Lee-Ann and I have been in North Carolina for the day. We've been walking on foot for hours, and I gave her the last bit of water we had left in the saloon. We need more. It's almost evening now and it's about to rain. I can feel it coming. I just have a sense. The clouds aren't even showing over us yet but I just know it. It's from the damn chip. It heightens all of the senses. I don't know the science of it, but I know the effects of what it does to me.
We are walking alongside the highway and the sound of cars and horns are filling my ears. I can hear the sounds of everything way more clearly than I'd like too. I can hear parts of conversations going on inside of the cars that pass. I can hear a couple arguing, a kid crying in the backseat, and a women crying about not having enough money to pay rent. I shake my head and try to block it out.
"Glen, are you okay?" I feel fidgety, like I do at these times, and I turn to look at her. Something about her blue eyes calms me.
"I'm fine." I look down at the ground, close my eyes, and take a deep breath. Then I look back up at her. "It's going to rain soon. We should find a place to stay for the night, but not here." The clouds are starting to fill the sky now. Dark as night.
"It looks bad. We should stay here."
"No! We have to keep moving!" Lee-Ann comes up beside me.
"But, Glen, why? I don't understand.." I turn to her and grab her arm and stare her in the eyes.
"The reason why I left the saloon so fast was because I got word of something. And, that something happens to be the man who put this damn chip in my head, so I think we should get as far away from his ass as possible. Don't you agree?" She looks at me. Her blue eyes have worry in them. But, not for herself. Her worry is for me. I can tell.
"Lets keep going." I nod.
We keep walking until we find a bus station. We could take a bus out west. Maybe, to California. We'd be completely out of his reach. It's as far away from DC as possible. I start heading towards th bus station but Lee-Ann stops in her tracks.
"What...What are we doing here?" I glance at her curiously.
"We're taking a bus to California." She shakes her head and takes a few steps back.
"No... I can't. I just.. I don't ride busses." I fight the urge to roll my eyes.
"Why in the world are you afraud of busses?" She shakes her head again and gulps.
"No, no... I'm not afraid of them. I just.. I don't ride them." We don't have time for this bullshit. I grab her arm and start to pull her. She screams and tries to pull away. I see a few people look at us and I let her arm go.
"What the hell is your problem?" She looks hysterical now.
"I don't ride busses!"
"Tell me why!"
"You don't want to know!" I grunt.
"Try me." She looks away with tears in her eyes. Then she looks back up at me. There is anger and resentment in here eyes as she speaks to me.
"The last time I rode a bus was when I went to find my uncle. It was the same night you killed my family, so excuse me if I don't have the sudden urge to jump on a bus with you!" I can't keep looking her in the eyes. That sting of pain and guilt comes back to the surface. I can feel my stomach trying to push up bile into my mouth. I want to say something, but there is nothing to say.
"I....You still hate me, don't you?" She shakes her head and wipes the tears from her eyes.
"No! No! That's no what I meant!" She tries to touch my hand but I pull away.
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INSERTED (Being Edited)
Science Fiction"The way I see it, things don't just happen for no reason. Everything that happened, happens, and will happen all have a reason for happening. I think are fates are already written, but how they are played out is up to us as people. I think that our...
