Shelby: Translucent Savior

by Lisa Glenn

Did I call it that?

  Is it my home?

  What if they're not there anymore? What if they moved? I passed each thought, quickly moving to the next like my brain was shuffling cards instead of thoughts.

  Will they want me now that I’m grown?

  What if they find out that I've been bad and ran away...would they still want me?

  I coughed. I had a tickle in my throat that wouldn't go away.

  Perfect, I thought. Just what I need right now...a cold.

  “Shelbs, wait up,” José grunted from behind me.

  I slowed down and slid off my jacket. One thing was for sure; it was hot in Alabama. The trees were still green and full giving the impression summer was still in full swing, despite the fact it was late October. We passed fall awhile back and up until now; all the trees had been an array of autumn colors; browns and oranges, mixed in with yellow and crunchy brown to step on. However, not here; even the trees were as green as August‒even the grass.

  Daniel caught up to me and bumped my arm, looking at me. “Your face is red.”

  "It's awfully hot," I commented, noting the bright sky and the warm breeze that had just picked up.

  Daniel looked over the hill that was covered in wild flowers and remarked on what I was just reflecting on not a moment ago. "It doesn’t feel like fall, does it?"

  I coughed. "Sure doesn't."

  José caught up with us. “I love it, Shelb's. It’s summer and winter. It’s awesome! I hate snow. I could get use to this.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I mumbled. “I need something to drink, guys. My throat is parched.”

  “It’s not much further to the town of Athens,” Daniel said. “I vote we hitch a ride.”

  Daniel knew how I felt about hitch-hiking a ride from a stranger. Who knows what creeper may be behind the wheel, maybe just waiting for the chance to pick up three teens (one of them a pretty, young teenage girl, at that!) and do God only knew what with them. More importantly, what if it ends up being Jack who stops? He might have bought a new vehicle by now.

  “How much farther to Athens?” I asked.

  Daniel pulled the map out of his back pocket. He frowned then looked back at me.

  “Fifteen miles... give or take.”

  I groaned loud enough for them both to hear. With the way I felt right then, I knew it was too far for me to walk. I was dying of thirst and now our canteens were completely dry.

  I nodded my head, “Okay, then we hitch.”

  Daniel took my hand gently, “Shelby; it’ll be alight. I won’t let him get you.” His words made my heart both soar and feel a stab of pain. What could this sweet, intelligent man-boy do against the likes of Jack? Jack would eat him up first before spitting him back on the ground. Daniel didn't let go of my hand but gave me a reassuring wink as if he had read my mind and said back, you have no idea what I'm capable of doing to protect you, Shelby.

  We did have to walk about another two miles before someone picked us up. It was a man and his son; farmers they said. They didn’t even blink an eye at Oreo like most folks tended to do. Apparently, seeing chickens was something they were accustomed to. The man let us ride in the back of his truck that was filled with hay bales. That was fine by me. I lifted my face to the wind. I sneezed the whole way to Athens.

  When the man stopped to let us off, he asked in a southern drawl if there was anything else we needed. I asked him where the nearest place for a cold drink of water was. He turned his head and said something to the boy on his right. The next thing I knew; he was holding a bottle of water out toward me.

  “Here ya go, ma’am.”

  I was never so glad to see a bottle of water in my whole life. I thanked him profusely and proceeded to chug the whole bottle of water down. When I looked up, an embarrassed flush swept up my neck. The farmer smiled with a sparkle in his eye.

  “I guess you were thirsty,” he said, laughing.

  “I guess I was,” I smiled back shyly. Daniel frowned and looked at me sharply. I instantly felt terrible for not offering them a drink but didn't get it that Daniel was worried about me...not about water. The kind farmer handed each of the boys a bottle, pulling them from the cooler and handed me an extra one with a wink.

  "In case that thirst comes back, young lady."

  "Thank you," I said in a small voice. He just nodded as all good country-folk did when given a thank you. To them, it was all they needed in their eyes to even the score up.

  “You kids take care now,” he said before he drove off.

  After we had gone through the small town of Athens, we kept close to the highway. The terrain was nothing like Wyoming or Colorado. No mountains for one and the foliage and trees were thick here. I noticed a large cotton-like fabric in a tree and asked Daniel what it was. He said it was a spider’s web. That had to be the biggest spider ever to make a web that large. I shivered at the thought. He said we would see a lot of them in the south.

  The first time I got a good look at a palm tree, I wanted to hug it just to say that I did. Don’t ask me why, but it seemed to scream at me, Welcome to Florida! Welcome to Paradise! It was the neatest tree I had ever seen in my book. I’ve never seen one before. To be honest, they were kind of ugly; what with no real leaves but instead just big, hanging palms,

  Also, no coconuts, I noted dourly.

  But still neat. Wyoming didn’t have anything like it. Daniel said wait until we see the ocean. He said that was a sight I would never forget. “The water is clear, and you can see to the bottom, and all matter of life that swam in it.”

  I couldn’t imagine clear water. He also said the beaches had sand white as snow.

  “Can you fish in it?” asked José, as always, the practical one, (usually 'practical' meaning whatever led to his stomach) as he looked at Daniel curiously.

  “Oh ya, the fish are huge!” Daniel assured him.

  We passed a field full of cotton, which of course I had to investigate, and I now had a wad of cotton in my pocket. We passed a field of peanuts. I couldn’t believe it! Peanuts, of all things! I added a pocket of those, too. Daniel told us not to eat them raw. They were disgusting. I believed him without a second thought. I have learned not to second-guess Daniel by now. I could wait. How does he know all this stuff? I wondered. Back home I knew it was probably snowing by now. Even with the Alabama heat pumping down on our heads, I knew it was October because the houses we passed had pumpkins on the porches and scarecrows in the yards. Witches and ghosts hung from trees in festive places, marking the upcoming trick or treat night.

  “Does anyone know what day it is?” I asked suddenly.

  “Nope,” José chimed in.

  “Yes, it’s October twentieth,” Daniel answered.

  Of course, he would know. I thought, shaking my head a little. Halloween was just around the corner. I shivered. I got this feeling we were being watched. I scanned the area carefully and glanced at Daniel, catching him doing the same. I saw the worried look on his face right before he covered it up. He feels it too. I wonder if he also heard the car idling in the distance.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The Fever

  The next day, we traveled through a large city, but we had no choice this time. We were hungry and thirsty. My clothes were clinging to my sticky skin. The air was thick with moisture and was pressing down on my lungs, making me sound like a wet train going uphill. It’s going to rain, and hard, by the look of the sky, and I was looking forward to that with unrelenting anticipation. Sweat was trickling down my back between my shoulder blades and pooling at the top of my butt now in a steady stream. Daniel grabbed my hand again making me feel warm inside and not just from my fever. He squeezed it gently and led José and me over to a bench next to the bus stop sign.

  “Wait here,” he said. He hands me Oreo.

  “What? Why? Where are you going?” I asked, trying to keep the edge of panic out of my voice.

  “Just wait here a minute. I’ll be right back. José keep an eye on her, will ya?”r />
  José and I sat quietly, watching the cars wiz by and the people walking past us.

  “I thought you didn’t like to be touched,” José mumbled a tad stiffly.

  “So?” I said.

  “Well...you let Daniel hold your hand.”

  “That’s different,” I said. I coughed then sneezed. My throat hurts.

  "Besides," I said coolly, "I thought you said you didn't mind if I liked Daniel."

  "Yea, well, I don't...just don't rub it in, is all." He changed the subject, scooting away from me on the bench. "Sounds like you’re getting a cold, Shelb's. Don’t give it to me. I’m a big baby when I get sick.”

  I snorted, “You’re already a big baby.”

  “Har-har,” he shot back, making a face at me.

  I heard thunder roll in the distance. We looked at each other.

  José swung his feet nonchalantly. “It’s going to rain.”

  “Yep.” I coughed again. “I wonder where Daniel went off to.”

  “Probably to get us something to eat. Hey Shelb's, have you noticed how Daniel always finds things and seems to know what's going to happen five seconds before it happens?” He said this off-handedly, but I felt a chill race through me. In a nutshell, José had just summed up Daniel to a tee.

  “Yeah, I noticed.” I said. Daniel finds things and he seems to know a lot about everything. It was just like this storm coming. I wasn’t worried about it, because I know he’ll find us shelter; he always found us shelter. Sometimes it seemed like he would miss it by a couple of minutes just for show, even though I was convinced he could have just as easily had them under cover long before the first rain drops hit the ground. It was like he was our guardian angel. I say us, because it wasn’t just me who he watched out for, it was also José.

  Oreo was frightened, I could tell. She was hiding her beak in her feathers. I laid my hand on top of her head, cooing. “It’s okay, Oreo. We have Daniel.” I whispered, feeling both silly and a strange contentment at the same time.

  A short while later Daniel comes back, toting a large sack filled with hotdogs, two apiece and three bags of Doritos.

  “Did you get us something to drink?” Asked José.

  Daniel hands me the bag. “No, they didn’t have anything.”

  “Who?”

  “The hotdog vender. But hey, listen...I talked to this kid, and he said there’s a church up the road. He said the doors are never locked, and we can hold up there for the night.”

  José and I look at each other with a knowing grin. He talked to a kid...right. Sure, he did.

  José jumps up, “Great, let’s go!”

  “What about Oreo?” I asked.

  “No one is around there at night, Shelby. We can take her inside with us.”

  “Daniel, what if she poops?”

  “Well, then José will clean it up” he grinned wickedly.

  “Huh? No, I won’t!” José growled.

  Daniel laughed and ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry about it, I'll do it.”

  I coughed in my hand unladylike and 'ewed' to myself at the wad of lung-phlegm it produced.

  The exterior lighting of the church was bright enough to blind someone and written with gold over the entrance to the church were the words, In honorem s. Ludovici. Deo uni et trino dicatum. A. MDCCCXXXIV. I wondered what that meant and figured it was probably a warning to keep out. The church was a huge cathedral-looking place with a high, vaulted ceiling and large, stained-glass windows in Gothic design. Our voices carried, bouncing off the walls even when we whispered. All the pews were padded. In the front of the room stood an alter with a gold statue of Jesus on the cross. To the left against the wall were small cubicles lined up with only curtains as doors. That must be where people confessed their sins, I thought, not knowing one wit about such things as I was not raised anything really...much less Catholic.

  I stare at the rooms with envy. Boy, could I spend a couple of hours in there! I sat Oreo down on the gray carpeting. She fluffed out her wings and went to pecking at invisible bugs. I coughed again.

  More icky stuff‒yuck. Now it was hurting even more to cough, each one stabbing my chest like a cold icepick and being slower and slower to easing up.

  The padded pews look comfortable and inviting enough to sleep on. For reasons I didn't understand, I felt safe here; as if the room itself carried a sense of protection. It was like being enveloped in a warm hug.

  “I’m going to see if I can find some water,” I said hoarsely. I went back towards the entrance and turned right down the corridor. A sign above a door signified it was a woman’s restroom.

  I crept in cautiously and saw four stalls lining the back wall. The room held an aroma of roses and cleanliness. I walked straight over to the faucet and turned on the tap to cold, dunking my whole head underneath and open my mouth letting the water flow in. I gasped at first, swearing to myself that I wouldn't have doubted if steam weren't coming up from my burning scalp and face. I felt as if I couldn't get enough. I splashed more water on my face, my skin seeming to drink in the water as much as the mouth was. I looked up and stared at the reflected image, seeing a stranger. My face is almost cadaverous, and dark circles lined my sunken eyes. A second later I rushed to the first stall and emptied my stomach.

  When I was down to nothing but dry-heaves, I went back to my sink and rinsed my mouth out, trying to drink some more water. I held a small amount down with the struggle and snatched a mint out of the glass bowl that adorned the porcelain and popped it in my mouth. I leaned my back against the wall and closed my eyes. My throat felt as if I had swallowed a razor blade with every swallow. I wearily pulled away and shuffled back out, sneezing again and now moaned out at the combined pain in my throat and chest.

  ****

  It hurts. The little girl crawls across the room on all fours dragging one leg behind. She leaves a trail of blood. Mommy help, Mommy...

  Mommy looks at her, but her eyes are gone. She sees me and doesn't see me. She opens her mouth to tell me everything's going to be okay but instead the little girl sees nothing but a bottomless pit where tongue and teeth should be. Mommy points to a little girl and says through the hole, "Shush baby-dumpling. I'm gone, but there is a protector for you now. A protector... a protector... a...

  I opened my eyes to darkness. It takes a minute for my heart to slow. I try to block out those memories, but they often find a way in. It’s always in through my dreams. Oh God, I just want to tear out my hair!

  I can hear José’s heavy breathing. I took a deep breath myself and winced at the wrack of pain it caused. I forced myself to sit up. The room spins and wobbles, and I bite back a groan. The room is cast in shadows. I stood up on wobbly legs and made my way slowly down the aisle towards the glow. When I reached the statue of Jesus, I kneeled and bowed my head. I have so much I want to ask Him, but for some reason it won’t come out. I stayed silent, letting the tears slide down my cheeks unabashed.

  I’m not sure how long I kneeled there, but it was long enough that Oreo came hunting me down. She pecked at my toes. I twisted and picked her up.

  “You’re supposed to be asleep,” I whispered hoarsely in my croaky voice. I stood back up and made it (barely) to the first pew. I laid back down with Oreo tucked under my arm.

  I woke myself up once again, this time coughing so wretchedly I woke Daniel up.

  “Are you alright?” He asked from out of the darkness.

  “Yeah,” I rasped. I feel a hand on my forehead.

  “Shelby, you’re burning up.”

  “It’s just a cold. I’ll be okay.”

  “Hold on, let me get you a cold rag.” Daniel disappears, only to reappear a minute later. I feel something cold against my forehead.

  “Thanks,” I sighed. It felt wonderful.

  “I’m going to go see if I can find some aspirin. I’m sure they have some around here.”

  “Be careful, Daniel. I don’t want you to get in trouble,” I yawned, oblivious to who in the wo
rld he would get in trouble from, much less where he would find aspirin.

  “Shelby, I don’t think anyone would be too upset if I were trying to find some aspirin for a sick girl.”

  “Okay,” I replied before I succumbed to the darkness pulling at my eyelids.

  “Shelby, wake up.”

  I opened my eyes, and Daniel is sitting next to me, holding what looks like a glass of water and two white pills.

  “Here, drink this and take these.”

  After I take the pills and wash them down with the cool water, I went back to sleep, this time dreamless.

  Chapter Twenty

  Evil Follows

  Another morning is here, and we're on the tail end of a memorable journey. I wondered how many miles I have put on these legs. At least it’s a beautiful day to be walking. The sun is shining, and I can see deer feeding in the fields around me. I just wish I had better shoes because the gravel road we were on was starting to hurt my feet. I still felt weak, but better than the night before. Between the beautiful trees and surrounding corn fields; coupled with the hot Alabama sun and the sounds of nature all around, I felt a bit like I was in a fairytale. Nonetheless, I still had this chill that kept running up my spine and made my stomach churn.

  I sniffed like a hunting dog on point. The peaceful surroundings are filled with an ominous feeling of terror and dread and I jumped a little every time we came to a bend in the road or a tree that seemed big enough for somebody to hide behind. My mind started racing, and I started to feel panic set in.

  I heard the idle of a vehicle somewhere behind me, but I was too terrified to turn around. I stopped for a second to gather myself and prayed that it was all just in my head. Daniel also stopped. José kept walking, oblivious to what might be going on. I took a deep breath and heard the sound getting closer. Daniel and I started to walk faster, and my heart was pounding so hard it was all I could hear now. Images of me being found mutilated on the side of the road started to run rampant through my head. Even the trees and scarecrows seem to be watching me, and the deer had all vanished from the fields.