Wayward

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"This poletriss isn't working, man."

"Shut up and show your cards."

Jim slapped his card down on the piece of plywood they had propped up with a few rocks.

"I'll be," Red groaned. He handed over the prize of a few pebbles. "Lucky hand."

"Played it like an unlucky one," Jim said.

"The mouth on this kid. Another go?" He started dealing.

"Is this stuff going to work?" Jim finally said. There was whoosh of wind through the pass. The fire stirred. Red scooped up the cards. For a long time, he was quiet and looked out at acres and acres of nothing. "I'm sorry."

Jim felt his temper rising up in him for the second time that day. "What are you saying?"

Red jumped to his feet. "I didn't know what to tell you. I was trying to help."

Jim picked some of the plant from his teeth. "This is all a joke, isn't it?"

"My grandfather told me about the Old Ways. I'm not making any of this up."

"So what are we doing here?"

"I wanted to help you," Red said.

Jim ran his hands through his hair, cradling his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, overcome with a pulsing headache. Red droned on. "Even my grandfather hardly knew these things. They were slipping away long before him. He did his best to pass on what he could."

"Red." The walls were moving.

"There's nothing left. I tried to give you what I had. What he told me. But no one knows anymore."

"Red."

Jim stood and walked towards the open air.

"But I didn't lie. I was trying to piece together what I could."

"Red. Shut up," Jim said. Red's mouth snapped shut. "Come here." The old man trudged through the sand. "Can you see them?" Jim couldn't believe it. The stars widened and grew brighter before his eyes. "Can you?"

The old man nearly bit his tongue.

"Red! Can you see the stars?" Jim shook him. "Look. Look. LOOK."

Red looked with him, but his reaction was far less. "What do they look like?" he asked.

"This is it, isn't it?" Jim said. A spark jumped from out of the fire. It transformed into a bird and flapped off into the night. He rubbed his eyes.

"I'm starting to see things."

"You are? I mean - you are!"

"What am I supposed to do?"

A rush of energy poured through him. It was real. He tried to imagine what he would see along the desert. The walls shuddered around him. His heart thumped. This was really it. But Red did not share his excitement. His face was evolving from a frown to a look of terror.

"They must have seen the smoke," Red said.

Jim realized that this combination of words could not be a good thing. Red spoke in a hushed tone, but it was too late to be quiet. He pulled Jim towards him and pointed into the distance. There were four dark splotches on the horizon, each bicycle led by a cone of torchlight.

"Get the bike," he said.

"Oh, no."

"Jim. NOW."

The ground was unstable. The cavern was rotating. If he leaned too far to one side, the entire thing shifted beneath his feet. He tripped and felt the excruciating burn as his pant leg caught fire. He wriggled on the ground, wailing until Red pinned his leg and patted the fire out. The burning sensation ate into his leg.