Leyla looked at her pleadingly, “Please, it's really important.”
Mrs. Benson shook her head.
“I think it’s best if you leave him alone. He seem to be running away from something and is pretty messed up in my opinion. He is an intriguing boy, no doubt and I know that girls are into that shadowy, mysterious type. He is quite fascinating with his deep blue eyes. But if you want my advice, go for a normal boring boy; you‘ll be better off for sure. Yet he really is good with horses I have to give him that.”
She was about to put the bridle on Romeo and didn’t bother whether Leyla was still standing there or not. The case was obviously closed for her. Leyla felt anger rise within. How on earth could she get Mrs. Benson to tell her were Gregory was? Then a brilliant idea hit her unexpectedly and she wondered why she hadn’t thought of it earlier? Tough times apparently called for tough measures.
"Well, if that’s how you feel, I feel forced to inform Shane that his dad, an apparently normal boring man, was on a date with you yesterday.”
Mrs. Benson froze staring at her visibly shocked.
“To find out where this boy is, you want to blackmail me?”
Leyla shrugged, “You don’t give me a choice, do you?”
She looked determined.
“I will do whatever it takes to find Gregory.”
Mrs. Benson sighed, “Guess I have no choice, but you have to promise me to be careful. He seems to me like a hunted, wounded animal that is willing to do anything to defend himself.”
Leyla looked at her without flinching and Mrs. Benson realized that she was not going to back off in any case.
She sighed again.
“Ok then. You have to drive to Keene. It is only a few miles from here. Then you cross the bridge that goes over the Indian River. The left bank of the river is completely covered with tall reeds. It looks as if the area is uninhabited. But behind the dense reeds, there is a cottage, tucked away behind the reeds. There are several of these cottages, but he currently stays in the one upstream near the bridge. It's my cottage and I offered him to stay there. Actually, it is only accessible from the landing stage, but since you have no boat, you need to cut your way through the dense reeds.”
She looked at her, shaking her head and frowning.
"Let's hope he doesn’t kill you, otherwise Steven will never forgive me.”
Leyla almost felt sorry for her, but there was no turning back, she hadn’t come all this way for nothing. Emptying her bank account and having in mind to help Gregory escape, giving up was not an option, even if things seemed a bit more complicated than she‘d hoped.
She nodded, “Thank you and don’t worry about me. Gregory would never hurt me.”
"Your word in God's ear honey. Let’s hope for the best. Yet, don’t forget that being on the run sometimes makes it difficult to tell enemies and friends apart.”
Leyla knew that she was right, but nothing and no one would stop her from finding him and tell him about the prophecy.
She leaped onto the scooter and crossed the bridge over the Indian River. After a few minutes, she parked the scooter behind an embankment and hid it under a few branches. If one didn’t know the scooter was hidden under the woodlot, it was hardly visible at all. She took her backpack, strapped it on her back and pulled her hood over her head. It was not necessary that later someone could possibly happen to identify her. Mrs. Benson had not been exaggerating when she said that the left bank of the river was completely covered with reeds and no one would suspect any house behind it. The reeds were high and dense. It was difficult to move forward. Leyla had no knife to cut through the hard reeds and clear a way through the reeds. Her already damaged hands were torn up again and burned like hell after a short time. At least her long-sleeved shirt and her Cargo Pants protected her arms and legs. A thin layer of sweat covered her body in her effort to make as little noise as possible. She pushed forward with a groan. Finally, she had penetrated the last bit of the dense reeds. She was exhausted and completely out of breath. She stood there, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath, when someone lunged at her and pushed her to the ground. Strong hands closed around her throat and she tried to defend herself with her last strength, but it was useless. She gasped for air panicking. Everything went black around her and she lost consciousness.
Informants live dangerously
Leyla came to her senses, gasping for air and coughing as the memory of being strangled came back. She tried frantically to sit up and felt dizzy again. She looked around to see where she was. She was lying on a rustic bed in a room with checkered red and white old-fashioned curtains. Then her memory came back; she had to be in the cottage and Gregory probably knocked her down, as Mrs. Benson had expected. He must have thought that she was someone that was after him.
Just as it looked, however, he had realized in time that it was her and hadn’t killed her. Lucky her. She touched her throat and noticed that she had kind of an ice pack placed around her neck. She stumbled to her feet looking around for her attacker. She looked through the window to see if he was outside somewhere, when she was grabbed with a firm grip on her shoulder. Out of reflex, she reached out instantly without being able to aim properly and hit Gregory who had approached her with full force in his stomach. He groaned and writhed in pain.
“Ouch, you really have a fast right punch for such a little girl, but I probably deserved it.”
He got up and sat on the bed.
“Are you okay? I thought you were Gabe. I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?”
He looked at her pleading and guiltily at the same time. Leyla could have sobbed with relief. She had found him and she had survived it, at least so far.
“Well, I must confess. I get that a lot lately. I must look a lot like him.”
She was suddenly in a very bright mood. He still looked at her with a worried expression on his face. Probably she looked pitiful. She sure had been adding a few scrapes on her face making her way through these reeds and was looking awful. Yet she didn’t want to be stared at pityingly.
"Of course I forgive you, you stupid moron and stop looking so guilty at me. I'm still alive, so don’t make a fuss about it.”
She tugged at her ice pack that he obviously had tucked with a shawl around her neck. Damn it, he made her nervous with that strange look on his face, as if she was some kind of seventh wonder that had unexpectedly appeared in front of him. She wasn’t able to look at him and started to wander apparently interested through the rooms of the cottage. Damn what was wrong with her. Why did she feel so uncomfortable? Well, she certainly felt disheveled and exhausted from her adventure through the reeds followed by a knock down and an attempt to choke her, but that was not the main reason of feeling so itchy. Not long ago, she would have given anything to have him look at her this way, but in the present situation, it scared her. The fear that something might happen to him, that she would lose him, was suddenly overwhelming. She seriously thought about grabbing her backpack and take off again, which would have been a little difficult unless you had a boat. She hadn’t thought previously that she could feel that way once she was face to face with him. But she could not run away; she had come here to help him. Absorbed in her thoughts, she walked slowly to the window. She had completely forgotten about Gregory's presence. When she turned around to see where he was, he was right behind her just inches away. She could not escape his gaze this time. They looked at each other and it seemed as if time stood still, like a moment for eternity. Then he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair. He didn’t say a word. He was just standing there, holding her close. Truly a magical moment if her stomach hadn’t felt so queasy and the little red thing in her chest was about to explode. He loosened his grip slightly to lift her chin and shift his hand so that she had no other choice than to look at him. She felt like some kind of hypnotized rabbit staring into his blue eyes, which were brighter and greener than usual. The iris was turquoise at the o
uter edge covered with golden spots. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light, she thought breathless and then she stopped thinking at all. He carefully stroke her cheek as if she was something very precious that could be broken easily. His gaze didn’t leave her eyes and his voice was barely a whisper.
“I missed you like crazy and now that you're here, I almost choked you, yet you're the best thing in my life. I must be really nuts. It was as if a part of me was missing while you were gone. I don’t want to lose you again. Without you, I'm lost.”
Then he kissed her. They had kissed before, but this was different. This kiss was full of despair-repressed feelings that were now all coming at once to the surface. They clung to each other like two people drowning at a safety ring. Time and space were trivial. Everything was insignificant except this very moment. Leyla lost all sense of time. She did not know how long they were standing there, pressing close to each other, without realizing what was happening around them.
It was the moment she had longed for such a long time, but the circumstances were not the ones she had hoped for. She pulled away and smiled at him, and then she took his hand and led him to the couch that stood by the window. She preferred the couch to the bed because she had to keep a clear head despite all the feelings that were making her long for more than just a kiss. Gregory's life was in danger. He looked hurt and apparently rejected by her.
“Didn’t you miss me at all? I've just revealed all my feelings for you and you're just being all business again, cool and remote.”
Still caught up in a storm of emotions, she could hardly believe her ears.
“Cold and remote, me? You're right. You must be completely out of your mind. I was hit by a car, have fought through thick reeds to get to you and then on top of it, you’ve tried to strangle me.”
She glared angrily at him. He looked distraught.
”Ok, it was probably the wrong choice of words. You were hit by a car?”
He took her hands in his again as she tried to get up. He noticed the bruises on her hands and looked worried.
"I'm sorry I'm behaving like a lovesick idiot and I have probably lost track of everything that’s going on around me. Seems like I expected some declaration of love from you. You know it's a little confusing for me, so to speak, that I currently play the part of the damsel in distress. Leyla looked at him in disbelief, but then she understood what he meant. He was craving desperately for affection and felt kind of lost and helpless in his hideout. She lowered herself to the couch once more, this time sitting on his lap putting her arms around his neck.
"My fair damsel in distress, I must confess that I’ve had a crush on you for many years and nothing and no one will ever be able to change my feelings for you. So far, I just felt that you have not exactly reciprocated this love of mine. Yet I am willing and more than happy to save you, as far as it lies in my power.”
He looked at her puzzled, not being sure if she made fun of him which he wouldn’t have been able to bear. However, her soft brown eyes had reverted to the admiring Bambi look he had missed so much and she seemed to be totally seriously. He hugged her holding her tightly. She bit her lip whispering softly in his ear.
“For a damsel in distress, you're pretty strong. I'd rather have you kiss me again than crush me. She didn’t have to tell him twice. His eyes watched her carefully, acknowledging the urge behind her teasing words. He slowly lowered his mouth to hers meeting her smiling expectant lips.
Gangster in the reeds
It was soon becoming dark and the evening dawned on the river landscape, but they hadn’t spoken about the prophecy yet - the only reason why Leyla had actually fought her way through the reed. Their reencounter had been like a natural phenomenon and they couldn’t think straight right now. They were lying on the couch, telling each other all sorts of nonsense, fooling around until there was a loud bang outside. This noise brought Leyla to her senses and reminded her that she hadn’t actually come here to make out and whisper stupid nicknames into Gregory's willing ears. She had come to tell him about the true meaning of the prophecy. She must have somehow lost track of her mission.
"What was that?”
Gregory pulled his shirt back on and crept to the window. Fortunately, they had not switched on the light. Leyla crawled to the window sitting beside him on the floor.
“Actually, I came here to tell you about that prophecy. I've found out something that is extremely important. Yet I think I got kind of carried away making out.”
He looked at her and laughed, his white teeth flashing in the darkness.
“Okay babe, looks as if you’ll have to save this for later, because I think there is someone out there in the reeds and it could be necessary to get away by boat. I don’t feel like getting killed just now that I've finally found you again.”
He squeezed her hand and they both listened tense. Outside, there was a loud cracking again. There were more than one whispering voices. Gregory put his finger to his lips and indicating Leyla to follow him. She grabbed her backpack, pulled the hood of her shirt up and then followed him as quietly as possible. Meanwhile, they heard someone at the door. There was no doubt someone tried to enter the cottage by force. Gregory's hideout had been busted. There was not much time for them to disappear. Gregory pulled her with him to some kind of a trap door which was located under the stairs. He opened the door and they slipped inside one after the other. It smelled musty and was pitch-dark but they didn’t care. They would rather sit down here with a couple of rats and mice than get shot upstairs.
Gregory followed her into the dark locking the door behind him.
Leyla couldn’t see a thing, but she felt his warm breath on her cheek and her jittery nerves calmed instantly. They heard voices clearly in the house above and they apparently didn't even try to talk quietly. They heard the two male voices, both speaking Italian in a Sicilian dialect. Gregory recognized the dialect immediately. There had been several Sicilians in his old school, and they talked among themselves in dialect, because the others didn’t understand. It made them feel cool and hip, even if they had happened to be the biggest losers that he could imagine. He tried to pull Leyla over to him, which was not easy.
He pressed his lips against her ear and whispered.
“These are Sicilians; they are bad news, not to be trifled with. We must absolutely get out of here.”
She squeezed his hand to signal that she understood. They crawled through a dark narrow tunnel. It was a difficult task because they didn’t see where it was leading. Leyla hit her head a couple of times on the rough rock wall. Great. A few bumps more or less wouldn't matter today. The main issue was Gregory and her getting out of that tunnel possibly alive. They had stopped moving as they reached a dead end. Gregory turned around whispering that he had to use his gift to make fire. Leyla held his arm.
“No, that's way too dangerous!”
Suddenly it occurred to her that she had a flashlight in her backpack.
She found it right away, which was quite an accomplishment in that narrow tunnel. She switched it on. Gregory grinned appreciatively. They crawled back seeing that they had missed a turnoff to the left of the tunnel. The tunnel seemed to have no end as they crawled for a while behind each other. Then Leyla discovered some metal hooks in the rock, which apparently were meant to be used to get to the surface. She gave Gregory a sign and he turned around. She quickly got hold of the first hook and started climbing. It wasn't easy. The hooks were not as solid and they were quite hard to reach. Balancing with her legs, she tried to swing to the next hook and almost fell on the ground. She didn't have enough strength to get to the next hook. Gregory had to push her up so that she could reach the handle. They got out to the surface through a second door, leading them back to the banks of the river. Gregory shut the door behind him, careful not to generate any noise. They looked over to the cottage and saw the shadow of two figures with drawn baseball bats in hand creeping through the rooms, obviously looking for something. Gregory looke
d shaken because he knew what that meant. They were looking for him, and as far as the baseball bats were concerned, they had some plans for him and were up to no good. This also meant his hideout had been busted. How could that have happened? Mrs. Benson was the only person who knew where he was. It was one thing that Leyla had been able to trick her into telling her where he was, but he was sure that she wouldn't have told these two certainly sinister-looking guys unless they had threatened her. God, he truly hoped she was ok. He grabbed Leyla's hand and they hurried over to the boat he had hidden under the bridge. As fast as they could, they lead down the river for about half a mile. It was a good thing Gregory knew his way around in the area. They walked up from the shore towards the place where Leyla hid Shane's scooter. Hand in hand, they ran to the place where the scooter was hidden under the dense tree work. The two pursuers would take some time to get through the reeds until they reached the road again, which would buy them some time.
Leyla and Gregory crept cautiously to the scooter trying to get away as quietly as possible. It was completely dark by now and they had to climb up the hill to get to the road. Leyla could not get rid of the feeling that the two guys with their baseball bats could plunge out between the trees jumping on them any moment. She was out of breath when they reached the road at last. Gregory, however, seemed to be completely calm and in control again. He was pushing the scooter along the road for a while till he thought they had gone far enough to switch on the engine. He got on the scooter with an inviting gesture to Leyla to get on the bike. She shouldered her backpack sitting behind Gregory on the scooter. He turned on the engine and pressed immediately on the gas. Leyla had to cling to him to prevent from falling backwards by the recoil with her heavy backpack. She hoped fervently that the police would not target them. After all, the helmet, which she had worn while driving to the bridge, was lying somewhere within the branches. Crap, if someone found that helmet it was bad news. Actually, it would have been better to have left no trace behind. Anyway, it was too late to change that and there was a chance that they arrived safe and sound unnoticed in Peterborough, where they would be able to board a train back to Toronto tomorrow. The ride to Peterborough took about an hour and although in September in this area the days could still be very hot, the nights were quite cold, especially in the slipstream of a scooter. Leyla's teeth were chattering and she felt that her entire body had changed into one single block of ice. Finally, they reached Peterborough and Gregory steered to a motel that was not too far from the train station. It looked shabby, but Leyla could hardly wait to get off the scooter to warm up her frozen limbs.
ELEMENTARY VIRTUE: The Savior Page 31