Dane spoke very confidently, and peacefully, “I think we should share it. It’s time. You wouldn’t believe what I saw. And, we’re gunna make lots of babies – animal babies – er, I better back up. There are more animals than just chickens. I don’t know what they are, but we’re gunna find out, and Jonathan is going to grow them, or teach us how to grow them in these giant plastic uterus things…” Dane continued in his weak explanation, and Jonathan walked past from the couch toward his chair, rolling his eyes.
“Not that easy to explain, is it?” Jonathan seethed, and paused at the table, looking at his chair. May and Dane watched silently as he seemed to realize he didn’t have to sit there anymore, but nowhere else felt as comfortable.
“So it’s not like I have all the answers, but Jonathan was right about one thing. I think there is a formula.”
Jonathan didn’t say anything, he was too emotionally preoccupied at the moment, apparently at a worrisome standstill. Dane didn’t try to get a reaction from him and May seemed too tired to compute, so he changed tactics.
“Tell me what else happened here.” Dane invited to May.
“I don’t know if it’s because they lack the full story that they are jumping down our throats, or if it is the content of the story. Darian wasn’t the only one who came by. He was just the only one who knew what he was looking for. I feel so responsible for what is going to happen, and so guilty for bringing Ma and the kids into it.”
“Well, this isn’t going to die with us anyhow. They would need to know.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Still don’t like it.”
As if Dane’s return was a cue, Darian came to the door that hadn’t shut quite yet. At first, Darian tried to look natural and confident, but soon his pompous look became a little sheepish.
He made to enter the threshold but Dane walked toward him, folding his arms threateningly so Darian stepped back.
“No friends with you?” Dane accused.
“Um… you?”
Dane frowned. “Really?”
“Oh, come on, what’d I do?”
“Really?”
“Whatever, let me in.”
“You set this house on fire, you idiot.”
“We didn’t want to hurt anyone, we just wanted to figure out what you knew. And – It’s not like you’re innocent. You set a historical site on fire.”
“Not us – that guy.” Dane said pointing backwards. When Darian looked around Dane, he saw May who was still sitting at the table flipping her knife. For once he seemed intimidated.
“Well, he belongs with you.” Darian pushed.
“Sort of, let’s not go that far.”
Jonathan started, “Hey -”
“Calm down, we’re all still getting used to this.” May added to shush him.
Dane leaned in the doorway, arms still folded, filling up the space and clearly keeping Darian out as long as possible.
“No, I’m pretty pissed at you. I don’t know if you just thought everything would be okay – that you could just say sorry. You’ve given this house some scares. Because we’re friends, I thought you would act better.”
“Yeah, well, so did I. Why did you friggin’ hide everything? I think that makes you as much of a rotten friend as me.”
“Yeah, on the defensive, not the offensive.”
“My side could be defensive!”
Dane sighed and frowned. He felt like cursing, but he didn’t. Dane debated the situation in his mind and moved away, slowly, from the door. Darian cleared his throat and tried to stand tall as Dane let him in.
Darian smiled uncomfortably and purposely sat away from May. She stopped spinning the knife, but didn’t set it down and didn’t relax. Instead, she drooped into a tense stupor. It was very apparent how tired she was. She wasn’t going to last long. Dane sat across from her and began into details about how they found the city and how the books led them to the cave. Samson’s snores interrupted them periodically and Miek came in about an hour into the conversation. When he realized what it was about, he started up complaining that Darian got better details than he ever did. Dane explained that he and Darian were longer friends then he and Miek, and there were things Darian understood better about him.
Miek huffed, “He set the house on fire!”
“I didn’t mean to!” Darian yelled, and slammed his hand on the table.
Thomas was asleep on one of the couches and woke with a start, scolded them groggily for being so loud, and then drifted back to sleep without recognizing who he was actually talking to.
Darian’s protest started up a fight again about who did what and who was guiltier. May calmed Miek, who was still unhappy and stalked off to the couch.
Dane didn’t say anything and let Miek sulk, knowing he’d be fine in a few minutes. Out of Dane’s pocket came the little green book. Miek protested again,
“He gets the book before I do?! What the?!”
“I didn’t know you liked to read?” Dane asked curiously. “And I’m not giving it to him.”
“You’re not?” Miek and Darian asked simeoultaneously.
“I have to warn you” Dane said, “It’s a weird book. But most of our questions… and answers, come from this. As far as I know, it’s a historical book that’s supposed to help people understand freedom; that it comes from right and wrong.”
Darian squinted and looked at Dane incredulously, “Wait, huh? Right and wrong? I don’t think I get you… I feel like that’s totally opposite of everything you ever talked about.”
“Well, it’s not totally opposite, I just didn’t know how to explain it. And it’s been over two years since we’ve really talked… Look, I can’t explain, and I’m not ready to give this book up yet. There’s a lot more for us to understand before we just give it away. But, we can tell you some of the things that are in it.”
May was losing focus. She took Dane’s hand absently and put her face on it, starting to fall asleep. Dane didn’t protest or move even though it was an awkward position for his arm. He wanted to be with May and Darian was ticking him off.
After Dane said that with what seemed clear finality, Darian didn’t move, so Dane asked if there was more he wanted to know. Darian looked straight at him and said, “So I’ve heard rumors that you two are going to be together for the rest of your lives? I thought this was just for now and you’d be back. It’s… weird…”
“We’ve decided that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
“Suppose to? Why should anything suppose to?”
“Well, I don’t know that yet. But I think that’s what makes it a progressive movement of sorts. Please just take it a step at a time for now… we need to sleep.” With a lopsided face Dane pointed to May. Then he said to Darian, “You can stay here if you don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”
“Sure.” He got up and made to move to the floor next to the couch where Miek was still stung with envy.
“Just don’t cuddle with Samson… it’s not that he’ll hate you in the morning, though he will, but it’s just that he really likes to cuddle”
“Personal experience?” he asked.
Miek was stifling a laugh, which was half of Dane’s intention of saying it, to improve his friend’s mood.
“Not quite…” Dane stated, but then after that didn’t explain more. Dane moved gently around the table to the half-asleep May, who he lifted gently to standing position, and guided her toward the open door.
“You know, if you start telling people how to live – what’s right and wrong, they’re gunna hate you.” Darian said.
“That’s anticipated” Dane replied tersely. “Goodnight.”
Dane finished encouraging May out the door. When they touched the grass, Dane removed his shoes, feeling the soft dirt giving way to his feet. He guided May to the ground, where he laid with his chest to her back, with her head on his bicep. Wrapping his other arm around her, she fell asleep with the knife still in her hand.
Dane lay awa
ke a bit longer, strikingly aware of a heavy feeling in his chest that he didn’t know how to explain. The knife in May’s hand seemed like a permanent fixture. She was prepared to fight. This was going to be good eventually, but it was going to be hard, and confusing, and stressful.
It seemed that if only he could get into Jonathan’s brain, all of this would make sense.
___
Jonathan had listened to the whole conversation, having a difficult time letting himself sleep. He hated every minute he kept himself in that small and dark hovel. The little home was regrettably familiar, though, and the longer he sat there, the better his eyes adjusted and he could see more and more details of the room. He thought back to their conversation in the lab, and Dane’s joke. Jonathan sighed and pulled his head forward, doing his best to forget about his claustrophobia, and his anger, and his sleeplessness. Tears of exhaustion and anger were brimming. His hands were almost pulling his hair out. Yet, he couldn’t help compulsively revolving around and around those words and he thought, No, Dane. This is the God box.
The End
The GOD Box Page 30
