by Nikita Eden
“No, Sears has been closed for a while,” Audrey rubbed her temples in small circles.
“Oh well, it’s too bad there really aren’t any running department stores anymore,” she chattered. “If Sears was still open I’d be going every single day!”
“That sounds like fun,” Audrey humored her. “Here are your keys. If you need anything contact the Roswell Council or Dean, he’s the guy who’s over the Runner program.”
“Thanks!” Anna said excitedly gave Audrey an awkward one-armed hug before opening the door to the house. “Do you guys want to come in for a drink or anything?”
Audrey shook her head and screwed up her face with feigned disappointment, “Sorry, we really can’t stay. I’m on a pretty tight schedule today and I need to get Lincoln to his house before I have to start my other tasks for the day.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Anna’s countenance dropped momentarily. “Well, we’ll for sure have to set something up for later!”
“Definitely,” Audrey smiled and walked away from the house with a tiny wave and blew out relieved sigh when she shut the door.
“I guess this means it’s just you and me for a while,” Lincoln wiggled his thick eyebrows suggestively.
“I guess so,” she laughed and led him towards Main Street so she could show him around on their way to his new house. “Your new place is a few blocks from here.”
“Is it close to where you live?” He asked and pointed at the street lamps that had alien faces on them. “Those are super cool.”
“I guess they are,” she shrugged. “I stopped paying attention to them after a while. My house isn’t too far from yours. It’s a little less than half an hour when you’re walking.”
“I guess I’ll just have to run,” Lincoln winked at her.
Audrey laughed nervously and tried to quell the butterflies that erupted in her stomach, “That’s probably the cheesiest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“I aim to please,” Lincoln chuckled and repositioned his ruck sack on his back.
“So, did you get a choice on where you went after they told everyone Artesia was being disbanded?” she inquired trying to sound as innocently as possible.
“Yeah, there were a few choices,” he looked around at the store fronts. “Some people decided to stay in their old homes.”
“But, you chose Roswell?” A knot of tension wound up in her stomach while she watched him point at the murals of aliens and UFOs on the buildings enthusiastically.
“Well, I did say if I ever came up this way I’d look you up, Audrey Campbell,” he turned to look at her. “So, I had a reason to come here.”
“I didn’t think you’d remember that,” Audrey looked at her hands, pretending to be interested in her fingernails so she wouldn’t seem as excited as she really was.
“It wasn’t that long ago,” he snapped his fingers nervously. “So, what have you been up to since I last saw you?”
“Not a lot,” Audrey felt lame saying she hadn’t been up to much. It made her feel useless, “I’ve been helping the childcare workers at the library and we have a new training we’ve been going through to help with hand to hand combat. It’s actually been pretty fun—except for the part where we’re going to have to start purposely going out to kill the dregs.”
“I wouldn’t want to do that,” Lincoln said with a sympathetic shudder. “Why do you guys have to do it?”
“Because there really isn’t anyone else who wants to. One of our Runners just died recently too,” she sighed and looked at her shoes. “It’s going to be hard to find someone good enough to replace him.”
“I hope you can find the right person to fill his spot. What are you doing after you take me to my new house?” he asked.
“I have to go to the Runner’s Field outside the north gate for training in a little bit. We only have a short amount of time we can do our training since the dregs are coming out during the day now,” she scrunched her nose up. “I don’t really want to go though. Walking around all day should count, right?”
“Absolutely, it should,” he swung his duffel bag onto his back and held out his hand. “Give me see your bike.”
She narrowed her eyes and hesitantly gave him the handle bars. She watched him straddle it and adjust the height of the seat.
“Your chariot awaits, Miss Campbell,” he smiled and patted the middle of the handle bar.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she protested with a raised eyebrow and a grin. “I really do have to go.”
“Come on. Let’s have a little bit of fun before you have to go back to your new ‘training regimen’,” he imitated Mr. Davies. “It’ll be fun.”
She rolled her eyes and started walking toward his house again.
“Oh, come on,” he persisted following behind her on the bike. “We could go for a quick ride before you have to go.”
“Maybe I don’t want to go,” she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sure you do,” he pointed at her face. “I can see it in your pretty blue eyes. You’re dying to have a bit of fun.”
“I wouldn’t say dying,” she giggled.
“Okay, how about… Yearning? You’re yearning to have fun before you go off to a boring training where all you’ll do is run around,” he smiled at her and she knew she couldn’t argue because it was true. “We can even just go straight to my new house, just give me directions.”
“Ugh, alright,” she feigned annoyance and climbed onto the handle bars.
“Hang on,” Lincoln whispered in her ear.
He kicked off and pedaled towards his home. In minutes they stopped in front of a two story house with brown sides and rosebushes out front.
“Did you have a fun time?” Lincoln asked her after she jumped off the bar.
“Yeah, that was pretty fun,” Audrey smirked at him. “Anyway, this is your new home. It’s not too far from shopping and the mess hall is pretty close too.”
“Mm, food is definitely a language I speak fluently, so you have any favorite meals they serve?” he asked.
“Not really,” she frowned. “There’s fresh fruits and vegetables from the orchards and local gardens. Once a month they do a big fancy dinner for everyone. They make an apricot chicken I really like,” she could imagine sitting at the table in the mess hall with the white plate in front of her. Seasoned asparagus stalks always sat next to the chicken that was drizzled with a sweet and tangy apricot sauce.
Her mouth was watering when she realized Lincoln was bemusedly watching her.
“Sorry, I got distracted there for a second,” she laughed and ran her fingers through her ponytail nervously.
“That’s okay, I get the same way thinking about good tasting stuff. Thanks for showing me to my new place,” he climbed off the seat with a grin and handed the bike handles to her. “I’d give you a hug but I barely know you.
“That’s okay. I’m not really a hug-type person anyway,” she looked around the front yard awkwardly. “Um… Well, I guess I’ll see you around sometime.”
“Yup, you better get going to your super important training,” Lincoln readjusted the bag on his shoulder. “See you later, Runner Three.”
Audrey watched him go into his house and smiled. She would absolutely love to see more of Lincoln Hall.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“We’ll just retire the number then!” Dean shouted angrily at his father after training ended.
They sat in the conference room the Council had claimed at the Fairfield Inn as its regular place for Council and town meetings. Mr. Davies was looking at the tiled ceiling patiently waiting for Dean’s rant to be over.
“I’m not replacing Peter,” Dean said quietly leaning back into his chair. “That’s not an option.”
Mr. Davies’ demeanor cracked and he sighed impatiently. He put his elbows on the table in front of him and leaned forward, “Dean, we will never be able to replace Peter. I am not asking you to do that. The matter of the fact is tha
t we need a new Runner.”
Dean shook his head angrily with his jaw clenched. His leg was bouncing quickly and his arms were crossed over his chest. He ran his hand through his hair and rested his elbows on his knees.
He looked back and forth from his father to Audrey, “You can’t do this, Mr. Councilman. Tell him, Audrey. It’s practically a sin to even suggest it.”
Audrey knew what Dean wanted to hear and on an emotional level she felt the same. She didn’t want to fill Peter’s spot yet. He’d only been buried earlier that day, but she knew Roswell needed a new Runner.
She followed Mr. Davies’ example and looked at the ceiling of the conference room pleadingly, Please save me from this, God. You owe me after what you did to my family.
When the silence in the room continued she looked back at the two people who were staring at her intently and groaned inwardly.
Oh, all right! She growled in her mind.
“I think we should get a new Runner,” she stared at the wall behind Mr. Davies’ head. “We need a new guy, but I think today isn’t the time to talk about it.”
When Dean didn’t respond she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
If she knew it wouldn’t make the situation spiral out of control more than it already had she would have laughed at the look he gave her. His mouth was agape in horror and he looked as though he had never been more betrayed. This was a time she really wanted laughing to be the answer.
“Why is she even here?” he hissed at his father.
“She’s Runner Three. Since Peter is gone now, she’s the default number two and she has a say in the goings on of the Runners,” Mr. Davies explained, tiredly rubbing his eyelids gently with his fingertips. “It needs to be done, Dean.”
Dean tapped his feet angrily a few times on the ground before abruptly standing up and declaring, “I can’t do this with you right now. I’m leaving.”
“If you walk out that door you don’t get a say in anything. I’ll let Audrey make the call on everything concerning this,” Mr. Davies said sternly, looking at Dean like he would an angry toddler.
“Fine,” Dean said defiantly and turned to Audrey. “Don’t screw this up.”
Audrey watched Dean stomp furiously out of the conference room doors.
Fantastic.
“Audrey,” Mr. Davies started cautiously. “I think we both know we need a full team of Runners, so let’s just—”
“I think you’re right,” Audrey cut him off. “We do need a full team of Runners. I’m on your side. Today was just a really bad day to do this. Peter was just buried today.”
“I know that,” Mr. Davies frowned. “This wasn’t my idea. Pat insisted that I talk to you both today.”
“Why would he do that?” Audrey asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Pat has been very pushy since you got back from Carlsbad,” Mr. Davies absentmindedly clicked the ballpoint pen he was holding. “I don’t know what to do to keep him in line anymore.”
“What does Mrs. Jimenez say?”
Mr. Davies waved his hands nonsensically, “Oh, Sandra is so non-confrontational she just tells us to work things out ourselves.”
“That sucks,” Audrey said quietly. “I’m sure Pat will back off when the Runners get upset with it anyway. He doesn’t like when we’re all upset with him.”
“Well, back to the point. What do you suggest we do to get a new Runner?” Mr. Davies relaxed back into his chair and let out a long breath.
“I think we should open up tryouts for the position specifically to the people from Artesia at first and see what kind of interest we get. It might make them feel more welcome and less like they’re just expected to assimilate,” she suggested.
Mr. Davies nodded, “I think you have a good idea there, Audrey. Let’s go ahead and give the new people a couple days to sign up for recruitment. If no one does, we open it up to everyone.”
“I think that will be fine. I’ll have Marcella and Greg set up something in the Commons,” Audrey said. “I’ll get it going tomorrow.”
“You know, Audrey, I always knew there was something great about you. I think you’ll do well with this,” he smiled and put his things in a briefcase on the table. “If things go well there might be some advancement in your future.”
Audrey felt her heart jump. Advancement would be nice, but she didn’t want to leave the Runners. She didn’t want to give up her runs to Carlsbad either.
“Thanks,” she muttered, unsure of whether or not she should feel happy.
She stood up and quickly grabbed her things she had brought from the Runner’s Field from under the chair she was sitting in.
“By the way, Audrey,” Mr. Davies said standing up. “Dean needs you to talk to him. He was pretty upset at the greeting earlier today. He needs you now, especially with Pete passing away.”
“Okay,” Audrey murmured, pushing at the carpet with her toes. “I’ll go find him now.”
“That would be wise,” Mr. Davies headed towards the conference room doors. “I will see you soon to discuss the tryouts for the Runner.”
“Okay, bye,” she watched the man walk out of the room and sat back down in her chair.
She wished she could talk to her mother about Dean. She tried to imagine what she’d say about the whole thing.
She easily pictured her mother’s face, but she got frustrated when she couldn’t imagine the sound of her mother’s voice. She bent over and rested her elbows on her knees.
“I wish you were here,” she said to the mental image of her mother.
“I’m sorry,” the sound of Dean’s voice in the silent room made her jump, “I thought you left already.”
“I just needed to get away from him,” he scowled and sat on the chair next to her. “How did things go after I left?”
“Things went fine and we have a plan. I know you’re mad at your dad because he was the one who pulled the trigger on Pete, but you have to know he didn’t really do anything,” Audrey frowned at him.
“Don’t even try to stick up for him,” Dean shrugged and tapped his toes on the ground. “I know we’re going to need someone new. I just hate how callous he is. He should have waited to talk to us.”
“Why couldn’t you just agree to it if you know? We could have waited after that,” Audrey pursed her lips.
“Because he’s not sorry. He wasn’t when Peter died and he’s not now. It just means one less mouth to feed for the Head Councilman of Roswell,” Dean said bitterly. “Thank you, by the way.”
“For what?” Audrey asked.
Dean grabbed her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckle, “For dealing with him.”
Audrey squeezed his hand, “He does care about you and your feelings, you know.”
“I don’t know anything when it comes to him,” Dean snipped and pulled his hand away. “I’m not mad at you and I’m sorry if I’m acting like it.”
“It’s fine. We need to talk,” Audrey leaned against the back of her chair and crossed her legs.
“Yeah, we do,” Dean stared at her. “What do you think about everything that happened this morning?”
“I don’t know. I’m confused right now and don’t want to ruin our friendship,” she stared at his hands.
“Avoiding me at trainings so we can’t talk to each other isn’t going to help,” Dean scooted his chair closer to hers and laid his arm across her back.
“I just don’t know how I feel,” she felt tingles on her back and leg where his was brushing against hers.
She shifted her legs away from his slowly so he wouldn’t notice. The way she felt when he touched her excited her, but she didn’t like it because she had never thought of him and her having anything more than a friendship.
“Audrey, you’ve always been my best friend. I feel like there can be something more between us than just friendship. Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like if we were together?”
She had thought about it a couple years before.
It was back when she had her mom there to give her the advice she needed.
The last and only time she had thought about it was right after her first track meet in high school. She was so excited because she had placed high and was looking around for Dean to tell him. She had found him with his then-girlfriend. She felt like she was being swallowed up by a pit in her stomach. Her mom was there to reassure her that Dean wasn’t going to abandon her just because he had a girlfriend.
She blinked back tears and looked at Dean. He looked different than he did at that track meet. He looked older. There were dark circles under his eyes and a crease between his eyebrows from scowling as often as he did. She reached up and rubbed her thumb against his brow.
“What would we do if it didn’t work out?” Audrey asked.
Dean shrugged, “At least we would know we gave it a shot.”
“Yeah,” Audrey whispered.
Dean leaned in towards her. His lips parted and she felt his breath on her cheek.
She wondered what it would feel like to kiss him, so she did. His mouth was warm and soft. She felt his hand on the back of her head. It was comforting rather than feeling like he was holding her in place.
She leaned back to break the kiss and looked into his eyes. They were still cold and reserved, “I think I just need time to process everything.”
Dean hung his head and he looked at the ground for a moment.
“Just don’t stop talking to me,” Dean whispered and pulled her into a hug. “You’re my best friend. I don’t want to lose that. Above everything else going on, I can’t lose you too.”
Audrey leaned into his hug and wrapped her arms around his neck. She wanted to help him, but wasn’t sure how.
“I have to go,” she murmured against his shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”
He nodded and she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, “Okay. See you tomorrow.
Audrey left quickly and grabbed her bicycle from the front of the hotel. She peddled as fast as she could to her house.
Jennifer and Charlotte were talking with each other at the dining room table, but paused when they heard the front door open and close.
