Losing Patience

Chapter 13

Patience cringed and without thinking bolted to the side and slipped out as the shovel came down in her original spot.

She ran again and stopped suddenly. She looked past the fog and saw a dreary looking lake. She turned her head to the left and saw the broken wagon and her body locked up. The water was calm and lifeless and it seemed like it was in pain. She whipped her head back to see a figure moving grudgingly through the forest and she quickly duct behind the wagon and held her breath. She grabbed a broken piece of wood next to her that had broken off into a point; she pulled it to her chest and waited.

Everything was silent and a bit to silent for someone who was trying to kill her. Then it wasn’t so quiet, Patience heard sobbing. When she looked towards the lake the water had been disturbed, as if someone had stepped into it or thrown a rock into it. Patience cautious looked around the side of the wagon and saw Maria standing in the water. She was moving but she was looking down at the water and the light wind was actually blowing her clothes away from her body. The water was disturbed again but not because Maria moved, she was crying and one of her tears broke the surface of the water sending a ripple throughout its perimeter.

This was the first time Patience saw Maria crying and as she stood up she saw Clark coming through the thicket. She ducked back down and tried to slow her breathing while her heart pounded faster then a humming bird's wing. She was within range to hear everything that happened. In her head she counted each step Clark took and how faint they were. His feet stopped and the shovel dropped to the ground. Patience looked around the side of the wagon and saw Clark standing behind Maria.

"It's done," he said out of breath.

"No it isn't," she said looking up past the lake.

"What are you talking about of course it is, I did what you told me to do."

"You didn’t do what I wanted you to do; besides I can make an example out of you instead."

"What are you talking about, you told me to kill her," he yelled growing furious.

"No you didn’t."

"Yes I did!"

"Then how come she is sitting behind the wagon listening to everything we are saying?"

Clark looked at the wagon and Patience caught his eye and quickly retreated her gaze. She counted his steps again but she only heard two. She gripped the stake to her chest and held her breath. Her hands gripped tightened around the splintering wood pushing pieces into her hands. She waited for Clark to come up from the top of the wagon but when he didn’t she jumped up and turned around to face him but there wasn’t anything to face; Clark was laying on the ground dead. She released her grip on the stake dropped it to the ground then let her breath go and with it came tears rolling down her dirty face.

"Sorry Patience, you weren't the target, he did it for personal gain, that isn't what I wanted."

"You told him to kill me!"

"Yes, but I was looking for something he didn’t have."  

"So you told him to kill me?"

"I had to be sure about something and for the most part I'm certain about my decision."

"What decision?"

"All humans are the same, they will do anything to get something they want, their all dead inside. Just like his son and I, we died when humanity did, now both of our body's lay at the bottom of this lake as reminders."