Confessions of a Lab Rat

Chapter 18

The engine starts. Beech presses down on the gas pedal.

"To South Dakota," he says, and smiles.

I smile through my tears as the car begins to move.

I hiccup and Beech laughs.

"You're gonna make it, Pepper," he says.

"And so are you," I say.

He grins.

I press my face to the cold window to watch the snowflakes pass.

"This must be heaven," I say.

"I wish," Beech says. "Far from it, unfortunately."

"Stop it," I frown. "You're ruining the magic."

He laughs.

"What?" I ask, but he shakes his head.

I stare at the snow a little longer, hardly realizing that I'm shivering.

"You cold?" Beech asks. He's wearing the shirt and pants Lillian gave him. He must be warm. I'm still in my thin hospital gown.

"A little," I say.

Paprika passes a blanket up.

"We'll stop at a gas station in a couple hours," Beech says. "You can change into some clothes then."

My mind muddles around the words gas station.

"Gas station?" I ask.

"Cars need fuel to run," he explains. "Gas stations are places where you can refuel."

"We're in the middle of nowhere," I say. "How can there be gas stations out here?"

Beech shrugs.

"The Doctors and Scientists have to live somewhere," he says. "So we can't be too far away from some sort of civilization. Besides," he points to a weird screen with lines all over it. "She'll get us where we want to go."

"She?"

"It's a GPS. It's like a map, but it tells us where to go instead of us trying to figure it out."

I reach out to touch it, but before my finger comes in contact, it talks.

I jump back, startled.

"What the hell?" I gasp.

Beech starts to laugh.

"Can she hear me?" I ask.

"No," he smiles. "She's just a computer."

"Like the ones at the lab?"

"Yeah," he agrees. "Except different."

I frown at the talking computer.

"I guess there's a lot of things I'll have to get used to," I say.

He nods in agreement.

It's silent for awhile after that except for the occasional command from the GPS.

Beech concentrates on the snow covered road, his dark eyes narrowed.

I watch him for a while. I can't believe I hadn't noticed the dark circles under his eyes until now. His cheeks are sunken, his complexion is sallow. In my mind I knew Beech had cancer, but now I realize it.

Without thinking, I wrap my small hand around his arm.

He glances over at me quickly and smiles.

"You're sick," I say.

"It's okay, Pepper," he replies. "We're gonna be safe soon."

"How soon?" I wonder out loud.

"Probably by tomorrow morning. Don't worry, time is going to fly."

I shift to look out my window again.

"What is snow?" I ask.

"Snow?" Beech asks. "Snow is frozen rain."

"It looks like Angel dust," I say. "Or a bunch of white lace."

"You always make the most normal things seem so beautiful, Pepper," he laughs.

"Is that why you love me?" I ask.

"No," he says, but he smiles.