Hell Flower

||7||

My head vibrated and buzzed as I rested it against the window. We turned back onto the highway, and the bus's engine groaned, picking up speed.

I watched Jake from across the cabin, looking for some hint about what was going on in his head—some clue as to whether what I heard was real or not—but he gave away nothing. He lay on his back on the bench, his black beanie draped over his eyes to block out the blaring sunlight.

Liz sat next to me on the couch, holding her head in her hands like she was thinking really hard about something.

"I'm starving." Veronica broke the silence as she stepped out from behind the divider that separated the back section of the bus where she and Reggie had been hanging out. The skunky smell of freshly smoked weed wafted out along with her. A grey haze hung in the air in the room behind her, like they'd been hot boxing the entire compartment while the rest of us had gotten out at the gas station.

"Are we going to stop for lunch?" she asked.

Liz snorted. "Good luck convincing Alex."

"We literally just started driving again." Jake sat up and removed his hat from his eyes and glared at her. "You should've got something when we stopped if you were hungry." He lay back down, replacing his makeshift blindfold.

"I wasn't hungry then." Veronica rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath about werewolves being stupid and not understanding the importance of lunch.

How was she so chill about the whole traveling with a pack of werewolves thing? She and Reggie had been dating for years, so she knew him before he changed. What was that like for her—having someone she'd been dating for years suddenly not be himself anymore?

I watched as she scavenged a half-finished bag of salt and vinegar chips from the cabinet. She plopped down on the couch next to me, pulled out a handful and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Want some?" Veronica held out the chips to me.

My stomach did an uneasy turn as she shook the bag. Even though I knew eating something would do me good, after the event at the gas station, I was too on edge. I'd completely lost my appetite. Not to mention I hated salt and vinegar chips.

"No thanks." I shook my head. Joining Reggie and Veronica for a smoke would probably do me better at this point than food, although I doubted even all the weed in Colorado would be enough to calm me right now.

"Suit yourself." Veronica shrugged. After stuffing her face for a few minutes, she crinkled the top of the bag and brushed the salty dust from her hands

"Think I'm gonna take a nap. That party last night was wild." She leapt to her feet and disappeared behind the divider again, leaving me alone with Liz and Jake.

We were silent for another minute. I clutched my forearms, trying to sooth the goosebumps multiplying over them. I couldn't stop thinking about the way my arm had looked halfway through the transformation. What would have happened if it hadn't stopped? What would have happened if Liz hadn't pulled me outside and I'd completed the transformation right in front of that woman? My mind flashed back to Blake's mangled corpse, and I shuddered.

"Liz—" I began.

Buzz. Buzz.

My phone vibrated against my ass, interrupting me before I could finish my sentence. Leaning forward, I slipped it out of my back pocket and checked the screen.

Incoming Call from Derek

My heart leapt into my throat, and I dropped my phone onto the table in front of me like it was hot.