Shelby: Translucent Savior

by Lisa Glenn

  “Where are your parents?” the cop asked, persisting. He paused a moment, saying something into his radio, waited for a response, then said something else. The whole time, he rooted me to the spot where I stood with his presence as effectively as if he had glued my feet there.

  I could feel myself starting to panic. I stepped back a step. The cop was asking too many questions and now was reaching behind him. That told me only one thing... handcuffs. I think Daniel sensed it. Without a word, I took off at a dead run, Daniel right on my heels. All I heard was, "Hey! You stop right there!" I ran as if my life depended on it. Heck, my life did depend on it.

  I knew where José would go, and that’s where I was headed. Oreo would be with him, as well. I ran and ran. I didn’t stop. Dodging in-between cars, I tore down allies and in between houses, not even bothering to look back to see if I was being pursued. I crawled under a fence and kept running until I thought my lungs were about to burst. My legs felt like rubber when I finally made it back behind the old barn.

  I dropped down to my knees and sat back, taking in great gulps of the moldy and stale hay-filled air. José was sitting cross-legged with Oreo on his lap, watching me carefully with wide eyes.

  Daniel came in behind me. I had heard his tread before he spoke. “José, did you steal from that store?” he asked harshly.

  I immediately saw red. I jumped up and turned, facing him. “Are you accusing him of stealing too, Daniel? Huh? How dare you! You don’t even know him! He wouldn’t do that!”

  Daniel didn’t even look at me. He was watching José.

  “Yes, I would, Shelby.” I heard José say softly from behind me.

  I stopped dead cold. All the anger suddenly dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. I slowly turned my head around and stared at José, feeling sick inside.

  “What? What did you say, José?” This is unbelievable. I give him a sharp look, narrowing my eyes.

  “Yea, I stole,” he repeated.

  “Why? Why would you do something like that? Do you realize what almost happened? I would have been caught, and they would've made me go back to him! Do you know what he would have done to me, José! Huh? Do you? Do you?” I balled up my fists at my sides.

  “Shelby, stop it!” Daniel yelled. He splayed his hand on my shoulders, sensing I was about to leap on José and beat him to a little pulp. I let out a deep breath shakily.

  “Why?” I asked José again, a bit calmer.

  “I was hungry, and I just wanted a candy bar,” he cried.

  I shook my head. He wanted a candy bar...a stinking candy bar. Of all the childish, stupid...

  "I bought us some candy bars, you nit," I snapped out.

  “I’m sorry, Shelby, I really am. I didn’t think about it. I just did it. I didn't think we had enough. And we only had five dollars and needed a new map. Please don’t be mad at me.” His eyes were welling with tears now.

  I glared at him. He was such a baby sometimes. I felt so much older than him. Were all fifteen-year-old boys like this? I wondered. I sat back down beside him. My ribs were on fire. It hurt to breath.

  “If you ever do something that stupid again, I'll turn you in myself, buddy!”

  “Okay,” he mumbled. I watched incredulously, as he un-wrapped a Hershey candy bar and broke it in half. “Do you guys want some?”

  Daniel shook his head, “No thanks, I don’t really like chocolate. You two go ahead.”

  He sat down on the other side of José. “I think it would be a good idea if we hole up here for a while. Maybe head out when the sun goes down.”

  “Yeah,” we both agreed.

  We waited until the lights went out all over the town. Daniel suggested we wait even longer, but I was anxious to leave. If we stick to the outskirts of town, maybe we could bypass it all together. We walked through the night mostly in silence, each of us in our own little world. Even Oreo was quiet.

  ****

  The following morning when we came upon a small lake, we hid behind some trees and looked around for any movement.

  A log cabin stood on the other side with a long dock running out from the front with a boat tied to the end. I eyed the lake with longing, to just jump in and wash some of this grime off me. I would give anything to feel clean again. I could smell José a mile away, so I was sure he could smell me. I raised my brow as I glanced over at Daniel. He looked the same as when I first saw him. How did he stay so clean? He didn’t even smell. I was seriously in need to put on some fresh clothes and get out of these jeans. Coupled with that, I could feel the stickiness between my legs. Without a word, the three of us--Oreo included--sat down and watched for movement. When my leg began to cramp, I stood up.

  “Listen guys, I don’t see anyone around. If we’re real quiet, we can each take turns and watch out for one another. I’ll go first,” I said, not giving either of them any choice in the matter. I crouched low and half-slid, half-crawled down the embankment. When I reached the water’s edge, I looked back up to see if the boys could see me. When I didn’t see them, I slid off my bag and took out a clean set of clothes. I peeled off the smelly ones, my face wrinkling in disgust as I saw my thighs were covered in streaks of blood.

  I hastily made my way into the water and with a hand full of sand and rocks, scrubbed my body as best as I could. I dunked my head in, my scalp tingling at the refreshment offered. It felt wonderful to get the grime off. I quickly finished up, changing into the clean clothes and used a tampon the lady had given me. I rinsed out my dirty clothes then made my way back up the embankment. I could hang them out the next time we stopped for any length of time.

  “Who’s next?” I asked, coming into the clearing relaxed and fresh.

  José went first and took longer than I did, making me want to chide him about never saying how long it took girls in the bathroom again for the rest of his life. After he had returned, Daniel went down, but I got the strong impression that he was only doing it for show. In less than five minutes, he returned...looking almost the same, the only difference was he had at least bothered to get his hair wet.

  I shot him a curious look to which he only smiled in return, saying nothing.

  We traveled at night and rested during the hottest part of the day. I was a little frightened at first, but soon became used to the quiet of the dark. I found that I could walk much faster with my new shoes as the rocks didn’t cut into my soles, or that I didn't have to keep my eyes solely on the ground looking for anything sharp enough to cut me. We tried to find places to rest that had water nearby. Sometimes, strangers were helpful and other times they were just down-right mean.

  It didn’t take me long to learn the difference between good folks and bad ones. The good ones had sparkles in their eyes. They were always quick to smile. I learned quickly to watch faces for these signs. The bad ones had a permanent frown etched onto their foreheads as if they were branded by the scowl-police. They rarely smiled, and their eyes were dead to anything and everything that didn't benefit themselves in some way or the other. I wondered what the stories were behind those eyes. Were they like mine? I wanted to ask Daniel if I had sparkles or if mine were dead.

  I was afraid of what his answer might be.

  José and Daniel became fast friends, more like brothers. They watched out for each other. We all watched out for one another, for that matter. I came to rely on them more and more. What started out as the mostly unlikely of misfit pairing was now more like a tight team, each of us by now knowing what the other was thinking without hardly a hesitation.

  We slept beside each other, snuggled for warmth together, (Daniel often with his arm around José protectively) hunted together and shared together. Everything we had, we split evenly three ways without a word. I reflected that no matter what my life may hold in the future, this would be the parts I would look back on with the most fondness. I felt both blessed by them, and terrified at the same time I would lose them. I don’t believe I could have made it this far without them. If José didn’t find s
omething for us to eat, Daniel did. My job was to provide a place to rest and help with cooking and scavenge for supplies.

  I pulled out the map every day. We had outlined a route to Florida, Daniel saying we needed to get there before winter. None of us knew how long it would take to reach it. Daniel said it was about 2000 miles or so. Occasionally, we got lucky and were served hot meals at a town’s local church. Some of the folks gave us food wrapped in tinfoil, and they never asked us questions. Those were good days.

  I wish they had lasted longer.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Snake

  “What’s the next town, Shelby?” Daniel asked. They were currently in Colorado and had stopped for a rest, as it was the hottest part of the day and learned not to push it, lest we lose more miles than we gain. The Rockies surrounded us on both sides of us like giant sentries forever at their posts. It was pleasing to the eyes, and we all remarked on how impressive our surroundings were.

  “It looks like a real big one here,” I said, pointing to the blue star on the map marking Denver. “We can go this way though and go through this little town called Tulip.”

  We agreed unanimously to stay away from the big cities as we had found out most were nothing but trouble. More often than not, the odd stares and questioning looks was enough to put all of us on edge. We always knew when we were close to a city by the heavier traffic. When this happened, we left the main roads and hid in the tree lines, waiting for breaks in traffic or just following along out of sight.

  I was always watchful; forever in the back of my mind that Jack could very well be somewhere still out there, hunting me. It was cooler in the trees, anyway. The highways often gave off a heat enough to roast a pig, even at night. Spiders and creepy crawlies hid in the trees and only seemed to come out during the evening, though...and that wasn’t okay with me by a long shot. Even with all the miles we had put in, I was still very girly-girly about this despite the half-hearted chiding by my traveling companions.

  “I smell water,” José stated excitedly. “Come on.”

  I would have scoffed at this if I didn’t know better. He had a nose on him like a beagle, and he has proven it more than a time or two. I glanced at Daniel and smiled knowingly. He grinned back. My breath hitched. Every time he smiled at me I got this fluttering feeling in my stomach.

  We followed José through some trees about a half a mile and sure enough, we soon ran into a beautiful stream that ran east and west against the mountain. It was a breathtaking view. Large boulders sat adorning the bank on either side of the running stream like they have probably done since time began. “Let’s go for a swim!” José was already peeling off his shoes.

  Daniel cleared his throat, “I wouldn’t advise it, José. Not now, it’s too dark.”

  “So?” I exclaimed. I wanted to go also.

  I wanted, no needed to bathe again, (it had been three days) and get some of this road-dirt off me. I looked back a little defiantly at Daniel, my eyes telling him the dark wasn’t going to keep me out of the water, either. Besides, the moon was bright with a perfect round of the full moon. It wasn’t as if it was completely dark, we could see just fine.

  “Come on, Daniel, it’s still light enough.” I followed José and took off my shoes. I waded out into the stream and it wasn’t even deep. It only went to about above my knees.

  The ice-cold water felt soothing on my feet. I dug my toes into the sand and I grinned wickedly, bending over to scoop some water up into my hands and splashed José, who was still standing by the bank. The water would be up to his chest where I was standing, and I knew he wouldn’t dare to come out this far-or maybe he would, knowing him.

  I watched in horror as he dived in with his clothes still on. Drat! I sometimes forgot he can swim like a fish. I squealed, and walked-half ran out of the water before he caught me. Daniel sat on a boulder laughing. When I reached the bank, I was laughing so hard that I didn’t see it.

  Daniel screamed, “Watch out! Snake!”

  I felt a sharp pain shoot instantly into my ankle. It felt like a bee sting, but instead of disappearing, the pain got steadily worse. José was quick and had the snake caught up by its head. He grabbed up a rock and smashed it, then swung it into the blackness beyond.

  “Sit, Shelby!” Daniel ordered. He was beside me in an instant, helping me onto the boulder he had just vacated.

  “Let me look.” The snake had bit me just above my ankle bone. “José, get me your knife, quick! Then build a fire.”

  Daniel took off his pack and grabbed one of his shirts, ripping off a sleeve and tied it around my ankle so tight my foot began to tingle. José had a fire going in no time and stuck his pocket-knife into the flame without being asked. After a moment, he handed the knife to Daniel, his small face all eyes in his worry. I watched with horror and could only think over and over, Please Daniel don’t cut off my foot! Please Daniel don’t cut off my foot! Please, please, please!

  I squeezed my eyes shut.

  I hadn't realized I was repeating my mantra out loud until Daniel glanced up at me as tears welled up and ran down my face.

  “I’m not going to cut off your foot, Shelby. I need to cut a slit across the bite, so I can get the poison out,” he reassured me.

  “Let me do it!” José demanded. “It’s my knife!” Daniel looked back at José; a silent agreement must have been made because Daniel nodded and stepped back. He held out the knife to José, who cut a long slit across the two holes and then quickly bent over my ankle and began sucking out the poison. I scrunched up my face. Ewe! Every few seconds he would spit in the ground, his face screwed up in disgust. It was quite apparent he was enjoying this about as much as I was. José repeated this process about ten times until his actions started to tickle.

  “Okay, I think you got it all. Good job, José!” Daniel grabbed at his torn shirt and ripped off another piece. José pulled away, and Daniel wrapped a piece of the cloth around my ankle.

  I watched as José knelt by the stream, cupping a hand full of water into his mouth, then spitting it back out. My feelings for him changed that day.

  José just saved my life.

  Chapter Twelve

  Medicine

  “We need to stay here for the night,” Daniel stated. “I’ll go gather up some wood.”

  “José? Thank you.” I mumbled. My hands were shaking. I tried to stand, but my legs were too wobbly.

  “No worries, Shelby, you’d do the same for me, friend.” I could hear the grin in his voice.

  The next morning, I was the first one awake. My leg was stiff and just a little bit sore. I could walk on it, at least. I went to the stream and scooped out some water and splashed it onto my face. The cold dampness refreshed me, and I cupped my hands, drinking it in delicately like a Doe. Daniel silently walked up behind me.

  “How do you feel?”

  “A lot better, thanks,” I replied, turning to him and smiling.

  “I guess I’ll go scrounge around for something to eat before we move on. It looks like we’ll be walking during the day again. Unless you want to rest up here today?” Daniel’s voice vibrated off my skin, causing the little hairs on my arms and the nape of my neck to stand at attention.

  “No, it’s okay... I’m good. We can walk until it gets too hot at least.” My voice sounded raspy to my ears.

  Daniel kneeled at my feet. “Can I look at your leg?”

  “Sure,” I blushed.

  I sat down on one of the boulders as he unwrapped the home-made bandage from around my ankle. The cut was red, but not swollen or discolored.

  He grinned, “I don’t think the snake was poisonous, Shelby. Usually, if it’s a poisonous one, your leg will swell and turn colors."

  “Really? Cool!” I grinned back in a 'Go-Team' kinda way.

  “I'd keep it wrapped up, though. If for no other reason than to keep the dust out of the cut... at least through-out today.” Daniel re-affixed my bandage and stood up.

  “Thanks, Danie
l. For everything.” I smiled at him, hoping that didn't come out sounding too overly come-on'ish and knew I failed, anyway.

  After Daniel had disappeared, I decided to wake up the lazy bones. Maybe he could help me catch some minnows to eat. I walked over to where he was laying and nudged him with my toe. He moaned and rolled over. I nudged him again.

  “Hey, sleepy head, get up!”

  “Ugh...”

  “Come on, José, we need to get a move on. Get up!” I nudged him a little harder this time.

  José moaned and rolled back over toward me. I bent down and tapped him on the cheek lightly. He was hot; more than hot. It was like putting my hand on a small furnace.

  “Daniel?” I called out. I look in the direction he had taken.

  I bent down onto my knees and pushed José back and forth, “José, please wake up... José?”

  He mumbled, “Let' me alone, Shelby...I’m tired.”

  “José, please get up!” I started to cry a little. This was not good. I jumped up and grabbed an empty water bottle and ran down to the stream scooped it in and ran back then poured it on his face. He jerked and opened his eyes.

  “Hey!” he croaked weakly, “What are you doing, Shelby?”

  “José, you need to get up!” I stated worriedly.

  I hollered again for Daniel. Where did he run off to?

  “Can you get up?”

  “Shelby, I don’t feel so good.” José tried to sit up but failed miserably.

  “I think you’re sick. Did you drink some of that snake poison?” I asked, thinking he might have swallowed it, and that’s what was making him ill. I didn’t know the first thing about snakes. Maybe Daniel knew something, but he assured me yesterday it wasn't one of the poisonous kinds.

  “I don’t think so. I made sure I spit.” He put his hands up and covered his ears. “Arg... my head hurts so bad!”