by Tijan
“Let’s go.”
There was nothing else to say, not until we got to the road and got Jordan to a hospital.
We’d gone ten feet when we heard the first yells, and as one, we looked back.
The red and blue lights were there, but they weren’t moving. What was moving: flashlights.
Zellman sounded mystified. “They’re coming after us.”
We couldn’t go fast. Jordan’s leg was injured badly enough that he needed us to keep going.
Realizing that, he pulled out from under our arms. “Go, you guys.” He waved us ahead, looking wrecked. “Seriously. Go. I might not get in as much trouble since I got jumped.”
It was a valid point, but my gut was blaring loud and obnoxious alarms.
I shook my head. “No, Jordan. You gotta come with us.” I shared a look with Cross. We’d have to carry him. Jordan was over two hundred pounds. It would take all three of us.
“Come on.” Cross stood in front of him. “Don’t jerk. Got it? You’ll shit my back.”
Jordan’s eyes were wide, disbelieving, but Cross bent down, tucked his head to Jordan’s side and whoosh. He scooped him up, fireman-carry style.
My mouth hung open.
The sight of Jordan wrapped around Cross’ shoulders and body—yeah. It was wrong for my mouth to start watering. Drooling.
Jaw tight, face grim, Cross grunted. “Let’s go.”
He led the way at a light jog as Jordan groaned and held out the phone to light the way.
“I’m never going to live this down, am I?”
Zellman and I were both still gaping.
That was—that was hot.
Z closed his mouth with a snap. “Damn.”
That was all he had to say. I was on the same wavelength.
“Guys!” Cross yelled. “Come on!”
A slight giggle escaped Zellman before he kicked off and sped to catch up. I was right behind him, my stomach doing all these fluttery jumping maneuvers. And those flashlights were still coming behind us.
Zellman ran ahead, his phone mixed with Jordan’s to illuminate a walking path. I brought up the rear, keeping an eye on the cops behind us. They had stalled so far back so we knew they couldn’t see our phones, but after ten minutes of running at a light pace, we heard a shout from the right.
I hadn’t even been watching that side!
“THEY’RE HERE!”
More shouting and the flashlights began waving, almost frantically.
“Our 11! They’re on our 11!”
“Oh, man.” Zellman had come up beside me.
Cross never stopped. He just continued on, trying to pick up his pace.
We weren’t going to make it. That shout jumpstarted them, and they were moving in and doing it fast.
“I don’t want to leave Jordan behind,” I whispered.
Z’s voice was quiet. “I know.”
But …
“Hey!” A twig snapped, and Zellman and I jumped back, whirling.
Our lights swung up, and a girl was there. She was tall, long legs, slim and willowy. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun. She threw up an arm, squinting and blinking under the sudden light.
“Whoa! I come in peace, fellow earthlings. I swear. Book nerd. That’s all I am.”
We kept our lights pointed at her.
I stepped forward. “Who are you?”
“Um…” A strand of hair fell over her face, and she tucked it behind her ear, biting her lip. “Can we do the names later? I mean, don’t murder me or anything, but I kinda see what’s happening.” She pointed to the incoming flashlights.
“Guys!” A hushed yell from Cross. “What’s the fucking holdup?”
“Oh!” She turned, her hand going up in a Vulcan salute, her fingers spread wide. “I come in peace. I swear.” She bit her bottom lip again. “Shit,” she whispered. She looked down suddenly. “You all probably think I’m super creepy, don’t you? Shit, shit, shit.” She was hissing to herself, turning away, her shoulders hunching forward. “I’m so stupid. Why did I approach like this?”
“Weird girl.” Zellman stepped forward, his voice firm. “What do you want?”
“Right.” She snapped back. Her shirt was off-kilter, but she didn’t seem to realize it. “I can help you. I mean—” Again with the lip biting.
My patience was wearing thin.
I growled, “Get to the fucking point because you’re holding us up from trying to not get arrested!”
Her eyes bulged out, and she paled, but it worked.
The words tumbled out of her, “Iknowaplaceyoucanhideandtheywon’tfindyou.Imean,ifyoudon’tmindjumpingintowater.Iswearit’ssafe.”
She said all of that. Yeah. One word. No breath.
Z and I shared a look, our eyebrows raised.
He grunted, a slight grin tugging at his lips. “I don’t know if I should be impressed or weirded out.” He thought about it. “I think I’m turned on.”
Cross had turned back. “Guys, what’s going on?”
She jumped onto the trail with us, waving her hands. “Okay. Yeah. If you guys don’t mind jumping into water—I swear it’s safe—then follow me. You can hide there, and it’ll be totally safe. I promise. I mean, it’ll be cold, but I think you’ll all live. I hope, anyway.”
“Who are you?” Cross barked.
Jordan raised his phone to peer at her too, frowning.
“Um… Let’s do that later. I just, um… Just trust me. I was here yesterday with my parents, so I know where this water hole is—”
“A water hole?!” Zellman surged ahead.
She gave a nervous laugh that ended on a sigh. “We’re running out of time.”
I turned to Cross and Jordan. “I can’t get arrested.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong,” Zellman grumbled. “I mean, why are we even running? Jordan got jumped. Whatever. You know what I mean.”
Cross started toward the girl. “Underage drinking and partying. If they raided a District Weekend party, they don’t care. We have to go with the girl.” His eyes flicked to mine. “You’re right.”
Zellman groaned. “Great.”
Jordan’s head lifted up. “Shut the fuck up, Z. You’re not the one hurt or on probation.”
The girl’s eyes got big, her eyebrows crawling up her forehead. “One of you is on probation? Whaaaat?”
Zellman scowled at her. “No.”
Jordan rolled his eyes.
Cross said, “No one’s on probation.”
I took a step toward her, gentling my voice. “Look, we have to go if we’re going to go.”
I prayed she wouldn’t back out and suddenly dash off to the side, or worse, start yelling for the cops. Because she could’ve. She’d said it herself. She was a book nerd, and she looked the part.
I didn’t care for stereotypes, but while she was gorgeous in the face, it was a fresh face. No makeup. She was wearing a long-sleeve hoodie over jean shorts and sneakers. Her speaking skills didn’t give off the smoothest and most sophisticated feel. We were the criminals, and now she knew it.
“Oh, God.” Her voice matched her hands, shaky. “Okay. Yeah. Okay. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Okay.” She turned and motioned for us to follow. “It’s over here.”
Cross nodded to me.
I needed to take point with her. She was a girl. I was a girl. She needed to be handled with care, or she could bolt.
I moved up next to her and asked quietly, picking up the pace, “So, you were here yesterday?”
She was leading in the opposite way of the road, back toward the police. She almost tripped over a log. I grabbed her arm, steadying her, and she managed a smile at me. “Thanks. Crap. I suck at this stuff. I shouldn’t have come.”
“But you were,” I insisted. We were out of options besides dropping Jordan and making a dash ourselves. And that wouldn’t happen.
“Yeah.” A long, drawn-out sigh. “My parents were up here. They’re working on a more hands-on project. I k
inda got brought with them.”
Four more steps, down a sudden steep incline, and she paused. “It’s right here.”
Here?
I lit my phone up, swinging it over the land. She was right. There was a hole smack in the middle, and it was just big enough for one person to jump in at a time.
Zellman and Cross came up behind us. He bent down, helping Jordan to his feet.
Zellman stepped up, shining his phone directly over the hole. “Shit.” He looked up. “You can’t see anything in there. You sure that goes to water?”
She took a deep breath, stepping forward. “Yeah. I mean, I saw it yesterday.”
“Yesterday? You’ve never jumped in it?”
“No…” Her head suddenly popped up high. “But I’ll be the first now. I promise. I’m just…” She was still wavering.
“What’s the problem?” asked Cross.
“I’m, uh…” A laugh hitched on a slight sob came from her. “I’m scared of heights.”
“Oh. I’m sure jumping in a dark hole at night is totally helping.” Zellman was sarcastic.
I hit his arm.
He shot me a glare. “She’s a stranger, and now she’s trying to get us to jump into who knows what? Is that a bear hole? Could be a bear hole.”
Jordan frowned. “Are bear holes a thing? Really?”
“Oh my God! I’m going.” And without further ado, she did just that. She rushed forward and disappeared into the hole. A second later we heard a splash and then, “I’m okay. I’m swimming to the side.”
Now we really did have to jump.
Cross’ arm brushed mine. “Our phones.”
I finished for him. “Will be destroyed.”
“Nope! Nope! Hold on.” Zellman was reaching into his pockets, fishing things out. “Aha!” He produced three condoms. He waved them, grinning. “I knew these would come in handy.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged, already ripping open one and stuffing his phone inside it, then double tying the end. “I might even have more to double wrap them. We gotta try, at least.”
He was right.
I hated that he was right, but I didn’t know why.
It was wrong, putting our phones into condoms, but desperate times, desperate measures.
“Oh!” Jordan dug in his pockets now too. “Wait. I have a baggie. Hell yeah!”
“Uh… guys?” Her voice rose up from the water. “What’s going on?”
“We’re coming,” I called, handing my phone to Jordan. “Here. One of us has to go down there with her.”
As soon as he took it, Cross grabbed my hand. He pulled me in, his lips brushing mine, and then I grinned, stepping backward. I was airborne for a second.
“Oh!”
Splash!
I submerged in the water, and it was freezing, but with a kick, I shot up. As soon as I surfaced, I began moving to the side. “I’m good. And clear.”
“I’m over here.”
I moved toward her, hearing her teeth chatter. “What’s your name?”
“Aspen.”
Her teeth were clanking together.
That wasn’t good. “Are you going to be able to handle this? We might have to hide for a bit.”
“Uh-huh.” She didn’t sound so sure, though.
“Coming!” A big splash followed, the water rippling from the weight.
“Z.”
He popped up and swam over, grabbing my arm.
“We’re clear.”
Another splash, a bigger splash.
“That’s Jordan.”
Z swam back to pull him over.
“I can swim, douchebag.” Irritation was thick in his tone, but I heard the pain too. “Ah. Leg cramp. Fuck!”
A last and final splash.
A second later, Cross didn’t sound affected at all, “We’re all good?” He kicked off, coming over to me. “Bren?”
“Here.” I felt him tugging on my shirt and twisted around, linking our hands, drawing him forward. “We gotta move. The girl’s already really cold.”
“I’m fi—i—ine!”
Even Zellman snorted. “Yeah. Right. You’re going to get hypothermia.”
“I—have—a—bag—of—dry—clothes—on—the—bank.” She gulped for breath. “Just ahead.”
“Say what?”
I growled, speaking over whatever Jordan or anyone else might say. “We don’t have time for this. We have to go.” I grabbed her shirt. “Everyone link up. You lead the way.” I patted her arm, and once Zellman and Jordan were holding on to each other, and Jordan was holding Cross’ shoulder, we started.
We were silent, swimming for about thirty seconds when we heard voices above. Lights shone down into the hole.
“Hey! Here’s a river hole.”
“Over here!”
We could hear them crashing through the brush above, their voices growing clearer. More and more light came shining down, but we were far enough ahead. They couldn’t see us.
“They’re not there. No way. They’d head for the road. Let’s keep sweeping the ground.”
Cross’ hand squeezed mine. He tugged me back, ghosting his lips over my forehead, before we were back to swimming.
Whoever this chick was, we owed her. Big time.
We learned two things when we swam up to the bank farther down the river. One, Aspen had been camping. There was a tent, and she hurried inside to change clothes. Second, two of our phones still worked: Zellman’s and Cross’. The two that had been double-bagged and put inside Jordan’s baggie survived the trek. Mine and Jordan’s, both only in one condom, hadn’t made it.
We’d need to have a phone funeral, but we had more important things to handle. Job one being getting the hell out of Dodge. The cops had descended back down the hill, so Cross turned his phone on to call Race. He strolled down the river, looking for the road.
His voice traveled down to us. “Yeah. Is Taz’s synced with me? You see where we are?” A pause. “No. We had to go in the river to hide from the cops. Did you see them? They might do a sweep down the road where you are.” A longer pause. “Yeah.”
He turned.
Headlights were starting to grow, coming from the south.
“I think I see you. Park up there. Jordan’s hurt. We’ll bring him up.” A beat. “You got any clean clothes up there? Or blankets?” A nod. “Okay. Be up in a bit.”
Cross hung up, coming back. He started to relay his conversation. I beat him to it. “We heard.”
The tent unzipped, and Aspen stepped out, pulling her hoodie up over her head. “Sound travels over the water.” She glanced back to where we could still see the glimmer of the cops, their flashlights had dwindled, but the squad car lights were still flashing.
Everyone was quiet a second, all of us—sans one—on the same wavelength.
Then, Jordan asked, almost gently, “So, um… You were camping here tonight?”
Zellman interrupted, “Alone? And dude, why here?”
“Zellman.” I cursed under my breath.
He shrugged, not looking at me. “Just saying what we’re all thinking.” He gave the tent a cursory look, his mouth lifting in a slight sneer. “This shit’s weird. Who camps alone? Or what chick would camp alone?”
Jordan sighed.
I wanted to hit Zellman. Again.
Cross shifted back on his feet, standing close to me.
“It’s weird, you guys. And not safe.” Zellman was on a roll. “Are you socially not there or something? Were you camping to spy on the party?”
She stiffened at the last question. Her eyes blazed, widening. Her mouth pressed tight.
Oh. God.
She was.
That was weird…or sad.
Zellman had violated so many etiquette rules…an awkward silence fell over the group.
Then Jordan murmured, “Ignore our friend. He’s a moron ninety percent of the time and ignorant the other ten—”
“Hey!”
I would’ve been in trouble. A lot of it.
I nodded. “Yeah. Thank you. Zellman doesn’t mean to be offensive. He’s just not saying it in the right way.” I shot him a look. “In a sensitive way.”
“Oh.” She laughed, but it was hollow, forced. “It was nothing. I mean, I saw the cops coming and figured I should try and do what I could to help.”
I glanced at her tent, and my stomach dipped over itself. The whole place looked sad. Solitary. Then again, who was I to judge? Someone watching me watch my old house could think the same thing. They could judge me too, and they’d be right.
Headlights flashed behind us before turning off.
Cross cleared his throat. “They’re here.”
“Finally!” Zellman huffed, going over to Jordan and ducking to put his arm around his shoulder. They started heading up the bank.
Cross touched the inside of my wrist, nodding to Aspen, who had quickly turned to look back out over the river. Her back was to the truck, her arms crossed over her chest.
I nodded and lingered as he hurried to go get under Jordan’s other arm.
“Do you—do you need anything? Food or…?”
“What?” She twisted back to me, her mouth in a fierce frown. She cocked her head to the side. “Wait. You think I’m homeless?”
I had no idea. I said as much. “I, uh…are you?” I exhaled a ragged breath. “I mean, if you are, I’m not trying to judge. Where do you go to school?”
She stepped backward, her face pinched as if I’d committed the biggest offense possible.
I swore under my breath. “If you’re not, I’m sorry. And if you are, I don’t care. We owe you—I owe you. You can come with us, stay at my place. My brother would be a bleeding heart for you. Trust me.”
She was quiet for a moment, not looking at me, and then she said tightly, “I’m good. And I wasn’t lying about anything. I just wanted to help.”
I was the worst person there was.
I wanted to make things right, better with her, but I could also read the signs that she was done with me. She wanted her space, so I nodded and started to turn around. “Okay. Thank you for everything. I mean it.”