A Pawn of the Devil Part 6

Sarah sat as close as she could to the door while tucking her hand under one leg. The malformed one was still hidden under the long sleeve flannel. She closed her eyes, trying to get her mind right. Visions of killing this man swam through her head. Each time, she tightened her eyes, trying to push them away. He was rude, but so far, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Sarah used to cherish all forms of life. It was not up to her to decide who lived or died.

 

“Where ya headed sweet heart?” He took one hand off the steering wheel and sat it on the bench seat. It wasn’t close to Sarah, but it still made her uncomfortable.

 

“Nearest town in this direction, I guess.” She kept her eyes closed but positioned her head to make it look like she was staring out the window.

 

“Hey. Are you ok? Why are your eyes closed? Got a headache?”

 

Crap, he noticed. “Yeah. Yeah, I have a bad headache.”

 

The man reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder. Sarah stiffened under the contact, but he didn’t remove it. This was getting way too difficult. She hadn’t wanted to walk, but controlling her urge was almost beyond her ability.

 

“Please, don’t touch me.” She tried to make her voice as kind as possible, but it was not working. She opened her eyes and looked over at him.

 

He smiled but it wasn’t a nice one. “You know what they say is good for a headache, right? I could help with that.” He chuckled and went to move his hand to her leg. 

 

This time, Sarah didn’t even try to sound nice. Instead, her voice came out almost demonic. “I said, don’t touch me.”

 

“Oh, come on, honey. I’m giving you a ride after all.” His hand now rested on her upper thigh.

 

That was all it took. Sarah’s mind didn’t seem to be her own now. She slammed her left elbow into the man’s nose and then exposed her right claw, using it to grab his throat. He tried to scream, but she squeezed tighter. The truck veered left and right, crossing both lanes many times. The tires screeched as he slammed on the breaks. Sarah shifted the truck into park as soon as they came to a full stop.

 

The man’s breathing came out in wheezes. He didn’t dare move his head. The claw has razor-sharp edges, and it already cause blood to flow down onto his wife beater shirt. His eyes bulged as they swiveled to look over at her.

 

Her face contorted with the rage flowing in her veins. It would be so easy to snip off his head or cut off other parts now, knowing how sharp the claw was.  She could just give in and do it.  Xaphan’s maniacal face appeared in her thoughts. Instead of encouraging her on, it caused her to stop. She closed her eyes again and took deep breaths. When she opened them again, she was better in control.

 

“You are a pig. I should end you now, but I won’t be a pawn. Get out of the truck. I’m taking it, and you won’t be calling it in for at least a day. If I find out you did or that you told the police about me, I will find you and finish what I should have done.” She inched her face closer to his. Something in her eyes terrified him. He lost control of his bladder, beer tainted pee quickly soaking his jeans. “Do you understand?”

 

The man ever so slightly nodded his head. He wasn’t about to try and move it anymore than that. He even had the good graces to keep eye contact.

 

“Good. Now get out!” Sarah let go of his neck and moved a little bit away to give him room.

 

He fumbled with the door handle but finally got it open. As soon as he did, he fell out and crawled to the grass. The man brought his knees up to his chest. Sarah could hear him crying from inside the truck.

 

She looked at the seat he had just vacated. It was still damp from his urine. The thought of sitting there made her gag. A quick look through the cabin produced some wet wipes. Sarah sighed in relief. She pulled out a handful and quickly wiped down the area, including the steering wheel and then her claw. There was no point leaving his blood on her anywhere.

 

After adjusting the seat and mirrors, Sarah put the truck into drive and pressed on the accelerator. She was still confused as to if this was real or not, but for now, she would treat it like it was. There is no point being sloppy or getting arrested. Was her home in this direction? Was it the other way? She didn’t know but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t go back to her life if this was reality. She didn’t know what she was going to do. There was no telling when this would end if it was another one of Xaphan’s tests. Driving on was her only option.