Trapped in Our Hell

Chapter 15:

Another week passed by while Jason and Lusie gathered what they could to leave the cave. They went through Jason's old stash of stolen items from his parent's house. They found a couple of empty water bottles, 10 bandanas, a new roll of duct tape, floss packets, a first aid container with needles, disinfecting, and bandages. He even had paper clips stashed here with backpacks that had blankets and rope in them.

"You were prepared as a child." Lusie whispered in amazement when she looked at all the stuff. Each one had a purpose she was sure in someway. Lusie had no idea what but Jason could probably tell her in detail what they could use them for.

"That's one way of putting it." Jason responded as he had packed up several of the items into a backpack and then the rest to the one Lusie would take. There wasn't much inside the backpacks which was for the best to have good enough speed. The route his mother had given him required a lot of climbing but there were enough areas to hunt or fish for food. They just had to stay close to the river bank.

Lusie folded the two blankets and placed one in each of the packs. They were thin enough to fit and Lusie was able to easily zip the zipper closed. Once the packs were ready and night came along Lusie followed Jason down the caves entrance and under the waterfall. It was a beautiful night with a clear sky. No moon was above them giving off light. Lusie stared up at the thousands of twinkling stars. Memories of camp outs with her parents came to mind.

Lusie had never been used to the outdoors even though she camped out at least three times with her parents. She hated sleeping on the floor and the possibility of bugs crawling on her. Lusie shivered at the memory of a snake slithering by her feet one night. Luckily the snake was not hungry or she would have probably been dead or had been bitten.

Jason's hand took hers which brought her back to the present. She could not see his expression but that was a blessing because she was sure a blush was forming. Lusie was not sure what it was about him that made her blush so much but the simplest act or touch made her do so. The girls that used to be in her classes in school would have laughed at her right now. Well after they got over the fact of psycho Lusie being around a guy for so long.

Lusie's mind wandered between past and present as Jason lead her along the river bank path. It was difficult for Lusie to get over the fact that she had changed from the little time she had been in the hospital to now. From listening to the story of Jason's life Lusie knew her life was easy in contrast. She did not know true hardship of having a parent that did not love her or wished her harm. Lusie was lucky to have both parents that loved her and treated her like a human even with an ability they did not know how to handle. She could not imagine how different she would be as a person if she lived the life Jason had. Would she have been strong enough to fight through it like Jason or would she have been too weak?

"I admire you." Lusie whispered her thoughts out loud before she realized the words came out of her mouth.

Jason paused in his steps up an inclined hill. At first he was not sure he had heard Lusie speak. She had spoken so softly that he thought it was the wind until her hand had tensed in his hold. He turned to face her. He could not see her expression. However knowing her by now she was probably embarrassed and avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry Lusie I didn't hear what you said." Jason said honestly. Immediately Lusie's hand relaxed in his and Jason could feel the air around them become lighter and less tense. When could he feel energy as if it was a part of him? Was that a gift Lusie had and he could just feel it by the touch of her hand?

"It's nothing. I just got lost in my thoughts and some of my thoughts came out." Lusie said shyly. She was not completely certain on how Jason would react to her words so she kept them to herself. She would say them again when she knew he was more comfortable with her around.

Jason frowned in the dark. He could sense she spoke the truth but there was something she wasn't telling him. It was unlike her to hide things tightly to herself. He was not sure if this was a good thing or that she is becoming distant with him. For now I will just let it rest but she will spill it later on, Jason thought to himself. Without another word he turned his back to her and started the walk again.

Lusie sighed with relief. She had not fooled him but she bought some time. Lusie just had to figure out how to phrase the sentences in a way she felt confident in saying them instead of stuttering. There was not much practice in the past for her in that area. It usually took several days for her to feel comfortable enough to speak what was on her mind. If she could not find the words Lusie would turn to her canvases and draw her emotions into them. If only she had her tools now to express herself even if Jason thought it was ridiculous.

Oh how she missed her art. The only way she ever got to escape was by using the paints. She could picture in her mind right now. A sky blue clear sunny day, green bushy trees rustling against the wind, grass along the ground that felt cold against bearfeet, all kinds of people spread out in groups doing activities like flying kits or having picnics on benches, and dogs of all sizes or breeds running around. Lusie imagined each detail in her mind. She even thought of the dogs fur as if she was painting the highlights on a canvas.

"Do you draw Lusie?" Jason's voice drew Lusie's eyelids open to the dark that still surrounded them besides the bit of gold light shining from their rings.

"Yes. Well...I mostly paint." Lusie responded a bit shy. Knowing the rings were shining told her that Jason had most likely seen into her image as it filled her thoughts. Had she gotten so caught up in her image that a passion strong enough linked their thoughts?

"Are they mostly scenery like the one you just imagined?" Jason sounded like he was smiling and enjoying himself.

"Mostly I draw gardens and animals. My mother...she has this garden of flowers outside my bedroom and I would draw them until I was satisfied they looked close enough." Lusie could feel a warm energy wrap around her.

"Sounds like a perfectionist." Jason smirked as he tried to imagine Lusie spending weeks on her stretches and paintings. He stepped over a large tree trunk before taking Lusie's other hand. Lusie was chuckling as she safely stepped over the log and they went on their way.

"You have no idea. I would never turn in any drawing that was not to my standards which drew my art teacher crazy enough to pull out strands of hair." Lusie spoke as a memory of her middle aged male art teacher popped in her head. He had blonde hair that was usually tied up in a loose ponytail to the middle of his back. Lusie remembered his outfits being overstated in a classroom instead of a fancy gathering for tuxes. Lusie heard Jason laugh when her memory of a project for the school fundraiser showed her teacher pull his hair while stressing to her about the deadline. She had felt pretty bad for having most of her assignments come to the teacher pretty late. So for the fundraiser the teacher had given her the instructions of the required material ahead of time. She had met the deadline but her teacher had gained some grey strands from her and a few others.

"You take your time in everything. You seem like the type to think of everything before you act." Jason stated his opinion.

Lusie smiled. He was pretty accurate with the statement. She took a lot of fun out of the spontaneous moments just from the fear of unseen concenques. The complete opposite of Jason she assumed. "All except the time I snuck out with you." That had been the one time she went by instinct. It has been a crazy thing to do but Lusie knew it was the right choice. If she had thought about it Lusie was not sure she would have actually done it.

"No you wouldn't have. If you thought even a second you would have ran back into your room. Just like the goody two shoes you are." Jason read her thoughts.

"Rule breaker." Lusie threw back at him. Jason smiled as they walked through the thick of the forest and slippery rocks by the river that appeared. Jason had to help Lusie through most of the rocks. She was terrified of falling expectually with it being dark.

They walked for a couple hours in silence as they concentrated on the steps they had to take in front of them. The slippery rocks took up a good amount of time for them. By the time they were able to get up onto the hillsides of the first forest mountain the first sunrise turned the black sky to a sunset orange,olive green, and royal blue. The sight was breathtaking.

Both of them stood facing the sunrise and took in the beauty before them. Jason glanced down at Lusie.

"So beautiful." Lusie whispered in amazement.

Jason could see Lusie's hair wavy and undone. Her clothes were wrinkled from the amount of washing they had been through. Yet Jason also saw her blue eyes twinkle when she stared at the scenery before her. She was probably taking in every detail to memory. This moment would be in his memory forever. Not the sunrise colors but just the girl that was next to him.

"Yes you are." He heard himself whisper. It was not something he meant to say. A blushed tinted his cheeks and he quickly covered his lower face with his hand trying to hide it. He could feel Lusie looking up at him embarrassed as well as surprised and he just could not look her in the eyes.

Lusie could not believe she had heard him right. Jason did not seem like the type to say such things and by what looked like a blush he was surprised and embarrassed just as much as her. She could feel her body soften and a smile appear on her face. No one had ever said that too her. It was one of those cheesy lines that were in books she read and always wished to hear it at least once. Though she never thought it would happen and did not have a response to it.

Jason could not take her staring at him. He turned away from her and continued down the path. Jason heard Lusie's small footfalls telling him she was quickly following him. He tried to get the thought of her under the sunrise light out of his mind but it would not go away. The rings around their fingers had gown down to normal tattoos which Jason was thankful for. He did not need Lusie seeing into his emotions when he was not sure what was going on with him. Well except that he was acting like an i***t.

He shook his head and looked closer at his surroundings. Now that light was shining they did not have much time before the search for them would continue. Before that Jason wanted to make sure that they had a hiding place for the day light to rest. He was pretty sure that Lusie was tired even if she had not complained verbally. Jason found a cave entrance about 20 feet from them.

Quietly they walked the distance. Lusie sat down inside and took off her pack. She groaned as her body began to relax. Jason however looked at the surroundings of the cave. His mind was whirling on how to conceal the entrance from being visible. When he saw how long the vines from the top of the cave came down to almost the ground he came up with a plan. Lusie watched as Jason pushed the vines down over the entrance and pushed what looked like grassy bushes on each side of the cave. Jason came threw the vines and carefully started to arrange different sizes of rocks in a random order under the vines to make it look like they touched. He was making it look as if there was a wall behind the vines.

Lusie tilted her head to the side. Did Jason think of every possibility that could be used to hide? He seemed to have a natural ability to find ways to continue hiding out of sight and making the spots seem nature natural.

Jason took off his pack and leaned against the wall as he sat beside Lusie. The slits from the vines only gave him a tiny bit of light. It was enough for him to see her staring at him with amazement. She probably was not used to finding things to use for hiding. It was an instinct he had to grow and trust himself with any small details for his father to not find him. Now more than ever he had to think of the details more importantly with the cops on their tails too.

"Get some sleep. I'll wake you if I feel my eyes can't stay awake but rest for now. We have a long night ahead of us." Jason spoke softly. Lusie nodded and got the blanket out from her bag. Jason helped her wrap it around her so she would feel comfortable. She rested back against the wall. It took her only a couple minutes to fall asleep. The last thing her mind thought of was Jason's voice calling her beautiful.