at high speed.
When the overpass of the freeway loomed, Deo braked hard, and as they slowed he cranked the wheel. Stepping on the accelerator he broke the rear wheel loose and spun the three-wheeler in a one hundred eighty degree arc.
Now they had no decision to make. This was their choice of vehicle. The road led east again.
Deo latched his seat belt. So did Lecti.
Chapter 13
P eering from a hidden alcove south of the intersection at Highway 50 and Arrowhead, Hey You watched sullenly.
She very much wanted to leave with Deo and Lecti. As she followed them from the hospital she mulled the possibilities over and changed her mind as inclination swayed one way, then the other.
She knew what Hal was really doing with Lecti just before they left. She knew Deo must not have realized what was really happening.
Hey You was deathly afraid of Hal. She knew that it was likely that Hal would see through her disguise. It could happen at any moment. Why he hadn’t yet was amazing. Only by staying away from him, always hunched over, dirty and smelly, did she manage to survive.
When this brother and sister team walked into the hospital and as events developed, Hey You hesitated several times. She never communicated her desire to leave with them. When they left town, heading east, she despaired that she didn’t have the courage to run out and flag them down. She collapsed in emotional pain and sobbed for some time. When they came back down the hill unexpectedly and passed back into town, she couldn’t believe it. They must have forgotten something, and that meant they would be back. With a second chance and finally desperate enough to make up her mind once and for all, she did.
Positioning herself next to a tree at the edge of the road, she waited for them to return.
The three-wheeler was running great. It picked up speed, and now Deo focused on the road ahead. Lecti was busy checking out the dash, the switches, and the gauges.
They blew right past Hey You even as she broke from the weeds, waving her arms. The rag coat that Hey You was so used to wearing for protection had, in a cruel twist of fate, blended into the background of weeds and shrubs and the small tree she hid behind. Lecti and Deo simply didn’t see her. As the three-wheeler once again disappeared up the hill and out of sight, Hey You collapsed again. The final warped conclusion to this tragedy might have broken a weaker person. Instead, from her despair came clarity. She suddenly knew what she had to do. As she started to walk back down Arrowhead, she straightened her shoulders and back and started to walk as though a weight was lifted from her. This time there would be no vacillating. Her decision was made. She just needed to either create an opportunity or be patient and wait for one.
§
Moving at a moderately high rate of speed, Deo was having fun. It was good to be in a new situation that required his mind to focus. His dark thoughts were shoved to one side and he could smile. Lecti asked him to slow down. He understood. He knew that it would take some time to become comfortable with the machine and that they would be safer and more likely to be successful in their quest if he took the time to master its capabilities. It was just easy to become lost in the moment.
The three-wheeler needed a name. Lecti was used to naming vehicles. Her father had also done it. When she mentioned it to Deo, he rolled his eyes and smirked. Outwardly, he acted like he thought it was silly, but inwardly he really liked that Lecti would want to. It wasn’t just the name. It was an expression of Lecti and her personality. What he didn’t know was that it was an effort made by Lecti to move on from her terrifying experience. She was trying to distract herself.
Lecti appreciated Deo’s differences, and he appreciated hers. Where some siblings would fight over little inconsequentials, they had learned to value each other during their journey.
A railroad
When the overpass of the freeway loomed, Deo braked hard, and as they slowed he cranked the wheel. Stepping on the accelerator he broke the rear wheel loose and spun the three-wheeler in a one hundred eighty degree arc.
Now they had no decision to make. This was their choice of vehicle. The road led east again.
Deo latched his seat belt. So did Lecti.
Chapter 13
P eering from a hidden alcove south of the intersection at Highway 50 and Arrowhead, Hey You watched sullenly.
She very much wanted to leave with Deo and Lecti. As she followed them from the hospital she mulled the possibilities over and changed her mind as inclination swayed one way, then the other.
She knew what Hal was really doing with Lecti just before they left. She knew Deo must not have realized what was really happening.
Hey You was deathly afraid of Hal. She knew that it was likely that Hal would see through her disguise. It could happen at any moment. Why he hadn’t yet was amazing. Only by staying away from him, always hunched over, dirty and smelly, did she manage to survive.
When this brother and sister team walked into the hospital and as events developed, Hey You hesitated several times. She never communicated her desire to leave with them. When they left town, heading east, she despaired that she didn’t have the courage to run out and flag them down. She collapsed in emotional pain and sobbed for some time. When they came back down the hill unexpectedly and passed back into town, she couldn’t believe it. They must have forgotten something, and that meant they would be back. With a second chance and finally desperate enough to make up her mind once and for all, she did.
Positioning herself next to a tree at the edge of the road, she waited for them to return.
The three-wheeler was running great. It picked up speed, and now Deo focused on the road ahead. Lecti was busy checking out the dash, the switches, and the gauges.
They blew right past Hey You even as she broke from the weeds, waving her arms. The rag coat that Hey You was so used to wearing for protection had, in a cruel twist of fate, blended into the background of weeds and shrubs and the small tree she hid behind. Lecti and Deo simply didn’t see her. As the three-wheeler once again disappeared up the hill and out of sight, Hey You collapsed again. The final warped conclusion to this tragedy might have broken a weaker person. Instead, from her despair came clarity. She suddenly knew what she had to do. As she started to walk back down Arrowhead, she straightened her shoulders and back and started to walk as though a weight was lifted from her. This time there would be no vacillating. Her decision was made. She just needed to either create an opportunity or be patient and wait for one.
§
Moving at a moderately high rate of speed, Deo was having fun. It was good to be in a new situation that required his mind to focus. His dark thoughts were shoved to one side and he could smile. Lecti asked him to slow down. He understood. He knew that it would take some time to become comfortable with the machine and that they would be safer and more likely to be successful in their quest if he took the time to master its capabilities. It was just easy to become lost in the moment.
The three-wheeler needed a name. Lecti was used to naming vehicles. Her father had also done it. When she mentioned it to Deo, he rolled his eyes and smirked. Outwardly, he acted like he thought it was silly, but inwardly he really liked that Lecti would want to. It wasn’t just the name. It was an expression of Lecti and her personality. What he didn’t know was that it was an effort made by Lecti to move on from her terrifying experience. She was trying to distract herself.
Lecti appreciated Deo’s differences, and he appreciated hers. Where some siblings would fight over little inconsequentials, they had learned to value each other during their journey.
A railroad
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