Getting Home

Part 25

"We have to follow him," Henry said.

"Him? That was a person?"

"You couldn't hear him?"

"Henry, I don't hear anything," I said, suddenly worried and gripping his hand tighter. I don't know why, but the fact that Henry was hearing things that I couldn't was suddenly terrifying.

Still a scaredy-cat even after you believe your dead? Typical Ava.

We started towards the Civic, hand-in-hand. The juxtaposition of the Honda against the alien empty landscape was extremely jarring—it felt like that car could be the only thing to exist in this weird realm... like it could literally be the only thing to exist for millions of miles. As I walked with Henry, the ground felt like it was... moving with me on each step, almost, like compressing and rising in rhythm with my feet...

But it wasn't.

How pithy.

As we neared the car, I spied the AED defibrillator lying a few feet away. The knot that I had tied with the strap and police belt had broke, leaving the belt squiggly laid out look like a black snake on the bright, green ground.

"That fell off when I carried you from the steed," Henry said, letting my hand slip out of his as I bent down to gather it all up.

"The steed?" I said. "You mean the Civic? Where the heck did you learn that word?"

"From you."

"I don't think I've ever used the word 'steed' in my entire life."

"It was from you," Henry insisted. "Back when we could..."

He suddenly faltered.

"It's hard to remember where we were, Ava," he said, his tone was something I'd never heard from him before:

Haunted.

"I think it was back... back in your home. But it felt more like it... it was..."

"It's okay, Henry," I said, just wanting to make him feel better. "We'll worry about that later."

Yep. That look.

It was surreal reaching the door handle on the Civic, but when my fingers touched that handle, I felt such a sudden and odd calming rush of relief—

Of feeling grounded.

It's really here. It's solid.

The creak from opening the back door sounded was like a sudden piercing scream—it was so sharp it made me jump. Even the sound of the AED and police belt being tossed onto the backseat was abnormally loud.

It's so quiet here you don't even notice it.

"We should hurry," Henry said.

The rear end of the Civic was still mashed in—there was no way to open the trunk. Luckily I was able to pull down one of the backseats and yank my old track bag out. It had been in there since my sophomore year, but I hadn't touched it in a while—since after, you know...

Everything.

Anyways.

I pulled out the spare pair of socks and shoes tucked inside, slipping them on real quick as I sat on the backseat, sitting with my legs half-out of the car.

"How do you know where that person by the Civic went?" I said as I tied my laces.

"I still hear him. We should follow him."