Max's Faith & Fury [COMPLETE]

Chapter 31

Max kept driving east with nothing in mind. After she'd entered the canyon, it was like all of her loud thoughts stayed behind in the valley. There was a calmness in the car that enveloped her. With no desire to speed, she kept on driving into the night.

She stopped near where she thought Kamas would be, pulling over to look at the dark mountains around her. She was alone with the starry sky and whatever wildlife inhabited the nearby woods. She sat on the warm hood of her car, the skin on her legs not as cold in the cooler temperatures of the mountain air. Lying back and resting on the windshield, she stargazed peacefully alone.

There was a natural meditation with stargazing. Her thoughts were still far behind in the city. There was one thought she couldn't shake, and a tear touched her lashes as she thought of her father.

In a perfect world, he'd still be there to guide her. It didn't take long for her thoughts to wander to the file he slipped her. Her thoughts fell back into place, like a field of dominos. Before she knew it, she was thinking of Asahel. Would they have met anyway? She couldn't help but wonder, so she asked out loud to the stars.

She wasn't religious, but she wanted to think that maybe there was something out there bigger than man. Asahel seemed to have a firm belief in a Heavenly Father. Mesmerized by the starry sky, Max knew there had to be something more than what the world believed.

"What do I do then?" She asked. The stars twinkled delicately, with more stars coming to light in the black sky. The way they sparkled was like they were talking to her, but she couldn't hear their secrets. Was there someone up there talking?

She remembered Asahel's question about prayer, and if she's ever prayed. How does one pray? Especially when they don't know who they're praying to.

Even Rick says there's a Heavenly Father. The people that go to church believe in something, believe in that. Max didn't know what to believe, or how.

"Dad," she muttered, "why am I still here?" She swallowed, and tears fell from the corners of her eyes. The stars never stopped shining, even when they were blurry. "What do you want me to do, and why are these crazy people in my life?"

If there was ever a time she needed to pray, it was now. She didn't know how, but she needed answers to her questions. She needed to know her true purpose. Was she going to end up being killed in the end when she became useless to Asahel?

No. A gentle voice answered her question. She wasn't alive just to be killed. There were people that needed her. People she didn't know yet. People beyond her reach and time.

As she let involuntary thoughts enter her mind, she stayed quiet within. When things grew silent, she knew one thing for certain. Her task here-on earth-was not done.

If not for the cold mountain air, Max would've fallen asleep on the hood of her car. It had cooled, so she was slowly getting colder. She carefully slid off, landing on her feet, and going to her trunk.

She always kept an extra blanket in the back. She was no stranger to sleeping in the car. So, like many other times before, she locked her doors and cozied up in a blanket in the backseat to sleep.

Her dreams were quiet. If she had any, she didn't remember them. There was one clear picture in her mind before she woke up, and it was Asahel's face. When she blinked herself awake, the sun was barely up over the valley of mountains.

She wanted to be slow, but her stomach was growling painfully. She couldn't remember the last thing she ate, and with a tired, scrambled mind, she wasn't going to try to think about it. Without a phone and GPS, she wasn't sure how close she was to Kamas. She did know there was a little grocery store on the edge of town. So, she straightened up and headed out.