Soul's Journey
Page 4
fished around in the pocket, until I pulled it out, and rolled it around in the palm of my hand. The color was beautiful. I had never seen anything like it before. My thoughts went back to the old man, and I wondered about his life. Putting aside all the questions that flooded my mind, I placed the stone on the nightstand and shut off the light. I left the window open and inhaled the strong pungent smell of spruce and pine. It seemed to clear the cobwebs out of my mind.
Sleep settled in as soon as my head hit the pillow, and an odd dream started instantly. I was running along a path in a huge cedar forest. The birds were chirping, and the smells were vibrant. I noticed up ahead that the path formed a fork in the road, which trail should I take? One path was covered by overhanging branches and darkness, the other was bright and colorful, with dancing rays of sun as far as my eyes could see. As I was staring straight ahead, I noticed a small deer spring quickly out from the bush onto the bright sunny path. I decided to move forward on the brighter path. This path had the safer feel when I focused my attention on it.
A loud bang on the wall woke me from my peaceful dream. Startled, I could feel my heart racing as I reached for the light next to the bed. I could hear yelling and screaming and I ran to the front window and peered out in to the darkness.
“You will take us to where we need to go or suffer the consequences of disobeying me,” said one man.
“I do not know what you want,” said another man fighting his way to freedom.
“I know who you are, and I know you have what I need,” said the first man again.
It took my eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness as I struggled to focus on the chaos in front of the neighboring cabin.
Two men held a third man by his arms, while a fourth man opened a car door. They were trying to force the captive man into the car as he struggled and fought to break free from their grasp. The tallest man placed some sort of object against the captive’s neck. There was a bright spark and the captive slumped over as if he had passed out. The other two men hurled him into the back seat of their car while the tallest got in the other side.
Startled, I plopped down on the nearest chair and stared blankly out the window. Should I do something, and if so, what should I do? Should I call the police, or inform someone? I pondered the thoughts inside my head for a few minutes before I finally focused out the window again.
I noticed the car was now gone, apparently they had driven away while I was deep in thought. I didn’t even know in which direction they had traveled. I wondered for a second if I might still be dreaming. Slowly I got up from my perch by the window and walked back to my bed, stubbing my baby toe on the bed frame. "Isn’t that just perfect?" I yelled. At least that clarified my questions about it being a dream.
Hopping on one foot and holding my toe with my hand, I reached the bed, then snuggled back in, and tried to let sleep claim me. The sun had risen before I finally drifted off. Awakening later in the morning, I felt as if I had been in a wrestling match with the blankets most of the night, and lost. My body felt tired, but somehow my mind felt as refreshed as a spring rain. I felt joyous about the new day and the new adventure.
The Chance Meeting
I packed up my duffle bag, took one last look around the room, and headed for the door. A flash of light caught my eye. Almost forgetting, I turned and grabbed my rock egg off the nightstand, opened up the pocket of my pants and placed the egg inside. I headed out the door, trying not to put too much stock in the flash of light.
I stopped at a local café for a buffet breakfast and filled my belly with pancakes and bacon. A new day brought with it endless possibilities, and since I was beginning to enjoy my new attitude, any stress that might have been clinging to me, dropped off. I felt energized and optimistic. Taking an extra-large coffee to go, I paid for my meal.
"Where are you headed?” my waitress asked.
"To the West Coast."
"You’ll have to take Highway 42, because Highway 13 has been closed due to flooding. We’ve had too much rain this week," she explained. “It’ll take you extra time, but the scenery is well worth the delay."
“Thanks, Angela.” I replied reading her nametag.
“Have a safe trip and a wonderful day,” she said smiling graciously.
Driving a short time later, I was wishing I had not been inclined to drink all that coffee. I needed to stop and empty my bladder. I noticed a sign that said ‘Rest Stop 2 Miles’. The two miles were going to feel more like thirty miles. My bladder was so full I thought I could not hold it for one second more when I finally arrived. I was relieved to see something other than outhouses as I pulled into the parking lot. I stopped the car then hurried into the restrooms. As I washed my hands, a huge sense of relief filled me; I could get on with my day. Before heading out the door, I glanced out the front window of the restrooms. The windows were dirty, but you could still see through them.
I recognized the same car I had seen last night in the motel parking lot. I could see and hear the four men arguing loudly again. I felt a sense of panic as I stood against the wall of the restroom. Their car was parked right beside mine, so there was no way that they would not see me get into it. Should I go out and pay no attention to them, or hide out in the restrooms until they went about their business?
I zoned out for a few minutes until I could hear them shouting and becoming more threatening. With my attention focused back against the window, I could just make out some of what they were saying.
The tallest man shouted, “This wasn’t supposed to happen, the bastard was to take us to the gate and not put up a fight. Now we must wait for him to come too. Time is of the essence, and we need to get back before it is too late. My family’s future is at stake.”
I heard another man say, “Go and check the bathrooms, we need to make sure no one is in there. We don’t need any more difficulties on this trip.”
Panic hit me square in the diaphragm and took my breath away. I had to hide. I shut the stall door, stood on the seat, and listened for the footsteps. After a few minutes, I heard someone come in and then go out again. I let go of the breath I had been holding.
One of the men said, “How were we to know that he couldn’t be bought? Most people’s lives revolve around money nowadays. Maybe we can force him to give us the symbols to open the gate. Does anyone know his family or where I can find them?"
After listening to their discussion, I knew I had to escape. Knowing the door faced the parking lot, I decided I would go out into the forest and lay low for a while. Looking around the small room, I spied a screen window, at the back, that would hopefully allow my timely escape out into the forest.
I pushed at the vent that covered the window opening with my hands, but it wouldn’t budge. I had to find something bigger that carried more weight. Looking around the bathroom, I spied a fire extinguisher, under the sink, that looked like it might do the trick. I moved my hands to pull the extinguisher out of its holder. Great, it was attached to the wall with wire. I had to squat down and unfasten the wire. Holding up the fire extinguisher with my shoulder, I was able to remove it from the wall. The job was awkward and tedious. If there had been a fire here, I’m sure this bathroom would have burned to the ground by the time I managed to free the extinguisher. Having removed it quietly, I headed for the screen window.
Using all the power I could, I pushed the extinguisher into the screen, but it wouldn’t give. I needed more weight. I looked over my surroundings and couldn’t see anything heavier that would work, so I thought I would take somewhat of a run and hit the vent really hard. This would qualify as one of those moments when I never really thought things through to the end. I took long running strides toward the vent, holding the extinguisher in front of me. The vent gave way with a huge screech, and tumbled to the cement below with a crash and bang, along with the fire extinguisher I had been holding. I know they heard that, there would be no help for it.
As I ran for the door, I heard voices from behind the bathroom wher
e the vent had landed. I sprinted out the front door, and noticed there was nobody beside the cars. Fumbling with my keys, I ran around the end of their car to the driver’s side of mine, hoping I could get the key in the door quick enough to drive away. Just as I made it to my car, someone grabbed my legs, I tried to scream, but there was a well-placed hand over my mouth. Someone pulled me to the cement and I was lying on the hard cool pavement when I heard a male voice reassuringly urge me to be quiet.
“You need to be quiet, please. He had leaned close to my ear and spoke in a soft voice, “I won’t hurt you.”
I wiggled around to look straight into the eyes of my captor. To my astonishment, he had the most amazing blue eyes I had ever seen. It reminded me of how the Caribbean Sea had looked on my last holiday in Cancun.
The reality of the situation finally kicked in and I instantly froze with fear. Every muscle in my entire body went rigid at the same time. My stomach was so tight I thought I might throw up my entire breakfast.
He repeated, “I won’t hurt you, but we need to escape as quickly as possible. I need you to run as fast as you can up the hill and don’t stop until you are out of view. Do you understand?"
He let me sit up, but he didn’t remove the hand from my mouth.
I nodded wildly as if I had rolling marbles in my head. I hoped that he would believe me and release me to run away from the predicament that I now found myself in. I think this is when I realized that I am a big ostrich when it comes to conflict. I enjoy putting my head in the sand and avoiding all trouble like the plague. Confrontation of any kind needs to be avoided at all cost. Megan had been right on another point.
He said, “I’ll let go of your mouth if you promise not to scream. Do you understand we will only get one chance, so this had better work?” I nodded yes again to the stranger.
His hand left my mouth, just as I heard a loud crash. He yelled, “Go and don’t look back,” as he pointed to the path winding up the hill and beyond.
Adrenaline kicked in. I was up and off the pavement like a cat with something tied to its tail. I had always thought that I was rather clumsy, but this ease and grace of movement proved otherwise. I could hear lots of yelling, it seemed the men were still at war with each other. They had not been able to work out their differences yet. I continued to hear yelling, but it became quieter as I put some distance between them and myself.
"I told you to come quietly and you’d go free."
"I prefer to choose my own path in life," the stranger said.
"I don’t want to hurt you," the tall broad man screamed.
"Then my suggestion to you is to let me go.”
"We just need the symbols, for the past," yelled the tall big man.
"Like I told you before, I do not know what you want from me."
"Give us the symbols and you and your friend can go free."
"She’s not my friend," said the stranger. "I just met her a minute ago. Leave her alone."
"I will use any means possible to get you to give me what I want," said the big man.
After running for what seemed to be a long time, I finally stopped by a large tree to look back. The restroom that had been my temporary hideout was now a pile of debris, ash and smoke. I thought it was strange that I had not seen a fire. My mind had trouble comprehending the scene that was playing out before me. When I looked closer, I noticed that the tall man was shooting beams of light at the stranger I had encountered at the car.
It had to be more than light because when it hit the stranger, it would send him flying about ten feet in the opposite direction. Surprisingly the fall must not have been as hard as it looked because he was