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Things were absolutely wild! What was she doing? This man was psycho, crazy, a maniac and she was just as bad for agreeing to his request. It was more to the affect that she would not have to deal with this craziness much longer. When deal with someone in a mental crisis the best option is to go along with their delusions, right?
Who in their right mind request to go to a church right after waking up from a serious injury and being assualt? So many questions but no answers were given.
Alma had tried her best to compromise with the man, insisting that he gets some professional help physically…and mentally. Although she did not tell him the last part. He refused every single one of her suggestions. She had finally given up and decided it best to wash her hands of him.
If he wanted to be dropped off at a church, that is where she would leave him.
So here she was, driving once again in the rain since her uninvited guest had less patience than John, which she thought was impossible.
Thankfully the storm had let up quite a bit and was only drizzling now. The mud was still horrendous but it was manageable. It helped that John’s truck did much better in these conditions than her small sedan. Would he be angry when he notices? Definitely. Does she care? No.
A small comforting act of pettiness.
The two of them drove in silence, something that she preferred at that moment. The less that she engaged with him the easier it would be to leave him. It was a terrible thought but this was stress that she did not need in her life. There was too much that she currently had to deal with and picking up a stranger that does not want any help was not on her to do list. At least the churches tend to have other connections that could get this man the help that he needs. The unlucky part of this situation was she would have to drive to the next town overr.
It was much larger than the one she was currently in so there would be less people talking about how she left a strange injured man and ran away. The downfall was the town was about an hour away from her place and she was running on less than fumes. She prayed that she would have enough energy to get him there and enough to get back.
Alma had already taken the liberty of letting Derek, the owner of the animal clinic, know that she would not be in tomorrow. There was no way she would be able to work in her condition. He did not seem all too thrilled about having been woken up but did not press the matter. She would tell him the next time she saw him.
Entering into the city limits, her body begun to relax. Almost. This is almost over. It was four in the morining so there was not much traffic on the street. Even better.
The tall spires of the church slowly came into view and out of the corner of her eye she could see her riding companion fidgeting. Her mind started to think of how she was going to explain to the preist why she was bringing an injured man at four in the morning into the church. Which begged the question, would he even be there? Would the church even be open this early?
Alma was not necessarily a religious person, she believed, but she never practiced in her adult life. She was unware of the etiquette and it made her slightly uncomfortable in this situation.
The wheels of the truck squeaked to a halt as she put it into park. She readied herself to exit the vehicle but the time she opened the door, her passenger was already gone. Where did he go? Glancing over the top of the truck, she saw him hobbling up the stairs. Where did all of that extra strength come from? Before she knew it, the large door creaked open and he had slipped inside. She stood there in drizzling rain confused and in awe of what had transpired the last six hours of her life.
Deciding to call this as good as can be, she quickly climbed back into the truck and roared it to life. That was it. She was free. This was one experience that no one would probably believe, except John. Alma rested her forhead against the rim of the steering wheel, her eyes closing for a brief second. Her heart spoke differently than her mind, the two in conflict. It had become obvious that this man was dangerous and would only cause further problems for her, but her good nature did not want to let go.
Why was she constantly contradicting herself?
Faint echoes caused her to lift her head in an attempt to find the source. A muted dispute played out in front of her. The man who she wished to forget was exchanging what appeared to be very heated words with another. Squinting her eyes, Alma was able to make out that the man he was arguing with was indeed the priest.
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, her head banging against the steering wheel. The creaking of the heavy doors reached her ears, her gaze finding the man now alone, no doubt locked out from the church. Opening her door, she stood just outside, leaning on the frame of the window as she peered at him.
The defeated slump on his shoulders and his head hanging down told her all that she needed. “Now will you listen to me!” She shouted. The man glanced in her direction and then back at the grand building in front of them. Without another word spoken, the man hobbled his way back down the stairs and into the vehicle. At least she could say in good consciousness he would finally get the medical attention he needed.
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