Bell started to walk away, as did Bentley, when I remembered something important. I’d been thinking about it for a while, and I figured it’d be best to ask Bell– not for permission, I didn’t need permission, but… you know, for advice.
“Wait, Bell!” I called out. Bentley just kept walking, but Bell stopped at the door, and turned around to face me.
“Yes, Jason?” he said.
“After I clean this up, uh… Can I, would you let me– I mean, do you think it’d be an okay idea, if I tried to see my friends, if I can?” I stammered. Listen, talking to adults was never my forte, in case that wasn’t already obvious.
“I don’t know, Jason. If your uncle saw you–”
“I’ll steer clear of my house, I promise. That’s not…That’s not home anyway, you know?” I said.
The U.S.B. had told Great Uncle Vinny– as well as the school– that they’d found some blood relatives of mine, and that I’d be moving with them “somewhere up north.” Vinny didn’t care even a little, and I assume the school somehow let my friends know.
What Alannah thought of it, I don’t know. I don’t really know anything that’d been going on with them for a while. She’d probably moved on, started dating Sam, and spit on my front lawn after deleting my contact, if I had to guess.
“Jason… that’s risky,” Bell said. “For their sakes, wouldn’t you think?”
“I know, but… I hate this, Bell. I seriously hate it.” He looked sympathetically at me, and I just stared back, determined to get the okay.
“Alright, it’s your call, then. It’s not like I could stop you anyway,” he decided. “But clean this up before you do anything else.”
“Sir, yes sir,” I said, giving him a tiny salute. He just grinned, and walked out of the sparring room. I hustled out a second later to find that broom/dustpan combo.
Good lord, I don’t know if I’m just bad at it or something, but it legitimately took my like, three hours to clean all that up. I know I realistically could have flown around and got it done in a cinch, but Bell told me not to… I don’t know, shut up, I liked the guy I just did it to be nice, you can’t judge me.
Anyway, after a long night spent sweeping, I not only left the facility, but additionally gained a new appreciation for the janitorial staff of the world. You people are the real heroes.
I flew about in the sky for a while, trying to come down on whether or not I wanted to visit everyone. I had no idea what they were doing, but it was a summer Saturday, so I assumed all signs pointed to Alex’s house, if not Sam’s.
Still, Bell was right, it was a seriously stupid idea. I mean, maybe I embellished on what he said a little, but the meaning was there. If I sought them out, who knew what Malek would do.
I knew that they were still alive and well thanks to Bell’s surveillance, but I had no clue what was going on in their lives. Like I said before, the whole dynamic could be different; they probably had a new sixth already. I just hoped it wasn’t some douchebag, like Greg…
“Ox!” I shouted, my anxieties getting the better of me. He appeared next to me, soaring through the clear night sky, silhouetted below the stars to the world beneath me.
“Why are you so anxious?” Ox asked. “If you wish to see your friends, and you believe it worth the risk, then see them.”
“I don’t know if it’s worth the risk, Ox! That’s the problem!” I whined. “It’s dangerous, right? And beyond that, it was a total dick move just leaving them like that– who knows how pissed at me they might be.”
“Would you be angry, if it were one of them who had to leave?”
“I…I don’t know, Ox! Maybe? No… I don’t know, man! But I’m the one who left, and they’re not me, so who cares what I think?”
“You do, clearly. Quite a bit.”
“I care what you think! I make stupid decisions all the time, that’s why I don’t trust myself!”
“Like walking outside at night, thereby gaining the title of the Wanderer?”
“Exactly.”
“Or arguing with your best friend, only to reveal your shared, deep, emotional feelings toward another friend?”
“Yeah…”
“Or stealing goods from small stores with no such means of defense, simply out of further self-relating anxieties?”
“Alright pal, you’re piling on a little here.”
Ox grew silent a moment– I guess the thousands of previous Wanderers hadn’t ever really had to deal with the awkward social complexities of a sixteen year-old’s day-to-day life. Not to mention when literal life or death consequences were also on the line.
“If you go, you must make it quick,” he decided. “Perhaps, even, you should see them, but not let them see you.”
I took a deep breath, and decided that would probably be best. Without another word, I took off toward Alex’s house, and landed in the woods on the other side of the street, just before his front yard.
I looked through the window, and just as I’d guessed, all five of the gang sat in the kitchen, talking amongst themselves. It’s like I knew them or something.
Alex leant against the sink, Will sat next to him on the countertop. Julia, Sam, and Alannah all sat in the three chairs on the island; which sucked, because I couldn’t tell if that meant Alannah was sitting “next to Sam” or “next to Julia.”
They were just chit-chatting about something, I had no idea what, and it didn’t really matter. They seemed more or less happy, but there were a weird amount of uncomfortable silences where no one would look like they were talking. I don’t know what that meant, but it sure never happened while I was around.
I don’t know what the plan was here, but I just sort of watched them for a few minutes. I know it sounds creepy, but seeing all my friends again… it was comforting, I guess. If nothing else, to know they were still living life the way they always had, it just happened without me in it now. Maybe that was for the better, after all.
I mean, really, maybe even after all this Malek stuff, that would be ideal. Assuming I didn’t get killed, I’d already been gone so long, and there would always be trouble lurking with challengers coming to fight me. Maybe I should just buzz off to space, like the other Wanderers. It would do the galaxy a pretty big favor, as well as Earth. It was a win-win, for everybody except me.
But maybe that was okay. This title was a burden to bear, I understood that. Yes, I could make whatever I wanted out of it, but I think that for the sake of the people I loved, leaving might be the best thing I could do for them.
Then Alannah glanced out the window, and somehow saw right through the everything in the way, and spotted me.
How do I know she spotted me, you’re wondering? Well, her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, as did mine, and after about a three second I’m-not-crazy-right rationalization, she hopped out of her seat, and ran to the front door.
All the others noticed, and Sam jumped up, trying to grab her hand. That was weird– weird that I noticed it, and weird that it happened, who’s to say which was worse? She just shook him off, said something to them, and reached the door.
Alannah opened it, no shoes on (like a maniac) and ran through the front yard, past the empty street, and hopped onto the small patch of grass just before the bounty of trees and dirt shrouded in darkness.
I sort of leapt back way into the woods and hid amongst the top of the trees all while she made her way over, but she knew I was in there, somewhere.
“Jason!” she shouted through gritted teeth. She glanced back, making sure the others hadn’t followed.
They all watched out the window– these people were really onenote with their snooping– but they couldn’t make otu much, I’d imagine. Especially after Alannah made the foolish decision of stepping into the woods with no shoes on.
“Agh!” she winced, tip-toeing around the area, looking all over for me. “Jason, I know I saw you! Get over here, Rhodes!”
I hesitated, but as I was about to peel out, she glance
d up, and noticed me.
“Jason!” she gasped. I looked down at her, and she stared right back up at me. The moon just barely shone through the scattered openings in the trees, and she stood basked in starlight; the breeze crept past her face, brushing her hair behind her shoulders, swaying gently with the winds.
Damn dude, she hardly had to try– the world just naturally beautified her with every little thing.
I floated down, and landed in front of her. We just stared at each other for a second, and right as I opened my mouth to say something, Alannah smacked me right across the face.
It didn’t hurt– I didn’t even flinch– but it did surprise me. It stung, but like, on the inside, you know?
“Where the hell have you been?” she asked. “I hear you like me, so you just split– not just on me, or Sam, but everybody– without a word?”
“Alannah–” I tried.
“No, I’m not finished,” she insisted. “You say we’re all in danger, but weirdly, challengers still show up all over the Boston area for months, and ‘the Wanderer’ handles them, no problem. So clearly, you have some kind of problem with me, or Sam, or…or something, Jason!”
I saw her eyes glisten in the pale moonlight, and I could tell it wasn’t just the natural gleam of light her brown beauties reflected; those were tears.
“Why were you so afraid to tell me?” Alannah pressed. “I mean, Jason, it’s been three months. Even if I had…” she shook her head, and looked away. “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore. But how could you just leave us like this? We’re your friends– your family. We don’t want to lose you, Jason… I don’t–”
I grabbed her hand, and she looked back into my eyes. I didn’t say anything, and for the moment, neither did she. We just stood there, taking each other in.
It was times like these that my heart liked to grab the wheel, and try to lead the way. The problem with that was, he wasn’t very rational, so I might do something dumb in the moment, and seriously regret it later when ol’ brainy took back the helm.
“It doesn’t matter…?” I whispered. No, I shouldn’t have said it, but I got caught up on that part.
“No, not…not anymore…” Alannah repeated. She sounded a lot less confident now, though.
“Even if you had,” I said, my words hushed, hardly escaping my lips. She nodded a little, and I closed my eyes.
I leant my head forward, and she did the same. We pressed against each other, our noses just barely missing one another’s touch.
“A-Alex is still having a Fourth of July party in a few days…” she muttered. “I…I know you think you c-can’t, but… Jason, can’t you come, just…just for a little while?”
I still held her hand firmly in mine, but with every passing second, I loosened my grip, and slowly pulled it away. She tried to keep me there, but I began floating back, and up into the air.
“Jason…!” she gasped, the tears at last dripping down her face.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m so sorry Alannah, I just… I wanted to see you guys. I thought I could… you know… but I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
I rose back up to the treetops, and paused for only a moment longer, seeing Alannah stare up at me, her breaths staggering every inch further we parted. I hated it so much, but I couldn’t stay any longer; if I did, I don’t think I would have been able to leave.
“F-Fine, leave then!” Alannah shouted. “Just…Just abandon everyone that actually cared about you! It’s all you know, anyway! It’s…It’s who you are…!”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I’ll just leave my internal reaction as that. It’s pretty fitting.
I took off, and burst back into the skies. I headed straight back toward the moon, as the wind ripped the tears from my eyes, and dropped them back down to Earth, where all my loved ones– where the girl I’d wanted nothing more than to hold– were left behind. Where Jason Rhodes had to die, and leave only the Wanderer in his place.
And damn dude, it really, really sucked.
12
Freeze Frame
“No,” Bell said.
“What do you mean, no?” I asked, standing in his office, my arms crossed. Bentley stood off to the side of the room, shaking his head. “It’s just for a few hours!”
“Kid, look at what happened the other day,” he said. “You went to see them, talk to Alannah for all of fifteen seconds, and started crying.”
“I did not start crying,” I said. Well, okay, yes I did, but that wasn’t the point.
“Not only is it dangerous, Jason, but you’re hurting yourself– you’re hurting them,” Bell stressed. “You have to see that. “I know that isn’t what you want.”
“I’ll dress up!” I insisted. “Look, I haven’t shaved in like, three weeks–”
“That’s three weeks?” Bentley asked. Alright, look, I can’t grow very good facial hair, sue me. It was just a bit of blonde scruff, but it was something.
“Yeah,” I spat. “This, plus a hat, a sweatshirt or something. I’ll be fine!”
“Jason…” Bell sighed. I stared him down for a few seconds, and although we’d only known each other for a good few months now, I think he understood that this wasn’t something I’d back down from. “You really are stubborn, aren’t you?”
“I like to think so,” I said. “Please! I won’t even stay the whole time, I just… the way I left things with Alannah– I can’t keep it like that. I have to make things better.”
Look, was I running in circles with this whole letting them go and then running back to them thing? Yes, absolutely! But so what? They were my friends, my people; I loved them more than just about anyone else in this world.
I know it was dangerous, but if I really did leave them out of my life, that was letting Malek win. Was it dangerous? Sure. Was it stupid? Maybe. Nonetheless, it was my life, and I wanted them to be a part of it. Some wicked old alien loner with a need for companionship wouldn’t determine how my life turned out, I wouldn’t let him.
“I’m sorry Jason, but I just can’t allow it,” Bell said. Wait what?
“Wait, what?” I said. “What do you mean? You just said I’m so stubborn and everything! That’s what someone says when they’re about to give in!”
“Not me,” Bell said, standing up from his desk. “I can’t condone your doing this. It’s dangerous, and foolish.”
“And stupid,” Bentley added.
“I guess you would know, huh?” I said. It came out with a lot less energy than usual, but this was an unexpected and frustrating twist to how I thought things were going.
“Kid, you’re sixteen, you don’t understand why this is as big a deal as it is,” Bentley explained. “We’re trying to keep you from doing something you’ll regret.”
“Well you can’t stop me, can you?” I asked, standing up.
“Jason–” Bell tried.
“No, I mean really, you can’t!” I argued. “If I want to go, I can go. I can fly there, for God’s sake! You can’t hold me in here, you can’t stop me from doing what I want to do.”
“That’s bold of you to assume,” Bentley muttered. “Why don’t I just call of the party myself? Call the cops on the whole charade before it gets ‘too crazy?’”
“No, Jason, we can’t stop you,” Bell said. “But I’m putting my trust in you, just as we have from the start, that you’ll do the right thing here. Seeing your friends, no matter how badly you want to, or how poorly you handled seeing them before, is not worth putting their lives at risk.”
“You’re not trusting me!” I shouted. “You don’t trust that I can do it without anyone getting hurt!”
“I guess not,” Bell said. That hurt. Like, a lot. “But maybe trust has to go two ways if it’s supposed to work.”
I just grimaced, shook my head, and moved toward the door. I hated leaving like this, because I actually really liked Bell– Bentley was alright, I guess– but I couldn’t stand to be around either of them anymore. They were driving me
nuts.
Without another word, I left, and flew up to the front door. Once I was outside, I clicked the suit on, burst off to the skies, and eventually made my way back to the moon. I sat down, and took a deep breath, trying to compose myself before getting too upset.
It didn’t work.
I got a text, and somehow I just kind of knew that it was from Sam. More than that, I knew what it said. This suit was crazy, man, I’m telling you.
“Hey Jason,” he said, “I need to get this off my chest. I don’t know if you blocked me or if you’re still ignoring me or what. I don’t blame you, but I need to tell you that I’m sorry. I’m really sorry I betrayed our friendship over Alannah, man. No matter what I felt about her, you are way more important to me as a friend. You’re my brother. Everyone’s upset without you, and for some reason Alannah’s even worse now than before, idk why tho. Idk, I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry, and I’m done with Alannah. I’m over her.”
That was in and of itself a massive heartbreaker right there, but then of course, to toy with my emotions even further, he sent another text.
“If you can, or want to, I really hope you come to Alex’s tn. Starts at 6:00. It’ll be a good time, but it won’t be the same without you. Let me know, and one last time, I’m sorry Jase.”
“You son of a bitch…” I muttered, my stomach doing all kinds of flips and whirls, trying to tell my brain to shut up and listen to my heart. It was awful.
And then, to make awful awful-er (worse, whatever), I saw someone flying toward me.
Malek zoomed over from Earth, and I caught him coming just in time to stand up, and hold a defensive stance. I assumed the worst, but he stopped right in front of me, and pressed down on the moon-ground.
We stood facing each other for a moment, neither one of us speaking a word. I don’t know if he’d been following me or saw me going to the moon or what, but he certainly seemed pleased with himself, if the stupid grin on his face was anything to go by.
“Jason,” he said. “I apologize about how I acted some few months ago. I know we haven’t had much contact since– other than the challengers, which you’ve handled miraculously well, by the way– but I wanted to let you know, I’ve come to a final solution to our problems.”
The Wanderer (Book 1): The Wanderer Page 15