Chapter 8.
We run for a long time. Then we walk. Never talking, barley even acknowledging that we left our friend behind. Our faces are hard set and when we find a road to follow it doesn’t change. I avoid thinking about it. I think bout my old job at Olive Garden, random memories form my childhood. Anything but the things that remind me of what had happened hours ago. When a two truck pulls up next to us, asking where we’re going, Vaughn says we’re just headed to the nearest city.
Well, damn, that’s not for miles,” the middle aged guy in the lead truck says. “We could give yah a ride. Five of yah in my car, five in Dave’s bed.” We accept, making sure he knows we don’t have anything to give him.
Brian, Gil, Ash, and Figgie climb into the front truck’s bed. Brian offers me a hand into it, but I pretend to not notice his outstretched hand. I walk to the other truck, letting Devin get in the red one in front. I sit in the second car with Ella, June, Luke, and Vaughn. I sit in the corner of the white pickup’s bed. The guy up front jabbers on about some game they’re headed to in L A. Football? I don’t even care, but act interested.
Ella and June sit on a large red cooler, common of tailgating, and whisper to each other. Luke and Vaughn are staring out the sides, watching the desert plants and dirt roll by us. I’m not sure what I’m doing. I tell myself that I should be thinking about Alexia, or Pan.
How I left them behind. Didn’t even think about them when we were running. Only myself and how I could get out. We left half of us behind. But aside from thinking about thinking about them my mind won’t let me do it. It’s like a block was put up between us.
“Hey” I hear Brian thought enter my mind.
I distract myself by staring at the clouds in the light blue sky.
“Why didn’t you sit with me?” He seems hurt.
“I just want to think. Without you in my head.” I think.
He doesn’t reply. I wait for one, but it seems he’s left my mind. I let my mind wander and feel the heat of the mid - July sun. My stomach rumbles and I realize that during all the running I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, hours earlier. It growls so loudly it’s so my surprise that no one else hears it. I look into the small open window that leads to the cab of the truck.
“You don’t have any food, do you?” I ask him.
“Course we got food!” he says, “Billions of sandwiches in that cooler back there, soda and water and some beer up here in the cab if you are wanting any! Just do not eat everything!” He winks at my in the rear view mirror, smiling like a goof ball. His mustache and goatee are comic.
They look like something a villain on Saturday morning cartoons would have. He laughs and I laugh a little in response, not wanting to seem rude. They were giving us a ride to a town.
“Can I get something out of there?” I ask Ella and June, indicating the cooler under their bums.
“Sure” they mumble, moving off of it and sitting on the bump where the wheel is. I open the white plastic lid covered in cup holder spots and find stacks of sandwiches in zip lock baggies. I grab one off the top, seeing what type it is. Peanut butter and Jelly. I put it back down and look in a another stack. Ham and Cheese, I grab one and shut the lid. I sit back in my corner and open it up.
I pull out and take a bite of it. Mustard. It makes my day the tiniest bit better. I enjoy the sandwich slowly, not knowing when I’ll eat again. Then is when it hits me what we’re doing. What the hell are we doing? Running? From an unconfirmed threat? Yes, they’d shot at us, but we didn’t know why, what they were doing. Where would we sleep? Where would we get food? What would happen when these guys dropped us of at the next town?
I hold my sandwich in one hand and with the other I rub my jeans. It was ironic that I’d worn my least favorite pair of pants today. Of all the days to wear them. The sandwich satisfies my stomach and it stops bugging me about food. When I finish it I squish the baggie up in my fist and lean my head back on to the wall of the truck, soaking up the heat of the sun with my face.
I nod off and when I awaken I firstly notice we aren’t moving. Then I realize no one else is in the truck. I sit up quickly. I see the other truck parked next to our and hop out the back cautiously, my black Vans landing on the concrete sidewalk. Unfamiliar people mill around the asphalt lot. A guy with a big furry mustache sits on a bench, smoking a cigarette.
Some women holds a crying baby while her son pulls at her leg, trying to show her some rock he‘s found on the ground. His shirt says in big blue lettering: Momma’s boy. I walk to the station, looking around for my people. I find Devin and Figgie near the drinks.
“Hey, why did we stop? Or, why did you leave me alone?” I ask, biting my lip and rubbing my arm.
“Sorry, we wanted to let you sleep.” Figgie says, looking nervous.
“Did you dream about anything? Anything at all?” Devin asks, more straight forward about it. Her hands are stuffed in her short’s pockets. Figgie is fiddling with her copper thumb ring.
“Oh” I say, realizing why they let me sleep. “No, nothing. Sorry.” I’m grumpy that they’d use me like that, but I can still understand. I feel childish, but let myself act like one anyway. “Where is everyone else?” I ask, looking around the small station.
“Ella and June are in the bathrooms. The guys went with the dudes who picked us up to get more ice for their coolers. They said we could stay with them until they get to L. A. Lucky for us.” says Devin.
“What about after that?” asks Figgie, still thumbing her ring. It has owls around it, mixed in with stars. “Sure, we’ll be in a city, but what about a place to sleep? We don’t have anything. All of our stuff is back at the facility.”
Devin was silenced for once. “I think we need to take one thing at a time. Right now it’s getting to L. A. When we get there we can think about what to do next.” I say against my better nature. I am a planer and I would rather know what we are going to do, but to tell the plain truth, I am out of ideas myself.
“Think those guys will let us slowly pick off their sandwich stash? At least until we get to where we‘re going?” says Devin after a silence. “If not, I think I have a way for us to buy stuff.”
“How?” I inquired, “We have absolutely no money. And we’re not stealing!”
“Chill, it’s not stealing. Not really. More like charity.” she replies in a whisper, glancing towards the cashier, a young girl filing her nails, and coming in a bit closer.
“No, whatever it is, no!” I say in an aggressive whisper.
“Just watch!” She whispers back, taking a deep breath. “Figgie grab a basket.”
Figgie hesitates and then, shrugging at me goes, grabs a bright red basket and comes back. “Now what?” she asks, holding it tightly.
Devin grabs some bananas, chips and sodas and throws them in, weighing down Figgie’s arms. “Alright, now watch a genius at work” she says, taking a deep breath before she takes the basket in her own arms and walks to the girl at the register. Me and Figgie follow behind her, interested in what she’ll do. I’m quietly admonishing myself in my head about stealing and telling the truth, I sound like my mom but I don’t care.
Devin walks up to the girl and says “Hi, I really need these things, but I’m afraid I can’t afford them. Could I get them for free?” The girl just looks surprised.
“Ugh, no, sorry, this is not a charity stand.” she says, looking as though she thought she was getting punk’d, expecting some celebrity to jump out and say what a fool she was.
“Sorry,“ she says. Suddenly my heart is filled with pity for Devin. I want to give her everything I have, the clothes off my back, I am nearing wanting to take Figgie’s things and give them to her. I just feel so bad, I want to help her with anything and everything.
The girl behind the counter had a similar expression to mine. She looked so sad and sorry. “Yah, take them all. Anything you need, I won’t charge you, you just take what you need. Want some booze? Cigarettes? I go them back here. You could get some more snacks, or a drink from the fountain. I’m just sorry I can’t help you more. Anything-”
Devin cuts her off “No. No thanks. This is just what we need. Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it.” she turns around to us and gestures for us to follow. Me and Figgie follow her out of the station like obedient little puppies. All I want to do in that moment is help her, the poor girl, but the moment we step out of the store the feeling leaves. I shake my head and stop moving. Figgie does too.
“What was that?” I ask loudly. I feel confused, but have a lingering want to help.
“My power, err, gift or whatever. The doctors called it Emotional Manipulation. I was just trying to make her pity me. I just meant to get her, but by the looks on your faces, I guess I got you too.” says Devin, hurrying towards the two trucks, the bright red basket still in hand.
“Well try to control it better next time” mutters Figgie. Devin stops in the middle of the lot and spins around.
“Sorry, what?” says Devin angrily. “Who just got us some food? Me. Sorry I’m not the best at controlling everything.” she turns back around and storms towards the trucks again.
“Sorry” she says, chasing after her, “It just felt terrible. I felt it all the time at home and I came here to ignore it and escape it. You don’t know anything about me, so don’t get mad!” Figgie grabs Devin’s shoulder and Devin spins around again.
Devin has a hard look on her face, taking a moment before softening it, swallowing her pride. “Sorry” she mumbles. She turns back around for the last time and reaches the white truck after a minute.
I follow them, a few feet behind. These are the moments in which I feel real jealousy. I don’t like having this gift but if I could do anything with it I would trade it for something better. Something I could have a hope of controlling, unlike my random dreaming.
We sit in the white truck’s bed and wait for the boys to return with the ice from around the back of the station. Figgie packs the stuff into one of the coolers. I spot Brian and the rest of the boys coming from the far side of the lot.
He is carrying a 2 pound bag of ice in both of his hands, talking to the two guys that drove the car he was in. Gil and Ash are in the back, carrying nothing and Vaughn is moving his hands in an animated fashion. The guy with the mustache is laughing hard, Luke, chuckling on the side.
The girls, Ella and June find they’re way out of the bathrooms and to the car before them, sitting in the other truck. When the guys get to us Mr. Stache says “Hey, Sleeping Beauty has awoken! Have nice dreams? I don’t understand how you could sleep on that bumpy road.” I laugh nervously, and smile. “Luckily we are now on paved roads from here. Want to sit up front with me?”
“No thanks” I decline politely, not wanting to talk to him much. He looks slightly disappointed but then shrugs.
“Anybody else up for sitting in my cab with me?” Figgie flings her hand up in to the air.
“Me!” she says. “My hair got all knotty from the wind.”
“That‘s cool” he says, smiling, “Hop in to the cab!” She does so, looking excited.
“What’s your name?” I ask him before he leaves to get in his car.
“Wilfred, but call me Willy” he tells me. I nod and let him get to his car.
The other two boys come up to me, one with bleach blonde hair and tells me his name is Ethan and introduces his buddy as Peter. I shake their hands. “We really introduced ourselves right after we stopped, but that Brian guy said we should let you sleep. I was going to wake you up before he stopped me.” says Ethan.
Peter agrees and says, “Yah, are you two together? You got a really protective guy there.”
“Yeah, I know he is protective, sometimes to much so. We are not together.”
“That’s cool.” says Peter, leaving and jumping into the front of the car in the passenger seat.
“Yeah, so incase no one informed you, we are taking you guys to L. A. That’s as far as we are going so if you are headed somewhere else then you will have to find another ride with other peoples.” says Ethan.
“Yeah, the girls told me,” I say indicating Figgie, in the other car and Devin in the back of ours.
“Good, lets head out then!” Brian, Gil and Ash pile into my car, while Vaughn and Luke get in the other. Brain empties his small bag of ice into the light blue cooler in the back of this car.
“What’s this stuff?” he asks, pointing out the things we bought got fro the tore. “This wasn’t in here before.”
“No, we just got it.” says Devin, slyly. Brian shrugs and sits down, right next to me.
“So, when you slept. You didn’t happen to dream anything interesting, did you?” he asks, rubbing his hands together.
“No, I already told Figgie and Devin. I didn’t dream anything at all. The last dream I did have though, was about me in the desert being run over by a car. So I’m not much in the mood for sleeping for fear of dreaming. Next time I nod off don’t let me just sleep. I don’t want to dream.”
Brian looks hurt. “Sorry, I just think we need some direction. Where did Devin get that stuff in the cooler?” he asks.
“Her talent got it for us.” I reply.
He nods, knowingly, and sighs. “Well I was right, was I not. I know at first you didn’t believe me, but now you see that what I had said, was saying was the truth-” he starts, saying it with relief.
I cut him off. “Actually, we do not know if you were telling the truth. We never asked anyone. We do not know why that man was taking me away, or to where. We all panicked. We all ran because you jittered us up.”
“How can you still not believe me? I mean, after what happened”
“You think that after what happened I’m any more likely to believe you? Like you? Trust you? No. I still want to be there. Sure, I regret going and asking. I regret freaking out. And I regret calling out… for you. Things climaxed at… at an unconventional time. Okay? I don’t…” I don’t know what to say. I am still angry and I still didn’t want to think anything bad was happening. Though, deep down, I know now that something happening there was wrong. “Besides. What about the others? Do you do? Just leave them there? Go public with it like you so easily suggested before? What?”
I look at him expectantly, waiting for a returning answer from his lips. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. He let out a breath. “I don’t know” We’ll have to talk to everyone else. I mean, I’d like to.” he says this slowly. “But, I’m not sure if that’s the best idea.”
“You’re the one who says that they’re doing these horrible things. How can we… how can you just sit here and do nothing? Because, us? We don’t know if this is the truth. But, now we are stuck out here, so I think you need to make some decisions. And if you can’t then you’ll have to listen to somebody else. Maybe Vaughn, he is the oldest of us all. He’s twenty- five. Right? God. None of us are even real adults.” I stop speaking abruptly, feeling bitter and stressed.
I rest my head on my hands, resting my elbows on my knees.