Misunderstanding

Something a little different this time.

Sarah pulled her car off of the road onto the gravel driveway and stopped at the rusted gate that blocked further entrance. There was no fence attached to the gate. It was only meant to keep unwanted vehicles from entering further. The driveway disappeared into the woods. She got out of the car, stepped around the gate and continued on foot. She paused a moment to turn and look back at her car. They were on her trail, but she had a significant head-start and it would be awhile before they were able to trace her there. Still, she didn't like leaving it by the side of the road where it might attract attention. She sighed and shrugged. She didn't really have any choice. She turned and continued up the driveway.

She smelled the damp leaf mould and heard birdsong echo through the trees as she walked. A crow cawed a warning that a stranger was in the woods. Morning was getting on and the sun filtered through the trees and dappled the gravel at her feet. Any other day she might have enjoyed such a pleasant walk.

It didn't take long before she came to a small clearing with a house trailer in mild disrepair, a brand new, detached, two-car garage, and an older model white sedan with a few rust stains in the finish. Next to the trailer was a concrete patio with a canvas sun-shade over it. Under the sun-shade was a weathered wooden picnic table. At the picnic table stood a young man working on a piece of machinery that was on the table. He was in his twenties, lean and slightly muscular with medium length, sandy blond hair. Sarah felt a slight twinge in her heart when she saw him. It had been at least eight months since she had seen him last and she had forgotten how good he looked, even in a grease stained t-shirt with his hair uncombed and a four day growth of beard on his face.

He looked up from his work when he noticed her approaching. She watched the expression on his face change from curiosity to surprise... and then to anger.

“Hello, Jason,” she said with a faint smile when she reached him.

He glared at her. “What do you want?!” he replied, not even attempting to hide the hostility in his voice.

She couldn't really blame him. Not after what she'd done. Some day she would explain, but today there was no time. They were after her. “I need a spectral, two-phase encoder,” she said. She looked down sheepishly. “I didn't know where else to go.”

He glared at her in silence for several seconds before he answered, “Those are illegal.”

“I know,” she nodded, “Do you have one?”

He glared at her again, this time for much longer. She half expected him to tell her to go to hell. He finally nodded and said, “It comes with a steep price, though.”

“I have money,” she said, pulling a wad of bills out of her bag and holding it up for him to see.

He looked at the cash disdainfully and said, “I don't want your money, and I don't think you're willing to pay what I want.”

She closed her eyes. So that was how it was going to be. She was disappointed in him. She had thought he was above that sort of thing. “I'll pay anything,” she said.

He raised one eyebrow. “Anything?”

She nodded. “I have to have it.”

“Wait here,” he said. He turned and went into the trailer. Two minutes later he returned with a small, black metallic devise with colored wires protruding from it. She reached for it but he pulled his hand away.  "Not so fast," he said.

She looked down at the ground and said, “Name your price.”

He pause for several seconds before he said in a low voice, “Never, ever contact me again... that's my price!”

She looked up at him with shock and dismay. Did he hate her that much?! He was right. The price was too dear. She could never agree to it. Then she looked back down at the ground and closed her eyes. She had to have it. She held her hand out and slowly nodded her head.

She felt him place the device in her hand, but before he released it he repeated, “Ever!” She nodded again and he let go of it and withdrew his hand.

When she opened her eyes she saw that he had returned to his work as if nothing had happened.

“Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice.

He ignored her.

“Goodbye, Jason,”

No response.

She turned and started back down the driveway, blinking back tears. She knew that she could make him understand if she just explained everything. But it would take at least an hour and she didn't have the time.

And now... she would never have the opportunity.

Author's Note

I have lots more Ian and Chrissy stories coming. I just thought I'd take a break and try something else for a change.

As always, suggestions and criticisms are welcome.

Reviews

[The Earl of Lemongrab]

I find the descriptions to be a bit shallow, but I think its because i'm used to analogies when i'm reading and writing. The dialogue was excellent. The punctuation was good, speech realistic and you were able to convey real emotions in the way you wrote the conversation. The beginning and the ending leave a lot of room for expansion. This could be an event happening towards the end of a longer story. An event in the middle, or the beginning of a story. Either way you'll most likely have to use some flashbacks to cover all the issues. Overall it was quite good. I'm pretty sure i'd read the sequel or prequel to it.

[Craig2591]

Thank you very much.

[Archos]

Well written(especially the dialogues), but it made me expect more than it offered. Sure, I don't mind mystery, but there was escalation without a climax. I still liked it though.

[Craig2591]

Thanks for the input.

[Dev]

Mysterious.....Love....Hatred.....Pain......everything that makes a great love story. I loved it. A story following what happens next would be a BINGO! Good work.

[Craig2591]

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

[Stan Lee]

Why???? I'm going to be wondering about this for days! So many unanswered questions...! Nevertheless, a great story with brilliant suspense.

[Craig2591]

I like to include mystery in my stories sometimes. Thank you for the review.

[Aidan Cottreau]

I enjoyed the read but it does feel like an excerpt from a much longer story, not a complete story in itself. It was written very well and left me intrigued, but it was somewhat unsatisfying as a short story and not a chapter.

[Craig2591]

Thanks for the input.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Oh, goodness, you're like me in having story after story on same characters! This was a good and saddening short story, you had great build-up to the price

[Craig2591]

Yeah, most of my stories are about Ian and Chrissy (and Emily). They are my favorite people to write about. It's like they're real to me. Like I'm responsible for them. I get the feeling you are the same way with your characters, too.

Thanks.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Poking my head in this story once more- with this reading after a long time away from WC, I'm noticing that you make particularly rich use of description in this one.

[Craig2591]

I did use more description than usual in this one. If you read it again it must be good. Thank you.

[Creepy Swine Guy]

That is the beginning of something. It leaves us with questions: who is after her, what did she do to earn his scorn, how intimate is their history? what the hell is a spectral, two-phase encoder? You could easily pull readers along with this opening.

Well done scribe ... well done.

[Craig2591]

Thank you very much.

[Different Wings]

I really like this. It's good writing, smooth, and intriguing. Most of all, it makes me wish there more, which is a good sign of a short story/excerpt. Thanks for this. It leaves room for imagination, although part of me wishes there were some more imagery. That's a style choice, I suppose :)

[Craig2591]

Thank you very much.

[Kinze]

Another beautiful piece of writing. I enjoyed reading this on my break from work. Short, leaves a great deal of mystery. Sounds almost like an excerpt or teaser from a book. I would encourage you to continue this.
I thought I saw a few errors (run-ons or confusing lingo) but as I look now I can't see them.

[Craig2591]

Thank you and if you see any errors, by all means point them out to me.

[K.]

This was so good! It's just like it was taken straight from a novel, except it works on it's own! Its that great! I really enjoyed reading it. It had fantastic imagery and it made me seem like I was watching the story roll out. Please write more!

Great job again!

[Craig2591]

Thank you very much.