The moon had had been replaced with the rising sun and the night monsters had crawled back into their dens. Humphrey awoke on a collage of newspapers, and had a small panic attack when Emily was not there. As if on cue, she emerged from the opening of the fort, carrying two cracked tea mugs of a thick brown repulsive liquid that smelled of rotting eggs.
"Hoover Stew." Emily told Humphrey.
He hesitantly brought the rim of mug to his mouth, and found that it didn't taste too bad after you ignored the smell. The mixture tasted like cold gravy with carrot chunks and some potatoes. Humphrey ate quickly, as he was starving. While eating their breakfast, he told Emily about the events of last night.
She sat quietly without expression, and said, "I'll go. You stay here and watch over things."
"No!" Humphrey protested. "I get to go because this whole thing was my idea! I can make it without you."
"Fine." She responded calmly. "Just be careful. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."
By noon, Humphrey had had as many servings of Hoover Stew as they would allow him, his bag was packed, and Emily had prepared an additional bag of squirrels, berries, and the remaining food they had brought from home. She assured him that Hoover Stew would be fine to live off of.
Emily forced Humphrey into a strong embrace. Over her shoulder, Humphrey could see Theresa. When their eyes met, she nodded, then disappeared into her tent.
The two siblings broke apart, and Emily hid herself in the fort.
Humphrey unfolded the map. It was brown and ripped at the edges, and the words were written in fancy lettering that gave it an authentic feel. The journey began at a sketch of a mansion, and snaked its way to a bolded letter 'X'. Under the x was the words 'Aspen Forest' and to the very right of the x was an odd shaped bolder, marked with the letters C.P.W.
Taking a deep breath, Humphrey took a step north, then another, then many more, away from Hooverville. He walked until his feet ached, then flopped down on the cool afternoon ground. Humphrey estimated that he had been walking for two hours, and it would be weeks before he ever reached Aspen Forest. They had learned about it in school, and he remembered being told that it was almost 150 miles away from Canon, Colorado, where his home was.
"Kid?" A deep voice said in Humphrey's direction.
"Huh?"
"I had asked you if you needed a ride." the man continued in a southern accent. He was dark skinned, tired looking, but he had a cheerful smile and a hand outstretched to Humphrey. He gestured towards a machine similar to the one that Humphrey and Emily had seen in Hooverville. "I'm Stan, by the way."
Despite the fact that he was a complete stranger, and Mrs. Carter would be outraged, Humphrey knew that he did indeed need a ride, so he nodded his head eagerly. He took Stan's hand and immediately jumped into the back of the vehicle. "I'm Humphrey."
"Woah, woah, wait just a minute now, Humph'ee. You got money to pay for this?"
Humphrey rummaged around in his bag, and found his piggy bank. He raised it over his head, and hurtled it at the pavement. It shattered, and his two dollars and seventy two cents scattered on the ground. Stan picked the money up and counted it.
"Fifty miles. That's how far I would take a regular folk, but I like you, Humph'ee, so I'll do seventy. Where are you aimin' to go, anyway?"
"Aspen forest. Do you know how to get there?"
"Do I? I used to live right around there! Seventy miles will take you to the ol' Church. You'll be about halfway there."
Leaving behind the shards of glass, Stan commanded his mule forward, and it lugged the both of them Northwestern.
They rode in silence for quite a while. The falling sun above them cowered behind the raging black clouds, and the sky began to throw a fit. It thundered and shrieked, and its tears fell upon everything below it in large, heavy drops. The mule continued to truck through it all. Her hooves splashed through the puddles, and stomped through the night.
•••
HEY READERS! How are you liking the story so far? I can't believe I've gotten this many views on my first story ever! Comments and votes are greatly appreciated, but just seeing that you've read this lifts my spirits a little! I hope you're all having a great week and check back in one to two days for chapter 7 (spoiler: there may or may not be a dog coming up soon!!!). Until then
-Gean Parkins
YOU ARE READING
Chasing the Sky
Historical FictionWhen poverty strikes during the Great Depression, little Humphrey wants to help his family. He decides to run away in hopes of returning with the financial aid that his family so desperately needs, but will his efforts be successful? And will he m...
