“You didn’t happen to remember any books, did you?” he asked, his excitement building again.
“Sitting at home. I could just ask you questions.”
He sighed. “I guess you can, but I better put my seatbelt on in case you don’t like my answers. That way you can’t throw me out.”
“I wouldn’t do that. At least not while the car is in motion.” I gave him a look so he knew I was joking, but he had already started to roll his eyes.
“What’s with the sudden burst of energy? You’ve never been like this. It has been bugging me since we got in the car.”
“Promise you won’t laugh?” he asked, his voice not as light as before.
“I swear.”
“Back in the room, when I shifted around you…It’s like I could feel your energy, and absorb it. It’s kind of something special we do when we are with someone.” He blushed.
“Have you ever done it before? I mean, back home?” I wondered.
“No. You’re the first.” He was trying to hide his embarrassment.
“Does that mean it’s like having – well, you know?”
I was worried that he had forgotten to mention that his first experience with me was something a little more than just a bit of showing off. I wasn’t ready to take the next step quite so soon, and wanted to be aware of when it was happening.
“That? No. I mean, not really. It’s just an expression of affection. I thought – well I wanted to–” He was stumbling all over himself.
As cute as it was to watch, the subject had become uncomfortable for him, and I could see he was waiting for me to drop it. He was starting to retreat back into himself again, and I wanted to stop him before he would clam up from the awkwardness he was feeling. I reached out for his hand, feeling it tremble in mine.
“It’s okay. I liked it.”
He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I wasn’t upset. The shaking stopped, and I continued on my quest to learn as much about him as I could in a short span of time. Most questions I asked were answered by “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.” It was as if I had asked him why the sky was blue. He had no idea how far they had traveled to get to Earth, or how long it took. He didn’t know why we looked so similar when we were from two different worlds. His best explanation was that we may have been one race at some point in time, but how the races would have become separated was still a mystery.
The questions he was able to answer usually turned into more questions he couldn’t figure out. He explained that the glimmer of gold in his eyes was from the lack of light where he was from. All Sayner had the gold reflection, while Vesper had green. He refused to explain why they were different, and managed to creep around the subject of home anytime I came too close.
In turn, he fired questions at me, asking anything he didn’t understand. I was more than happy to tell him anything I knew. Most of them were about silly things, like why we park in a driveway but drive on a parkway. Others had been about things I took for granted. I was able to handle them all with ease. Eventually his curiosity turned more serious, wanting to know why we tried to cover our emotions, instead of saying what we really meant.
“It’s part of being human. We are able to lie to others and lie to ourselves. Some are just better than others.”
He thought about it for a minute, taking in what I said and trying to make sense of it, before talking again.
“How many times did you lie to me?” he asked, his tone indicating that he wasn’t joking anymore.
“A few. I never did it to hurt you. I wanted to protect you. They were white lies.”
I knew where he was going. In the couple of weeks we had spent together, he had been nothing but truthful. He may have hidden some things about his life or past, but when he spoke, it was from the heart. I began to feel guilty about my fibs. His reaction was not very pleasant. It was almost as if I could feel his emotions, even without his ability. He was upset.
“Can you do something for me?” he requested.
“Anything.”
“Promise you won’t lie to me again. No matter if you think it might hurt me, or you need to protect me. If you don’t want to talk about it, just tell me, and I won’t question it.”
“I promise.”
“Are you lying?” He laughed.
I laughed back. “No. No more lies.”
Partway through the day, I had to stop outside of Chicago to fill up the car. Even as far as our world had come in overcoming its reliance on gasoline, I hadn’t been able to afford to convert my car entirely to New Energy. The small, makeshift engine that Chase had fixed up for me still required an occasional fill up. As much as Job pleaded to get out and at least pump the gas, I was still too worried that he could be seen by the wrong person. I knew he was getting antsy about being stuck in the car for so many hours. With the seat back, it was still a tight fit for him. I caved in, giving him a chance to get out, but instructing him to stay near the car and keep his hood up and hands covered as much as possible. He didn’t question my authority, keeping his head low, to prevent anyone from seeing his face.
The store was desolate, except for a few motorists that still had older cars on the road. I filled my arms up with a few cans of soda, chips and some deli sandwiches, hoping to find a stretch of open land where we could get out and have lunch together.
I set everything out on the counter and reached over for a road map of the United States. Between the two of us, we could find this canyon and never have to worry about hiding in the shadows.
“Is he yours?” asked the girl behind the counter.
I looked up at her for the first time, having mistaken her for just another teenager working at a convenience store. She was too exquisite to be employed here. Her brown top was cut down in back, revealing the long mane of blonde hair that ended near her lower back. Emerald eyes flashed the trademark glimmer as she looked at me, waiting for an answer. I looked down at the counter full of items, expecting her to realize I was examining her hands, barren of the mark. She was a Vesper.
18.
“Yeah, he’s mine.” I managed to say.
“I’m surprised you’re not worried about him taking off. I would keep a tight leash on him, if I were you.” An air of arrogance filled her voice.
The thought of telling someone I owned him sickened me. I never wanted to own him. I wanted him to want to be with me. I could feel the knot in my stomach again – the same one I felt when Derrick had told me what he had done to Job. My hatred of this Vesper was already boiling. I needed to leave the store before I did something I’d regret.
“He does what he’s told,” I said. “He doesn’t give me any problems.”
I wasn’t sure if it was working, but she continued to ring up my items. Her hands moved quickly, placing everything in bags and handing the map back to me with a smirk. My palms were starting to sweat as I took it, and I glanced outside to see that Job had gotten back in the car. I kept my hand as still as possible when she took the money and gave me back my change. The exchange was over, and I would be able to escape without a scratch. Before I could grab my bags and leave, she spoke again, crippling me with fear.
“He doesn’t leave because he’s in love with you. You know that, right?”
My heart stopped. It would have skipped a beat, but in light of the person who was telling me this, it was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“No. I didn’t know. Thanks for telling me. I’ll have to do something about it.”
I began backing away, leaving everything on the counter, hoping that she had said everything she wanted to. I had almost made it out the door when she chimed in yet again.
“You do know, Emily. You love him, too. If I were you, I would leave as quickly as possible. People are going to be looking for you, and I wouldn’t want to see you and your slave meet your fate too soon.” Her snide laughter resonated though my ears.
I didn’t look back to see the smirk still glowing on her face. I took off in a
run toward the car, without worrying that another driver might pull out and hit me. She knew my name and had given me a warning, and I wanted to take full advantage of it. We had to get as far away as possible, or else.
“Did you get me–” Job’s voice trailed off.
He already knew there was something wrong before I had gotten the key back in the ignition. I didn’t want to waste time explaining it to him. I knew he would wait and give me time. I heard the tires squeal, and I took off like a shot through the parking lot and back onto the entrance ramp of the highway. Pulling into traffic, a little sports car veered out of my way before colliding with me, yet I remained focused on only one thing – putting as much distance between us and the Vesper as possible. I could feel the car shifting beneath me, but as hard as I pushed, it still was not going nearly as fast as I wanted.
“Emily, you need to slow down.” Panic rose in his voice.
I could see him squirm in his seat, hanging on to the door, as we flew past another car. Someone honked their horn at me as I cut them off, coming far too close to them. Job pressed himself against the seat as he watched the cars disappear behind us.
“You’re going to get us killed the way–”
“Stop telling me how to drive! Last time I checked, you couldn’t.”
“I could a lot better job at it with one leg than you are doing right now!”
My fear was feeding into my anger, and I was taking it out on the wrong person. It wasn’t going to do us any good if we were pulled over or if we caused an accident. I was able to pull myself back and bring the car down into legal speeds again, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
“Do you want to tell me what happened? Why you’re so scared?” His voice had calmed some, yet was still alarmed.
“No. Just find the place where we need to go. Maybe we can get there tonight,” I said, loosening my grip of the steering wheel a bit.
Job sat back, relaxing a bit more in his seat. He continued to look over at me, pausing as if to say something, and stopping again. I ignored his nonverbal requests for over an hour, concentrating on the road and getting to our destination. I was afraid that I would blow up again, taking out the anger I had for the Vesper woman on him. Eventually he stopped and moved onto the map, making himself useful.
He looked at it page by page, studying each state and moving to the next. As he glanced over each page, he would run a hand across it, touching every point as he worked his way up and down, memorizing every roadway and path listed. He was in deep concentration – lips moving with no sound. As he got to the last pages and still had not shown any sign that he had found anything, my heart began to sink. We could be traveling for weeks and never find our destination. The Vesper or Derrick would find us.
He closed up the map after hours of intense study, letting it sit in his lap. I waited for him to speak, but he laid his head back and closed his eyes, mumbling under his breath. His hands were in motion, as though touching points in the air and drawing lines to connect them. He had taking in everything the map could offer, and was putting it together in his head. He stopped suddenly and opened his eyes, looking over to me. “There are four places I found called Dugout Canyon, but I think the one we want is in Utah,” he said hesitantly.
“That’s good to hear. Can you tell me how to get there?”
“Are you going to yell again?”
“No. I’m sorry I yelled. I’m just scared.” I was still seething over the incident, but wanted to put it aside.
“If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t ask, but is there anything I can do?”
I didn’t want to go into the details and have him be as worried as me, but I needed to know what I was up against. Her threat of our fate coming too soon scared me more than anything.
“Yes. Can you tell me about the Vesper?”
“I don’t want to talk about them.” He crossed his arms.
He had skirted around the issue so many times, and I had always let it slide. I had been avoiding the conversation so that he wouldn’t get mad. I wasn’t going to give him the option again. “And I don’t want to talk about what happened, but it looks like we are going to have to put our differences aside and just do it.”
He stopped his pouting and thought for a moment. He didn’t look too thrilled to have to bend to my request, but he uncrossed his arms in an effort to show he was willing to cooperate.
“What do you want to know?” he sighed.
“What makes you so different? I mean, I get the eye color thing, and you hate each other, but are you the same in every other way?”
“No. We can’t hear the thoughts of others. I can tell you how you’re feeling, but I can’t tell what you’re thinking.”
“So, they can read my thoughts?” The fear crept deeper. She would have known I was getting the map for Dugout Canyon. It was no longer safe.
“No. They can only hear other Vesper thoughts, or Sayner; they can’t hear humans.” He paused again, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “There was a Vesper at the gas station?”
I nodded, unable to speak. She had gotten my name from him. He had been thinking about me, but what else had been on his mind? I could see he was trying to remember the same thing.
“What did they say to you?”
“She knew my name.” My voice was just barely above a whisper.
“Anything else?” He was hanging on my words.
I could have told him everything, like how she knew he was in love with me, but I wanted to keep that part to myself. I wanted to hear those special words come from his lips, and only when he was ready.
“She said to leave – soon.”
“Is that why you drove like a maniac?” He was smiling, trying not to laugh. His demeanor had changed.
“This isn’t funny. She threatened me. How do I know what she found out? You could have had anything on your mind.”
“I know what was on my mind, and she doesn’t know anything.” He chuckled again.
“You want to tell me what you were thinking, so maybe I can be sure you didn’t blow our cover?”
If it had just been about his feelings for me, I was going to feel as though I had forced him to say it. I wasn’t prepared to say it back yet. There had been too much on my plate to think of the right time to say “I love you.” I wanted to wait till I could be with him, in his arms, relaxed – not driving to escape a possible fate of death.
“I was thinking about how good it felt to stretch out, and not sit in the car. Then I thought about the smell of the gasoline getting in my nose and how it burned, and then I thought about what I said to you while you were sleeping last night.” He was still unperturbed, not showing the slightest sign of embarrassment over his thoughts.
“Can I ask what you said while I was sleeping? You know – just in case it might have given her any clues?” I was tense, waiting to hear those words, planning in my head how to say it back.
“I said ‘Good night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.’” The words eloquently rolled off his tongue.
“You quoted Shakespeare?”
I was entranced by the poetry. My heart was melting, that he would tell me one of my favorite lines. It was breaking down my fear. I wouldn’t have to worry about him revealing his feelings too early, and I had time to say what I wanted on my terms.
“I liked it. It reminded me of us. Two people that had everything against them – that shouldn’t be together, but defy the odds.”
“You didn’t read the end – did you?” I didn’t want to destroy his fantasy of the romantic star-crossed lovers.
“No, I didn’t finish it. I was taking my time.”
“They kill themselves. Romeo poisons himself, and Juliet takes his sword and stabs herself.”
“Why would they do that? They were together.” He was having a hard time digesting the thought of them dying.
“They couldn’t live without each other.” I didn’
t want to go into a long explanation of why.
He sat in silence, thinking over the new information. I had no idea what was going through his mind. I wasn’t sure how to tell him I never wanted our story to end that way. The best I could do was reach out to hold his hand. He let me run my thumb against the bumps of his scar.
The stillness of the ride was getting to me. I could feel the hunger gnawing at my stomach, growling loudly, disrupting the quiet.
“It’s been hours since you ate. Why don’t you pull over and get something? I’ll stay in the car so no one can see me this time.” His eyes batted at me, looking as pathetic as possible.
It sounded like a good idea. I needed the stretch, and a break from the road. We had travelled far enough that I wasn’t as worried about being caught. It was still a nagging thought at the back of my mind, but it was hard to resist the temptation of food and a rest.
“I’ll stop at the next rest stop, so you can get out, too. That way there is less chance of anyone seeing you. I’m sure you have to be hurting by now.”
He moved around in his seat, wincing slightly. I waited for him to lose control of the shift, sending him into spasms, but it never happened. He was able to suppress it, and gave a roguish grin, letting me know he was doing okay.
There were very few bodies milling about at the rest stop in the early evening. A woman with a yapping dog seemed preoccupied with giving him a run and telling him to stop barking at everything that moved. There was an older couple who had parked their RV at the far end and had quickly made their way in and out of the building before Job and I could get up to the sidewalk.
I had a desire to pull him aside and be close to him, feeling his breath on me again, just to have the energy to keep driving at the pace I had been setting for us. I thought better of it, just in case someone noticed what he was and decided to call us on it. Instead, by his request, I lead him inside, making sure anyone who watched thought I was in full control of him. It felt a little ridiculous to make such a show of it, since I had no desire to be his master – plus, I felt it would look silly leading a Sayner on crutches, who obviously wouldn’t be able to get around the building on his own.
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