VIII.
They ran. They headed across country, avoiding houses and people, in the general direction of the interstate. The plume of smoke from the fire they'd set at the motel to remove all traces of their stay and the murder grew smaller and smaller the further they got away from it. Elijah wanted to put as much distance between them and the motel before they got back on the road and Katherine wasn't going to argue.
After about an hour of running, she stopped, calling out to him before sitting down on a nearby rock. Tugging off one of her boots, she was rubbing her foot when Elijah turned up.
"We're losing time," he said with a pointed look at his watch. "Stop dawdling. We're vampires; we don't need to rest."
"We're vampires who need blood," Katherine said. "And I'm tired and starving. I haven't eaten since last night. All the blood was in the cooler in the car."
"It's probably gone bad by now anyway." Elijah shoved his hands into his pants pockets and looked around.
They both heard it at the same time. Something crashing through the underbrush. Katherine had her foot back in her boot in a flash and moved to Elijah's side. He grabbed her and pulled her behind him. They waited, tensing as it came closer, ready to attack. Finally it burst into the clearing in a flurry of movement and fur.
A short, roly-poly dog with dirty, grayish fur that was probably white in better days waddled into the clearing, wagging its tail wildly as it rushed towards them.
"Why, hello, lunch." Katherine started to move forward, but Elijah's arm shot out, holding her in place.
"Wait," he said. "That's the oddest looking dog I've ever seen."
"So?" Katherine said, rolling her eyes. "He's just a mutt. Mutts always look weird."
"What happened to its legs?"
"His legs," Katherine corrected. "Judging by those dangly bits. I dunno, maybe he's part Corgi. Can I eat him now?"
Elijah frowned. "If we head towards the highway, we will be certain to find something more appropriate for the palate than this… creature."
Beggars can't be choosers," Katherine said, crouching down. "Here, doggy."
"I like dogs," Elijah said.
Katherine looked up at Elijah and shrugged. "I like people, but I still eat them."
"I like dogs better than people," he said.
Katherine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she said, not expecting an answer. Then she asked. "You're saying I shouldn't eat him?"
"Please don't."
"All right," Katherine said, pushing herself to her feet, giving the dog one last longing look. She was hungry, but Elijah was right: the mutt was anything but appetizing. "So, what now?"
"We keep going," Elijah said. "I heard a semi before we stopped; the road can't be far." He looked at the dog, who was rolling around in the dirt. "We should take him with us. He won't survive long in this heat."
"All right," Katherine said. "We can keep him. But you're the one who will be feeding him and taking him on walks, young man."
At that moment, the dog threw himself onto Elijah and started humping his leg. Katherine started to snicker as Elijah made a horrified grimace and set about trying to pry the dog off his leg. Katherine laughed and laughed until tears were streaming down her face and the peals of laughter had turned into breathless giggles.
"Of course you'd think this is funny," he said, brushing off his pants' leg with rigor.
"It's hilarious." Katherine shook her head as the dog ran to her and she scratched him behind his ears.
They set off again, walking slowly instead of running this time. After a few minutes of continuously stopping and waiting for the dog to catch up, Elijah scooped him up and started to carry him, much to Katherine's surprise, who'd never expect Elijah to willingly soil one of his immaculate suits. And within seconds, it seemed, Elijah was covered in fur.
"He sheds like it's his job," Katherine said, trying to keep a straight face. "You could start wearing white. Maybe Klaus will let you borrow one of those suits that make him look like a waiter. No one would notice the dog hair then."
Elijah gave her an arch look. "Don't let him hear you say that," he said. "He loves those suits."
"He still looks like a dork in them."
Elijah gazed at her for a long moment like he was inclined to agree, but then the dog started to bark and struggle so Elijah let him down. The dog went off a short distance to pee on a tree as Elijah and Katherine watched him in a companionable silence.
"We should name him 'Charlemagne'," he said suddenly.
"'Charlemagne'?" Katherine looked down at the mutt, who had finished peeing and was now busy licking his balls with all the dedication of, well, someone who could lick their own balls. She cocked a brow at Elijah. "Isn't that a bit too… regal?"
Elijah shrugged. "Perhaps he'll live up to his name."
"Uh huh." Katherine looked down. "What do you say to that, Charlemagne?"
As if he understood the conversation, the dog sat up straight, raising his chin and wagging his tail. Katherine's eyes widened slightly and then she glanced over at Elijah who was looking smug.
"Oh, God," she muttered. "You're going to be unbearable about this, aren't you?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Elijah said, but his lips twitched like he was trying not to grin. He started to walk on ahead, slow enough for Charlemagne to keep up as he waddled after him before Elijah finally stooped to pick him up again. It was love.
"Jeans," Katherine said suddenly. "If you wore those jeans from the other night in public instead of that dark suit, no one will notice the dog hair."
Elijah turned around and she hurriedly raised her gaze from his ass to his face, which was unfortunately not lost on him. He raised a brow. "You seem terribly fascinated by my jeans."
More like what's in them, Katherine thought and then she tripped. Elijah rushed forward and caught her before she fell, pulling her towards him. They stared at each other for a long moment, Elijah's eyes wide. His gaze fell to her mouth and she caught her breath. He leaned forward and she closed her eyes expectantly. Just then, something wet and slimy slobbered all over her face and her nose was filled with the stench of dog breath.
"Ew!" Katherine cried in disgust as she pulled away. "I've been kissed by a dog!"
Elijah's whole body was shaking with suppressed laughter and he bent over, letting Charlemagne jump to the ground again as he laughed, holding his sides.
"I'm glad you find this so amusing," Katherine said irritably. But then her lips twitched and she was laughing as well. They laughed together for a few moments, companionably, as if there weren't half a millennium of distrust and strife between them. Her face softened as she watched Elijah. The laughter took years off his face, making him look young and carefree again, like the Elijah she'd met as a human. She wondered what it would have been like if she'd fallen for him then and not for Klaus. If she'd trusted him to save her instead of taking her fate into her own hands.
As his chuckling subsided, Elijah reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Here."
She took it from him and wiped off her face.
"Thanks," she said. She gazed at him for a moment and then she looked away. The moment had somehow passed, and she wasn't really sure what to think of the whole thing anyway.
Elijah bent down to pick up Charlemagne again and then grabbed his suitcase, pausing as if he were listening.
"The road is over there," he said, pointing into the underbrush. They set off in that direction.
oOoOo
A short time later, they came upon a house on the edge of what could have been either a major country highway or an almost deserted back road. The house was rundown and in desperate need of a coat of paint or two, with steps made of stacked cinder blocks instead of a stairway, but obviously lived in. An empty dog chain was around a large tree trunk, with a bowl of water and food nearby, and Charlemagne took off at a run, diving into the food bowl head first with a joyful bark.
"Hello?" Elijah called. He listened for a moment and then turned to Katherine, who was eying an old, beat-up pick-up of an indiscriminate color.
"Good," she said, making a beeline for the truck. "Then they won't have a problem with us taking their wheels."
Elijah followed her over to the pick-up. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Why, you chicken?" Katherine asked teasingly. Opening the door on the driver side, she got in and started to look for the keys.
"Of course not," Elijah said with a huff as he stuck his head in the open window on the driver side. "It just doesn't seem right—"
"Well, you'd compel them to give it to us anyway," she pointed out. "So we're just skipping a step." As she spoke, she ducked under the dash and pulled out the ignition wires.
"I suppose," Elijah said. He watched her for a moment and then opened the door, picking up Charlemagne, who'd just bounded up with a happy yip, and placing him on the seat. A few moments later, a number of bangs from the bed of the truck told her that Elijah had thrown their luggage in the back.
Elijah appeared in the door again and wrinkled his nose. "It smells like wet dog and kibble in here," he said.
Katherine shrugged as she fiddled with the ignition wires. "Then Charlie should feel right at home."
Elijah let out a huff. "His name is Charlemagne." Taking the handkerchief out of his breast pocket, he shook it out and laid it on the seat with a grimace.
"He looks like a Charlie," Katherine said, grinning in satisfaction as the engine jumped to life. She sat up and looked over at Elijah, who was about to sit down on the handkerchief. "There's dog spit all over that, remember?"
Elijah froze and frowned down at the seat. "Bugger," he muttered.
Katherine pressed her lips together to keep from laughing and then shrugged out of her flannel shirt.
"Here," she said. "I don't mind if it smells of dog. Now vampire butts, on the other hand..." She glanced at Elijah, unable to keep from smirking when she caught his glare. His eyes dropped lower to the tight tank top hugging her body and then he looked away.
She started to pull out of the drive, but stepped on the brakes when Elijah said, "Stop."
"What's wrong?" she asked as he took his phone out of his pocket.
"Nothing," he said. "I want to note down the address," he said. He leaned out of the window to read the address on the mailbox and then sat back again, motioning towards the house. "These people don't have much. It doesn't seem right to steal their car without recompense, no matter how much we need it."
Katherine gave him a long look and then turned her attention back to driving.
"I wouldn't have expected you to be a good Samaritan," she said.
"There's a lot you don't know about me."
"True," she said. She shrugged. "I guess I could say the same."
"I guess you could," he said. His tone was quiet and thoughtful and once again Katherine had that feeling she was missing something, but before she could put her finger on it, Charlemagne barked.
"That's right, Charlie," Katherine said, reaching down to pat his head. "We don't know much about you either."
"His name is Charlemagne," Elijah said, his voice tinged with annoyance. "And I'm quite certain he does not appreciate you talking down to him."
"Well, I'm glad at least one of us is fluent in dog," she said, grinning as she gave him a sidelong glance, ignoring the little flip her heart made when he smiled back. A moment later, she was distracted by a sign for the interstate and she let out a soft sigh of relief. Soon they'd be out of this godforsaken region and back to civilization.