Future of an Immortal

Future of an Immortal part 18

Adele's Point of View~

I couldn't aim right with the wind blowing my hair into my face, but I kept trying anyway.

These guys just won't give up, I thought.

Finally I gave up on trying to shoot through the windshield and aimed for the tires. I shot once and it popped instantly, making the car skid on the dirt and causing the other car to crash into it. Both cars crashed unceremoniously with a bang, which exploded in the next few seconds. 

I laughed with glee that I had finally shot the pursuers and was free to do what I wanted again. It made me think how lucky I was not to get captured before Garret was born. I looked back to see him grinning as he drove top speed to no where in particular.

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"So, do you know where we can find food out here?" I asked.

"Nope, but you must be starving after only getting prison food," Garrett said.

"You bet. There has to be something out here that's edible."

"Maybe some birds or coyote or something?"

"There has to be some living things out here, right?"

"Lets not just stand here and go find some then before you die of hunger."

"Good idea," I replied. So, we set out hunting and setting traps to try and get some desert rats. Yum... They're way too gamey for words and you only get about three bites from one of them.

I set up some traps and hoped for the best. Out of experience, I knew that for about every five traps I set, I'll get one rat- if I'm lucky. I spent the next few hours setting traps and asked Garrett if he could start the fire while I finished the setting the traps. He eagerly went to find a good camping spot and to find some dry sticks for firewood.

I finally finished and noticed it was getting a little late, so I headed to where I heard Garret cussing at some sticks that he obviously couldn't get to burn after spending an hour on it. I sighed and picked up the sticks, immediately noticing that they were wet. I stood and pointed at the sticks, asking,

"Where did you get these? They're all wet. How do you expect to start a fire with these?"

He stared at me blankly, although I had no idea what he was thinking. I realized something, and I had to ask it before we went farther into this journey, "Have you ever been outside of that base before?"

 His eyes widened as when I asked, then he looked down at the dirt. "No, I've never left that place before, besides to make some rounds in the desert."

"You don't think that would have been useful information before I assigned you jobs that you couldn't do?" 

"I didn't want to add more work for you, so I didn't tell you. But I'm not completely useless! I was trained by the base I worked at. I can shoot right on target and I'm trained in martial arts."

"It's ok, I understand. You knew how it felt to be locked up, so you sympathized with the prisoners. I don't know why I didn't realize it before." He stared straight ahead, probably worried that he wouldn't be of any help, so I decided to let him do something easy.

"Why don't you go find some strong sticks and vegetation so we can make a shelter for the night," I suggested, and he nodded eagerly to be able to help. I went to start the fire, which I did in less than a minute. (99 years on the road gives you some experience.)

 I went to go check the traps, which only yielded two skinny little rats. I figured one for each of us, and walked back to our makeshift camp. I found Garrett sitting around the fire with a pile of log-type sticks and some random plants.

I smiled as I walked toward him and couldn't help but wonder when I could get back on the road without him following me around. Don't get me wrong, I liked him, but he was slowing me down. I preferred to keep moving, cause that's all I knew how to do.

Plus, I wanted to get out of there before the experimenter's came after me again, because I was sure they would. I figured I would leave him at the next town, that way I wouldn't feel the guilt of leaving him alone in the desert.

 I sat down on the ground, broke some sticks in my hand and threw them into the fire. I couldn't help but look over at Garrett, who was also fuddling and seemed to be trying to come up with a way to make conversation by the way he kept dropping the small sticks in his hands, only to pick them up again and fumble with them again.

I sighed and asked if he liked his rat medium-rare or well done. He chuckled and looked up, but as soon as he looked at my eyes he started to stutter as he spoke.

"U-um.. m-medium-rare is fine..."

I grinned at the obviousness of his attraction to me, and looked out to the barren desert. I noticed that the sun was setting. The sunsets were pretty there, and I couldn't help but watch the orange colored sun disappear over the mountains. I suddenly noticed how beautiful the desert was. I was taken into the mesmerizing effects of it, and just stared as the last light of day faded until it left blackness. 

My eyes adjusted and I saw that the stars seemed brighter than ever. I saw my constellation of Orion and smiled as I remembered my mother. I closed my eyes and felt a cool breeze pass by, cooling my face from the hot day.

Opening my eyes again, I turned to see Garrett laying on his back by the fire, and I decided to join him. After I got comfortable, or at least as comfortable as I could get on rocks and dirt, I looked back up to the stars again. I saw a shooting star streak across the dark , and just for fun I wished on it. Although I knew my wish would never come true, it felt good to just wish for something.

Have you ever wished so hard on something that it felt like it was right there in front of you, no matter how crazy or impossible the wish was? Or when we were kids and we innocently wished for a pony, to be a princess or a jedi knight? It all comes down to the simple factor of human nature. We believe what we want to happen and then give up on believing when we don't get what we want.

If the human race just believed in something, the world would be a much better place. Why? Because we would have a goal to go for. Most people go through their lives wondering what the meaning of it is. I can tell you right now what it is.

The answer is simple-  to live. We're here now, so why not just go for it? It took me decades before I realized that.

It's true what they say- "youth is wasted on the young."

I stared at the stars for hours before I fell into a strange sleep, dreaming about the deep and endless expanse of space completely surrounded by twinkling stars. Reaching out and touching one, I found it to be warm, and it seemed to have a heartbeat.

Staring into the small and bright light that I had taken into my hands, I felt like it contained infinite wisdom beyond what we can comprehend. I also felt as if I could ask it a question, but you know when you're in a dream and you can't control it?

I didn't even have to think before I asked the question, "What is love?"

The answer first came into my head as a popular saying, "Love is patient, love is kind," but then it seemed to go on with an another answer, but in the form of a question. 

"Who do you love?" It asked. I saw flashes of everyone I had loved and cared for in my head, and the last flash of a person stayed longer than the others and lingered there until the dream faded away...

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