Neil accepted that without argument and moved on. None of the other five were going where he needed them to, so he waited off to one side as the twelve trucks were slowly replaced. When the set was complete, he tried again. This time he struck gold on the third try. Not only was the woman willing to take him, but she was going northwest on I-26. It was a faster route to 85. Neil only had to wait until the tank was full and then they were off.

Neil had hitchhiked like this before from New Mexico to Phoenix. Remembering the interview he'd made up was easy. He took notes on everything the driver said, careful to play the part of an interested student, and the drive passed relatively easily. She left him at a truck stop outside Spartanburg and pulled away with a honk of her horn.

It was easier to catch a ride from there. Neil went through the interview all over again. The driver had questions for him as well, and Neil made up his answers as he went. It took some work to convince the driver that yes, he was fine getting dropped off on the interstate, but Neil got what he wanted. The truck pulled off onto the shoulder a quarter-mile from Neil's exit. Neil paid him and climbed out onto the grass.

It was a little after noon by then. The queasiness had faded, but his head still ached. Neil took his exit on foot and walked to the nearest gas station. He bought a couple bottles of water, sat outside on the sidewalk to drink them, and bought a few more. While he waited for the pounding to die down he studied his map. It was about eleven miles to campus from here. The road was small enough he wouldn't likely catch a ride, but Neil was okay walking it. It'd be faster to run that far, but he wasn't feeling well enough to try it.

Without truckers to distract him Neil could use the walk to think. The only clear memory he had of last night was Andrew's accusation. He didn't know what else Andrew had asked him or what he'd said in response. Hopefully he'd been smart enough to lie through his teeth despite the drugs.

One thing was for sure, though. Neil couldn't afford another night out like that. If Andrew really thought Neil was a threat to Kevin, how far would he go to prove it? Neil didn't want to see what came next, but avoiding that meant compromising. He had to tell Andrew something. The truth was out of the question, but Andrew would smell a lie a mile away. What Neil needed was something in-between that could explain everything: his money, his appearance, and his obsession with Kevin.