The Drifter

Chapter 10: On the Run

As I rode my bike down the side of the street, I wondered if DJ was still at his spot. I doubted it, but you never know. While I pedaled furiously, I took a stop and looked at the long road ahead of me. I sighed and was beginning to start pedaling again when, chink! My foot slung itself onto the ground, and I had a feeling of what was happening. I looked down and sighed as my bike chain dragged on the ground. I rolled my head and slid off my bike, bending down and looking at the chain. Thankfully nothing was broken, so I grabbed it and attempted to fit it back onto the gears of the bike. It took a few minutes, but eventually I got it working again.

As I stood up to mount my bike, I realized two things. One, as I stood up my side was beginning to hurt. I've been washing the wound carefully to make sure it didn't get infected, you know, so I don't die. But so far, it was pretty well taken care of. The other thing I noticed was that my feet were hurting, and not on the inside, I mean the bottom. This was a problem I was already aware of. Sharp jabs at the bottom of my feet, rocks getting in my shoe, I was fully aware that my boots' soles were pretty worn from all the walking I've done in the past few months, and they were about ready to fall off. I knew I needed new shoes, but I was low on money, so I took some spare shirts from my bag and wrapped them around my socks a few times to cushion my feet from all the rough terrain and ground.

I soon approached a Walmart sign as I rode my bike down the street, and I took the turn. In a few minutes I would be walking into the front doors of, well, Walmart. Once inside I realized it was probably suspicious that I was walking in there with a backpack, so I trustingly let a worker hold it for me while I shopped. One thing I remembered was that Walmart has these great loaves of bread, non-sliced, French with garlic seasoning, that could feed me for like two days. And the best part, every time they only cost a buck. So, I grabbed two loaves of garlic topped French bread, along with a bottle of Dr. Pepper, paid, grabbed my bag, and left on my bike.

My knees were beginning to cramp as I rode my bike down the side of the street, so I took a short break, then continued until I arrived at the next checkpoint. Soon I could see the next small town in the distance and chugged some water before pedaling quickly down the street. This bike was saving me record time, which was great. I wanted to go and enter a store, buy some new leather work boots and toss these into a dumpster, but my money had skyrocketed downward, so when I finally arrived, I searched around for some jobs a guy my age could do. I found a guy, Mr. Burk, who wanted me to mow his yard, so I did. He was very generous and gave me forty bucks, which was just enough for my size of boots. So, I headed into the store, found me the perfect boots, bought them, and just like I said I would, threw the old ones into the dumpster. After thanking them for taking me this far, of course. What? I know I'm weird.

I was extra exhausted from pedaling for so long, so I searched for a good spot for the night to rest. After some searching, I eventually came up to a small spot by the post office that was out of view and appeared cozy, so I perched my bike in some bushes, I sat down, and stretched my legs. I had delicious garlic topped French bread for supper, along with guzzling down some Dr. Pepper. Before I knew it, once again I had dozed off...

In the morning, I snapped awake to the sounds of thunder. It was already starting to rain, and I was already in bad shape as it is, so I stood up and tried the post office doors, but they were locked. I spun around and shuffled down the street, hoping my bike would be okay. I went up to a small building that said Diner and pushed myself through the doors, sitting my wet self down in one of the booths. The place was pretty empty, and I watched out the window as lightning lit up the dark, shadowed sky. A nice lady approached and asked me if I was hungry, so I declined, but I ordered a coffee. I leaned my bag on the floor, and I'm not sure if it was the rain or the cold temperatures lately, but I was catching another cold.

I entered the bathroom and blew my nose, washed my hands, then stared at myself in the mirror. I had long hair and a stubble, I looked deprived of sleep, and I looked like I had been through some stuff. I had. I rubbed my eyes and watched myself in the mirror as I left the bathroom before returning to my seat. As I entered my seat, the lady was dropping off my coffee. The cup was nice and hot, which was nice for my fingertips. I left a dollar tip and left the diner as soon as the rain had stopped pouring while I sipped on my coffee.

Eventually I made my way over to a bench, where I made myself comfortable. I probably sat there for a few hours, pondering in my head. A tree had fallen over not too far away and crushed some poor guy's car. He was probably just trying to have his long day at work so he could come back and feed his wife and three kids, just to find his car inoperable and looking like it had just blown up. While I spent my solitary time on the bench, I thought of many things. But of course, I thought of my parents the most. And school. I wondered how school would work. That was, if I ever went back. Would I have to redo my school year? Definitely. And that meant Gus would graduate before me, which was a weird thought.

Then I remembered his and my spot on the roof, accessible by a ladder that we were the only students who knew about. We never had to worry about bullies or people trying to sneak a few sips of alcohol, or girls trying to take weird, dumb selfies that make no sense. It was a spot where he and I could just hang out, be ourselves. Our dumb, naive, boy selves. I remembered the view. Oh, the view. Suddenly I was missing Gus a lot. I wondered what he would even think about me disappearing like that. Would he feel sad? Conflicted? Or angry that I left him behind to escape my uncle? Had he moved on, or was he still clinging onto our memories? Did he forget me? I shook my head. Gus could never forget me. Not after everything we've been through together. Gus would do just about anything for me, and I him.

There was this one day in I think eighth grade, and Gus and I were just trying to enjoy our lunch when some jerks, Holland and his friends, had cornered us in the hallway. Well, actually they had just cornered me, demanding my things and such as a typical thief and bully. But as soon as that fist pounded my stomach the first time, all the sudden Gus appears from the lunchroom and charges down the hallway, tackling Holland from behind. We both got our tails beat severely that day, but I got even for Gus. It was a day when he was trying to joke around and accidentally broke his computer because someone thought it'd be funny to push him. Gus and the kid started arguing, and the kid punched Gus in the throat. I clocked that kid so fast and hard, he flew backwards before going unconscious. Okay, maybe I shouldn't say kid. He was our age. I got in trouble, but nobody disrespects Gus in front of me and gets away with it.

I broke out of my gaze and watched as the sun peeked from behind the corner of the clouds above my head. I tossed my now empty coffee cup into a nearby trashcan and checked my bike. It was perfectly fine, so I pushed it onto the street and made sure the chain was secure before starting to go down the road once more. I wasn't thinking about where I was going or what I was doing. I wasn't thinking about DJ or the other town or my family. I was just going wherever the road took me for the moment. It was nice. Quiet. Peaceful. I knew it wouldn't last, so I savored every bit of it before I had to get to the town next door and go to DJ's old spot. I had to make a spot as it grew dark to set up camp just off the coast of the street in the woods, so I searched for a spot that could stall my adventure safely until the morning.

I ate my supper bread early and then I found a good dry spot. This one was more of a naturally provided shelter. It was a tree that had grown inside a sort of dip in the ground. It was like a semi-deep pit with a tree growing from the middle, and the sort of leafy branches growing from the tree formed a sort of roof. It was perfect. Four walls, or one big round one, a floor and a roof. I pushed the branches aside and clambered through them before sliding into the large hole and curling up into a ball. The temperature was growing cold, and I tried DJ's lighter one last time, but no dice.

Instead, I bundled up in as many clothes as I had, which got pretty warm. Admittedly, a little too warm. I rubbed my hands together for friction and breathed into cupped hands, drank the last of my Dr. Pepper, ate the last of my first loaf of bread, and soon dozed off. I woke up by the time the sun had just shown a sliver of light in the sky, and I struggled for a moment before scrambling out of the shelter and looking up. Just barely so far, but the first snowflakes were beginning to fall as the Earth began to make its transfer into Winter. Somehow, I knew I could survive through the winter. Either that, or it would be the worst part of my travels yet. Either way, there was only one way to find out...