Confrontation

(…and more unrevealed story…)

Alex had been trudging on aimlessly for hours now. To him, whether it was a day, or two days, it didn’t matter. He’d get lost in his thoughts, and then become conscious of his surroundings again, and each time it felt like a day had passed. Sometimes it felt like this wandering was a life in and of itself and that his other life on Azalea Street was in another dimension; yet he really knew, if he were plain with himself, that it had been only a few hours. And he was sleepy, so that didn’t help. Where to stop�"he wasn’t sure about that, so he walked on and on, legs moving as if a machine and no longer taking orders. He hadn’t moved his arms in a while. Couldn’t feel them anyhow.

Indeed, the thing was he didn’t know where he should stop, or if. That was the real question. He almost felt like he could go on forever anyway. Heck, he’d probably just keep walking in his sleep, he thought. Every time he snapped back into consciousness, he experienced a very real fear that he had forgotten something, and each time he’d worry about it, he’d think to himself You took everything…you took everything…you took everything… For some reason, he’d restart the process over and over again as if he brain was too flabby to convince himself that, yes, he had indeed brought everything. Sometimes he wondered if the girl in his arms was dead. It was a silly thought, of course, and still he wondered sometimes. He didn’t really care, but then again he was sleepy.

He was now reaching the end of the giant cornfield. Quite suddenly he looked up and decided that this was a good time to stop�"specifically right there, where a promontory of brushes and dead plants eventually led to yet another woody area. He found a smooth patch inside the tangled bushes to lay Jade. It was then he felt the soreness of his weary arms. He laid and the bare ground himself and found that it was�"suprisingly comfortable. In fact, those bushes would be like a bed, so he scooted over and sat lay down near Jade. He just wouldn’t let himself go to sleep, not yet. A raven glided over him, hardly visible with the cloudy sky behind it. But he could hear it. It squawked twice and kept on its way. He was proud of himself, yet not very gleeful in that moment due to his tired arms. He found his thoughts drifting toward home and what was happening at the moment�"they were all still asleep. What time is it, he wondered. Then he remembered that he had actually traversed three fields, passing boundaries of tall trees which separated them all. Not one, three. Was that what he forgot…or…

Very quickly his mind subconsciously recounted the day (Alex didn’t really know what day it was he was recounting) in the way your mind does when you finally lie down after a busy day. Everything flashed before him, along with some things that never happened, and he half-dreamed half-imagined struggling to open the front door to his house�"it was locked. His breathing picked up and he pondered how to open it, why it was shut.

The next thing he knew, he was cracking open his blurry eyes from a restless sleep. A second later he realized it was day, only morning, for the rising sun was shining a subtle light on the world before him. A second after that, he felt cold. Very cold and very stiff. He lie there for several minutes doing nothing at all�"then he saw something moving up by his head. It was Jade and he had been looking at her all this time but wasn’t entirely mindful of her presence there. Alex closed his eyes again and began to slowly drift away once more. She’s waking up. He thought.I can make her eggs and see if she likes those, or bacon. Later today we can try the golf course. I don’t think she can swim; if she can swim we’ll go to the pool a little bit or something. That’s not really what he thought; well it is, but it was more like one instantaneous thought that equaled all those words. He opened his eyes again. He came to the realization of where he was. Jade was stirring now. Wait, he wasn’t that far yet, this is day one! All in an instant he nearly freaked out at what would happen when she realized where she was, and he sat up like a bolt (that’s what he imagined, but it was really a lethargic, rather slow sitting up). He was about his wits right then, and right then she popped open her eyes and began to raise up.

Her drowsy eyes grew as wide as can be. She looked around in amazement�"and saw Alex�"and didn’t run away as Alex had feared. She was clearly bewildered, but what Alex didn’t anticipate and what he now sensed was that she trusted him. Alex was familiar enough to her. She definitely didn’t expect anything malicious of him. “Where are we?” she said hoarsely. “What happened?” None of these questions were directed to Alex. Alex prepared for this moment and rehearsed what he would say, but he was completely, totally speechless. “Was there a fire?” Jade asked, this time looking at Alex. She rubbed her eyes. Quickly, quickly he tried to find what to say; what did she just say? Fire? Alex felt more confident as he saw she wasn’t very afraid. He really didn’t understand her logic, though. As he tried to connect why a house fire would lead to her being alone with him on an acre of stubs surrounded by trees, he, well…this was an easy way to avert trouble.

“What do you mean was there a fire…” each word crept out of Alex mouth as if it was unsure of coming out. She began to gape and scratched her head. She blinked. Oh! It made sense now to him now! If there was a fire, he may have had to go far away from the house and bring her to safety. Yes, it made sense�"he nearly laughed out loud because of it, and because he could play off this very well. Before Jade stood up, and opened her mouth to ask “What happened?”�"and Alex could see he eyebrow beginning to frown�"he seized the moment.

He felt very confident now, and said convincingly, “There was a fire so I had to take you away to a safe place…we had to get far away enough from the smoke.”

“What happened to everyone else?” she retorted.

“They’re�"they’re safe now,” Alex replied almost losing confidence again. “I’ll take you back to the house now; it’ll be safe.”

“Okay.” She believed him. She believed him! When she didn’t move, and he didn’t move, he understood she was waiting for him to guide her. Slipping on his pack, his shoulders were a little straighter, his chin a little higher, his back a little taller. He took one step and it was firm, and each following stride was wide. He was proud. One could argue he was a fool to feel that way right now, and could curse him for lying to a little girl after he had kidnapped her�"that’s really what he’d done, kidnap her. Each step he took felt bolder and firmer than the last; he looked back and saw Jade trailing behind him, and felt it then. He knew he wasn’t anywhere near his goal, but he felt he already achieved it. He felt like a man. It was just him alone, and Jade, and he finally, finally felt like a man. And he thought just for a second that he had was already completely satisfied with his journey.

He was going the other way; not toward the house, but continue ahead into another bunch of trees. That was his plan, so for the moment an unpleasant confrontation was averted. Anyone could have labeled him a fool right now. Alex didn’t think he was a fool, no, this would work out.

Jade took her sleeping bag with her when she got up to follow Alex. Immediately, she had wrapped it snugly around her shoulders to keep out the cold.

The sun had finally risen above the horizon. Orange beams warmed Alex’s face and heart. Jade had a few more questions before she was satisfied, which she spanned out over the thirty minutes they had been walking thus far: things like “How far is it?” and “Why did we have to go so far,” and finally, “Why didn’t the everyone else come with us.” Alex came up with answers as succinctly as he could. Once when he looked back to check on her, he was disappointed in himself. He should have brought her a coat or something.

“Do you want my jacket?” he said. She didn’t answer, but he slipped it off and held it out.

“Well…” she hesistated. She didn’t want to take his warmth away. Alex insisted. When she didn’t reply right away, he cloaked her with the garment and walked on. Stride a little wider now. They had broken through the other side of the trees a while back and were talking through a meadow with tall grass. For the first time, Alex noticed the velvety purple wildflowers peppered all around him. It was very nice. Jade ran her fingers through some of them, but only for a second or two, because the dew was cold to her already frigid hands. Jade was finished asking questions, so the time began to crawl, with Alex peeking back every minute to make sure he was still being followed. When they were cresting the fifth small hill or so, the sound of cars was heard. Sure enough, a mile or so down, the two could see the looping, winding streets of a freeway crossing over one another amidst the backdrop of a small metropolis. “Are we lost?” Jade asked. She was suspiscious something was wrong now, but still she didn’t think Alex was up to something. Alex felt butterflies in his stomach. Somehow he knew his escape was just then discovered at home. He was right. “Alex, are we lost?” His name got his attention, and he whirled around and stared at her with a queer face. Would civilization spoil his plans? When would he travel back to occupied lands, because he knew he had to at some point.

“Do you want to want to help me start a fire?” He breathed the words. Louder he said, “It’s easy. I can teach you.” He didn’t know what to do. Alex underwent a process very similar to the one the night before, only now he could use his axe, and Jade was there to help him. He also had to pluck out a circle inside the tall grass so the whole place wouldn’t be set ablaze; afterward he drenched the area around the woodpile to contain the flames.

He could still do it, he could still make it work. He was thinking very hard of some explanation to give to Jade to assure her that everything would be okay�"in other words, he was planning out how he’d find a place to stay, more food and water, and other comforts, so that when she did discover the obvious, somehow this would still work. Jade herself had more words on her mind than she spoke, for she had been silent ever since they’d begun making the fire. Alex scrimmaged though his large pack. He found what he was looking for: a pack of hot dogs (he always wanted to try this), some napkins, a bag of fritos, carrots, and another bottle of water. He handed Jade the water. She held out her hand and looked up, and froze. No words. She took it silently and looked down at her lap. When Alex had roasted his third hot dog, he was very near deciding to spill out everything. Jade was humming and drawing on the ground. He spit the fourth hot dog with no purpose.

“Are you lying to me?” Jade asked gently.

He laced together another tale, and here’s how it went: But before he started, he humbly said, “How the fire started was really wild, and I don’t understand it. Somehow the flames from the stove burner lept into the pan and, because there was oil in it, it spread out quickly.” Okay, here’s how his tale went: The fire soon spread throughout the whole kitchen, and Sarah awoke smelling smoke in the house. She called the fire department and soon the firemen had arrived; everyone awoke in time and ran out of the house, but in the panic, they’d forgotten Jade. Alex was also sleeping upstairs and didn’t awake until later. When he did awake, Alex became alarmed at the musty, smoky smell eeking into his room. Luckily, he saw Jade and was able to snatch her up and get out the back door before the whole dining room was incinerated. Alex explained how his dad and mom had always taught him to get far, far away from a building when there was a fire. “You learn that in school, right, for a fire drill?” Jade said casually that he was mistaking it with the bomb drill, but he ignored her and went on. “Same thing happens for the fire.” He added before he continued. When they had gone a far, far away from the house, Alex thought it was safe�"and all the way he dropped cherrios to make sure he wouldn’t lose his way�"he layed down and went to sleep because he was exhausted. “But I was glad you were safe,” he added; he smiled, she listened intently. All the while as he explained the story, Alex kept his eyes on the bonfire, as if it was a crystal ball showing him the events he was unfolding. “When I awoke, all the cherios�"they were gone. Birds ate them, I suppose. There were ravens flying overhead when I awoke.” Alex finally looked at Jade in the eyes and put on a melancholy face. “So, yes, we’re lost. It’s my fault.” If you didn’t know Alex, you may have called him a liar. But Jade did know Alex, and she had a hard time thinking he had made all this up. Hopefully you know Alex well enough now to know that he isn’t one to fib. In her childlike innocence, and because she trusted the young man, she did believe him. The air around them seemed looser now, and Jade’s obvious next question was, you guessed it, “How are we going to get back to your house?” She suggested they could ask some people on the freeway up there.

Alex explained that this wouldn’t be safe. He said he knew of a city a few miles away, and he did, but he never intended to stop there. Jade felt sure enough to eat; she ate a cracker. She was afraid she couldn’t stand the cold and would freeze, but she wouldn’t complain to Alex. Really, the fire helped only a little. They stayed there for a little longer before Alex stamped out the fire, and on they went.