The Guadeloupe Squadeloupe

Chapter XI: Guad

And I also can't escape the guilt of not mentioning it to Bob.

My hand slides along the backs of of the envelopes and selects the next one.

Shaking, I feel my heart pound louder than the strongest drums as I break the seal with my thumb and take the single paper out.

Guadaloupe.

I wonder if you have read the previous letter. If you have not, then there is news you need to know. Your father and I work for a man named Jose Delgato. I pray you'll never need to come in contact with him nor meet anyone who has.

I think, Too late for that.

This may not make sense, but stay away from any black and white insignia you see. It is his mark and that means he is near, and even if he is not coming for you, that cannot be good.

You may wonder why we work for a man like this. I am sorry to say that I cannot answer. But remember, I do love you.

Right now you are playing in our living room. Your father is teaching you all the farm animals, and you are having trouble pronouncing "caballo." Remember how much you love animals?

Sorry to leave you on such a short note, but I must go. Your father and I have business to attend to. And here, I have another warning for you:

Beware the name Bradshaw.

Your loving mother.

...

"Hey, man," I say, sitting down next to Bob.

"Hello, buddy," he greets me.

I haven't gotten much of a chance to talk with him since Alice cured him from that serum of his. That had been a thought I cared about before I read the second letter. What did Alice and Janis have to do with Jose Delgato?

"So, what's up?" I ask.

"Just stranded in who knows where," Bob casually replies. Then he mutters something about wanting to be home, although I don't know where home is for him. He's traveled the world practically his whole life. I remember he lived in Ireland for the first 6 years of his life. And he lived with me for 3 years. But who knows where he feels comfortable.

A second later, I notice that he's looking down at the barcode on his forearm. He begins to trace it with his finger. I want to say something, but don't. I'm pretty sure that he doesn't want to be reminded about anything on that subject by someone other than himself. Only that and his newly acquired "lumberjack" beard bare any mark of Delgato.

"Guad?" Perry asks, walking over to us from down the hill. Instead of looking sleepy and tired, he seems wide awake. I guess Bob and I aren't the only ones.

"Yo," Bob grunts.

"Alice, Janis, and I found something. You might want to see this."

A jolt goes through my body, as if I have done something wrong, before Bob and I stand up, leaving Diana, the only one who is actually sleeping (I guess my initial estimate was off), and follow Perry.

He leads us not very far to something I didn't notice during running.

It's a road.

"It's heading north, the way we need to go," Perry tells us.

"Awesome," Bob says, grinning.

"Are we going to follow it or not?" I ask. The sleep has finally begun to kick in. We can make it out of here. All we have to do is follow the road. "Let's get Diana up and go!"