The Bridge Over Snake Creek

by Nikki Bolvair

  "Well then, I guess you are too!" I yelled at him before maneuvering my way over into the open car. Drex followed.

  We entered the musty boxcar filled with leftover hay, and Drex grabbed my arm, spinning me around to his body. My hands met his chest, and I could feel the erratic beat of either excitement or fear.

  My heart was beating the same tempo, the steady beat of a tattoo artist's gun. I glanced to the opening in the train and wondered how to get off. Hm, didn’t think about that one.

  "What the hell did you think you were doing!" Drex yelled, and my gaze swung to him. His eyes had changed again. The light orange that had once been speckled around the irises spread to cover most of his eyes, leaving a ring of moss green around the outer edges. They seemed almost inhuman. That wasn't a color I was expecting.

  I edged away from him, my body swaying with the movement of the boxcar. "I was living."

  His hand cut through his ruffled blonde locks as he turned away muttering, "Fuckin' hell."

  He was taking away my buzz with his mood. "Sorry? I wasn't thinking. Sometimes-" I twisted my lips when he turned back around. "Sometimes I don't think, I just act."

  He stared at me before nodding. "Yeah, I'm getting that now. You owe me brownies."

  Then he grimaced, realizing who he just said that to. “I’m sor-”

  I laughed, still feeling light and airy, hopped up on adrenaline. “It’s fine. I can do it.”

  "Train hopping is not for everyone," a voice spoke out.

  Both Drex and I jerked our gaze to the shadowed area of the boxcar where a person, a hobo, sat on the floor. Their knees were drawn up, arms folded across them with their chin resting on their forearm.

  "Who are you?" Drex barked as he reached out and gripped my shoulder, tugging me to his chest. His arms surrounded me in a protective manner. I didn't mind; I felt safe with him holding me.

  The hobo’s head raised, and a smirk showed perfectly white teeth on a dirty face. "I could ask you the same question. I was here first.”

  Drex's body went rigid with tension. "We don't want any trouble."

  The hobo laughed, harsh and unforgiving. "You have nothing to fear from me. But you two could be my downfall. It’s best not to remember the Hopper on the train."

  "Is that your name?" I tried to draw away from Drex, but he wasn't having it.

  "For now, yes." The hobo stood and brushed off the hay that stuck to their clothes, then came out from the shadowed area. My overprotective companion loosened his hold when he realized how unthreatening she was. Hopper was a girl. A girl just shy of our own age. Not a man who would brutally kill us.

  I moved out of his arms and extended a hand toward the girl. "Hannah."

  She hesitated before responding, taking my hand into her brown one. "Hopper."

  A simple smile brushed my mouth as we let go. "It's nice to meet you.”

  "Drex." The idiot mumbled beside me then moved his hands to my sides and drew me back to him. I tensed as one of his hands molded around the needle in my hip. "Do you know when the train will slow down?"

  She shrugged and moved back to the spot where she had been sitting. "The next town I believe."

  Drex's fingers tightened on my sides, making me uncomfortable. "Shit."

  My eyebrows drew in; now I was worried. I didn't have any extra medical stuff. If we stayed the night somewhere, I could be in serious trouble. That was the drawback of being spontaneous.

  I moved away from Drex. "Where’s the next town?"

  "Dubois, Idaho is the next town the train runs through," Hopper replied.

  "About an hour away," Drex rubbed his forehead as he groaned.

  I sagged with relief then glanced outside the open doors at the terrain of flat land broken up by slight hills every-so-often. We had an hour to do nothing. Drex moved toward the other side of the boxcar and got on his phone. He was calling someone, probably one of the guys to pick us up. I hoped it wasn’t Jamison. I didn’t want to face his wrath again.

  Wanting to be away from the open area, I moved toward Hopper and glanced to the wooden tray she had out. It looked familiar. Edging closer, I noticed the movement of her hands passing over it and the crack of something dropping. She ignored me as I watched. In the long rectangular piece of wood were two lines of oval divots separated by a raised piece in the center. At both ends of the board were bigger ovals.

  It was a game with stones. Hopper picked up a group of stones in one oval and began to place one stone in the next one and repeated the movement until they were all gone. She then picked the next set of stones after that and proceeded to do the same thing. The game was vaguely familiar.

  A frown creased my forehead. “What is it?"

  Hopper’s hand paused, full of stones. "The game?"

  "Yeah, what is it called?"

  Her hand moved once more. "Mancala. Do you want to play?"

  Ah, Mancala. That's why it was so familiar. Mom and Dad used to play.

  I sat down in front of her and crossed my legs. "Sure, I'll play."

  Chapter Fourteen

  And that’s what we did. I asked her a bit about herself, but she was tight-lipped. So we played in silence. The simple movements in the game made it easy to follow and fun.

  When Drex was done with his phone call, he came over to us and stood close, his right shoe touching my thigh. I didn't mind it, but it made me hyper aware of him.

  When the train drifted into the small town of Dubois, Hopper gathered up the stones and put them in a black, velvet, drawstring bag then folded up the board from the hinge in the middle. I stood, dusting off my back side, while she put the game in her brown overused bag. Stretching to loosen my muscles from sitting too long, I took note of her things.

  Brown backpack. A canteen bottle, not old either, and a rolled up blanket roll. Her brown eyes looked up, catching my own as her mouth pressed. She glanced away and hurried to put her stuff together. She was just trying to survive, and by the looks of her, she was barely getting enough.

  "Is there any particular way you'd recommend getting off?" Drex asked, his gaze focused on Hopper as she stood.

  She cast me a quick glance. "Yeah," she replied, as the train started to slow. "Hang on to the side like you did before." She went to the opening, backpack and bedroll on her back, and disappeared around the side.

  Both Drex and I peered out and saw her grab a hold of the bar as she stepped down onto the small metal platform. Without hesitating, she jumped off, never looking back as she ran away from the moving train. I turned to Drex with a hopeful expression. "Looks easy enough."

  His lips pressed, eyes narrowed as he looked out. "Yeah, but she's been doing that for who knows how long." He took my arm and turned me to him. His mouth was set in a firm line and his expression serious. "Do you trust me?"

  I wrinkled up my nose. "Why?"

  He looked up and sighed. "Shit. Close your eyes."

  My brows knitted together. "Why?"

  His head came down, and he glared at me with a twist to his mouth "Just fuckin’ do it!"

  I could feel my cheeks reddening as my anger flared. "No, Drex! Tell me why!"

  He brought me to his chest and my apprehension rose just before he jumped. My breath caught in my throat as panic hit the pit of my stomach.

  Shit! I slammed my eyes shut and white-knuckle gripped him. My entire body vibrated to the thump of my heart as I waited for us to hit the ground tumbling.

  The impact never came.

  Before I knew it, I felt the ground beneath my feet, but not a jolt or even the woosh of air. Just, nothing. One minute we were falling and next we were standing. I opened my eyes to find us in a field with the end of the train rolling away.

  Relief filled every atom of my body before my spine stiffened and my eyes flashed to his as I pushed out of his arms. I hit his chest. "Hell! What the hell was that? You don’t just jump like that! Not off a train!"

  He put his hands up and let me take out my anger on him. My arms stopp
ed when my anger drifted away as I thought it through. My fingers gripped his shirt as I panted and my senses came back. Damn. I curled them around his shoulders, trying to hug him as I laughed. I could have died! I laughed some more. Oh, the irony of it all.

  He wrapped his arms around me, lifting my feet off the ground as he tried to reassure me. "Hey, we're okay. It's okay. I would never hurt you. I don't think I'm capable when it com-"

  I covered his mouth with mine to shut him up and brought my hands to the back of his head so he wouldn't shy away. He didn't.

  Nerves tingled throughout my body as he moved into the kiss, his mouth caressing mine. His hands moved to my backside, holding me to him.

  My legs wrapped around his waist, making it easier for us. Tilting his head to gain more access, his hot tongue brushed against my own. He groaned, one of his hands drifting to the sides of my hips. Once again I shook out of my passion and went to draw way, afraid that he’d touch my life pack. He didn't let me go. His hands drifted back up to grip me just beneath my ribs, holding on. "No," he whispered against my mouth. "Not yet."

  I sank into him, my hands threading through his blonde locks. It was exciting to be out in the open, in the middle of the day, kissing. Skipping school. It was reckless. I breathed him in, tasted the cinnamon I expected to sample. He was delicious. Hints of spice and the intimate sensation of caressing tongues; it was magic.

  A vibration against the inside of my thigh drew us out of the foggy haze. It was a phone in his pocket. He didn’t immediately let me go to get it but stared at me. What I saw made my heart stop. Raw and unfiltered passion. His eyes, they were dark and held an intensity that I had never seen, or felt.

  I swallowed. "Your phone."

  He slowly nodded and let go of me, drawing his phone out of his pocket to answer it.

  "Yeah? No, we made it." He looked around. "In a field somewhere. We're going to-" He was quiet for a moment. "Yeah - yeah. Got it. Downtown. Green building. Dubois Café. We'll see you there," he clipped out before he ended the call.

  He then turned to me, and the heat in his eyes had dulled to a simmer. He nodded the way we had to go and held out his other hand. "Come on. We have a walk ahead of us."

  Glancing to his hand, I shook my head and then moved past him. I needed to distance myself. I had no future. He did. "What? Are we in third grade?"

  He caught up with me quickly and took my hand anyway. "No," he said, irritation sharpening his tone. "I want to make sure you don't make another rash decision."

  Warmth spread through me as he took the lead. I smirked at his back. "Sure - sure. So who's coming to save us? One of your six brothers?"

  He tossed me an irritated glance. "N-o. Win. He was the only one I could reach."

  My stomach squished with an unknown feeling. "Oh."

  My phone was in the car. Smart thinking, Hannah. Maybe I was really losing it. We walked until we met the road and then headed into town where we made our way to a greenbuilding called "The Dubois Café."

  We picked a table, and I sat down, but Drex did not. He pointed at me. "Don't move." Then he hurried to a sign that said restrooms.

  I smirked and ordered. Surely he had money. I got toast with peanut butter and a glass of water with a side of lemon. I needed to add flavor.

  When he came back, I had downed half the glass of water and half the piece of toast. He sat and took my other half of toast. "Hey!"

  "I’ll feed you later," he said around my toast then reached for my glass. Now prepared, I pulled it away just in time. He shrugged and waved over a waitress. "Can I get some water, and more toast?"

  She nodded. "Sure."

  When she was gone, I took a sip of my water. Drex rolled his eyes. "We exchanged spit already; I don't know what you're worried about."

  I straightened in my seat. "About that-"

  He smirked. "You kissed Quinn. I know."

  Taken aback, I corrected him, "I did not! He kissed me!"

  He shrugged. "Same."

  I twisted my lips and glared at him.

  "I don't think so..."

  "And we both want to do it again.”

  We both spoke at the same time.

  "What?" That shocked me.

  A confused frown clouded his face. "Why not?"

  I shook my head. "Nevermind. This just got too confusing."

  His face cleared as a grin appeared. "No, it didn't. Why can't we kiss you again?"

  I shifted, annoyed, as a blush stole up my cheeks. "I wasn't talking about that."

  Amusement glinted in his eyes. “Mm-hm. So, Hannah, why do you do it?"

  I feigned innocence, folding the napkin that had once held utensils. "Do what?"

  "Take risks, Jumper.”

  "Because I like the thrill."

  "So you're an adrenaline junkie."

  I raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't go that far."

  He snorted. "If I didn't know better..."

  "What?"

  He shook his head. "Nevermind."

  The waitress came back with his water and toast, and I excused myself to use the restroom. While in there, I checked my pump and needle site. All was good. My pump was pretty indestructible. I could wear it on a run, even in the ocean, but it didn't handle heat too well. So, no hot showers with this thing on.

  I finished up, and on my way out I wondered where I could get that recipe for the brownies Drex wanted. I didn’t eat goodies, but I could bake. I’d have to look online for something and maybe make my dad some as well. It wasn’t all about me. Grocery shopping was now on my list.

  Once out of the bathroom, I saw Win and Drex standing by the table and money on it. The horrible flirt Win wasn’t in the mood to play judging by his expression.

  Drex's back was to me so, of course, I jumped, holding onto his shoulders. His hands gripped around my thighs and bounced me up. I curled my arms over his shoulders and peeked out at Win, who looked unamused. "Protect me," I whispered into Drex's ear.

  He laughed and slapped my thigh. It barely stung. "You can't hide behind me forever."

  I rested my chin on his shoulder as he followed Win out. "I can try."

  Win led us out to his silver Land Rover and pointed to the front seat. "She's there. You're in the back."

  "Um,” I spoke up. “I'm actually okay with the back."

  Win turned his green eyes my way, and he definitely wasn't in the mood to be messed with. "Front seat, Cain."

  I dropped down from Drex's back. "He called me Cain. Guess that's not good."

  Drex turned to me and leaned down to quickly lay a kiss on my lips. "Not really," he whispered against them. Then he straightened and pushed me toward the now open door.

  I gave Win my biggest smile as he held the front passenger door open for me and leaned in to brush my lips across the red scruff of his cheek. "Thanks for picking us up."

  His mouth kicked up in a reluctant grin as I got in.

  The ride back was non-eventful, but Jamison called. So did Quinn. We didn't hear from Snowden.

  Win held my hand, though. Played with my fingers. That was a good thing, right? It meant he wasn't mad anymore. I wanted the fun and teasing loverboy back like he had been the second time I met him. Not this grump I had seen the first time.

  When we arrived back in town, it was already past four, and Win took me to my car and then followed me home.

  This time I didn’t care. By the time I was getting out of my car, they were driving by and Win honked his horn just to embarrass me. The idiot.

  My dad still wasn’t home, so I quickly raced to my room to check my email. Nothing. My phone was even blank of calls and texts. I wondered if Trace was able to find out any info. I gave her a call, and it went straight to message. I left a voicemail for her.

  I laid my phone down and pulled out the black bag with my medical supplies and headed to the bathroom. I needed to shower.

  When I got out, my phone glowed with a missed call and a text.

  Loverboy: You scared me today.
Don’t do it again.

  My heart warmed.

  Hannah: That sounds like I mean something to you. Can’t promise anything.

  I went to get dressed when I heard a ping quickly after. I hobbled over to my phone mid-dressing and swiped it to see the message.

  Loverboy: You’re a terrible flirt. Suggest a bribe next time. Preferably another kiss.

  I grinned and left him hanging. A kiss, huh?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Another week had gone by, and the guys and I had grown closer. I still hadn't heard from Trace and debated on actually giving the woman, Carly, a call. I just needed to figure out what it was all about. Trace never replied to the message I left, which was unusual for her, so I tried once more but got the same result. I realized she must have gone off grid like she sometimes did when she was doing her sleuthing thing, though it bugged me that she didn’t give me a heads up first.

  My appointment with the doctor last week went as expected, and I wasn't due back to see him until Thursday of this week. I went online and grabbed the recipe for Drex’s brownies and went shopping for the ingredients, but I hadn’t made them yet. I was planning on doing it tonight. Today was another day of high school. I headed off to study hall in the library like I did every day since the train adventure with Drex; the counselor had changed my schedule since I couldn’t take PE anymore. Each day I waited for one of the guys to find out where I’ve been going..

  “Hey, Hannah! Wait up.”

  Twisting around and pausing, I saw Stacie moving at a fast pace through the crowds in the hallway toward me. I waited on the sidelines.

  Panting when she reached me, she put her hand on my shoulder, leaning over to breathe. “I..wanted...to... talk to you,” she got out. She eased up with a smile, still holding on to me. Her gaze was curious. “Where have you... been? Did you get my text?”

  Shit. I forgot to text her back. I stayed there, letting her hang on me, and waited for her to get over the dramatic hyperventilating. “They changed my schedule. Are you done catching your breath?”

  She straightened. “Yeah. I... It’s just...”