“Some fucking crackheads robbed Junior’s Pharmacy near Denver,” the man at the counter said, though it wasn’t apparent who he talked to as he stared at the box. Snickering as if it was the funniest thing he’d ever witnessed, he continued, “They manage to get away and the pharmacist dude is all ‘they were very polite for criminals robbing me,’ but they fucking took nothing but a few crates of baby aspirin, boxes of candy bars, but left the money in the register.”
“Anything else?” Elle asked Ice.
“Baby aspirin,” Ice stated.
“You do know that you can’t get high off it…” She eyed his face. “I don’t think.”
“What is high?”
“Never mind. Is it the scratches? Are you in pain?”
“They will heal once I am colder.”
“There are stronger medicines, though I don’t know if they’ll mess with your biology. They might be toxic. Are you sick?” Elle touched his forehead, and he jerked away in surprise.
“This does not seem like the place.” Ice tried to stop his body’s vibrations. It was difficult around her.
“The place to find baby aspirin?” She glanced around. “Hold on.”
As Elle disappeared, he went toward the counter man. “Where is this Denver where the fucking crackheads are?”
The guy looked at him and smirked. “Are you serious, man? Denver? The capital of Colorado? Everyone knows Denver.”
Colorado. That is where Elle said the men had been hunting his brothers.
“Is it far?”
“Not very,” the man said.
The idea brought Ice more hope than he had dared to feel for a while. His brothers were close.
“Got the baby aspirin.” Elle slid a bottle on the counter before unburdening her arms of the other items she carried.
The counter man laughed and began scanning the items so that his machine beeped. “Good one. Better be careful. Someone might try to jack you in the parking lot.”
“What is jack?” Ice asked, confused.
“Where did you find this one?” The counter man shook his head. He stuck the items in a bag and then lifted it.
“Spaceship,” Elle quipped. She took the bag and smiled.
The man laughed. Elle’s smile deepened. Ice frowned.
“Why would you tell him that?” Ice grabbed her arm, ready to run.
The man laughed harder. “I don’t know what he’s on, but I want some. Have fun at your desert rave.”
Elle said something, but Ice was too busy looking around to see if anyone was coming for them. She pushed at his back, moving him toward the door. He walked in front of her like a shield, keeping her from outside harm.
When they were on the sidewalk, she said, “I told him you were from space because he’d never think I was serious, and I needed to say something to lighten the mood. You looked as if you wanted to bite the man’s head off.”
“Ew.” He recoiled at the thought. “Why does everyone keep trying to get us to eat people? I do not dine on humans. Though Galaxy Brides did say that was an option. I will not eat you.”
She pressed her lips together as if suppressing laughter. “That’s too bad. Guess I’ll be making other plans for the night.”
“You wish for me to eat you?”
“Come on, lover boy, let’s go.” She strode away from him toward the car. “We need to get on the road.”
