The Weird Travels of Aimee Schmidt: Seeking Others

by J. A. Schreckenbach

  “Ahhh,” Joseph said as he nodded his head. “I see now. Why would Dylan care that I'm here unless he thinks there's something going on between us.” Aimee glanced up abruptly at Joseph. He had a smirk covering his face.

  “How did you find me here at the mall?”Aimee quizzed.

  Joseph replied, “I took a stab that you would be here. Remember, you told me where you worked?”

  Damn, Aimee thought, my big mouth.

  They were almost to the top. Without any warning, the proverbial axe struck Aimee's cranium. She started to drop. Joseph immediately grabbed on to her as they stepped off the escalator together. He managed to get her over to a bench, out of the way of people passing by. They sat down together.

  “Here,” Joseph started to say as he put Aimee's pack next to her. She reached for it. Her hand grazed his, but before she could do or say anything, they left, vanished together into the dark pits of the tunnel.

  The two of them compressed together, like sardines in a can. Aimee immediately noted he didn't appear to be scared, like an “ungifted” should be. There was no doubt in Aimee's mind he understood exactly what to expect of the tunnel's torture because he was gifted, like her. She saw him mouthing words at her, but she couldn't hear anything. In less time than usual, the bright light pierced through the darkness, and the two landed into an opening in a wooded area, then rolled away from each other.

  Joseph sat up first and looked around quickly to assess the location. Aimee was semi-conscious five feet behind him. He quickly crawled over to her. She was coming to, and he helped her into sitting.

  “You okay?” he questioned.

  Aimee sat for a few seconds trying to get her bearings and determine if anything hurt. “I think so. Nothing feels broken. You?” she asked.

  “I'm okay,” he answered.

  Joseph got into standing, extended his hand and helped Aimee up. Both of them looked at each other for a few seconds, but neither spoke. After a long minute, Joseph asked, “Where do you think we are?”

  Aimee shook her head. She looked around, but there wasn't a lot to discern their whereabouts. It was mountainous and timbered all around them. “I don't know, but I've never been sent anywhere that there wasn't someone in trouble.”

  “Me, either,” Joseph said. He pointed to an area ahead of them. “I see a trail over there. Let's see if that leads to anything.” Joseph started walking through the tall grass. Aimee was right behind. Both kept glancing around them, looking for any signs of life.

  Abruptly, Aimee stopped. “Hey,” she called out to Joseph. He stopped suddenly, too, and spun around to look at her.

  “Do you hear that?” she whispered.

  Joseph stood perfectly still, trying to hear what Aimee heard. At the same time, they both heard them, children's voices, coming from somewhere ahead of them on the trail. Joseph put his finger to his lips, then motioned with his head towards the trail. They took off quickly towards the voices. They slithered silently through the stand of trees until they spotted them; five young kids, all under the age of nine or ten. The oldest was a girl, and the only boy, and the youngest, looked to be four. The oldest was trying her best to corral the two younger children back into their hiding place. The girls were wearing dresses down to their mid-calves, plain shawls around their shoulders, and had on boots. The boy wore knickers. He had on a plain jacket. Joseph figured based on their clothing they were in the 1800's, perhaps the middle of the century.

  “Martha! Josiah!” the oldest girl said sternly, but as quietly as possible, “get over here and settle down. Paw told us to stay hidden so the injuns won't find us.” The two little ones quit chasing each other and obeyed the girl. Reluctantly, they returned to where the older two were hiding behind the huge rock. The oldest girl joined them as they all sat huddled behind their protection. No one said a peep.

  Above the tree line, Joseph noticed black smoke coloring the sky. He could tell by how it carried through the sky something close was on fire. He leaned over and whispered to Aimee, “There's something on fire above here. I believe it's moving this direction.” Aimee looked up at the sky and saw the black smoke.

  Aimee whispered, “What do you think is happening?”

  Joseph listened for a few seconds. He thought he could sense movement around them. Before he could answer Aimee, they both spotted them. About a half dozen men in Native American attire of the period were moving through the trees way above them like ghosts. They were coming towards Joseph and Aimee quickly. The children were between them. Joseph glanced at Aimee, and she looked at him for only a fraction of a second. They knew what they needed to do.

  Both bolted from behind the tree where they were hidden towards the rock hideout. Just as they made it to the children, one of the girls spotted Aimee and Joseph and started screaming. Before the children could scatter, Joseph swept in and grabbed up the two youngest in his arms. Aimee seized the hands of the one who screamed, and the other girl. The oldest stood up in shock, but took off racing behind the rest of the group as they ran for their lives. Suddenly, a blood-curdling whoop of screams filled the air. Aimee and Joseph immediately realized the danger they were in. Both ran like the devil himself was chasing them. Within seconds they were back into the opening where they had landed. The oldest girl didn't stop. She passed Aimee and Joseph, then kept running as fast as the wind towards the stand of trees on the other side of the opening. Aimee held on to the two younger girls, and they ran as fast as Aimee, while Joseph stayed a few feet in front, toting the two crying youngsters, one in each arm. Joseph looked back. They were about fifty yards ahead of the group chasing them. Aimee looked back, too. A couple of the Indians had stopped at the tree line and had readied their rifles, while the remaining four continued running at an angle away from the fleeing group, but towards the trees. Just as the oldest girl made it to the stand of trees, Joseph looked up and noticed four white men on horses, two of them with their rifles readied for the fight. One of the men whipped up the oldest onto his horse behind him, and waited until Joseph made it to him. The man, dressed like someone from long ago, stared for a few seconds at Joseph, like he couldn't believe his eyes. Joseph lifted up the two youngsters onto the horse in front of the rider, then slapped the horse's flank just as the man kicked his heels into the horse's side. The horse took off like a rocket into the woods. Another man raced his horse to meet Aimee. In seconds the two remaining girls were on the horse, one in front of the rider, the other behind him. He, too, looked at Aimee, then Joseph, like he was seeing two ghosts. No one said a word. The rider whipped the horse around and in a second disappeared into the woods.

  Joseph grabbed Aimee's hand, and they both tore past the remaining two settlers sitting on their horses. One had his rifle aimed at the four Indians racing through the tall grass, who were almost to the tree line, while the other man had his sight on the two Indians across the clearing with their rifles aimed and ready to fire. Aimee looked back when the sound of the rifles started blasting. Joseph didn't let go of her hand as he kept running. Aimee's foot caught a fallen branch, and she started to fall. Before she hit the ground, both she and Joseph were gone. The tunnel had snatched them out of the woods and was spinning them unmercifully. Within seconds, the light blinded them, and they dropped back into the mall. Aimee had fallen off the bench and was down on her hands and knees. Joseph was right there trying to administer his help. Aimee looked up. Not a soul was in sight. Joseph took her hand and quickly helped her back onto the bench. Fortunately, her backpack was still sitting there waiting for their return.

  Aimee couldn't catch her breath. Joseph grabbed her water bottle from the pack and handed it to her. Aimee glanced up at him, seized the bottle, and started gulping the water, like she was dying of thirst. After a long minute, she put the bottle on the bench, wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, and peered up at Joseph. He sat down next to her. “Are you okay?” he queried.

  Aimee closed her eyes for a second, then nodded.

  “Go
od. That's good,” Joseph commented. He looked around. A couple of kids were walking their way. They didn't say a word to each other until the kids passed by. Joseph continued, “I thought they had got you when I heard the shots, and then you started to drop.”

  Aimee couldn't speak. She was too rattled. All she could do was shake her head.

  Joseph started to talk, but Aimee couldn't stay there with him. She jumped up, and instantly went back down. She was still unsettled.

  “Stay seated. You need to get you bearings before you move,” he ordered.

  Aimee couldn't leave. Her legs felt like rubber. She looked up at the massive tower clock in the center of the mall floor. It read 2:06. They hadn't been gone long. She needed to get away from Joseph, but she couldn't return to work. Not right now. Her brain hurt. The pain covered the entire right side of her head. And worse than the miserable headache, she couldn't wrap her head around what had just happened. Suddenly the thought of her sitting here with Joseph in the mall where anyone, and everyone could see them, put her into a tizzy. She popped up, grabbed her backpack, and took off. Her legs kept her upright as she hurried towards the escalator. Aimee didn't look back, but fortunately Joseph wasn't following her. She ran down the escalator, peeling around an old lady who was riding down. When she made it to the bottom floor, she broke into a run and escaped into the ladies restroom. A couple of teen girls were washing their hands and chatting. They looked up as Aimee whipped by them and ducked into a stall. She locked the door, hung up the pack on the hook, and leaned against the door, her arms crossed tightly across her front as she began to violently shake. The two girls continued talking about something, then they left. Aimee couldn't stop the river welled up behind her eyelids. The tears poured down her face as she rocked, trying to calm the storm inside her.

  **********

  “You're early,” Jeff said as he looked up from the books he was pricing and spotted Aimee. She walked in and stuffed her backpack under the counter.

  “Yeah, I couldn't find what I wanted, and I didn't feel like eating,” she responded.

  Jeff remarked, “You don't look so good.”

  Aimee frowned, then said, “Geez, thanks, Jeff. You know how to make a girl feel good.”

  “I'm sorry,” he continued, “I just mean your eyes are bright red, like you have one of your migraines.”

  Perceptive for a man, Aimee thought. “Yeah, well, I do have a headache, but I'll be okay. I took something while I was gone.”

  “Well, if you want me to stay, I will,” Jeff offered.

  “Nope, I'm good.”

  “Well then,” he began as he stacked the books by the register, “I'm going to head over to the other store for a while, but I'll be back around six.” Jeff started to leave, but stopped suddenly. “Oh, by the way,” he started, “Dylan came by looking for you a couple minutes after two.”

  Aimee's heart quit. She truly felt sick now. “Dylan...” she stated, “was here?”

  “Yeah, Dylan, your boyfriend,” Jeff answered. “He said he was gonna take you to lunch. I told him you had just left to go find a gift for your friend in New York, but you couldn't have gone too far. Well, I gotta go. Call if you need anything.” Jeff collected the bank bag and headed out the door.

  The store was empty. Aimee grabbed her pack from under the counter, whipped her phone out of it, and noticed she had two texts from Dylan. She tapped the newest one.

  Hey, where are you? Call me when you get this.

  She scrolled to the first one, and opened it.

  Hi, babe, I'm at the mall looking for you...lunch?

  Her head throbbed. Who knows where Dylan was in the mall when she and Joseph were together. Her heart pounded so hard she couldn't breathe. She glanced up and noticed someone entering the store.

  “There you are,” Dylan announced as he approached the counter. “I've been looking all over for you. Didn't you get my texts?”

  Aimee held up her phone, then answered, “I just noticed them. I'm sorry, but I had my phone stuffed in my pack and I didn't hear them come through when you sent them.”

  “Well,” Dylan said as he leaned on the counter across from Aimee, “I was gonna take you to lunch. Did you eat?”

  “Nope, I have one of my headaches,” she paused and rubbed her forehead, “and I didn't feel like eating. And I didn't feel like shopping for Chels so I came back.”

  “Your eyes are bright red. Do you have any medicine?” Dylan asked concerned.

  Aimee sighed. “I took some a few minutes ago. It hasn't started working yet.”

  “Oh man, why didn't your boss stay so you could go home?”

  “Jeff needed to get to the other store. He told me to call if I needed anything. I'll be all right,” Aimee answered and tried to offer a reassuring smile.

  Dylan reached across and touched her cheek. It caused her to go weak in the knees, but she managed to remain upright since she was leaning on the counter. Tenderly, Dylan asked, “Can I get you something. Anything. How about one of those smoothies you like?” He was always so caring. Aimee felt horrible, and not just from the headache. Guilt overwhelmed her. She felt like she had cheated on Dylan with Joseph, only she hadn't done anything other than travel with the man. But she couldn't ever reveal that to anyone, especially Dylan. Miraculously, she and Joseph had managed to not be spotted together or return injured.

  Aimee sighed again, one very long sigh. “You know,” she answered, “that might help. Do you mind?”

  “Heck no,” Dylan quickly answered as he started to leave. “The tropical one?” he asked over his shoulder.

  “Yep, that would be great.”

  “I'll be back in a flash,” he said, and in a second he was gone.

  Aimee melted onto the stool behind the counter. She felt exhausted, and numb, but at the same time a stark revelation struck her, and a strange energy surged through her. She wasn't alone anymore. Someone, just like her, existed, and he traveled with her. Seek others, Jack had told her in her dream. That's what he meant, she decided. I needed to find someone, like me, to travel with me. No...no, it can't be true, she tried to argue with herself. I can't travel with Joseph. I can't keep that kinda secret, not from Dylan, and probably not from anyone... Aimee sat there, thoughts flying through her brain, about Joseph, and the journey they had just taken. But, we did save those children, she conceded, and we came back safe, no injuries... Aimee stopped. Dylan was back with a big smoothie in one hand, and a huge smile on his face. She couldn't think about this now. She had to talk to Joseph at some point, but Dylan must never, ever, find out. She shivered thinking about what would happen if he knew she was continuing any contact with Dr. Smith.

  “Thank you. You're a lifesaver,” Aimee said as she came around the counter and took the smoothie from Dylan.

  He leaned in and kissed her lips, then softly said, “Anything for my babe. I love you.”

  Aimee quickly replied, “I love you more.”

  Dylan stared deeply into her eyes, then nodded. He wanted to believe she loved him more than he loved her. He didn't know how that could be possible. He kissed her, then said, “I'll see you later at the apartment. If Sacha and James don't mind, I'll make dinner.”

  “That would be awesome. I'll text them to let them know you're coming over. Hey, here's my key,” Aimee said as she snatched her keys from her pants' pocket, then started to take off the apartment key. She forced a smile as she handed it to Dylan. He took it, smiled back, then left. She walked out to the store front and watched him walk towards the mall exit, then she stood there and searched amongst the crowded mall for Joseph. She didn't spot him. Relieved, she went back into the store and took a long sip of her smoothie.

  Up at the top of the escalator, hidden by a small group of people chatting, Joseph stood staring down into the bookstore. After a long minute, he turned and hurried away.

  Chapter 12 Mixed Feelings

  Dylan slowly came into consciousness, stretched, and then checked the clock. It was 6:45. A
imee needed to be at work in two hours. He rolled over and for a moment just watched Aimee sleeping. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he loved looking at her. Finally, he reached over, touched her back, and waited for her to stir.

  Aimee slowly started to awake. She lifted her head off the pillow and with one open eye, she peeked at Dylan.

  “Good morning,” Dylan greeted.

  Aimee flipped to her side and brushed the hair out of her face. “Good morning.”

  Dylan leaned over and kissed her lips tenderly. “I love waking up with you.”

  Aimee smiled. “I love waking up with you.”

  Dylan turned over and sat up on the side of the bed. He grabbed his boxers from the floor and started to pull them on. Aimee leaned over and grabbed his arm. “No, don't get dressed yet,” she requested. He already had his boxers on, but he got back in bed and saddled up next to her. “I was hoping we could have a little more of what we enjoyed last night,” she said.

  Dylan chuckled. “You wore me out. I'm not sure I can oblige.”

  “I bet you can,” Aimee said.

  Twenty minutes later the two lay tangled in each other’s arms. Dylan leaned over and gently kissed Aimee on her forehead. He asked, “How's your head feeling.”

  “Better,” Aimee answered as she softly rubbed her hand across his firm pecs. “Do you feel like getting in a run with me before I leave for work?”

  Dylan rolled over to his back, pulled the sheet up over his waist, and answered, “I don't have my running gear. But I'll get breakfast for you while you put in a few miles.”

  Aimee smiled, then kissed him. “That would be awesome. James made a pig out of himself last night eating your meatless chili. You're an amazing cook.”

  “Chef,” Dylan said with a smirk.

  Aimee winkled her nose at him, and then got up to search for some underwear and running gear. She continued talking while she dressed. “I hope I make it through today without another headache.”