Alice: Oblivion

S I X

Two days had come and passed. Adam and I had fled Texas quickly with a limited amount of cash, and determined minds. Well, my determined mind and his snarky comments. We were somewhere along the southern border of Colorado. It was freezing, but we had both decided to take a longer route to get to New Mexico; where David Shadow's Testing Facility resided. That way, they wont be waiting as eagerly in case we came back.

"Listen," Su- Adam said, "Just because you know a little about me now, doesn't change the fact that I'll still pick on you. Besides..." Adam snorted, "I am the brains of this operation."

We were trapped deep in wild brush when I stopped. "No," I said, squinting my eyes, "This is my brain, and you're in it!"

There was a sheer moment of silence before the rustling of dead leaves shattered the quiet. I was in high alert. My ears pricked for any sudden change. I was extremely suspicious. Why should I be? We were out in the middle of nowhere, which is why the noise caught me off guard.Of course, it could always be a wild animal.

My eyes darted around. "Whats going on?" Asked Adam. I'm not sure how to answer him, because I've been extremely paranoid for the past few days. Paranoid that somehow, DSTF has found me, and they've been tracking me. However, I think it's just my mind from being stressed.

The air was chilly and I shivered at the cold breeze that caressed my body. I continued to walk slowly and cautiously through the woods. Hopefully, it'd be warmer in New Mexico. Su- Adam and I conversed, talking about him, since he already knew everything about me. "Where are you from?" 

"Indianapolis." 

"That's in Indiana, right?"

"Correct."

It took me a few seconds to come up with another question. "How old are you, again?"

"I'm twenty-four, and my birthday is in December." Adam answers.

"Do you have any family that you know of?"

Adam was silent for a few moments. "No." He says. "When I was seven years old, my mom and dad both died in a house fire. It was in their sleep, and I was at a friends house, spending the night when their parents got a call from the town police station... After they died, I was whisked away from my hometown and put into a long series of foster homes, which I continuously ran from. That went on for eight years, until I was fifteen. They finally gave up and I was never taken back. Since I was so young, and never really had a chance to reach out to relatives, living with close family was never an option. I don't think I ever crossed anyone's mind. But, that's okay. I would've never met you had I been sheltered from DSTF."

I soaked in the information like a sponge. Adam was abandoned, like me.

"Adam?" I ask.

"Hmm?"

"How much do you know about me?"

Adam sighed. "Pretty much everything; your childhood memories, your emotions, your opinions. Everything."

I kind of panicked. He knew everything? In some strange way, it did send some sort of wave of relief over me. At least I didn't have to explain everything to him, and relive it all over again.

"So, can you see through my eyes or something? Like in movies?"

"Yes." Adam said bashfully.

I must've turned really red, because I could practically hear him chuckle. He could see everything. My tongue had no boundary. "Even when I'm changing or showering?!"

"...Yes." I internally died. This was so embarrassing. I didn't need to know how much he saw, because I already knew he'd seen enough. I felt myself blush. "Alice," Adam said, "Don't worry. I kept myself pretty occupied while you were, uh, busy."

I forced my blush down and continued walking through the dead trees and bush. The dead plant limbs scraped up on me, scratching my arms and grabbing a hold of my jeans and shirt hem. They were lonely, just as I was; they just wanted something to hold onto. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I ask hesitantly.

A moments silence had me hung on edge. "Because I didn't know how to, I suppose." I let out a low mumble of 'oh' and continued looking at all the withering plants. "I mean, how was I supposed to bring it up in a friendly conversation?"

"I don't know. I mean, I did think I was going crazy..." I admitted. "But I guess I'm not crazy after all!"

"Or are you?" Adam teased.

Another twig snapped in the distance, behind me. I immediately came to a halt. "Did you hear that?" 

"Yes."

We were being followed by someone. "Adam, hypothetically saying, if we were being followed: Having been pinned up in that lab for as long as I was, do I have the physical strength to fight if necessary?"

"Alice," Sub says, "Listen carefully-" another twig snapped along with faint rustling of leaves. I took off, sprinting as fast as I could through the forest. Whatever- whoever was following us, it had been for a while. I could feel it. "Alice, who is it?" Adam questioned frantically.

"I don't know." I say, running through the trees. The area of the forest I was running into was getting darker and darker. I saw a large deciduous tree- still standing tall- with colorful, warm leaves. I squatted and sprung off the ground, grabbing the lowest branch. Pulling myself up into the tree, I could hear panting and footsteps. I quickly nestled into the branches and leaves.

The tree itself was wide, and scratched me with its bark; I ignored the stings. 

Holding my breath, I sat and listened for the mysterious stalker. How long had they been following me? Who is it? After thinking for a mere second, I realized the breathing stopped. It was  very quiet. I pushed myself further back against the tree, sheltering myself inside the leaves and twisty limbs. Another moment of silence brought nothing, however, I was patient. I knew we were being followed. I knew someone was out here- watching my every move. I just needed to see them, to know what I was up against.

I could definitely wait this stalker out.

Another five minutes went by and still no excitement. Then, walking behind the trees, a figure loomed. It stopped, scanning the proximity silently. The figure looked to be that of a man; strangely familiar. I struggled to size up this man without drawing attention to myself. I gave up and was silent as possible. I heard the dial tones of a phone, and this man began to speak.

"I've been tracking her through the woods of the southern Colorado border, but I just lost her." My whole body erupted into goosebumps and my hair stood on end. I shivered. The voice- it was Elijah. He really had survived the blast at TLA headquarters, like I had; he was truly my match. He was actually alive!

Moments after being on the phone with whoever wanted me, he hung up. Elijah took one more look around before he walked off.