“Are we going on a trip?”
“Yeah,” I say as I nod. “Kind of like an adventure.”
“You look worried…”
Before I can answer, the dashboard comes to life and displays an emergency broadcast. A man is standing in front of Noah’s house. He begins to speak.
“A city-wide manhunt is underway for a Chicago Sitter for failing to report an Aggro—The Aggro named Noah Williams, 29, was found armed with a handgun and the Sitter’s badge. Hunters did manage to take him down… however, they were unable to stop the Aggro from killing his wheelchair bound mother, fortunately though, no one else was injured. The Sitter, Ethan Chase…”
“That’s you…” Cherie says as she points to the image on the dashboard.
“…had fled the scene with and is believed to have abducted his other Unstable, a 26 year old female named Claire Derry. A picture of Cherie comes up and then the transmission ends.”
I pull the car over to the side of the road and into the tall grass. I punch the steering wheel.
Having no wheel Cherie holds her hand out and punches it.
I rest my head against the steering wheel. I do not know what to do. This is way beyond anything I am capable of. Cherie rests her head beside mine. Why did Noah have to get me involved in this? It didn’t make any sense. He thought he knew what he was doing recruiting me, for whatever purpose it was—but in the end it cost him his life, and probably his cause. Who am I supposed to give this information to? The media will not listen—they work for C-Shapes. Surely Noah must have known that, for all his realizations and plans—in the end I fear they are going to amount to nothing. So here I am… me and my Unstable miles away from everything we both know. I can never return home. Although I take a bit of comfort in knowing that they probably expect me to try—after all, no one feels safe outside of the big cities these days. So for now I know we are somewhat safe. That makes me feel slightly better… but not much, not really.
“Are you in trouble because of me?” Cherie asks as she rests her head upon mine.
“No,” I say as I reach over and place my hand on her knee. “We just… can’t go home. I’m sorry. We have to head it some remote place in Missouri. At least there we’ll be safe. This is more of Noah getting us into trouble—although he didn’t mean it.”
“Is Noah gone?”
“Yeah…” I say as I continue to keep my head buried into the steering wheel.
“Are you sad…?”
“I am,” I say as I feel an overwhelming sense of frustration and anger mixed in with that copious amount of sadness. They didn’t have to kill his mother—I suppose he really was onto something. I begin to feel bad for doubting him. I still want to doubt him. I just don’t understand how he could know so much—he wasn’t a researcher… I read his things back in the day; it was all public interest pieces… none of that makes any sense. However, it must have made sense to someone. Some of it must have been true.
“I am too,” Cherie adds as she places her arm around me. “I know he was your friend.”
“We will be alright though,” I say as I turn my head and look to Cherie… or should I call her Claire… I suppose I should wait until she accepts her old name—if she ever does. “I’ll take care of you.”
“You’re my Sitter?”
“Not anymore…” I say as I continue to look into those beautiful eyes. “I guess I’m your caretaker.”
“I’m your caretaker.”
“Fair enough…” I say as I smile.
“Fair enough…”
I take a deep breath in. I have to be strong—at least for her sake. I wait a few minutes as I look at the map at the corner of my windshield. It looks like it will take be an estimated 28 driving hours to get there… if not longer on these roads. We might have to stop somewhere for two days. The idea of not knowing where I am going to sleep fills me with a bit of anxiety. I’ve never slept anywhere other than my own bed. I’m sure it is the same for Cherie.
“I’m thirsty…” Cherie interrupts my train of thought. It does not matter for it was not really headed anywhere important.
I begin to search the car. I open up the glove box and find a large silver envelope. I open it up and find a stack of thousand dollar bills and some few rolls of two and five dollar coins. “Paper and coin currency…” I say aloud. I haven’t dealt with this since back in my early gas station days… I imagine it still spends the same, especially out in the remote towns. I find a small emergency blanket, a flashlight, and a box full of emergency meals. However, I do not find any water. “Shit…”
I check the center compartment. A large bottle of water rests in a round compartment. It is already cool. I pull it up from its confines and hand it to Cherie. As she unscrews the cap another bottle pops up in its place, scaring her and causing her to drop the cap onto the floor. She then starts to laugh.
“I forgot all these pre-V-Day vehicles were pretty nice…”
“What is V-Day?” Cherie asks.
“That’s what we call the day that people changed…”
“That’s when I became different?”
“Yeah… a lot of people did that day,” I say as I look once more at the map.
“We have to go back though…” Cherie says with a bit of anxiety in her soft tone. “I’m sorry, I forgot my Calm.”
“You don’t have to take that anymore,” I say as I turn to face her. In the bright summer light her hair blows against the soft flow of the air conditioner. She constantly struggles to keep it out of her hazel eyes; every now and then they catch the sunlight and glow brilliantly. She is smiling… despite everything that is going on she is smiling. Her cheeks are always a natural slight red. Her nose reminds me of a small button—she has such a cute, but at the same time beautifully innocent face. I suppose, now that I no longer look at her as a threat in the least, I can see what Katharine warned me about. She seems fragile, but I know that there is strength there—after all… my cheek still stings from this morning.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I could never tell you when I was your Sitter that you were beautiful,” I say, being flat out honest. I figured, what is there left to lose at this point?
She looks away and laughs. “I always thought you were handsome.”
“Yeah…?”
“I had forgiven you before I made you kiss me.”
“You’re a sneaky one,” I say as I laugh. “I still feel terrible about what happened.”
“You had a job to do, and you did it,” Cherie says as she leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “I don’t really hate your job—it brought you to me. I’m sorry that you don’t have it anymore, I’m sure it meant a lot to you.”
“I have more important things in my life now,” I say, meaning both her and the impossible task that Noah has left me with. “Let’s check to see what we have in the trunk…”
“I hope it’s my painting…”
I let out a sad sigh. I think about all that artwork just left in the apartment. It seems like such a waste. I get out of the car and Cherie follows behind me. Even when no one is around she still seems comfortable to be my shadow. I slide my key against a silver bar and the trunk opens up. Inside we find a backpack, couple of hiking poles, a small hand axe, a tent, some basic camping gear, more meals in boxes, and the large container that supplies us with water. “At least we are well prepared…”
“No painting though, but good stuff.”
“Sorry.”
“When will we be able to go home?”
“I don’t think that we will be ever going home…”
“So everything I… everything I left I won’t see again?”