Timelines Collide

Chapter 30: Going Under

By the time I have reached past the saloon doors, not even a dusty cloud of Lana's presence is anywhere to be seen. All that there is a land of garbage stacked onto each other building mountains. I can tell that much of the trash is rusted metal and miscellaneous scrap pieces from who knows what.

The further I went along, the more I noticed small details such as mountains of metal no taller than me, and piles of trash that tried to pierce me from my boot. Only if I could have copied Lincoln back at Solis. His light footwork would have made exploring this place a breeze. I can't be reminded of that now with about a 5ft wide trail that I need to push myself along this metal wonderland.

Reaching inside the outer layers of the junkyard, my eyes, by this point, can't help but admire the view of the rusty rosy sky that wraps past the metal fence endlessly. I almost get that same relaxing feeling looking down at the red sand back at Solis. Only certain people got the privilege to see such red after all to begin reading the sand looking for any story buried waiting to be told.

I can't help to sigh and curse underneath my breath at that privilege but as I do so, my ears tingle hearing a giggle. In the corner of my eyes, I see that red-capped head poking out behind a tiny hill of broken and rusted trinkets. She starts giggling even louder when she sees I've found her and then runs past my sightline again.

"Wait. Slow down their kiddo," I tried yelling at her but to no avail. This time, I'm not letting it be that way for long.

I can almost taste her trail as she bobs and weaves past every corner and hill making airplane noises with her tongue and stretching out her arms and flapping them like wings.

The tighter corners she evens gets without a scratch from a pointy tip of metal unlike me who almost runs straight into them a few times. Each one passed; she can't help but remind me that she is Lincoln's sister.

Two turns later, she leaves me baffled with another disappearing act. She couldn't have gotten too far I think to myself. I was almost right on top of her. I almost start continuing to sprint down that straight path until I hear that same familiar giggle. I stop halfway, walk backward, turn to my left, and see what my eyes catch in its rear view.

Her sitting on top of a hill of trash dangling her legs over the edge. The hill isn't too high up but still needs to be climbed upon to reach the height she's at. I was right behind her, so how did she get up there so fast?

I ponder on it for a moment and start seeing the path she took to make that climb and the pieces she used. Half of some old bicycle chains exposed from the hill, pieces of railings sticking out, and lengthy metal pipes surprisingly new looking for how rusted they must be by this point. All laid out in a way for her to climb up there like a squirrel in a tree.

"Hi Joseph," she yells while her legs hang and waddle in the air.

"Now you can't climb a tree, but you can this?"

"Trees are way higher than these," she pouts.

Somehow her delivery made me shake my head slowly with a smile.

"Alright kiddo, let's come down from there."

After forming another pout from her lips, she used the same metal pieces I had a feeling she used to climb up there earlier to swiftly come back down. As her feet touch the ground, I can't help but see that she's been busy with the way the duffel bag that old man Phil gave her pushes down on her shoulder.

Continuing down the trail, she explains that during 'our' little game of cat and mouse, she grabbed many different gears, trinkets, and broken-down pieces of machinery. She even said she's gotten some useful stuff off the mountain top she camped out on. At least she didn't go up there to completely mess with me.