I didn't sleep very well. I kept waking up from confused dreams in which I was surrounded by masked men threatening me with batons. In addition, the car cooled down over time and I began to freeze. The elf remained gone and I began to wonder if he had decided to move on alone.
As the first gray light crept over the horizon, I decided to get up. There was no point, I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Outside, a piercing wind greeted me and I ducked my head. What I would give for a hot drink and a hat!
I looked to the gas station.
At the risk of being spotted, I just needed a coffee right now. My hand went into my pocket looking for my wallet, but only found a pack of tissues, my pepper spray, a lighter and five cents.
I returned to the car to look for it there, but I actually knew who had it. So not only had he left me here, but he had stolen from me too.
Hadn't Tolkien always described the Elves as honorable people who valued morality and decency? Obviously, they were no better than anyone else. Angrily, I kicked one of the car tires. What was I supposed to do now?
I could report myself to the cops as a kidnapping victim. However, the thought that the police might have nothing to do with this stopped me. How could I explain to them that I had been kidnapped by someone who did not exist? At best, they would accuse me of mental derangement.
I could hitchhike. But to do that, I had to get past the cameras, and if no one took me, I was trapped.
Or I could just stay here until they found me or I froze to death. The latter was not an option, so I kept myself busy doing warm-up exercises out of sight of the parking lots. Maybe something would come to me in the meantime.
After a quarter of an hour, I had red cheeks, wasn't richer by any realization and decided to go back to the car. Already from a distance I saw someone standing next to it. He was kneeling next to the car with his back to me and had something in his hands. Next to him was a container and on the roof was... my wallet!
So the elf had decided to come back after all.
I felt my hands start to shake - not from fear or cold, but from anger. I had told him very clearly that he had to keep his hands off my wallet. I would have liked to twist his neck for that alone. But then to disappear and just leave me here, that... that... I bit my lip and tried to calm down. Lately, I'd been having dangerously high blood pressure. Still, I was pissed as hell, and if I hadn't known how fast he was moving, I would have punched him in the face. The fact that a small part of me was pretty happy to see him didn't make things any better.
I took a deep breath and walked toward the car. Without a word, I stopped two meters in front of Legolas and looked at him out of narrowed eyes. He had noticed me a while ago and stood up, but he neither lowered his head nor did he show in any other way that he was backing down.
We measured each other with glances.
Finally he pointed to the canister at his feet. "I've got the gas."
"I can see that."
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and I did the same. Silence.
He was as stubborn as I was and certainly convinced he had done the right thing. Minutes passed with both of us trying to stare the other down. Finally, I hissed angrily and grabbed my wallet off the roof. Then I bent down for the canister and circled the car, but not without bumping into the Elf. Before I reached the fuel door, I felt him grab me by the arm and turn me around, forcing me to look at him. "If you knew a better solution, go ahead and tell me."
I averted my eyes and stubbornly looked straight ahead, over his left ear. As I did so, I noticed three delivery trucks coming our way, and they were damn fast. Shit.
"Can we discuss this later?", I asked, trying to wriggle out of Legolas' grip, but he continued to hold me.
"I honestly don't understand what there is to discuss about. Why are you as stubborn as a thorn hedge? You chose to come with me willingly."
Willingly? As if! So this is what voluntary looked like to him. Glancing at the approaching vans, I resisted commenting and instead hissed: "Let's start by saying we're about to get shot!"
I finally managed to tear my arm free so that I could bend down for the canister, unscrew the cap, and pour the gasoline into the tank with my fingers flying.
I could only hope that he hadn't bought diesel, because then we wouldn't make it ten feet.
It took an eternity until there was enough gasoline in the tank, and by the time I set the can down, the first delivery truck had already reached us.
In the meantime, the elf had also noticed the danger and pulled out his knives. What was he going to do with them against the guys who were now pouring out of the van like black ink from a fountain pen? After all, they were holding huge guns in their hands!
The first knife hit one of the men right above the heart, so that he collapsed, the second got stuck in the throat of an enemy. Okay, I didn't expect that. Respect.
I stared at the black functional clothing of our pursuers. They really didn't look like cops at all.
I didn't turn around to investigate my theory further, though, but was at the driver's door in two leaps, dropped inside, and started the engine. Turn on, I begged mentally, please turn on.
It worked.
But I hadn't been fast enough. More dark figures swarmed out of the other vans and surrounded us. Legolas was still standing outside, but even he must have realized that he couldn't do anything against our pursuers without his weapons.