Alpha Ryland

Chapter 10

The car shakes me awake and I open my eyes. It doesn't feel right. I lazily look around and see Ryland confused. "Why is the car making this noise?" He asks me. I listen closely to hear a grinding/clicking noise. Hurriedly, I look at the fuel gage to see that it is on empty. Not even the safe region of empty, but EMPTY! "We are out of gas! How did you not notice that!?"

He looks even more confused, "What? What do I do?"

I stare at him with a profound shocked expression. "You don't know how to refuel a car?" I ask him with surprise. He shakes his head, worriedly. "Pull over at a gas station."

"Where?" He asks.

"I don't know!" I see nothing on this road and I've been asleep for the past hour or so. A few seconds later, I see a small gas station that looks like nobody had used it in a long time. I point at it and he tries to steer the car to it. We reach it just in time and he shuts off the car. My knuckles have turned white from blood not reaching it. I've been clenching it way too hard while waiting for him to make it. Now that we are stopped, I relax and take a deep breath in.

"Out of everything that has happened to me, this would have to be the moment that hurt my heart the most." I tell him. The anticipation build-up from all of this really made me tired. I need something sugary to wake me back up. "I'm going to get a snack from inside. You take care of your mess."

He stops me from leaving the car. "How does one fill up the tank?" For once in our whole journey, he looks lost and is looking to me for answers. I remember him messing with me, so I'm going to do the same. "Figure it out for yourself." I tell him. I hand him my card so he can pay at the pump and I get out.

A few minutes pass as I buy some snacks. I'm getting some weird looks from being in my pajamas, but I don't mind since it is late at night and the weird looks are just from some guy guarding the counter. I get a bag of chips and soda, put it on the counter, and pay for it. When I'm done, I walk out the door. Ryland is not by the car, but instead next to me. I bump into him and he backs away. "Car is filled up."

I tilt my head and look at the car. It's on with the car lights filling the dark area. I look back at him with a smile, "Good boy!" I patronize him. He frowns and crosses his arms, "You didn't get me anything?" I roll my eyes and turn around. He picks out a snack as I watch him. A thought comes into my mind as he starts to pay for his items. He left the car on? Did he lock it? He better not have locked us out of a running car!

He walks up to me to leave and I exit the building, glancing over at the car. Fear courses through my body as I see it drive away from us. I quickly turn to look at Ryland beside me, hoping that somehow, he warped inside the car and was driving it, but he was unmoving. We both watch the car drive off. I start to run after it, but Ryland grabs me by the wrist and pulls me back.

All of our stuff is inside except for what we are wearing. Ryland pulls be to the side of the building and holds me back from running after the car. If I could just shift, I could take back the car! Why isn't he letting me go after it!? "Don't move. It's too dangerous."

"Why would people steal our stuff?" In the North, we don't experience any type of carjacking since everyone has a car or at least money for it. We must be near another pack. Outsiders are not used to our lifestyle and would do anything to get what we have.

"Because this is the only way for them to live." He explains, "There is a lot you don't know about your pack. For example, on the northern border, everyone is overly taxed and poor. You think everyone in your pack is treated well and has money, but it is the exact opposite. Only the people living in the center and southern borders have money. Everyone else is left to starve."