Rakitaki: A Jonas Quartermain Adventure

by Lee Alexander

  “You didn’t mention that before. Tell me about growing up then. And don’t forget details like that, this time.”

  28

  The plane took off, interrupting their conversation for just a few short minutes.

  “I was the youngest of five children in a poor farming family. I got nothing but hand-me-downs, grew up small, had to do the hardest chores. I shared a bed with my older brother until I was ten and my parents could afford a bed from Salvation Army.”

  “I can’t even wrap my head around a life like that. I also don’t have any siblings, so that’s a mystery to me too. What is that like?”

  “I’m the youngest of five. Two sisters, two brothers. They fought all the time, but they always treated me well. We spent a lot of time together. The whole family helped on the farm. My older brothers and sisters would give me the scraps from their plates. They were always ‘full’, you know?”

  She shook her head, astounded by the difference in their lifestyles. “That sounds… that sounds really nice, somehow.”

  He nodded. “We didn’t have a lot. But we made it count.”

  “How are you going to college?”

  It was his turn to sigh. “That’s… my family loves me.”

  “That’s a weird way to say it.”

  “The farm is finally starting to do well. My siblings all started working during high school to help pay the bills. Hank, my oldest brother, dropped out to work full time on the farm. Christine and Lynn graduated, but they work full time too. And John graduated two years before me, he’s got the best job as a mechanic at a garage. They all work a little extra to help pay for my college. Compared to them, I’m kind of lazy, and I make a lot of bad decisions.”

  “They’re not all bad,” she said with sympathy.

  He looked at her. “I got deported from Egypt for buying drugs.”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it again. He had her there.

  Lily was silent for a long moment. She had never been poor, had never struggled.

  “Wait, did you say your sister’s name is Christine, like the book?”

  “Yeah, exactly like the Stephen King book. We gave her shit all year,” he said with a laugh.

  “You know the movie just came out a few weeks before we went to Egypt.”

  “Oh, I know. I just didn’t have a chance to see it yet.”

  “If you’re lucky, it might still be in theaters.”

  He shook his head. “It’s been two months, I doubt it.”

  “Second showing theater, then,” she said.

  “Yeah, maybe. I bet I could get Hank to help me take Christine. That would be fun. Even though she doesn’t like scary stuff.”

  She paused and raised a finger. “Wait, if you were so strapped for cash, how do you see movies so often? Didn’t you tell me you saw Indiana Jones like five times?”

  “Yeah, I made Elliott go with me. He has money, so he always paid. He pretends to hate the movie, but went with me every time.”

  “Sounds like a good friend.”

  Jonas nodded. “He’s my best friend.”

  “Well, tell me more about your family. Are your siblings proud of you? I mean, you went to Egypt for your class.”

  “I actually haven’t talked to them in a while. I guess I got a bit caught up.” He fell silent for a moment, and when he spoke his frustration had returned. “What does it matter anyway? I failed and got deported from Egypt!”

  She put a hand on his arm. “I think if you told them, they would be prouder than you think. You’ve done some incredible things, based on what you told me.”

  “I’m not like my siblings. I’m an idiot. I know I’m impulsive, I just… I don’t want to lose the fun in life, I guess. I see Hank working his ass off, married with a kid on the way and he’s still helping me go through college. Christine is married. Lynn is engaged. Even John has had a girlfriend for over a year now. They all work good jobs. So I study, but I can’t help but want to party. To drink, to get crazy. It’s like the harder I work to be like them, the more I want to tear it all down.”

  She remained silent. He showed an introspective side even he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. He was intelligent, but had a hard time harnessing it. He also had a habit of comparing himself to others, often unfairly. He stared down at his folded hands, neither of them noticing any of their one-time-neighbors on the plane.

  “Where did all that come from anyway? I mean, I saw you absolutely hammered at the hotel, and even then, you weren’t like this.”

  He nodded. “I guess I was shocked to the reality of life when I got arrested. I kept making decisions without thinking them through. Now that’s catching up with me, and I can’t see anybody to blame but myself.”

  “That’s… incredibly self-aware. Something I didn’t think you could have been before this conversation.”

  “So, what do I do now?” He asked. For some reason, he trusted her judgement, despite only knowing her for a few weeks.

  “Own up to your mistakes. You made a rash decision. So what? Nobody needs to know the details. Just make sure you learn from it, but don’t let it ruin your life.” She paused while she looked at him. When he looked to be cheering up, she continued. “Besides, it sounds like the drugs are in the hands of the cops, so that’s a good thing, I think.”

  “Thanks,” he said slowly. After that, they fell to common topics. Neither broached tough subjects, nothing that could potentially offend the other. They were still feeling out where each stood, unsure of how any progress could be made. Before they knew it, the plane was cleared for landing and the flight attendants were asking for them to be buckled. He hardly noticed the noise or bumpiness of the landing.

  “Willkommen in Amsterdam,” said the flight attendant. She repeated her message in English a moment later.

  “Welcome to Amsterdam! We will be taxiing to gate B13. Please stay seated and buckled until we arrive at the gate and the seatbelt sign turns off. This flight will be continuing to Atlanta, Georgia, United States in an hour. Thank you again for flying with Lufthansa!”

  The plane taxied to the gate, and the other passengers disembarked. They waited for the flight to change over for Atlanta. They chatted as the plane was repurposed. He didn’t understand why a Lufthansa flight was selected for it, but he didn’t question it either. The plane began to fill up around them. He just looked forward to the time he could spend with her.

  Eventually, it took off and turned toward the Atlantic. The lights were dimmed. He had no idea of the time on board or outside the aircraft. He knew he was beyond exhausted, and still had a half day or more of travel ahead of him. After some comforting words with Lily, she surprised him by grabbing his hand. She smiled, then lay back. He stretched his seat back as well, and they fell asleep.

  Jonas woke a few hours later to a still quiet flight. He had been troubled, something in his dreams had haunted him. Once again, the only symbol he could pick out was the Eye. He pressed the call button and a flight attendant arrived a moment later. He asked for something to drink.

  The attendant returned with a frothing beer. She gave him a sympathetic look, rubbed his shoulder, and said “gute Besserung.”

  “What?” He asked in confusion.

  “Ah, I am sorry sir. I said ‘feel better’.” She walked back toward the front. He stared into the depths of the amber liquid for a long while. Eventually, he was brought out of his stupor.

  “Are you going to drink it or just stare at it?”

  He looked dazedly at Lily. Her hair was in disarray, somehow accentuating her eyes. They almost seemed to glow in the low light. She combed a hand through her hair to tame it while she talked.

  “Oh, uh, yeah, I guess so.” He raised the glass, gave a half-hearted ‘salud’, and then took a sip. “That’s beer, alright.”

  She snorted a laugh out, continuing to rake her hair.

  “Should I have got one for you?” He asked her. She kept eyeing it.

  “Did you even order that?�
�

  “No.” He shook his head, nearly spilling some of the beer. “I think I just asked for a drink.”

  “You do look a little pale,” she said as she put the back of one hand against his forehead. “You’re not running a fever. Still having trouble with flying?”

  “To be honest, I hardly noticed. Between you helping me out and the non-stop storm of thoughts in my head, I haven’t had time to get scared.”

  She laughed quietly, a sound that made his heart flutter. She took his hand in her’s, patting it reassuringly. She smiled at him again.

  “That’s an improvement.”

  He started to relax after he finished the beer. The dreams, as tenuous as they had been, drifted away from his conscious mind. At one point over the next hour, he took to playing with the lighter. He would flick the lid open with a click, strike the wick, then douse it by closing the lid. He repeated the action dozens of times before Lily gently placed a hand over his own.

  “I think you can stop.” She looked at the lighter curiously. “I didn’t take you for the smoking type.”

  “I’m not,” he quickly replied. “It’s just… something to do.”

  “Come on, you don’t need that. Here, lean against me. If you sleep, the rest of the flight will pass in no time at all.”

  She coaxed his head against her shoulder, then scratched his head. He quickly fell asleep.

  The next thing he knew, the pilot was announcing the descent into Atlanta. He realized he had slept for close to six hours. Lights grew in intensity until it was bright in the cabin again. The flight attendants took leftover food, drinks, and trash. Trays were reset, seats were righted, and the plane began to descend. Lily took his hand as he clenched the seat. She calmed him enough that he barely noticed the bump as they landed. Then they were in the terminal, scrambling for their next flight.

  “It’s already boarding,” he shouted as he ran with Lily in tow.

  “I know!”

  They arrived at the gate as they were preparing to close it.

  “Wait,” he shouted ahead of them. The staff stopped closing the gate and checked their tickets, then hurriedly ushered them down the boarding ramp. The large door closed behind them.

  The plane was packed, leaving them with two seats at the very rear. Jonas was thankful the seats were next to each other.

  “I wish we could have something like assigned seating. Would make the whole process so much nicer,” he said as they prepared for takeoff.

  “Yeah, but this way people just take the first seat available to them, unless they’re a group.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” he said. “But it would be nice knowing I’m not going to get stuck in a window seat.”

  “Oh, trust me, that will never happen. The window seat is the one always sought out. It comes with a view,” she replied. She mimed opening the window and he blanched. She laughed and said “relax, I’m just teasing. I know you get vertigo.”

  He nodded and dry swallowed. He had no idea why the act of flying made him so scared. It made no sense. He knew he was safe, but just looking out the window made him shake in fright.

  The plane took off, making the short flight to Charlotte, then a long wait, followed by another short flight to Akron. By the time they were back in their erstwhile hometown, he was exhausted. She called for a taxi, then offered to share with him.

  “I don’t have any cash.”

  She waved his concern off. “It’s not an issue. You’re going back to your dorm, right?”

  “Uh, yeah. I guess so.”

  The sky was light out, but after several weeks working nights in Egypt, he wasn’t sure what that even meant to him anymore. They took the trip in silence. When they arrived at the dorms, they got out and retrieved their bags from the trunk. He rubbed the back of his head as it took off, then turned to her. She gave him a smile.

  “Now that we’re back in Ohio, can I see you sometime soon, preferably without a plane being involved?” He asked, feeling his stomach do multiple flips.

  “I’d like that. I’ll find you after I’ve checked on my dad.” She pulled him close and pecked him on the cheek. They wished each other well and exchanged contact details. She grabbed her bags and walked through the snow to her building. Then he was alone, in the middle of a quiet winter day on a seemingly deserted university campus. He turned away from her building and started toward his own dorm. His feet crunched through the snow with each step. It felt surprisingly similar to walking through sand.

  29

  Jonas went back to his room. It seemed musty, out of use, despite still having someone living in it. His roommate apparently hadn’t been around in some time. He’d been gone for just over a month. He tossed his bag to the side, then collapsed onto his bed. He had no intention of napping, but fell asleep regardless. When he woke, he had two thoughts.

  First, he wondered at the fact that he had slept through without nightmares. The second thought was about the sheer amount of sleeping he had been doing. Looking back over it, he figured it was about normal, but still felt like it dominated his life. When he finally made it out to the cafeteria, it was lunch time. He had accidentally got himself back on a normal-ish sleep schedule.

  After eating, he checked in with his counselor about school. They had arranged for him to be excused from his other classes for the duration of his trip to Egypt. The counselor told him he still had a few days left before being expected back in class. He would have to get back into the habit of classes and homework all day, instead of digging in dirt and sand. Something about that prospect put him off. He thanked whatever god was listening that it was the end of the week.

  ‘Maybe, after a weekend of partying, I’ll be ready to go back to regular life,’ he thought to himself. He went to his usual contacts, feeling rusty after over a month away from Akron. He shucked his coat as he returned to his room before getting dinner. He found Elliott waiting at the door, hand raised to knock; Jonas grabbed his friend in a bear hug.

  Elliott held him out and inspected him. His gut was gone, his face had lost all fat and he had a strong jaw. He went from looking like a pudgy teenager to a slim adult. He even had some scruff on his cheeks. Elliott made him flex, then pinched his bicep and poked his chest.

  “Ow,” Jonas said as he slapped his friend’s hand away.

  “That’s real muscle. You’re not wearing a muscle suit. Who are you and what have you done with my fluffy friend?”

  “Shut up,” Jonas said with a laugh. “I lost all the fat because I was working like twelve to sixteen hours a day digging and moving around in the desert. Even when I was sitting still in the middle of the night cataloging artifacts I was sweating like a pig. It’s warm a lot of the time there. I mean, the nights get kinda cold, but I was wearing a jacket and moving a lot.”

  “Well, it looks good on you man. You actually look like you’ve been working out.”

  “Thanks bro. You look like you have too.”

  Jonas sized up his friend. He was dressed for the weather with a jacket and thick pants over a pair of heavy boots. He was still short, still broad of shoulder, but he carried a new weight. A maturity that he couldn’t pin down. Experience of some kind, Jonas thought. Elliott had even grown an impressively thick half-inch-long beard in the six-ish weeks, which made him look more like a grizzled man than the gorilla-like youth he had been just a few short weeks before.

  “Well at least I’m not covered in dust and dirt.”

  “Am I still?” Jonas asked as he looked down at himself.

  “I’m kidding.” Elliott threw a few fake jabs at his friend. “You look fine, Jonas. What are your plans tonight?”

  “I was hoping to hit a party. Kinda need something to unwind after all the insanity of the last few days.”

  Elliott nodded enthusiastically. “Great, let’s go to Madsen’s place!”

  “Awesome, I want to play some pool and I could use a drink,” Jonas replied. He put his coat back on while Elliott used a nearby paypho
ne and called for a cab. It arrived ten minutes later, and they rode into the suburbs.

  They walked into the yard. The music was bumping, already loud outside of the house. All the Christmas decorations had been put away. Snow covered everything, giving the house a pristine look. He wondered where the massive man was as he looked around at all the partiers. He wasn’t paying enough attention where he was going, because he walked into a living wall.

  “Yo, watch it!” Madsen’s voice still held the rumble of thunder. Jonas stumbled back a step, caught by Elliott. The giant was smiling widely, clearly enjoying messing with his friend. He wore a black parka that could have been cut down to fit two regular sized people.

  Elliott bumped fists with the giant. “Hey Mads. You remember Jonas.”

  “Oh yeah. What’s up, dude?”

  Madsen held out a massive hand for a handshake. Jonas shook the proffered hand. The football player’s grip was like steel, all-encompassing and just shy of painful.

  “Welcome to the party. Grab a drink, relax, have a good time,” Madsen said as waved to the house at large. “Either of you want to play a game?”

  Jonas nodded. “Yeah, but not just yet. I want to get a few drinks, take in the ambience.”

  “Who the fuck says stuff like that?” Madsen asked with a laugh.

  “Super nerds like Jonas,” Elliott said.

  “You guys are studying computers, and I’m the nerd?”

  Elliott laughed, then mock-punched Madsen’s arm and said “I’ll kick your ass later, gotta spend some time with my lady first.”

  Madsen nodded. “Sure, but I think I’ve got you tonight. How is Angie?”

  “Anxious for the party. She should be here any moment.”

  Jonas watched as the petite woman pressed herself against Elliott’s back at that moment, covering his eyes with her hands.

  “Guess who?” She asked in a playful voice.

  “Oh damn, I don’t know. Phoebe Cates?”

  She smacked him on the arm, then returned her right hand gently to his face.