Blurb Book

Space Jump

He sat in the pouring rain, shivering, his thin coat soaked through almost as soon as he stepped outside.  She was sitting next to him, her head resting gently on his shoulder.  The old fire escape offered little protection from the Indiana spring rain.  With a sad sigh, she pushed her dark hair out of her eyes as she stared out across the cityscape.

"I want to get out of here.  I don't belong with my family.  They are all content to sit and watch TV but not me.  I want to see the world. I  am so tired of this rain!  I want to see California and leave this river behind," she mumbled without turning her head.  He stretched his arm around her shoulder and held her tight. 

"I know.  There is never anything to do from October to April--that's half a year," he responded, watching the grey sky turn darker.  It was only noontime but it was dark enough to be dusk. 

"I don't want to be stuck here for the rest of my life.  No one understands what I mean at home.  They all tell me to quit being crazy.  You don't, you have the same feelings," she continued.

"It would be so wonderful to see the West Coast," he said.  The wind changed directions, rendering his hat useless as the water flew into his eyes.   She continued to talk but he was only half listening.  In his head was a litany: West of the Mississippi.  West of the Mississippi.  West of the Mississippi.  He closed his eyes as Sophie yawned.

Then the most peculiar feeling happened: the world stopped spinning.  Years later that was how he would explain the sensation.  It was as if the world suddenly stopped moving, allowing the two friends to fly forward at an incredible rate of speed.

"What was that?" Sophie asked, her voice slightly panic-stricken even though she did not know precisely the reason.

"I'm not sure," Nate answered, shocked himself.  He stood up and looked around.  The subtle green hills of Indiana were gone, replaced with fields coated in sun, hardly even a cloud in the sky.  A road was nearby but deserted, probably because it was more dirt than pavement.  It ran straight for as far as they could see. "Should we go left or right?"

Sophie looked around anxiously.  "Let's try right. If you're right then you aren't wrong."  They held hands and began to walk down the road.  The sun dried their hair and clothes in a matter of minutes.  After ten minutes a brown truck roared towards them.  It flew past Nate then stopped in front a moment later. 

"What are the two of you doing way out here all by yourself?" the driver, a woman in her late twenties with bleach-blonde hair and dark sunglasses, asked when they caught up.

They looked at each other for a moment before Sophie spoke up.  "We got lost, heading to the nearest town.  Can you give us directions?" she asked nervously. 

"I can do one better than that," the woman said cheerfully, "I'll give you a ride to City Hall.  It's more than ten miles straight ahead."

"Mom always said not to get in the car with strangers," Sophie said, squeezing Nate's hand to hide her nervousness.

"I'm Abby, going to town to meet my fiancee so we can plan our wedding.  Now we aren't strangers.  C'mon, if you are going to get in do it now."

The two exchanged another glance before Nate opened the door to the brown car and slided in, followed by Sophie.  On the way to town Abby spoke nearly the whole way.  When they finally arrived in town, she was not content to allow the two youngsters to just hop out and continue on their way.  Instead she inisted that they come inside.

"You have not said why you were walking so far," she said as she parked the car.  "I can tell from you're voice you two are not from around here."