The Loop

by Richard Leru

  “I’m Alex, Alex Runner.”

  A short pause followed, Alex was too shy to speak. Thankfully, Angela was an outgoing type.

  “That’s a cool name.”

  “Thanks, it’s short for Alexander, my parents were big on the Macedonians when I was born, that’s what brought us here actually, well, not Macedonians, but work, they are both scientists working in the caves.” Alex realized he had forgotten to breathe, his nerves getting the best of him.

  He stood there staring, not asking her the obvious question, “What about you?”

  It didn’t matter, she responded in her peppy, upbeat, enthusiastic kind of way.

  “Nice to meet you, Alex! I’m new to town, I just came with my father. He is opening up the new doctor’s office. Martin’s Medical...Where we treat you like family, even if you aren’t!” Clearly she had heard that line repeated a few thousand times, emphasizing the slogan with an arm swing across her chest.

  “I’m glad you came!” He really was glad, not only because there was someone his own age around, but also, a few months ago, he had gotten sick and had to rely on old Native American remedies to get better. The fever and sore throat had racked his body and left him bed ridden for nearly a week. There was nothing but some aspirin and cold medicine at the general store and it wasn’t like his parents would be able to drive six hours to the nearest drugstore to get strep meds. Having a doctor in town would make life quite a bit better.

  Trying to not look awkward at the fact that he was obviously beaming from the sight of a girl his own age, Alex changed the subject.

  “So you said you and your father moved here. Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

  “No, it’s just me and him. Always has been, well, as long as I can remember at least. My mom died from cancer a few years after I was born. My dad always says the Lord gave him me so he wouldn’t be alone.” Angela trailed off and stared out over the New Mexican desert a thousand feet below, lost in emotion. She still carried a longing to have better known her mother, better remembered the woman she had lost at such a young age.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories,” said Alex. He could see the sudden change in Angela, as if a thousand pound weight had been piled on her shoulders. Clearly, she carried some feeling of guilt for the untimely passing of her mother.

  “No. No, it’s fine.” Angela shook off the old memories and stood straight again, quickly recovering her pep. “What about you, Alex? Is it just you and your folks?”

  Alex smiled and answered back with a little cynicism in his voice, “Yep, although it seems like it’s just me most of the time. Always been like that, unfortunately. They tend to be busy most days, and nights, and weekends. That’s the life of an archaeologist’s son though.”

  “So this isn’t your first dig site?

  Alex nearly laughed at the question, a wry smile slipping onto his face. “No, far from it. Is this yours?”

  “Yes.”

  “Welcome to the travelling circus.” Alex extended both his arms out to the side, acting like he was announcing to a gathered crowd. Something about Angela was bringing out a side of Alex he didn’t even know existed. His shyness had melted away and an overwhelming feeling of comfort flowed through him.

  Angela smiled and let out a little laugh. “So, do you hike this mountain a lot?”

  “Yeah, it’s the lesser known one because it’s not on many maps, which allows me to avoid the tourists coming through. They are always training around here to get ready to climb the fourteeners up north. How did you find it?”

  “Actually, it’s kind of strange. I had a dream last night and saw this burnt down fence and farmhouse. Just past the farmhouse was an old cross and trail running by it. On the cross were the words “Hike Now.” Then, today, I was in the store when I saw a picture hanging on the wall of that exact farmhouse. When I asked the lady at the store where it was, she told me it was the old Patterson farm on the far west side of town. Well, when I found it, it was exactly as I had seen in my dream, except for one thing. That cross wasn’t there, instead, just the trail. That trail led me to here.”

  Alex listened, amazed at what he just heard, unsure if he should believe her or not. But, why would she lie to him, especially about that?

  “Hey, do you have anything to eat?” Angela asked, smiling slyly.

  “Uh, yeah, here.” Alex dug into his backpack and pulled out the nutrition bar he had skipped over earlier.

  Angela ate it in three bites.

  “Wow, you must really be hungry?”

  “Yeah, sorry, I skipped breakfast. I was at the store for milk before the whole hiking thing happened.”

  “Well, if we hurry down, we can still have some of Ellie’s last key lime pie for the season.”

  “Ellie’s key lime pie?”

  “Yeah, it’s the best you’ve ever tasted, guaranteed!”

  “Let’s go then!”

  Alex tried to hide his joy, and the slight blush coming to his cheeks. Together, they turned and started the hike down.

  The entire hike down ended up being the most fun Alex had had in years. They laughed and talked about everything from their favorite color, to all the places Alex had seen around the world, to their mutual desire to no longer be alone. Angela hadn’t been physically alone like Alex had, but after her mother died, her father had decided to homeschool to protect the one love he still had.

  Their conversation was real, and it was easy. Angela shared her life story with Alex. How she had grown up very conservative, yet all she wanted to do was explore and take risks. Her entire life, she had been limited in how far she could go from home and for how long. She wanted to know what freedom was like. She reveled in Alex’s history of travel and relocation. His life had been one of discovery and learning. His family could take leaps of faith and just pick up and leave, a practice the Martins had never done. To the Martins, every decision was to be calculated and pros and cons measured. “The heart can deceive but the head will know the true path,” was an ideal her father had drilled into her memory, although it had never taken root. Angela loved the idea of freedom.

  AS THE WEEKS went by, Alex finally let down his emotional guards, and found himself a true friend. He allowed her into his life, without the thought and fear of what the loss would do to him if either moved away from their current shantytown. He began to reconnect with life.

  His parents noticed the change in him, could see the smile and light return to his face. Everything was on the upward swing. Soon, even greater news came with the discovery of another layer of ruins. This site would require research for years to come. The Runners were, for once, staying put.

  For the next few years, Alex and Angela spent the days studying and the evenings playing cards, talking, and watching videos on the Internet. They would sit and dream of what life could be for them in the future.

  On weekends, Alex would go over to the Martin’s and read books and play games with Angela and her father, whenever work didn’t pull Mr. Martin away. Alex loved being around a family so tightly knit. Soon, their friendship blossomed into more.

  ONE EARLY SPRING morning, Alex took Angela to the dig site where his parents worked. The archaeologists had found a new shaft leading out to the other side of the mountain. It was off limits until an engineer could be brought in to verify its structural soundness, but promised many new discoveries to be made. After much pleading, Alex was able to convince Angela to explore it with him. Angela, although loving the idea of exploration, was still very grounded in her upbringing of following the rules.

  Alex led the way into the tunnel. The walls were hard sandstone washed smooth by winds that buffeted through the cave during the winter months. The passage was only about 4 feet tall, requiring both he and Angela to crouch as they moved deeper inside. After about an hour, they could see the light down the tunnel from the current excavation; they were nearing the end. The walls soon came alive with paintings of various animals and scenes of hunting an
d festivals. Angela and Alex stared at a picture of a large man holding a spear. In the ambient light from the dig site, something seemed wrong to Alex. The figure painted on the wall appeared to have a protruding belly, but on the adjacent wall, there was no shadow. Angela noticed the same strangeness and out of curiosity, reached a hand out toward the painting. What she found shocked her to the point where she let out a small scream. She quickly reached both hands to her face covering her lips. Angela did this part in shock and part to ensure they were not caught in this off limits tunnel. They would both be in terrible trouble if found harming a historical site.

  “What is it?” Alex’s eyes shone with concern for Angela.

  “It’s nothing.” Angela answered, eyes still staring at the belly of this cave painted man. “There’s nothing there.”

  Alex leaned closer and reached out his hand. She was right. His fingers disappeared into the darkness and he felt nothing. It was as if the stomach itself ate the very knuckles from his hand. He reached deeper, stretching his arm into that darkness. There seemed to be no end. He reached in an arching circle, finding nothing until he reached the sides of the painting of the man. Hard sandstone defined an open circle, about the size of a manhole, across that led into the darkness.

  Alex stood amazed at the painting black as night. Whatever the natives who carved this hidden tunnel used to adorn these walls seemed to absorb all light. Without thinking about what possibly lay beyond, Alex stepped toward the painting, lifting his leg into the opening and continuing through. As soon as he passed through the opening, Angela nearly fell to her knees. She wavered as Alex disappeared completely, seemingly swallowed by the man on the wall.

  “Alex?” Angela spoke into the stomach of the painting, her nerves rising and panic starting to grab hold. “Alex?!”

  After a long minute, his face appeared, smiling widely. Reaching out a hand, he spoke with youthful enjoyment and exuberance. “You have to see this!”

  She took his hand, scared of what lay beyond, but trusting the warmth flowing from his fingers. As he pulled her inside, she felt swallowed by darkness. The only thing tethering her to the world was that warm hand holding tightly to hers, pulling her along.

  Alex led Angela forward about three steps until they reached another wall and tunnel, where the path turned sharply left and rose upward. Just a few steps later, they both stepped into an open dome. Angela fell to her knees.

  Alex had his lantern sitting in the middle of the room on top of a long unused fire pit. The light coming from the lantern lit up the entire cave with a yellowish glow. The dome, about twenty feet in diameter and ten feet high, was decorated with jade, turquoise, and amber. Every inch was adorned with beautiful stones, all aligned into one weaving pattern. The stone tapestry depicted waves and ripples fleeting away from the center, where the fire pit lay. The waves continued to the roof, where a single diamond had been placed, shining like a white light in this colored world. Angela nearly cried from the awesome spectacle of it all.

  Alex smiled kindly and helped Angela from the ground.

  “Beautiful.” Angela, for once, knew the true meaning of the word.

  “Yes, you are.” answered Alex, his heart filling with its own definition of beauty, staring at Angela. Her eyes were reflecting every jewel shining bright in the dome.

  There, looking into each other’s eyes, surrounded by beauty never beheld to anyone in the modern world, they shared their first kiss, a show of affection but also a promise. From there on, even if they had to pass through immense darkness, they would support and help the other, until, in the end, beauty overtook the black. They would never let the other down.

  Having made it back to the passageway from that secret room, the two promised to never tell a soul about what they found. This room of beauty would be theirs alone. They only removed one thing, a small talisman depicting a bull made entirely of turquoise. This small remembrance would always cement all that had taken place that afternoon.

  After that day, they both knew that they could not imagine life without the other. They were in love. Alex and Angela had created together a friendship and love from the deepest pit of their own loneliness that brought joy to their lives. From their darkness, they found light. They soon were inseparable, doing almost everything together.

  AT THE AGE of 17, when tragedy struck and Angela’s father was killed in a car accident, Alex was there. He was her strength. Countless nights, she would stay up crying wondering why, and Alex was with her, holding her, not saying the clichés, “Everything will be all right,” or “It was just his time.” Alex was simply there. He constantly reminded her that she was loved. Angela knew that God had given her Alex, like He had given her to her father. She knew that she would never be alone, not with him there, not ever. Because of this connection, Angela’s extended family allowed her to stay and live with the Runners to finish her final year of high school.

  The next year, when it came time for the two eighteen year olds to decide what they wanted to do with their lives, Angela was admitted to one of the top biology universities in the state. She had found a love for biology and study of life, following the tragic crash that took her father. Angela had seen enough of death and now only hungered to experience how things lived. Alex, still having no clue what he wanted to do with his life, followed her, enrolling in the same university as an undecided major. The fairy tale was still on its tracks.

  All fairly tales come to an end.

  * * * * *

  A loud creaking noise and the sound of footsteps, boots, running on the metal floor. They were coming closer. Outside his bars, under the orange dim glow, stood Jones. He was a formidable figure, well over six feet tall and pure muscle. His eyes and nostrils were glaring.

  “What have you done?” Jones half screamed his question.

  The intensity of the question jolted Alex slightly as he slid farther up the wall behind him.

  “HOW DO WE FIX IT? I SWEAR, IF I HAVE TO, I WILL COME IN THERE AND BEAT IT OUT OF YOU!”

  Alex sat silently looking at Jones’ face. He knew that emotion, terror. He had seen it in himself the night that Angela told him she was leaving.

  4.The Turn

  “Two Years.”

  Angela’s answer was straightforward and blunt, full of the timid repose that a guilty child feels after being caught doing something they had been told not to.

  Alex was a strange mixture of happy, shocked, scared, sad, and excited. Seated in a chair, that was becoming more uncomfortable by the second, all he could force out was, “Oh…wow.”

  “I know, I know it’s a long time, but it’s a huge opportunity and I’ll get to travel the world and go to amazing places!” Angela twirled throwing her arms out to the side. She was already exploring the world in her mind.

  “They aren’t all amazing,” interjected Alex.

  Angela continued on, without acknowledging the interruption. “And not to mention, I’ll be able to see so many different kinds of life, and learn from Dr. Korran. He is the top biochemist in the world!”

  “I know who he is, Angela, you’ve been talking about him since we were freshmen. “ Alex rolled his eyes, he really had heard about Dr. Korran for four years now. Dr. Korran was the most well known environmental engineer and biologist in the U.S.

  “Then you know how exciting this is for me! And when it’s done, I’ll have my pick of the top research facilities in the world. Then we can choose, together, where we want to go.” Angela leaned in, giving him a flirting kiss.

  Alex stood up and paced across the room. “It’s just, two years is a long time and you’ll be so far away.”

  “I know it is. And I’m going to miss you like crazy, but it will be over before you know it, then we’ll be together again.” Angela walked over and took Alex’s hands in hers.