In the Dark (Dark Time Book 1)

by Iris Sweetwater

  Chapter 10

  History never really says goodbye. History says, ‘See you later.’ ~ Eduardo Galeano

  CARLIE didn’t hesitate as she threw everything she had to her name into the backpack she had, one of her nicest belongings. She knew it wouldn’t be as easy for Tanner, that she would need to be there for him. But, she just couldn’t wait to get out there on her own. She had begged them before she landed here just to let her go, let her do her own thing rather than be with another crappy excuse for an adult. There was a sadness to it though, because the woman she was with now, her foster mother, she was kind. She wasn’t necessarily motherly material. She was an older woman who never had any kids of her own, a woman who liked to collect things and keep to herself. But, she was kind. She never starved her or made her do excessive chores. She never kept her from sleeping or having friends. She never hit her or threatened her in any way.

  Carlie slung the backpack over her back before heading into the room where her foster mother was sleeping. It wasn’t a place she often went, and they weren’t particularly affectionate, but as she looked over at the woman as she was sleeping, a bit of a snore coming from her throat, she couldn’t help but feel guilty that she was up and leaving her.

  There was a note in her room about it. Well, something that made more sense than what she was actually doing. She told her she was going away with a friend for some fun at the end of summer, just a little road trip, and that she would be back before she knew it. It was kind of the truth.

  Carlie leaned down and kissed the old woman on the forehead, only allowing herself to shed one tear for the nicest woman she had been cared for by and then went out the front door and around the back alley where she would be meeting Tanner, once he made it out of there. She pulled herself together, put on a happy face like she always did because if she broke down he would too. He would lose it over leaving that little sister of his, she was sure of it. But, the world needed them. He never would have agreed if he hadn’t seen that. She understood that now, but they had a job to do. They had a world to save. They had to go. They had to let go, and he had much more to let go of than she did. She had never truly had anything.

  Finally, after what seemed like forever, after worrying she would get caught or that he had changed his mind, he came out to meet her, his own bag tossed over his shoulder, a little bigger than hers. She still didn’t know the whole plan, but they would have to steal provisions most likely. They would be hitching where they could. they certainly couldn’t walk the whole way, and any money they did have, which wasn’t much, couldn’t be wasted on the bus. They needed to be able to survive. There was no way to know if this girl was going to be able to help them at all on that front, even if she accepted why they were there. She was just a teenager, just like them.

  “So, what’s the plan?” he asked in a whisper, and she detected the thinly veiled sadness in his voice as they walked slowly and carefully through the alley and out towards the main street. They needed to make it out of this part of town undetected or someone would likely call Tanner’s parents.

  “The plan is to get out of Dodge, stay low for the night, and get to a truck stop. We can rest and eat there and maybe hitch a ride with someone. It’s the crossroads or whatever, right? I would say it’s about an hour’s walk or something?” she told him, keeping up her pace as she saw the street. “Stick to the treeline and the shadows. Cops aren’t going to like the look of two runaway teenagers at this time of night.”

  Tanner said nothing. She didn’t expect him to, but she knew eventually she would have to find a way to cheer him up. Maybe some food and people watching at a place where all the weirdos came around would do him some good.

  It was a little after two in the morning when they finally saw the big, yellow, neon sign that let them know they were approaching the truck stop. The world got loud in this little corner of existence, as they heard the idling of trucks and those on road trips stopping to take a bathroom break or get a snack and wondering how far away they were from their destination.

  “Thank goodness, my stomach is killing me. I need to have some crackers or something,” Carlie said, picking up her pace as they reached the door to the truck stop. Inside it was huge, so much more than a convenience store. At the back, there was a counter where truckers could ask for a shower or a bed in the back for just a few dollars, and there were three fast, good restaurants. The place was also filled with junk food and local tourist memorabilia. It was kind of a joke, though, because who wanted to visit here or remember it if they did? It was nothing special, not to Carlie, anyway. It was just home for now, and it wouldn’t be for long. Home was wherever she landed with Tanner now. Maybe Kingsbridge would come home.

  “I am more concerned about my feet than my stomach,” Tanner mentioned as they found a booth to sit at in front of a sandwich shop. Carlie pulled her backpack around to the front and unzipped it, pulling out some peanut butter crackers she had packed. She took what she knew she could get away with from her foster mother’s pantry, nothing big, but she was used to rationing food. She didn’t know what Tanner was like, he was a guy and probably ate quite a bit compared to her. Hopefully, he had packed a little sustenance of his own. But these would do for now.

  She chucked a pack at him before using her teeth to open her own. She scooted all the way over in the booth and stuck her feet up on the seat across from her, making sure her foot didn’t land on Tanner’s knee.

  “Don’t worry about your feet. Just relax. We will chill here for an hour or so and scope out someone who can give us a ride out of here. If we can’t find someone here, then we won’t find anyone anywhere,” she said, popping a cracker into her mouth.

  He looked at her skeptically, and she didn’t need to read his mind in order to know what he was thinking. “Tanner, we are going to have to do plenty of things you don’t like. If it’s as serious as you say, right and wrong are all thrown into a mixed grey area right now. You’re going to have to let go and trust me. I am not going to get is killed or in trouble.”

  Tanner sat back in his seat and nodded, starting to open his own package of crackers, though he still looked a bit on guard. It was par for the course with him. This journey was going to test and change them both, and Carlie was just along for the ride of her life.

  It didn’t take long for her to finish the crackers and get bored, getting up to go look around at some of the silly souvenirs. There were lots of keychains, cheap jewelry, and even some tee shirts.

  Tanner had hung back in the seat, just munching on his crackers and resting, and as she glanced over to look at him, she could see he was being approached by another guy about their age. Her gaydar was going off. He was being hit on. This was good though, this could be their ride.

  Carlie gave them a little space to flirt or whatever it is they do and hoped that Tanner didn’t screw it up with his nerves or OCD nature while she swiped a couple of keychains and put them in her pocket. Who knew what they might want to remember about all of this later. She could document it in some 3D scrapbooks or something; the time Carlie and Tanner ran away to save the world.

  She chuckled and shook her head at the thought, before nonchalantly making her way back over to Tanner and the guy who had taken an interest.

  “Hey guys, what’s up?” she asked, leaning into the booth where the new guy sat. He turned around with a brilliant smile. His hair was shaved almost entirely, but he had on eyeliner and this spiked collar. His jeans were tight and expensive looking, with these studs that lined them down the bottom, and his shirt was tight. He was a pretty good looking guy, though not Tanner’s typical type. Didn’t matter right now if they could use him, though.

  “Hi, I’m Beck,” he said, reaching out to shake her hand. A handshake? Maybe he wasn’t as far off from Tanner’s type as he looked at first glance.

  “Carlie,” she said.

  “I was just telling your friend Tanner here that I am on my way to college, a small arts school actually, just pas
sing through and all.”

  Carlie nodded and sat down next to the guy as he made room for her. She gave a discreet grin to Tanner who was clearly blushing.

  “Freshman?” she asked him, knowing they needed her to move the conversation along while Tanner was busy swallowing his tongue over this guy. Tanner had never been with anyone serious. He was so shy, and there weren’t many other gay boys where they went to school. This was all new to him.

  “Sophomore, actually. So, Tanner was saying that you guys are like taking a summer trip or something?” he asked, pointing back and forth between them.

  Carlie nodded. “Yeah, kind of a last hoorah before our parents get us on lockdown and make us get jobs and pay rent and all that shit, you know? We’ll get in so much trouble for this, but we’re hitchhiking.” Carlie noticed Tanner’s eyes go wide with her honesty, but being as honest as possible always made a story more believable. On top of that, it was the fastest way to know if he would take them anywhere.

  “Well, if you guys are looking for a ride somewhere, if it’s my way, I wouldn’t mind taking you,” he offered, looking straight at Tanner. She could practically feel the tension between the two of them. “If either of y’all have a license you could give me a bit of a break. I have been driving all night. I’ll even get you guys a bite to eat if you do it.”

  Carlie knew they had scored. She just hoped Tanner jumped on it.

  “Yeah, that would be super helpful, actually. We can take turns driving. We are headed to Kingsbridge, have you heard of it?” Tanner had finally found his voice.

  Beck nodded. “Yeah, I will be getting pretty close. I can take you within a half hour walk of it if you’re okay with that? And I have GPS.”

  “Perfect!” Carlie said, rubbing her hands together. “I’ll drive first.” She held out her hands for the keys, and he handed them over, his eyes never leaving Tanner’s. “Just keep it PG guys,” she teased, and Tanner turned beet red. This was going to be fun.

  They all got huge footlong sandwiches and bags of chips from the shop, saving half of it for later, once they got to Kingsbridge. Carlie knew they would need it.

  With happy and full stomachs, just around four in the morning, Carlie found herself behind the driver’s seat of something so cliche it wasn’t even funny. It was an A to B car, the kind that was once a beauty in its day, but the rich parents overused it and gave it to the college kid for use once they went out and bought a new luxury model. It would be a smooth and easy drive.

  She adjusted all the mirrors to her short height as she caught in the back mirror the way the two guys in the backseat were looking at each other. She knew a major makeout session was coming on and was glad when she found the radio worked well. She could roll down the windows and just enjoy it and let them have their fun.

  She put it on the alt station, jamming to it to pump herself up before she started the engine, it humming to life so easily. It had been a while since she had gotten to drive anything. Her foster mother didn’t have a car. She rode the bus everywhere. But, she had gotten her license with the family before that, because she had to. They basically used her as a chauffeur all the time. She kind of missed it though, that feeling of power and freedom.

  Tapping the car door to the music, they were off in the direction the GPS that sat on the dash told her to go. It was a pretty fancy thing, but probably considered a necessity for a kid driving to college on his own for several miles.

  As she emerged atop the highway, she caught a glimpse of Tanner and Beck in a heated liplock in the back and smiled. It was a memory, one he deserved to make. Memories were so much more precious now that they knew they could lose them. They could lose everything. Carlie planned on still keeping up with her diary when she could. It was packed in her backpack. Even if Tanner didn’t, she would record everything for the both of them. Maybe it would be published because they were famous one day, or maybe they would fail. But, that way, it would be their legacy.

  Carlie had no problem staying behind the wheel even as many times as Beck asked her if he or Tanner should take over. She would get her time to do something wild and fun. She could feel it. Right now, Tanner needed the distraction.

  It was early in the morning still as they pulled into a rest stop outside of Kingsbridge. Carlie had to admit that she was a little tired and worried about where they would sleep and when, but she also knew they would figure it out.

  “I am going to go scope the place out,” she told Tanner, stretching her legs on her way over to the restroom area. It also had visitors’ information and maps all over the brick walls, between the male and female signs. She gave Tanner and Beck their privacy to say goodbye. Another goodbye. She got the feeling there would be an awful lot of those.

  There was a little park of sorts at the back. Nothing big, which didn’t surprise her with what she knew about the landscape. It was more mountains and rivers of the arid kind, flat and barren. This would have been planted here just for the heck of it, for those passing through. She had a blanket in her bag, but not much else. She didn’t have room for stuff like that in her backpack. She had told Tanner to bring a sleeping bag, though, so maybe he had. They needed to get some rest at some point, and it looked like this park area was the best way. At least it was warm out, not the heat of the day yet, and no rain, They might be able to get a couple hours of shut-eye before they had to walk up to a total stranger and tell her that Carlie had been dreaming about her. That was going to be fun. But, then again, if she was experiencing strange things, what else could surprise her at this point?

  She wandered into the bathroom and did her business before cleaning up a bit, splashing some water on her face and pulling her dark hair back into a tiny pony. Her blue eyes looked wild with her like that. It was fitting for someone on such an adventure.

  When she came out, she almost ran smack dab into Tanner. “Whoa, sorry. How did it go with Beck?” she asked.

  “He left. I gave him my number, but I don’t think I will hear from him again.” He shrugged.

  Carlie patted him on the back. “A little fling makes the world go round sometimes. No biggie. I say we get some sleep before it gets too hot and then we will take our walk, yeah?” she asked, leading him back into the wooded area.

  “You mean like out in the open?” he asked.

  “Where else would we sleep? C’mon, it’s just a park,” she reassured him with a chuckle. “We might see a squirrel or two, some ants, that’s it.”

  He huffed and let her drag him to a patch of grass hidden in the trees and close enough to the path to find it again, but far enough away that no one just taking a stroll would find them and say anything.

  “Goodnight,” she offered, laying on top of her half of the sleeping bag. He wanted to be all covered up from nature, but she felt better this way, cooler. She had taken off her overshirt and just rested in her jeans and cami. “We’ll get up in two hours and then by tonight we will meet the girl from Kingsbridge.”

  Part 3:

  Kingsbridge

  Chapter 11

  Indecision is a virus that can run through an army and destroy its will to win or even to survive. ~ Wendell Mayes

  “ISN’T this place just amazing?” Carlie asked as she looked around her, something new to see all the time. Kingsbridge had to be the most fascinating place she had ever been. The capital was this huge castle-like structure that towered over the city. And the city looked like a big labyrinth you could easily get lost in. She had never been anywhere so nice and interesting before, though tanner seemed less thrilled. It was hot, much hotter than they expected, and they were in the coolest clothes they had and still sweating. There was barely a cloud in the sky as the sun beat down on them on their way to try and figure out where they might find the girl from the dreams. Luckily, Carlie had another dream in the few hours they had rested, oversleeping actually, and she knew her name was Alexandra. they also knew, if nothing else, that she would be headed to the clock tower around dusk. Somehow, they had be
en able to put their two powers together to figure that out. The minute they had entered the city limits, Tanner had mentioned he could hear some her thoughts, this girl, Alexandra. He could feel her. It was like their powers were actually leading them to each other. So, she couldn’t be too worried about whether or not they would meet up. Eventually, they just would.

  “Where are all the people?” Tanner asked, looking around as they saw the bridge in the distance; the one where Alexandra had jumped.

  Carlie had to agree there were so few. “I bet they are all on vacation or something. These look like rich people. Remember, I told you that someone was coming back from some skiing trip or something in one of the visions.”

  Tanner nodded. It was strange, though, such a beautiful town should be full of people. There was this eerie chill that came over her. “Do you think that time will stop moving for us now too, that we will be stuck?” she asked as they approached the bridge and looked out over the water below. It made her nauseous, and she stepped back. “Ugh, I don’t know how she did it.”

  “I don’t know, Carlie,” Tanner said, sitting down and swinging his legs over the side the ways he had seen Alexandra and her friend doing in her dreams. She was hesitant as she looked down and felt another wave of nausea. “I didn’t know about either one. I just hope she has more answers than we do, or she can do more than we can about all of this. I can’t let something happen to my family. I don’t know what I would do.”

  Carlie sighed and tried not to look down as she quickly sat next to him, her hands balling up into fists to try and keep herself calm. She really didn’t like the idea of falling into the water and drowning or something. She had just always been afraid. It was her own thing to get over, and she would do it for her best friend if she needed to. He needed her right now.