I awoke by the feeling of being forward in my seatbelt & the sound of screeching tires; the breaks kicked in and jerked the car to a stop, making me let out a small grunt from being thrown back into my seat.

What the-

“Excuse me for a moment Miss.” My eyes snapped up to Mr. O’Connell exiting the driver’s seat. He wasn’t really old, but he wasn’t really young either.  I guess you can call him middle-aged, but he didn’t look like a forty-eight year old man though. His skin looks smooth. No signs of frown lines or wrinkles. Clean-shaven. In fact, he reminded me of one of those old billionaire guys who attempt to look young with all those botox injections and daily face creams. Except with James, his appearance seemed natural. The only thing that gave away his age as a head of grey hair. James was in the trunk now, I could hear him move around my suitcase and luggage. The trunk slammed and from the corner of my eye I saw James glance in my direction then re-enter the car.

“I beg your pardon Miss, we’ll be on our way now.” He said, starting the vehicle.

“Um…” I hesitated. “What was that all about?”

“An animal Miss.”

“Oh.” He doesn’t want to say anymore, my brain told me. My forehead crinkled. I leaned back into my seat and stared out the window. How dull. Either side of the rode was thick with entangled trees and shrubs that dared sunlight to pass through them. At least it wasn’t raining anymore.