Glass shattered onto icy pavement. The car alarm went off immediately, piercing the December air with a screeching metronome.
Caterina Stevenson dove through the broken window and stuck a flat screwdriver into the ignition. She jiggled it and glanced out at the Publix parking lot, waiting for someone to show up and try to detain her. No one did. The engine started up, startling her.
"Stop growling at me and go!" she hissed at the Ford. Her foot stomped down on the gas pedal. The car sprang forward and hurtled over the parking bumper, smashing its nose into the Honda ahead of it. The other car's alarm screeched angrily.
Gulping, Caterina searched the car dashboard for the reverse lever. A capital R caught her eye. She yanked it down and tried pushing the gas pedal more gently. The car's wheel caught the bumper, whining. She pushed harder. Painfully, the car clambered over the bumper and sped backward, tail-ending another car. She winced.
Shouts had begun to arise from the direction of the supermarket. "Hey, that's my car!" some angry shopper bellowed, pointing at one of the smashed cars. People ran toward Caterina, raising fists and dialing three digits on their cell phones. She gritted her teeth and spun the steering wheel, trying to turn out of the parking lot.
A pot-bellied man with blotchy pink skin brandished a pistol at her. "I have a gun! I will shoot! Get out of my car now, punk!"
The car zoomed down the lot. Scrabbling at the wheel madly, Caterina turned into the street and merged into traffic, almost scraping the chrome finishing off of a pickup. The truck's driver honked.
She didn't care. As soon as she had managed cruising down the street, she got onto a freeway and whooped. She brushed glass shards out the window and rolled down what was left of the glass, hiding the fact that she'd broken it. Soon, she'd probably have police sirens after her.
A car veered into her lane. Caught off guard, Caterina tried to swerve, knocking the side of her stolen car into the lane's center divider. The metal sliding on concrete emitted a foul screech, sparks dancing through the open window. She tried to slow down, but the car behind her didn't know that. It slammed into the bumper, the crunching metal making Caterina wince.
She stepped on the gas in an attempt to get away, but forgot the speed. She slammed her other foot on the brakes instantaneously and jerked forward. There was no way she was getting out of this mess by herself. "Castiel!"
The next thing she knew, she was standing in a motel room, a hand clenched angrily on the scruff of her jacket. Cas glared daggers at her, seething.
"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble! You nearly got yourself killed!"
She folded her arms. "I want to learn to drive. No one volunteered to teach me."
"That doesn't mean you can be reckless!" The angel released his grip on her. "How many times was that?"
She grinned. "Two! That means next time, I'll be a flawless driver."
"You're not getting a license, or a permit, for that matter, if you have a criminal record."
"But I haven't been arrested yet."
Cas stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. "I'm not going to swoop in to save you next time. We'll see if you'll listen to the police more than you do Sam or me."
"Third time's the charm! Next time, no one will catch me. Don't worry." She adjusted her jacket collar and headed to the door. "I'll be at the local library."