Burning Sage

Chapter 14: Semi

"What was all that about?" Landon stood against the r.v with the composure of a drunk dad. He had the determination of one too, "I mean she dies, comes back to life as one of them demons?"

"I don't know. My heads fucking throbbing. UH, God, I'm having a mid-life crisis!"

"Sage your seventeen" Maple reminded me. She came to my side. She handed me the baby, who was now shaking and cold.

"I don't care how old I am. I'm having a mid-fucking-life-crisis. I'm ready to go!" "Go where?" Maple held a burnt-out Sage.

"Hell, Heaven, somewhere that ain't here."

"Sage, that's like not an option. I'm sorry but I'm cold. And that baby is cold. And all this mid-life-crisis bullshit does us no good." The air was quiet. No snow-crickets, no birds, just some kids in the pits of hell.

"Well one of y'all are gonna take the lazy man's load and carry this bag of mine up whenever y'all stop huggin." Hope threw the bag down beside me and Maple. I was tempted to stuff and carry the baby in the bag of luggage, but the bag was already filled with Hope's stuff. I was upset at Luke and his bullshit. He'd hung my thoughts in the hallways of hell.

"I don't think I can walk." Hope splashed in a blue tone, gasping for air, "That demon. It scared me. Thank God ya killed it, Sage. I know I couldn't do that." She held her chest and caught her breath. William was on her shoulder.

"Let's get up this damned hill!" The halo I'd stolen from the demon spun around my head. It shined mystic yellow light onto everything around us. I wanted to be an angel. But I was the demon I'd just killed, and the halo was just a ring that I longed for. It meant nothing to me, but it meant the world to that demon. I didn't say anything else, nobody did, we all hurt.

The wind's screams filled the dark, stagnant air, which was occasionally broken by snowflakes or my over-lit halo. Everyone circled around me. I was the light of a dark situation.

My throat was so dry, and my eyes burned from the soot and cold dirt. A cloudy botch of eye blinks and instances had tormented me, and forced me into something I didn't want to be.

I had so many questions for Hope, for Ember, but it's not like I could ask them. Luke had made it evident that he wasn't my friend, or Hope's friend. I couldn't wrap my head around Maple getting pregnant either. It didn't make sense. I was never good at the sex thing. Maple only liked it back then, and what was fun for the both of us, turned into a world of hurt. I always pulled out, I thought, always!

The cheering was LOUD when we topped the hill. I surveyed the empty highway, chills ran up my hairy arms. There was a foot of snow stuck onto the road. The halo shined onto the other side of the highway, a good 100 feet in radius. I figured all the vehicles on the highway were abandoned when everyone was unwillingly taken. Possibly meaning that each one was in drivable condition, as long as they didn't crash. It was a grueling search to find a working car - It had to be in the teens. Barely legal temps I thought.

In a split, the halo sanctified an 18-wheeler. It was huge, intimidating as we stood at the bumper. The black sky whitened the way. "Sage, ya can't be serious." Hope stressed, "If that thing crashes we all dyin. That ain't gonna be fun when ya flippin a god-damn 18 wheeler through the grass!"

"It'll be fine." I noted, "We're not going to flip it. You can drive." Her blank, shivering face suggested a ball of fire caused by a possible crash would subside. I gave Maple the baby. I jumped up onto the step, grabbing the frozen door handle. Landon grabbed onto my hips, and pulled when I pulled. The door swung open, and I fell off the step and onto Landon's skinny frame.