It’s now absolutely freezing outside and, with the heater off in the car, I’m soon starting to feel the cold creep in.
“I should stay up front in case we need to get the car started quickly. If you want you can sleep in the backseat.” Charlie shrugs at me, sounding distant. His body is still tense and his eyes dart all around, looking for any signs that we’re in trouble.
I shiver again, not really sure if it’s the cold making me shake or feeling so scared that someone might have gotten caught, that we all might still get caught.
“I…” I don’t know what I want to say. This is all too much, everything is too scary.
“Come here.” Charlie holds out his arms and I move into them, half lying on his chest. The warmth of his body helps ease my panic and I slowly find myself breathing a little easier.
“I think Rose might be right.” I finally find my voice.
“About us all splitting up?” Charlie’s arms tighten around me.
“Yes. Tonight you had a clear shot of getting away and you didn’t take it because of me.”
“You think I should have just left you behind?” He snorts, letting me know what he thinks of that idea.
“You could have gotten away, but you risked being caught to help me.”
“If we were alone and that happened, there would be no one to help you. Me being there meant we’re both here now. We’re both safe.”
“Next time we might not be so lucky. Next time it might mean us both being caught instead of just one of us. Maybe we should be apart.”
“No, Zoe.” He sounds resolute and I lift my head to look at him, my heart stuttering as I see his determination directed at not wanting to leave me. I feel awed.
“I think we need to do this, but I also think this shouldn’t be permanent.”
“Meaning?”
“Rose is right, they will expect us to do certain things. Us staying together will be one of them. We simply have to throw them off now, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Maybe in a year’s time we can meet back up?”
“A whole year apart?” He moves an arm away from me and I watch him move his hair about in what most certainly must be a nervous tick.
“I had a dream back at The Windmill of us together, remember? It hasn’t happened yet. Maybe if we make sure it doesn’t, then it’ll mean I dreamt of something that is still coming. It means we will meet up again.”
“What happened in this dream? Do you have any idea how into the future it was?”
“We… well, we kissed.” My face reddens. Of course we have kissed several times, but that kiss had been different. That kiss had been leading us to more.
“But we’ve already kissed now? How do you know we haven’t already lived that future?”
“Let’s just say this kiss had us feeling that clothes weren’t important.”
Charlie gapes down at me. “I’m going to be tortured for a year knowing that. Did we look older in the dream?”
“I wasn’t really paying attention to our age…”
“The kiss was that good?”
“Better.”
“Perhaps we don’t have to wait a year for it?” Charlie leans down as I look up at him and our lips touch gently before becoming more frantic. My mouth opens to his, my senses overloading as he takes control of my mouth. I feel my entire body reacting to him. Heat flashes through me and I allow myself to get caught up in it. His hand moves down to my hip, grabbing it roughly and moving me further into his arms so that I am facing him; my leg moves over him so I’m sitting on his lap while our kiss never breaks the entire time. I feel his excitement against me and it jolts me back to where we are.
I pull away, moving my hands against his chest when his lips try to follow my retreat. It takes me a moment to catch my breath. “No, that kiss has to stay in the future. I need to know I’ll see you again.”
“That’s not fair. You’ll be able to dream of a hundred kisses while we’re apart. I’ll just have to remember the few we’ve shared now.”
I smile, hearing him say that. He thinks we’ll have a hundred kisses for me to dream about? “A year will go quickly, we’ll be back together soon.” I know I’m lying. A year will feel like forever, especially if I’m forced to spend it with Joel.
“I’m going to miss you, Zoe.”
“I’m going to miss you, too.” Tears well in my eyes and it doesn’t take long before they fall down my face and I wonder why I have to go through so much loss. I had lost Dad when he walked out on Mom and me. I then lost Frank a few years later. Now I’ve lost Dana, lost a future Drew, lost my old life and just when I find someone who makes me feel like me again, who makes me feel like things might actually be okay, I lose him, too. What horrible thing have I done in my life to deserve all this?
“I’m going to be counting down those three hundred and sixty five days until I see you again.”
“So will I.”
We stay in silence then and it’s a long time before I hear Charlie softly snoring, his vigil forgotten. I can’t sleep, the same thoughts running through my head over and over. Is everyone okay? Has anyone been caught? Where are they all sleeping right now? Hotels will be an obvious place to check for us. Has anyone been hurt?
When my thoughts finally circle back to Charlie, I feel even more worry. Will he be okay on his own? Will I have to wait longer than a year to see him? Will things continue to feel this strongly between us when we’re able to reunite? Are we still on the run when we have that kiss or have we both been recaptured? Right now, there is only one thing I know for sure; I’m not likely to be getting any sleep tonight.
***
At the park the next day, I wait anxiously as Will and Rose slowly emerge separately. Joel has not come yet and a small part of me wonders if he has been caught. If he has, then he is most likely dead. Stan had been going to do that back at The Windmill, now will be his chance to finish the job.
“I got these this morning.” Rose hands out envelopes to us all and a quick look tells me that I have new identification in there. My new name is Zoe Palmer. I don’t look any further into the envelope, instead I put it in the bag that I’m carrying with me. Rose passes me another envelope and I find that it has a new identity for Joel.
“Right, look at the map and pick some place new to live. Make sure it’s nowhere near your home and not somewhere you’ve ever been before. An example is that I love the warmth and west coast where I was raised. I’ll be finding a cold place along the east coast.” Rose seems sour at that notion.
I know where I have to pick then. I have to be south and warm. I look up at the map and find a place I’ve never been and will be sure to be warm. Florida. I chose the place most north fruitfully hoping it’ll be cooler, and decide on Jacksonville. Sun and beaches, I’m going to suffer.
“Found a place?” Rose looks around us as if afraid someone will jump out of the bushes and pounce as soon as we’re not expecting it.
We all nod. I instantly want to know where Charlie has picked, although I don’t say anything right now.
“We’ll each tell one person where we’ll be. Obviously, we have no idea where we’ll be staying so while we’ll stick to the area. We will need a system that will help us find each other.”
“What system?”
Rose explains that we each need to make sure we get a landline phone. Once registered, there is a website that we can access that will give us phone numbers and the names registered to them and then a separate website that will give out addresses to those phone numbers. It doesn’t sound all that legal and I’m too afraid to ask if it is.
I tell Charlie where I will be and my new fake name after he insists he wants to know. Rose then tells me she will be staying in Charlotte, North Carolina and her fake name will be Rose Harper.
We then wait for Joel. I hope he doesn’t come, yet I feel bad knowing that if he doesn’t, then it will surely mean he’s dead. Charlie moves over to Rose to speak to her and I move to Will. I haven’t really
spoken a lot to Will, but with how quiet he is, it isn’t very surprising.
“You worried at all about leaving?” I think I already have an idea what his answer will be.
“I have no family or friends so it’ll be easy for me.” Will doesn’t even seem worried or scared and he is the youngest of us all.
“You do have friends,” I argue.
“My only friend died.”
“That’s not true, Will; you have us. If you need help, you have to go to Charlie. Even if it’s not P.A.G.E. related, we’ll all understand.” I let Will soak that up.
“I had another idea,” Rose addresses all of us. “I thought we could all write a letter home to our families. Let them know we’re safe, but unable to come home. We each take someone else’s letter and then along the way, we post it. If they’re intercepted, then we’ll throw them off with the post mark. They’ll each think we’re heading in the wrong direction than what we are.”
Rose finds a couple of pens in her bag and I find one in mine. We each get some paper and start writing. Will needs help writing his and he isn’t sure on the address so Rose has to get another map up on her laptop and he is able to remember the address from memory. I wonder who he is writing to.
I’m torn between writing to Mom or to Drew. Both need to hear from me, so I write out a quick one to Mom and then a longer one to Drew where I place Mom’s letter in. I write down the address on the paper and pass it to Rose who says she will get an envelope and send it for me. I have a letter for Charlie’s Dad in my hand and I place it carefully in my bag.
It has been at least an hour since we have all met up and there is still no sign of Joel. Just when I’m about to suggest we give up waiting, he stumbles out of some trees and collapses on the ground.
“Joel?”
“They wouldn’t stop chasing me, no matter where I went.” Joel groans, unable to move. It’s obvious he’s had zero sleep. He looks completely exhausted.
“Were you followed here?”
“I don’t know.” Joel closes his eyes and I see his clothes are ripped and worn.
“We need to leave, now.” I feel that same panicked feeling again.
“Okay, stay safe everyone. Good luck.” Rose hugs me quickly before moving over to Will and Charlie. I give Will a quick hug, too, and as I move over to Charlie, he turns away and bends down to grab Joel.
“I’ll go with you until we reach the next town, then I’ll leave.”
I’m not about to argue about spending more time with him. I help grab Joel’s other side and together we’re able to rush towards where we left the car. We drop Joel in the back and blast out of the parking lot, driving in tense silence, keeping our eyes open for anyone following us. Charlie keeps one hand on the wheel and one hand holding mine as we speed along the streets and onto a highway, luck keeping us from being pulled over by any cops. As we enter a small town east of Lincoln, Charlie slows down and then pulls over.
“I want you to promise me something.” Charlie doesn’t take his eyes off the road or the cars passing us as we sit parked.
“What?”
“Promise me that if anything happens that makes you feel worried or feels wrong, you’ll go straight to Rose.”
“I promise.” As far as promises go, that one is simple. There is no way I’m going to hang around anywhere if it doesn’t feel right.
“You have to promise that, too, but obviously you’ll go to me.”
“I promise, Zoe.”
“And you need to promise to be careful, too. You’ll be the easiest to track because of your blackouts.” Worry eats away at me and I suddenly don’t know if separating is such a good idea.
“I know and I’ll be careful.”
“One year.” It sounds more like a jail term now.
“Yeah. Three hundred and sixty five days and counting.”
“You’ll have to take me back to where you were hiding, so if Will needs you, he can find us.”
Charlie nods. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Zoe.”
“Yes.” I want to say more, however I don’t know how to get the words out. I don’t even know how to translate them for myself. Do I love him? Should I say that I love him?
Charlie leans over and our lips lock for one last kiss. It’s soft and I feel more tears falling from my eyes as we slowly pull away. Why do I feel like this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do?
“Goodbye, Zoe.”
“Goodbye, Charlie.”
We hug tightly, my arms refusing to let go, but soon I know we have to end it. We both pull away and he moves out of the car while I slide along the seat so I’m now in front of the wheel.
He pokes his head through the open window and stares at me intently. “Stay safe.” He then looks purposely at Joel, not trusting him. “If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will hunt you down and kill you,” Charlie threatens him.
I look back and see Joel’s defeated look. He’s too tired to probably care about arguing with him, not that he’d argue with a threat like that. I know Charlie means it and I feel warmth spread over me at his concern, which instantly turns ice cold knowing he’s about to leave me.
I watch as he takes a few steps backwards and I hesitantly start the car. I pull back out onto the road and try to keep my eyes on him for as long as possible.
Too soon, I lose sight of him and tears fall down my face faster and heavier as I know this has all happened too soon. The weather seems to be in tune with my mood and dark clouds cover us overhead; soon we’re driving in a thunderstorm.
I’m exhausted from emotion, but I make sure to focus on the road. My tears blur my vision many times, however I try to think only about driving. I’ll need to find a new map when we stop for gas the next time. I have no idea how to get to Florida and the sooner we get there, the sooner I can collapse into a ball and cry for the next year.
I look back to see Joel has passed out. I have no idea how I’m going to deal with him.
So many questions are fighting to be answered in my head.
Are Rose and Will going to be okay? Will Charlie be safe and prevent himself from causing any blackouts? Will we all fit into our new lives okay? Will we be discovered by Stan and Martha? Are we all doomed to end back up at The Windmill? What will I find in Florida? Is it possible for me to make a new home for myself? Will Charlie come for me early? Maybe he’ll decide he can’t be away from me and he’ll be waiting for me in Florida.
I shake all those thoughts away and focus on driving. The last thing I need is to be in an accident and end up surrounded by police. So I keep my thoughts on driving us forward, completely unaware that a black SUV is following us from behind, only a few hundred meters back.
Chapter Thirty-Five – The Letters
Dad,
I’m really sorry I can’t do more than write this letter to you. If I could come home, I would, it’s just not safe to. I’m not really sure if I ever will be safe. People are after me, but I can’t say more. The less you know, the safer you are. Please don’t come looking for me, just know that I’m safe and alive.
I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I wouldn’t have gotten through losing Mom without you. I want you to know I won’t be alone. I’ve met someone I care about a lot. She’s amazing and I hope one day you’ll be able to meet her. She’s special, I knew it straight away. I hope you can find someone who will make you happy, too. It’s okay to love someone and still miss Mom.
Charlie
***
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’ve found myself in a bit of trouble. I know, Dad, you’ll want me to come home so you can fix it, but it won’t work that way. I’m not safe at home. There are people who want to hurt me and, if I come home, they might hurt you. I’m safe and hidden now and for me to stay that way I need for you to not look for me. I hope to one day sort this all out, but until then, you’ll simply have to trust me. Please just know how much I love you both. I appreciate everything you’ve given me and
I promise to keep myself safe. I hope to see you again soon. Say hi to Nick and Doug and tell them that I miss them a lot.
Lots of love,
Rose.
***
Dear Melanie,
You don’t know me, but my name is Will. I knew your husband, Gavin, really well. I’m sixteen now, but when I first met Gavin, I was only fourteen. We both lived on the streets, but he took care of me. He got me food and made sure I was okay. It was more than anyone has ever done for me. He spoke about you and your kids all the time. He told me how sorry he was at what he had put you through and that he wished he could make things right. He was happy you had been able to move on and found someone to take care of you. I’m sorry to have lost such a great friend. He truly was a good guy. I hope that you can find it in your hearts to be able to forgive him.
Yours sincerely,
Will Parker.
***
Dear Drew,
I’m sorry it has taken so long for me to get in contact with you. Trust me, if I could have done it sooner, I would have. I’ve found myself in a lot of trouble. I can’t come home and I don’t know if I will be able to anytime soon. I’m sorry I’m not there with you right now, I’m so sorry Dana is dead. It’s my fault. It was my birthday and I should have been able to protect her. I will never be able to forgive myself for what happened. I don’t expect you to be able to, either. I have thought about you every day and I can only hope that you’re doing okay. I know Dana wouldn’t want to see you sad, so please try to think about something positive. A friend I’ve made told me about his Mom passing away and that he thought of a good memory every night before bed to try and not focus so much on his grief. I’ve been trying to do that and it helps. I keep remembering her smile and her laugh. Between us, we have so many great memories of her and it’s up to us to keep them alive. I want you to remember how much she loved you. You meant the world to her and I’m so sorry you’ve been robbed of your future together. I miss her more and more every day. You made her unbelievably happy. I know she would want you to try to be happy, so please try, Drew. Please look after yourself.
Taken By Surprise (Taken Trilogy Book 1) Page 38