Leaving Sherwood - A Fickle Universe Time Travel Companion

Chapter Four

Highway 20 shot almost due north out of town, and Russell had told him that was the way to Suttle Lake, where they'd been found five months earlier. Russell had also warned them against hitchhiking, as if Will knew what that was, citing the danger of getting picked up by the police to be brought back to the hospital. He stressed that it would not be a good thing if they came back to the hospital, because someone needed to be held responsible for the cost of their recovery—and if they returned, it would likely be them.

A map of hiking trails taken from the brochure rack in the hotel's lobby also showed two more highways, Highway 126 that led west through the mountains, and Scenic Highway 242, a byway over a pass that was closed due to winter snows.

Back when he planned their escape, he'd thought the fourteen miles from Sisters to Suttle Lake would be an easy day's walk, but now he wasn't so sure. His mind had convinced him, but his body had other ideas, given how out of breath he'd become just walking from the hotel to the crossroad.

He glanced down at Paul, who grinned up at him. He was aware that they had very little in the way of supplies, but something told him they'd be all right. Looking at the trees and breathing in the crisp spring air was the first time he felt comfortable in his surroundings. It felt right to be outside, with nothing in sight but the forest and the road. Except that the occasional passing vehicles still felt foreign and . . . wrong.

"Ready?"

Paul nodded eagerly and tugged his hand. With one last look at the westbound highway, they headed out, staying to the edge of the pavement.

They soon discovered that having trucks and cars hurtling past them was not only distracting, it was terrifying. Without saying a word, they slipped into the forest together, keeping the road in sight but preferring to scramble over the hillocks and rough terrain.

This felt right. This felt familiar. He scarcely made any noise as they traveled, had to look over his shoulder to be sure Paul was behind him. As they walked, though, he felt in his soul there was more missing besides the memory of why walking in the woods was familiar. When they startled a small group of deer and sent them bounding off, deeper into the forest, his fingers twitched with a muscle memory he almost understood. He glanced at Paul, who looked up at him with wide eyes.

He understood the base of it, too. They belonged out here.

From inside the tree line they followed the road for hours, stopping periodically to rest. Will knew there was a time when he could have run the same distance in half the time without stopping, and it frustrated him. At this rate, it would take days to find anything out, and he was tired of the black fog over his memories. Tired of not knowing what he didn't know. Tired of being weak and feeling helpless.

By the time the sun fell below the mountains in the west, they stood on the shore of a long lake, water lapping at the hard-packed earth and stones. The pink clouds in the sky reflected on the water and instilled peace in his heart. But no memories came leaping forth.

"What now?" Paul wondered aloud.

"We make camp. In the morning we'll have a look around and see what we can see."

"But this isn't the place, is it, Dad?"

"No, I don't think it is. My heart is telling me we must keep going."

"Yes," Paul agreed.

They had deliberately avoided lighted buildings glimpsed through the trees. Music and the smell of cooking food had been a temptation, but Will resisted, knowing that they would have been missed at the hospital, and he didn't want to draw any attention to their whereabouts by being seen. He did not fail to note that this skulking around out of the path of people felt as natural as breathing, and made him wonder what he had been before he lost his memory.