by Zara Zenia
"Are you sure this guy ain't givin' you trouble?"
"I'm sure," she sighs. "There's a situation goin' on right now, a family thing."
He's scanning her face for signs that she's lying. Then he looks back to me and narrows his eyes.
"I can't say I believe you, Felicity but this is a free country so... I suppose it's goodbye for now."
"I'm really sorry!" she wails.
"Yeah, whatever. Barmaids like you come and go all the time. Just don't be expecting me to be paying you for tonight."
She huffs and steps inside.
"Be back in a minute, Voland. Just getting my things."
She disappears back inside leaving me and Bertie out in the cold. He's still sizing me up, his eyes moving up and down my body.
"What kinda name is Voland?" he asks. "You Polish or somethin'?"
I shake my head.
"I've never been to Poland."
"Neither have I."
He tosses his cigarette butt in the snow and it sizzles as it melts the snow around it. Taking one step inside, he stops in his tracks as though he's just remembered something.
"You know, I've been working in bars all my adult life and part of the job is learning how to read people. I've been with all kinds of weirdos but... there's something about you. You're a strange one."
And he walks away, the door slamming behind him as he leaves. A moment later, Felicity is back outside, wrapped up in her big coat with her bag slung over one shoulder.
"Ok, let's go," she says as she takes my hand in hers.
"Right, let's grab our things. We gotta be quick."
"But where are we going?"
"We'll decide when we get there?"
"Eh?"
She gives me a confused look and I shrug.
"Will you at least tell me what this is all about? Why are they looking for you?"
"I did a bad thing. Or rather, I did a good thing in a bad world."
She looks even more bewildered.
"My home planet, Orba, you have heard me talk about it a lot. It was a beautiful place to grow up and in some ways, it was a lot like a utopia, a paradise. But then an evil man named Palzu overthrew the government. He made Orbans think that his teachings were for a greater good, that if everyone went along with him that Orba would be even greater! But it was all lies. All he wanted to do was destroy the place, set the planet alight with hatred and kill innocent people. I saw it all too, saw the bodies burning, bore witness to the atrocities. But the worst thing I must live with is the fact that I was once one of Palzu's biggest supporters, volunteering myself to join his army."
"You were in his army?" Felicity gasps.
I nod with a burning sense of shame.
"But as soon as I saw what he was doing I escaped, and me and the others, the crew I spoke of, we stole one of Palzu's shuttles and fled."
"And that's when you fell to Earth. But what about all the locations you told to the man on the other end of the earpiece."
"I was trying to throw Palzu's general off the scent, lying to him so that he would go in the opposite direction of my friends."
"I see."
She squeezes my hand tight.
"This is all crazy and I can't wrap my head around it but please know one thing. I am here with you and wherever you need to go, I will be by your side."
"We just have to be somewhere safe."
"Well, we better hurry, if we're lucky we can get the last train outta here."
Chapter 16
Voland
We're crashing around the motel room, ripping up the bedsheets as we search through our things.
"Only take the essentials," I shout. "We'll need to travel light in case we need to run."
"We'll be running?" Flick asks.
"Yes!" I shout.
"Jesus Christ, stop yelling. I'm right beside you."
"Sorry."
I stop shoveling clothes into a backpack and turn to her.
"I'm just really stressed right now," I admit.
"I can imagine," she says as she rubs my back. "But getting our panties in a twist won't get us anywhere faster. Come on, let's get our stuff together."
After a few moments, we're standing in the doorway looking back inside the room that looks as though a whirlwind has passed through it.
"I'd never thought I'd say this but I think I'm going to miss this place."
"Me too," I say. "It wasn't a palace but to us, it was our home."
And I close the door over. Looking out into the night, we're faced with nothing but the blustering wind and sub-zero temperature.
"What time is it?"
Felicity looks at her watch and squints to see through the snow that's flying past her face.
"Shit, it's already five to one."
"What time is the last train out of this town?" I ask.
"One!"
"Ok, run!"
We take off, our feet slapping along the icy sidewalk as we sprint to the station. As we turn the corner and it looms up on the horizon, we can hear an approaching train.
"Shit! It's here!"
We run faster, darting down to the platform taking the stairs three at a time. Felicity trips near the bottom and lands on her knees with a thud and a yelp. Meanwhile, the train is gliding into the station. I grab her by the elbow and drag her up.
"Come on!"
With one final burst of energy, we run onboard the train, the doors sliding shut on our shoulders as we squeeze in. Then we're away, the train rocking us back and forth as it takes us out of Meridian.
"What the fuck do we do now?" Felicity asks as she inspects her grazed knees.
We take our seats at the window and hope it's too late for the inspector to come check our tickets.
"We just go," I saw. "We keep moving, we don't rest anywhere for too long and we always stay inconspicuous. That way we can't draw attention to ourselves and Palzu's general won't be able to track us."
"Ok."
She pulls out her purse and starts flicking through her money.
"I have some cash left. It's not a lot but it's enough to feed us for a week or so and get us another cheap hotel room."
"Thanks," I lean across the table and grab her hands. "You're terrific."
When I open my eyes, the sun is shining through the windows, casting an orange glow over Felicity's face. I have no idea where we are but it's at least warmer than where we left. I pull off my coat and enjoy feeling the sun's rays on my body. Felicity stirs in her sleep and mumbles like she always does. I keep a tight grip of her hand and watch her silently.
Out the window, I watch endless fields of corn go past, a plant that I learned about in Alison's grocery store. For some reason, I have the strangest compulsion to jump off the train and walk out into the field just to get lost in the tall plants. No one would find you in there. It could be a paradise if you wanted it to be. But unfortunately, it's not something I can do. I need to formulate a real plan, to make sure that both of us are safe.
As the sunlight gets stronger, Felicity rolls over in her seat and opens her eyes, the bright light making her eyes look vibrant and awake.
"Morning, handsome," she says.
"Morning," I answer.
"Where are we?"
She stretches and yawns as she sits up.
"I don’t have a clue."
"It's pretty out here and it's warm too. Seems like we're off to a good start already."
A pinging noise comes over the speakers and we suddenly hear a woman's voice.
"We will shortly be arriving in Wellington, Kentucky. Please make sure to take all of your belongings...."
I look to Felicity.
"We're in Kentucky. Do you know anything about such a place?"
"Um... I know that it exists and that we're now in it if that counts for anything."
"So you've never been here before?"
"No."
"Weird," I say.
She screws up her face.
"Why?"
"I dunno. I just assumed the people in America traveled around constantly. After all, it's a beautiful place. Wouldn't you want to see it all? If I was an American I would be on the open road forever. I'd want to learn everything about the land and all the people who lived on it. I'd never want to leave a mile untouched."
"Well, right now it looks as though you're living the dream. We’re on the open road, even if it's because we're trying to escape an extra-terrestrial psycho dictator."
She laughs but I can tell it's to stop the tears from falling. She thinks I haven't learned all her little behaviors but she's wrong. Over the last month, I have learned them all. I know everything about what she's thinking, I can tell from the way she moves and talks. I can figure out what's on her mind just by the way the muscles in her face move.
"I'm sorry," I say.
"For what?"
"For getting you into this mess. It's a nightmare and it's all my fault."
"Believe me, honey. I was in a mess before I met you. Don't you remember how we met?"
We share a laugh and she looks out the window.
"Flick?"
"Uh-uh?"
"What would you have done if I wasn't your first customer and you ended up living a life like all those other girls?"
She nibbles on her thumbnail and keeps staring out the window.
"I don't wanna talk about it."
She continues to chew on her nails, her teeth making an unbearable bone crunching sound as she nibbles.
“Why do humans do that?”
“What?”
“Get nervous and eat themselves.”
She doesn’t say anything but just stares at me with her teeth tearing into her delicate fingers.
“Hey.”
She suddenly looks up at the sky and frowns.
“What’s that?”
“What’s what?”
I crane my neck to see what she’s looking at. As soon as I see it, my mouth goes dry. It’s a bright light and I know straight away that it’s too bright to be human. People around us are starting to see it too.
“Is that a God forsaken UFO?” an old woman behind us gasps.
“Shit,” I say and hold my head in my hands. “They’re onto us.”
“How could they know where we are? Felicity wonders.
Felicity looks close to tears and she’s flinging her arms up over her head in sheer desperation.
“They won’t know exactly but they’ll have a rough idea. Saurad would have tracked the communicator so they’ll have a rough idea of what part of the country we’re in. It’s not too bad. It’s a good thing I guess.”
“Are you insane? How is that a good thing?”
“If they’re up there sending out a signal across the land, it means they don’t know exactly where we are. It means they only have a vague idea of where we’re hiding. It means we have time.”
“So what do we do now?”
I go silent as I try to figure out our best plan of action, thinking a thousand scenarios repeatedly. I’m trying to be silent but there’s a ringing in my ears. It gets louder and louder until I clasp my hands over my head, desperate for it to stop. Felicity is asking if I’m ok but I can’t answer her. I open my mouth but nothing comes out. Her hands are on mine, trying to rip them from my head but she can’t. People are staring at us. I can feel all their eyes on my body as they wonder what’s going on. Then the world around me fades away and there’s nothing but blackness as though I’m suspended in a big open space with no air, no light, no people, just my mind.
“Voland…”
The voice is low and booming. I recognize it immediately.
“Saurad?”
He laughs to himself as though only he is privy to a hilarious joke, one that I’m most likely the punchline of.
“You think you are running away, but you are only running closer.”
He laughs again, his voice echoing around my head.
“Don’t lie to me,” I yell. “If you knew where we were, you would have captured us already.”
Saurad’s laughing shrinks to a mere giggle.
“I admire you, Voland. You’re always so optimistic, even when you are faced with certain death.”
“Be quiet!”
He begins to laugh again, his voice reaching a cacophonous crescendo as it reverberates around my skull. It’s unbearable, so completely monstrous that I’m terrified I’ll never be able to think again.
“Good luck, Voland. Your time is running out.”
Then his laughing begins to shrink away as the sound of the real world begins to sink back into my consciousness.
“Voland?”
I can hear Felicity’s voice again.
“Voland?” she asks again while shaking my shoulders. “Are you ok?”
Opening my eyes, I see everyone on the carriage is staring at me.
“I’m fine,” I say.
The train starts to screech to a halt. I can feel the great weight of the mechanical structure struggling and groaning beneath our feet as the engine slows. Looking out the window, I see we’re pulling into the next stop.
“Wellington,” I whisper.
“What was that?”
Felicity leans in close to me, her hands wrapped around mine as she pulls me closer.
“We need to get off!” I shout.
Startled, she reels back.
“What? Here?”
She looks out the window at the tiny town in the middle of the country and looks a mixture of horrified and confused.
“Yes,” I nod. “Here. Let’s go.”
Chapter 17
Felicity
We’re in another hotel. This one was as cheap as the last but at least it isn’t as dirty. If anything, it’s rather nice. It reminds me of visiting my grandma’s house. Everything is floral and there are countless little bowls of potpourri and vases filled with dried flowers. The whole place smells like an old lady’s underwear drawer. Even the walls are floral with yellow paper covered in daisies but hey, at least the bed isn’t heart-shaped.
“I like this place,” Voland smiles as he lies back on the bed. “It smells nice and there are no scuttling noises under the floorboards.”
“Yeah… that’s always a plus.”
I sit on the end of the bed and lean back on my elbows.
“There’s no television, though.”
“I noticed that,” Voland says. “But there are plenty of books over there on that shelf.”
He points over to the corner of the room. From what I can see it’s mostly the classics. I catch a glimpse of Jane Eyre and Anne of Green Gables and feel disappointed.
“I’ve always wanted to read those but couldn’t,” I lament.
“What do you mean you couldn’t?”
Voland sits up and places a hand on my back.
“Well… I never was a good reader.”
“I bet that’s not true,” he smiles and kisses me on the cheek. “I bet you’re a great reader but you just don’t have the confidence.”
“No seriously, I’m a terrible freakin’ reader.”
“But you went to college, right?”
“I struggled a lot,” I sigh. “What it would take the average student, it took me ten times as long.”
“Aw… Well if you want to start somewhere, I’d suggest this.”
He leaps off the bed and pulls a book from the shelf. It’s Oliver Twist.
“You’ve read that?”
My voice comes out sneering and skeptical but I don’t mean it to.
“I’ve read these,” he says. “It’s how I learn about the world.”
I shake my head.
“I can’t believe an alien is teaching me about literature. I should be ashamed of myself.”
He gives me a weak smile and sits back down beside me. Wrapping an arm around me, he squeezes me hard and I lean on his shoulder, grateful to have his company.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I say.
&nb
sp; “I have a feeling you’d be fine on your own.”
“I mean it. I’ve not known you long but the time we’ve had together has made me feel like a brand-new person.”
He strokes the side of my face and leans in close. I can feel his hot breath on my lips, can smell the sweat that’s lingering on his skin. I part my lips to kiss him but before I have the chance to lean in any closer, there are raised voices and the sound of panic.
“What’s going on?”
We both jump off the bed and dash to the window. Outside we can see the small town and the way the houses give way to the large expanse of corn fields. Below us, people are gathered on the main road, shrieking and yelling over the top of each other.
“I can’t make out what they’re saying.”
“Sounds like something really bad just happened,” Voland muses. “I wonder what it could be.”
“You wanna go down and check it out?”
He nods.
Making our way outside, we see a group of farmers outside the grocery store with their fists in the air and their faces red and panicked.
“Out there! There’s loads of them!” one of them shouts.
“Loads of what?”
“Spaceships, God damn it! There're a dozen or so spaceships. We’re being invaded!”
“Gerry! Get my shotgun! We’re heading out there.”
Voland and I turn to each other with sheer terror in our eyes.
“How did they find us?” I ask.
Voland’s face crumples up with worry
“Hey!”
I wave a hand in front of his face.
“Can you hear me? How do they know where we are?”
He’s staring blankly into the distance.
“I-I don’t know,” he quietly mutters. “It can’t be… They can’t be here…”
“Well, they are Voland! What are we going to do?”
I prod him in the chest and he finally turns his eyes toward me.
“I’m going back to the room,” he says as his shoulders fall.
“What? No! You need to stay here and figure this out.”
But he’s walking away from me, his body defeated and exhausted.
“So I guess it’s just up to me then!” I shout after him.
He’s ignoring me. I watch as his figure shrinks away and turns the corner.