Rescue

Part 9: Another Journey

With yet another long walk deep into the woods, came yet another fun time of fishing. This time I was the one starting the fire near the lake side as I heard Ray splashing around every so often.

Occasionally I see him pull a full-sized fish out of the water and watch it fall out of his grasp. I have to admit, it's hard not to laugh at it.

"You're not dedicated enough to it!" I call out from behind the flames of the fire.

"I'm doing my best, I swear!" he yells back through laughter.

"I submerged my whole body under the water for that measly fish, you haven't even gotten water past your elbows!"

"Oh yeah? Watch this!"

He dives in head first and I see him thrashing around. I stand up, ready to help him in case he needs it, and he gets back up with a fish flopping around in his fists.

"Now kill it!" I exclaim while jumping up and down all giddy.

"...How?"

I run over careful to not get my shoes wet and he hands me the fish. I show him how to place the fish on a flat surface and karate chop it behind the gill-plate.

"This fish is gonna wish it was never born." he says in a manly voice followed by a harsh eye-roll from me.

He brings the side of his right hand down onto the fish and it stops moving. Ray's eyes nearly bulge out of his head and I clap.

"Dinnertime!" I announce in a triumphant tone.

...

Turning the fish over and over on the stick certainly leaves room for thinking. Ray had gone to get more firewood and I'm cooking dinner while swatting away all the mosquitoes that come near me.

I think Ray and I have now been with each other for four nights. First the hotel the night we met, then sleeping in the woods, then sleeping on the train, and now tonight in the woods. So yeah, basically four nights.

My mind wanders off to home. My parents are probably worried sick.

My brother...

Good lord, I wonder if he's okay. Did he get caught? Technically we were in on it together.

...Flashback...

I run into the room and see my brother standing over his abusive girlfriend's dead body. His left hand is holding a bloody knife and blood is pooling on the floor where her chest lay. He looks at me with bloodshot eyes and they widen with fear.

"A-Adora, I..."

I heard sirens in the distance, probably called by a neighbor. I run up to him and throw my arms around his torso. He shakily hugs me back and I pull away after a few seconds.

"I love you, Noah. Run out the backdoor, and don't look back."

He gets confused, but suddenly understands when I take the knife out of his hand and touch every part of the handle to try hiding his DNA and fingerprints with my own.. He sheds a tear and kisses my forehead.

"See you soon, Adora. Love you."

I bolt out the front door, where the police were, and made sure the bloody knife in my hand was visible. I kept running as the police followed me, praying that Noah would be okay.

...Present...

A voice calls out from behind the trees and I jump up. I turn to see Ray stepping over rocks and sticks with an armful of wood for the fire. He dumps it on the ground and sits next to me.

He goes to say something but pauses and a look of concern spreads over his face. "Are you alright?" he asks.

"Of course I am, what makes you-"

Before I finish my sentence he reaches out with his left hand and I feel his thumb wipe something warm off my cheek. A tear.

"Oh." I mumble and look back at the fire. 'I guess I'm not alright."

"Whether you want to talk about it is up to you, just know that I'm here to listen." he offers with a soft smile. I smile back and look back at the fire, allowing myself to take a deep breath.

"So..." I start while gaining my composure. "Why did you help me, really?"

He looks down into his lap for a second. "I suppose I just saw myself in you." I cock an eyebrow, signaling him to continue. "You had the fear in your eyes that I also had deep down. Besides, it sounded a lot better to be running with someone to help me and keep me company."

"Where did you plan to go?"

"Uh... nowhere in particular, I guess. Just far away."

"Thanks for helping me escape certain death, though. I don't think I ever got a chance to properly say that."

He looks away and smiles. "It's really not a big deal."

"It really is, though. You saved my life, I'm practically indebted to you right now."

He smirks and looks me in the eye. "I'm holding that against you."

"Aw, sh*t," I huff. He lets out a wholehearted laugh and I roll my eyes, flicking him in the left temple.

"Hey!"

"You deserved that, now eat up."

I take the fish off the flames and we carefully remove it from the stick. It takes a second, but we manage to rip it in half just like the last one and we get to our late-night dinner as the moonlight bathes us.