may love Pike, I know very little about him and he knows next to
nothing about me. How could I love him, then? How could he love me? My back is
starting to sweat and my neck is hot.
“I
did before the Beadledom threatened the end was near. Then no one went anywhere
unless they left. My question remains, did you go anywhere?” Pike turns around
again. His eyes search for an answer.
“No.
We didn’t need to.” I’m embarrassed answering. I shouldn’t be. We were just
like everyone else around us. We streamed in all movies and only shopped
through intermediaries that would ship direct. “We always had everything we
needed.”
And
now I need this car to stop. My arm is heavy and I can’t get it comfortable. I
shift to the side to prop it on the seat back. It only makes it worse. The
floor is still wet and it smells like must and mildew.
“What
about friends?” he asks. “Did you have any?”
“I
had Dory. And Jenny.” And I have Leland and Christophe. I think to
myself, though I know they don’t count. I get that he’s making conversation,
but why does it have to be so personal?
Ezekiel
stops the car short and turns it off. He opens the door.
“We’ll
walk from here.” He gets out. He opens my door and I slide over and step out,
too. Blood recirculates through my legs and it’s hard, but I lift my arms over
my head. I’m instantly rejuvenated.
“Is
this the way you came with the others?” I look around trying to get a sense of
where I am.
Ezekiel
shakes his head and I slam the door behind me. I walk after Ezekiel and Pike.
The car is parked beside a large boulder at the edge of a dense forest. We
couldn’t drive through there if we tried. We step into the trees and even
though we’re away from the stream, the ground isn’t dry. There are patches on
the ground of liquifacted Earth. Of quicksand. I know enough to avoid them as
they’ll surely suck my boots down into them.
“Dory
got out,” Ezekiel states. I stop, but not for long as neither of them even
pause. I have to walk faster just to keep up.
“What
do you mean?” I ask. A bit confused.
“She
told me that she used to get out,” Ezekiel says. “She said she would meet up
with a bunch of other kids like you. Pretty often, actually.”
I
don’t have anything to say. I’m not so much surprised as I am hurt. Deep
inside, I must’ve known. How could I have expected she would remain in
isolation? I had Jenny, but who did Dory have?
Ezekiel
continues as we step over mounds of pine needles, orange instead of green. “She
and the other homeschooled would plan where they would go if they got away. She
told me they would talk on the web and then would meet up somewhere away from
the neighborhoods. They didn’t know what was beyond this immediate area and most
of them were too scared to go too far. That’s what she told me.”
“Dory
wasn’t too scared, though,” I say, recalling my sister before I went into the
hospital. She was always so self-assured and strong.
“She
didn’t have any real plans to leave, as far as I knew.” Ezekiel still stomps
ahead. We’ve only been in the woods about twenty minutes and I can already see
the glimmer of light beyond the darkness of the forest.
“You
asked her to come to Aegis, didn’t you?” I ask. “To be with you.”
Ezekiel
stops, but doesn’t turn around. I’m glad for the break. My legs are still stiff
from the car ride.
“I
did. I told her I could come and get her. She wanted to come, but would never leave
you. Or your little sister,” Ezekiel finishes and continues to walk ahead.
“But
how would she know where to go if she left? If she never really went anywhere,”
I ask. I’m still not sure why she would want to go to the mine fires unless
someone made her go or she really thought Evie was there.
“I
don’t know,” he answers and says nothing more.
Mushrooms
pop up through the needle cover, decomposing whatever is below. Ezekiel walks
us to the light that has
nothing about me. How could I love him, then? How could he love me? My back is
starting to sweat and my neck is hot.
“I
did before the Beadledom threatened the end was near. Then no one went anywhere
unless they left. My question remains, did you go anywhere?” Pike turns around
again. His eyes search for an answer.
“No.
We didn’t need to.” I’m embarrassed answering. I shouldn’t be. We were just
like everyone else around us. We streamed in all movies and only shopped
through intermediaries that would ship direct. “We always had everything we
needed.”
And
now I need this car to stop. My arm is heavy and I can’t get it comfortable. I
shift to the side to prop it on the seat back. It only makes it worse. The
floor is still wet and it smells like must and mildew.
“What
about friends?” he asks. “Did you have any?”
“I
had Dory. And Jenny.” And I have Leland and Christophe. I think to
myself, though I know they don’t count. I get that he’s making conversation,
but why does it have to be so personal?
Ezekiel
stops the car short and turns it off. He opens the door.
“We’ll
walk from here.” He gets out. He opens my door and I slide over and step out,
too. Blood recirculates through my legs and it’s hard, but I lift my arms over
my head. I’m instantly rejuvenated.
“Is
this the way you came with the others?” I look around trying to get a sense of
where I am.
Ezekiel
shakes his head and I slam the door behind me. I walk after Ezekiel and Pike.
The car is parked beside a large boulder at the edge of a dense forest. We
couldn’t drive through there if we tried. We step into the trees and even
though we’re away from the stream, the ground isn’t dry. There are patches on
the ground of liquifacted Earth. Of quicksand. I know enough to avoid them as
they’ll surely suck my boots down into them.
“Dory
got out,” Ezekiel states. I stop, but not for long as neither of them even
pause. I have to walk faster just to keep up.
“What
do you mean?” I ask. A bit confused.
“She
told me that she used to get out,” Ezekiel says. “She said she would meet up
with a bunch of other kids like you. Pretty often, actually.”
I
don’t have anything to say. I’m not so much surprised as I am hurt. Deep
inside, I must’ve known. How could I have expected she would remain in
isolation? I had Jenny, but who did Dory have?
Ezekiel
continues as we step over mounds of pine needles, orange instead of green. “She
and the other homeschooled would plan where they would go if they got away. She
told me they would talk on the web and then would meet up somewhere away from
the neighborhoods. They didn’t know what was beyond this immediate area and most
of them were too scared to go too far. That’s what she told me.”
“Dory
wasn’t too scared, though,” I say, recalling my sister before I went into the
hospital. She was always so self-assured and strong.
“She
didn’t have any real plans to leave, as far as I knew.” Ezekiel still stomps
ahead. We’ve only been in the woods about twenty minutes and I can already see
the glimmer of light beyond the darkness of the forest.
“You
asked her to come to Aegis, didn’t you?” I ask. “To be with you.”
Ezekiel
stops, but doesn’t turn around. I’m glad for the break. My legs are still stiff
from the car ride.
“I
did. I told her I could come and get her. She wanted to come, but would never leave
you. Or your little sister,” Ezekiel finishes and continues to walk ahead.
“But
how would she know where to go if she left? If she never really went anywhere,”
I ask. I’m still not sure why she would want to go to the mine fires unless
someone made her go or she really thought Evie was there.
“I
don’t know,” he answers and says nothing more.
Mushrooms
pop up through the needle cover, decomposing whatever is below. Ezekiel walks
us to the light that has
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