Storm Warning

Traveling Light

                    My body curls in on itself in exhaustion as I park it next to Derek. Any strength I may have had to practice left me the moment I saw my home. Those red-bricked walls were my safe place. At least, they were. That was all gone now. I can never go back. And I am not sure that I want to. What positive memories I had would always be overshadowed by the gruesome events that ended my time there. A gentle tugging brings me back. With surprise, I look at my hands and am surprised to find the pictures clenched in my fist as Derek gently removes my fingers one by one from the picture. Derek and I make eye contact as he says, “Let’s go back to the house. You’ve been out here long enough, and I am pretty sure Maddie did something she was not supposed to do.”

                     I look at Derek puzzled, and by force of will alone, I found my strength to make sentences and push past my muddled thoughts. “What could she have possibly have done?”

                     “It’s Maddie. It could be anything, but when I asked what did during our time apart, she ignored the question and switched subjects.”

                     I look at him as I realize that she could have accidentally exposed herself and put herself in danger if she did anything other than buy supplies. I hop up quickly as fear makes my heart race, and I practically mow down Derek as I run back to the house. I burst through the door sending it banging into the wall with a loud thud. A dust cloud floats through the air as Maddie turns to me startled. I can’t even feel bad that I scared her. She was lucky that it was only ME. Spotting Maddie at the table, I yell, “Maddie, what the hell did you do? Please… PLEASE tell me you didn’t do anything stupid. Tell me you went out and bought supplies. Please tell me that is all you did. Anything else is entirely too dangerous.”

                     She ignores me, but as she turns back to what she is doing, I can see and feel her eye roll. She continues to organize the items on the table. “Well, it is simple really. I got tired of sitting around and think we need to start acting. I went to the store and got several things you needed to make this trip.”

                     I inch closer to look at the table covered in clothes and food. With serious effort, I control my tone and my volume. “How? We haven’t even made it to the train station yet!! We don’t have the money.”

                     This time, she doesn’t bother to look away and rolls her eyes at me as I stare at her. “Wrong! You don’t have the money yet. I, on the other hand, have a rich girl’s bank account and unlimited funds. Since I am still in town, it was no problem to go right in and use the money. Also, I am not a suspect.”

                     I shake my head. “I can’t take your money.”

                     “As long as I have known you, I have spent money on you because that’s how I show I care. AND now, you have a problem with it?”

                     “It’s just… you’re just…”. Maddie arches an eyebrow at me as I struggle to find a way to explain my thoughts. “I just don’t want you to spend your lives trying to look after me. It’s not your job, and it’s not why I am your friend.”

                     “That’s is totally stupid. Of course! I know that it isn’t my job. Of course! I know that the money isn’t why you are my friend. That was never a concern for me. It shouldn’t be for you. I used the money in MY hometown. So, it isn’t like they are using my spending to track you. I used the money to buy clothes and food, which is also not unusual for me. This was a safe endeavor. Besides, you have no source of income and will need to use the money you do have sparingly. I have a bad feeling that this is going to be an incredibly long journey. Besides, you don’t have a choice but to take the money. I won’t have it any other way.” I look to Derek for some support but he just shrugs. I sigh as I come to terms that that we won’t win the fight with her. I close my eyes, pinch the bridge of my nose, and open my eyes having decided that this is just not a worthy concern to wage war over… not with what is coming at least. Maddie smiles at her victory. “Good. Now that you’re done trying to be a pain in my rear end…”. I raise my eyebrows at her choice of words, but I cross my arms and say nothing. “… I can tell you what I got. I bought a waterproof book bag! Isn’t it cute?!” Leave it to Maddie to gush over cute items even as we are fighting to stay alive. “It’s purple zebra print with five different pockets.”

                     Tilting my head to the side as I stare at the bag, I ask, “Isn’t the idea not to draw attention to myself? Like… this bag is really flashy.”

                     Maddie nods and smirks knowingly. “Hence, the purple zebra print book bag.” I look to Derek for an explanation of how the bag helps me blend. He shrugs and points back to Maddie as if to say pay attention. “Listen, I am going to break it down for you. Don’t worry. I got your bag… I mean, back.” Maddie laughs at her joke, and I find my mouth turning up at the corners into a smile. Such a dork. “Sarah was attacked…”

                     “and killed…”

                     Maddie nods as I seamlessly added to her sentence and continues from my endpoint. “… when she was alone. You were also attacked when you were alone. My thought is that they can only come at you when you are alone. Most likely, they don’t want the public to get wind of what they did all those years ago. Therefore, you are safer in crowds. More importantly, this is the most popular book bag for girls bought for the upcoming school year with over 100,000 bought worldwide. No girl buys a plain black bag, meaning you stand out less if you act normal.”

                     Derek walks over to stand by me. “She makes a lot of sense.”

                     Maddie smiles at him. “Now, it is important that we make the most of the space you have. We have five pockets. The main pocket is the biggest. This pocket will hold your clothes. We have school starting next Monday. That’s like four days from now. This means that you can wear the sweater since it will be getting cold soon. Over here…”. Maddie points to a stack of clothes. “…are the clothes that you will wear. One t-shirt, one pair of jeans, one pair of socks, one pair of underwear, one b*a, one pair of shoes, and the sweater. If necessary, it may fit in the bag… but I don’t recommend it. And here…”. She points to another pile and starts putting items in the bag. “… are your back up clothes. It includes two pairs of socks, bras, underwear, and shirts. There is also only one other pair of jeans. Jeans take up too much space to provide more pairs. You can just wear these for several days at a time for now.” I nod, and Maddie zip up the main pocket. “This second pocket is in the front of the main pocket. I think this is the best place to put hygiene products. She picks up each item and puts in the bag as she says its name. “Hairbrush. Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Deodorant. Small soap. Small shampoo. Feminine products, meaning Tampons. Only a couple for sudden starts. I suggest that you bathe and wash your hair as opportunities arise, such as in a sink or when it rains or anywhere abandoned with running water. In the ideal world, you won’t have to run for your life and you have access to the necessities at all times. But realistically, you are REALLY going to stink.” Derek and I chuckle, but quickly quiet because she is not wrong. “That kind of stink will also draw attention. I also think it is probably best to avoid kind Samaritans for two reasons. One, they could be used to get to you, either as hostages or as information sources. Two, they could be killed.” I nod. “This third pocket is for snacks. I have bought several granola bars and sandwich fixings. Now, your… I mean, Sarah’s journal should probably go in the main pocket with like 5 or 6 of these water bottles tucked in and among your clothes. You can always refill these in any location with a water source. Once it comes time for you to head out, I will make you as many sandwiches as possible that will still fit in your bag. One of these last two pockets will hold some money. I pulled some money out of my bank, about 500 dollars.” I shake my head at her as she pulls the wad out of her purse. “Keep this on you. It will help you get to where you need to go for now. We will have to figure out some solution for getting you more later, but one thing at a time. This should get you to Freedom Park.” Maddie pulls several twenty-dollar bills from the stack before placing the larger stack in a thin black wallet and putting the wallet in the small side pocket. She hands me the group of twenties in her hand. “Keep this on you and not in the bag in case the bag gets lost… maybe a pocket or in your sock. You can also keep some extra in your shoe if you need to.”

                     I stare at Maddie in shock. “You are kind of really good at this.”

                     She nods. “I use to think about running away and how I would make it work.”

                     “I didn’t know that.”

                     “I didn’t want you to.” She smiles at me sadly. “I never told you because I didn’t want anyone to know. Or for them to come to you if I suddenly went missing. There was a time when I was hurt that my parents didn’t have any time for me. I wanted to find a family that did. I wanted a family like yours. I thought the easiest way was to go find one. But I realized I had a family in the form of my best friend and her mom.” I rush to her and give her a giant hug. “You aren’t the only one that loss someone you considered family.” Rubbing her back as she tenderly rubs mine, she pulls back. “There’s more. I went to the train station."