Chapter 23: Jason Has a Vision
1070 Words
Jason began to walk down the stairway to the elevator when the first vision struck him. He almost fell over from the intensity of the experience. The two cops were ahead of him. They didn’t notice what happened to the man behind them. As he stood there, they vanished through the security door and into the access room, which took them to the top floor of the building.
He was in some kind of jungle all of the sudden.
Jason grabbed the railing and saw the stone statues in front of him. He felt the air turn hot and humid. He looked down and found his business suit gone, to be replaced by a simple wrap. He didn’t have anything on his feet. The sandals were gone, lost in the forest when he ran after her.
Jason caught his breath. Where the hell was he? This wasn’t Louisville. He was in some tropical climate where he could hear the sounds of howler monkeys in the background. The sunlight was intense, but drifted down through the intense jungle foliage around him. Sweat trickled down his back as he felt the heat soak through his skin.
He needed to find Candy. She’d run off from him and he had to get her back. Except her name wasn’t Candy, it was something else. He couldn’t remember what she called herself in this place. Why had he even ventured this far into the woods? He knew the danger of what he did. The forest was full of dangerous animals and snakes. He looked at the ground and expected to see one of the larger ones slide by any minute. Wasn’t the tree where his right hand rested a prime location for snake nests?
He should let her go. If she wanted to join the holy women who lived out in the jungle, let her. It was better for him. He could find another wife in his town, one who would stay home and do as instructed. How dare she run off on him like this? What would his family say when they heard about it? He would be tossed out of the clan and forced to find somewhere else to live. Besides, any woman who ventured into these forests wouldn’t live long anyway. All those stories about the women who stayed in the old ruins were crazy talk. Tales old people made up to scare children. He needed to get back.
The statues in front of him, covered with years of plant growth, were proof he’d reached the old ruins. He’d had enough. Time to go back and start his life over. He turned around, determined to put her out of his mind forever.
There was a cough and he looked to his right.
Four women, naked save for the sacred ash smeared on their bodies stood next to him. Each had a spear in one hand. Even if his wife hadn’t found the wild women of the forest, they’d located him.
Jason shook his head and looked down.
He was back in the stairwell. The door opened at the bottom and one of the officers stuck his head into it.
“Mr. Moon?” he called up to Jason. “Elevator is ready. My partner’s holding it open. We need to move and fast if you want to find that girl.”
“Sorry,” Jason called down to him. “I’m coming down right now.”
He finished his descent down the staircase and joined the other two officers in the elevator.
“Are you alright?” one of the officers asked him as it began to move down the shaft.
“I’m fine,” Jason told them. “Just worried about Candy.”
He closed his eyes and tried to forget about the vision. This was scary. The pressure was too intense and he didn’t need to deal with these things.
Candy sat on the ledge of the latest building she found and surveyed the city below her. It was a lot different from sitting in a tree in the woods or watching the vultures from the cliffs. First of all, it was easier to see what happened down below. She watched the cars raced down the streets and tried to understand if there was a pattern to their movements. With deer, you could always figure out the direction they’d take. Even rabbits had a method to what they did. Cars, on the other hand, didn’t have any. She noted the directions they moved and the way each would swerve to find a place to park. Candy decided the cars were an extension of the people inside them. This made sense. She understood cars weren’t alive in the way animals and plants were alive, but she wanted to think of them that way.
She looked down and watched the police locate her. It was a bit of a game for her to outwit the crowds and people who followed from below. She stretched out and watched them. Too many people in this place to make her happy. She wanted to go back to where she lived in the small house. People were good to her there. This place, not so good. However, to do that, she had to help Jason find the children. Only when they were found, could she return.
Jason had to be worried about her; she knew it. Candy felt bad that she’d climbed up the building and snuck off. Nevertheless, this was the only way she could be of help. Weren’t they excited by what she found at the park? Even the wolf understood.
The wolf was helpful today. She turned and watched it pace back and forth on the roof. She’d let it out after it told her she could jump between buildings. She’d wanted to do that, but didn’t think it such a wise idea. The wolf let her know she could do it if she had a good running start. The wolf turned out to be right. So, she let the wolf go for stroll on the roof. She really needed to tell Jason about it.
- Writer
