in the face by women was an everyday occurrence. “Good. Now what’s this little Kung-Fu master’s name?”
“My name’s Nicholas, and my real Dad is dead.”
Caitlan looked back at Hayden. It was his turn to shrug.