“No, I need to go right now.”

Lugenia glanced at me.

“Pull off. Dammit. Women and their small bladders. Take Jane first.”

He’d given me the dignity of a name, even if it wasn’t my real name. But they were being smart. They weren’t going to take us both to the rest room at the same time. Still, it got me out of the van.
Rest area. North of DC. The route made sense for Baltimore. Far enough? Well, it was technically a different state and they might even have friends there. I actually did need to pee, so I ducked into the restroom. He waited at the door. There was nobody in there except an old granny. I wasn’t going to ask her for help…they’d just kill her…so I did what I needed to do then studied myself in the mirror.

I didn’t look like a kidnap victim. I still looked pretty good, and I suppose I should have been proud of that to some degree. I wasn’t. If I looked dreadful, it was more likely somebody would notice. Ask what was wrong.

Except they had guns. Except this was a rest area. Highway police. If they hadn’t taken my cell phone…

But still. Highway police. I closed my eyes, tried to think.

“How long does it take you!” the man yelled outside.

“Give me a couple.”

No back door. This wasn’t one of those rest stop bathrooms with the multiple entrances. It was the style with the two completely separate areas per gender, so one could stay open while the other was being cleaned. The janitor’s closet was outside.
The granny headed out, and I heard some words between them that caused her to elevate her voice on, “Rude brat!”

He was harassing her, then. Okay. Might be a good thing. I felt utterly trapped, though. Where were fairies and firehounds when I needed them?

Fairies. But I didn’t have anything to attract one. I didn’t even have sugar. But I closed my eyes again and felt a tingling sensation flow through my body, as if something was happening.

And then I felt a brush of air against my cheek. “Sabotage their van for me, would you?” I asked whatever it was.

The only response, though, was silence.