The Nexus

Chapter 10

Thomas silently meditated while Emma drove. The brush with death he had experienced at the hands of Emma, and how close he had been at the restaurant in Denver, was not supposed to shock or rattle him. He had been told that his mission was basically a suicide mission. But at each moment when he was close to death, he had had to find a way to calm himself and accept his fate. His inherent instinctual self had wanted to flee or fight, something he had been working on his whole life. It made him feel like a coward when he had those feelings of helplessness inside. At least at this point in his life he wasn't so hard on himself. It was his affiliation with The Alliance that had helped him in this way.

One thing Thomas had learned was not to dwell in the past, but learn from it and move on. So now that he was back in the car he did his best to focus on their present situation and how he might best get Emma in touch with Miles and get away from her.

Miles, himself, had wanted to come on this mission, it was he who wanted to talk to Emma and recruit her, but the League of Counselors had voted against Miles risking his own life. Thomas had volunteered as his proxy and was now wishing he actually was Miles because Miles would know exactly how to talk to Emma.

"Can we please pull into a gas station so that I can make a phone call?" Thomas asked.

Emma gave him a sidelong glance and relented, "Sure," she said.

The next gas station was just at the entrance of a little mountain town and Thomas went in to get change for the dilapidated payphone. His cell phone was back at the restaurant where he met Emma; he would've thrown it out by now anyway.

Emma also went in to get a map of Colorado and one of Utah.

Tomas went outside to the payphone and he called the number that he knew by heart.

"Operator," said the voice on the other line.

"Yes, this is Panz. Bigsby and I will be heading to Westin destination two, thank you," Thomas said.

"Understood," said the voice and hung up.

Thomas went back to the car where Emma was now waiting in the driver's seat, again. He hoped that they were almost over the mountains because it didn't seem like this car was going to make it much further going uphill this way.

When he climbed back in, Emma asked, "Who did you call?"

It was the first time she seemed actually interested in what they were doing. "I was calling a number that I was given before I came to get you. The operator is supposed to relay my message."

"Am I supposed to be Bigsby?" she asked.

This took him aback a little, he hadn't realized she could hear him on the phone. "Yes," he replied.

"Where did you guys come up with those names?"

"I don't know," he said, annoyed.

She shrugged and started the car, "I was just asking," she defended.

He didn't mean to be moody, but he was now tired. Happy to be alive, but tired all the same.

"We need to get to Mapleton, Utah to meet some people before they will let you into one of our chapters," he explained to Emma.

"God, this organization sounds more like a cult every time you talk about it," she said. She pulled out some maps she bought the last time they had stopped and figured out a route for them to travel.

Thomas took off his jacket, rolled it up, and used it as a pillow against the passenger side window. It reminded him of something he had heard about the sheep laying with the loins or tigers or something like that. As if he were prey taking a little nap next to the predator. He took a deep breath and surrendered to the moment, then closed his eyes.

The car started to roll down the highway.