The Stars Will Catch Me

Chapter 6

He releases my shoulders and takes a step back from me. "Well, if that's so, we better get a move on! We're racing against daylight."

He takes my hand, an action that has become natural in the small amount of time we've spent together. We're running across the yard of statues, the adrenaline from the game of tag refreshed by our new mission.

"How will we get there?"

We pause in front of a parking lot for a convenience store. He spots a mint colored moped with a helmet dangling from its handle bars. I'm wondering if this guy knows how to hot wire it when he rummages through his front pocket and pulls out the key. He climbs on, tapping the space behind him while wiggling his eyebrows.

At further investigation, I recognize it as the delivery moped Charlie uses to help his aunt at work. Charlie must have planted it here for our use ahead of time. This whole thing is proving to be very elaborate.

"Have you ever driven something like this before?" I'm eyeing how he seems to be inspecting the controls. I don't want to end up scraped along the pavement tonight.

He shrugs, seemingly unbothered by the idea of crashing us. "Never really driven much of anything."

"Allow me then." I nudge him aside and place the helmet on my head. Charlie has let me drive it a number of times and I never crashed it. When I smoothly get us out of the parking lot and out to the street, he lets out a victorious holler. "You're going to have to give me some directions!"

"Keep going! I'll tell you when to turn!"

Through the side mirrors, I catch him stretching his arms wide. With buildings blurring behind him, he appears as though he is flying. His superstar smile is spread across his face and I wonder if he ever gets out with the way this ride is exciting him.

We arrive at the piers on the other side of the city - a lengthy way from where the ship is usually docked. Still, the scenery makes my stomach start to hurt and it worsens when he tells me to stop beside a ferry. He makes me pull up as close as I can to it which makes me certain this is our next mode of transportation. That's only until I realize there aren't any operating at this station at this time of night.

His whistle cuts through the question on my lips. He promptly walks the moped up the ramp to the ship and slaps the side of it when he's boarded. Finding that I'm no longer beside him he turns around.

"Don't just stand there enjoying the view, darling! We've already made the kind gentleman wait long enough."

I move up the ramp and follow him onto the ferry. I hate the swaying of the ground beneath me. I hate it so much, I almost reach for the friendly stranger's hand.

Swallowing the anxiety building up inside me, I ask, "Where are we going?"

A flashlight shines on us and I get ready for the command to run. As my vision adjusts, I see that the figure trudging across the deck doesn't appear to be mad at all. In fact, he lets out a sigh that relaxes all his wrinkled features.

"You made it," he says, scratching the white mustache that covers the top of his lip. He gives me a kind smile that disintegrates the tension in the air. "Better settle in. I'll give the signal if there's trouble."

For some reason, I was under the assumption that it was the boy next to me who was operating my escape. Surely, if I was truly to be safe there would have to be more people involved but it also makes me wonder how Charlie got in touch with all of them. How did he arrange all this?

I started to let myself think that I wasn't hearing from him anymore because he decided I was more trouble than I was worth. Now I feel guilty for thinking that. Charlie hadn't forgotten about me after all.