Burning Sage

Chapter 18: Lap #1

I woke up to the anemic smell of an infant lying flat on my legs. He'd clearly shit himself, and yet Landon still wondered why I hated them. "Home sweet home!!" Hope honked the old truck's horn as she drove into the city's limits, "That sign said Hampton right? I can't really see."

"Yes it said Hampton what else would it say?" In a spiff I took the baby off my legs. I sat up, and tried not to acknowledge the child. "The trailer ain't far from here." Hope said, "Would go back to y'alls house, but ya know, it's burnt down."

"It's fine." I mumbled, "How in the hell does it burn down anyways?" A couple minutes later she pulled into her driveway in the midst of the dark North Dakota woods. "If ya don't mind Landon could ya stay in here with the baby." Hope opened the drivers side door and jumped out of the truck, "Me and ya brother gotta get somethin."

"Bullshit." Landon joshed, "Get a hold of yourselves." I quickly got out of the truck, and stepped into the spirited cold air. Hope grabbed my hand and we ran to her front door. Once inside, I took a deep breath. "Why're we in here?" I panted. The lights were surprisingly still on. It revealed all the cigarette butts and trash bags scattered throughout the kitchen.

"Because Sage it's the only place ya know. Thought ya would be more comfortable livin in a place ya know." Hope sat down on the withering leather sofa, and saved a spot for me, "I'm just tired Sage. Tired of fightin, tired of tryin. Lived eighteen years and I haven't managed to break away from the cycle. And now I'm in this hell, waiting to die with ya."

I sat down beside her, "Nobodies dying. I'll protect you."

"Ya really think ya can beat Luke?" Hope doubled over and gazed at her dirty reflection on the glass coffee table, "He's controlin Sage, he already won. I'm just stressed. I wanna do somethin fun. Somethin to make me believe we'll be ok."

"Like what?" "Do ya wanna drive my four-wheeler with me? It's out back in the shed. It was one of the only things I had to my name."

"In the cold, dark-"

"Yepp, we can leave now, out the back door. Leave ya brother behind." Hope hopped off the couch and looked down at me, "I don't even see how ya put up with him."

"But he's my brother." "Well ya brother ain't shit Sage. Let him stay here... I managed in this shit hole. We'll be back soon enough. Ain't like he can drive. He'll just have to stay here." Hope reached out and pulled me up off the couch. We walked through the back door and slugged through the wet snow, into her open shed. There was her four-wheeler, custom painted with black and white stripes. The thing was massive compared to her.

"Ya want to drive?" She asked in a thin, shaky voice, "I can sit behind ya." I hopped in front. Hope handed me the key while she took the bitch seat. I didn't know how to drive a 4 wheeler. But I was relentless. She wrapped her small hands around my waist, gripping intentionally close. The four-wheeler roared. It was easy to turn, sensitive to the slightest touch. I sped around the side of her trailer, avoiding anything that would stump us. We drove past the truck. Landon was still in there, from what I could tell he flipped us a bird.

I headed down the desolate road. Eventually, we ended up in downtown Hampton. We were a block away from the gift store. "Through the grass." Hope ignited, "Ya get more traction." The winds dwindled down to a chilly breeze. The temperatures had risen, which I supposed was a good thing.

I cut through the snowy grass. The atv rammed into a wooden fence. Wood shot up behind us, and I drove off into a field. I slowed down to take notice of multiple rocks and crosses breaking the top of the snow. I turned the atv off, and jumped into the melting snow. I wiped the snow off a marble rock with my feet, "Here lies Sara Rose, 1999-2015." I gulped.