The Greatest Fears Come From Beneath

Some things are different.

I woke up the next morning and my dad was asleep yet again. I opened the car door and stepped outside. I sat behind the trunk, and whipped out my phone. Four comments and nine likes. Whoopeedoo. I opened up Instagram and took a look.

So sweet lmao lol #parentgoals by Slimysurcus, hope he don roll off by GERBILNATION, one person tagging a friend, and two crying emojis from someone else. Great. I'm trying to appeal to idiots. Still worth it though. I checked the likes I got and they all were either people who had private accounts or people who only took pictures of babies. Creepy.

I had forty minutes before school started so I went over to McDonald's again to get some breakfast for me and my dad. When I brought it back he was up and pulling one of his casual shirts on. He smiled weakly trying to ignore the morning sun in his eyes.

"You got us food? That's supposed to be the parents job, kid. Get out of my house."

I faked sadness, "Can I at least keep the food?"

"Only the egg parts. I hate the chewy texture of McDonald's eggs."

"Deal." I said, and I sat next to him and we started our breakfast and watched the cars go down the road, just father and son.

Halfway through he turned to me, "You've grown up more in seventeen years than most people do in a lifetime, son."

I turned, now actually expecting him to kick me out of the car. "What do you mean?"

"We may not have had as much as other families with kids your age, but you are able to see the world in a simple black and white way, knowing what matters and boiling issues down to a simple question. That is something that is hard to understand in the convenience filled world we live around."

"I can understand that, but I doubt that I'm going to affect anything. There's not much we can do to make our situation better, much less be influential."

He turned back to the road, "You can change things, you don't have the bad marks that I have. I had my chance and I blew it. If I had looked farther ahead at the time, we might still be a whole family. I wasted my chance. You still can do great things."

"What else could I possibly do outside of working in a drive thru? I can't even get to college because of our situation. Even if I was able to get a full loan to any college, I wouldn't ever be able to pay off the debt."

He thumped his hand against the dashboard. "I don't mean college. You have the spirit to push farther even though everything pushes against you. Ever since we started living like this, it's been molding you into a tougher person."

"Are you gonna put me in the miltary?"

No response.

"Dad?"

He held up his hand. "Somethings very wrong."

I followed his gaze. An old Ford Taurus and a White SUV had turned into the school parking lot. That in itself was not weird, but the cars had very tough metal front bumpers. Anyone at a glance could see these cars were owned by either the government or police.

I heard my father mutter something like: "As low as----and they still found----didn't----."

I couldn't stand it. "Dad what is it that you're not telling me?"

He ignored me and turned on the car. When he was pulling out of the parking space e turned around and I saw in his eyes pure fear.

He started driving away very casually, and I thought we'd be okay, then as we reached the exit to the school grounds the cars squealed and our home took off down the road. I turned around and watched the cars whirl around and take off after us.

"WILL YOU TELL ME WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON OR SHOULD I JUMP OUT THE CAR?"

His jaw was set and his eyes never left the road, but he finally replied, "I promised the government I would never say anything about what happened in the air force."

"I thought you did, you never told me shit."

He ran a red light. "That's true, but apparently they've decided to cover their loose ends, but that would-" His eyes widened.

"What?"

"Would not explain why after all these years they finally want me again. I thought they believed I was dead."

"You faked your death on the government? AWESOME! But why did you do that in the-"

"First place?" He finished, "When I was in the Air Force, I was confronted by these men that worked for a higher organization. Not American, but overseas. An organization that had been established twenty years ago in the far East portion of Asia, and- to hell with it." He glanced at the mirror. The two cars were trying to get past a Buick that was driving fifteen miles per hour slower than everyone else. He winced, then I saw a little smile creep out. He continued, "It was a terrorist organization. They didn't openly declare that but when these men confronted me one day, asking me to be a part of an elite operation, I agreed, because all I knew what it was an elite mission, nothing else. They told me to meet them in Germany, and I complied. When I got there, they tried to turn me against America, saying that the atrocities they have caused has destroyed the world. I understood what they wanted to do. I declined. They offered millions of dollars. I still declined. They threatened me, then beat me. They don't know how to convince people very well over there.

He shuddered, then continued. "They took me to high up American government guys, and said I'd been conspiring with terrorists, but they offered me a choice: accept the job and still get paid, or refuse and have my family and I pay the punishment. When I refused again, I didn't know what they'd do, but they dishonorable discharged me, and threatened to order a hit on me if I told anyone what I had heard. I left with nothing. I had left that day and was a out to get in a cab, but then someone rushed in front of me and took it. He got hit by another car crossing the intersection. I didn't know that was meant for me until now. I told your mother to leave for her protection, but wanted you with me to make sure you would be safe."

I looked in the mirror at the two cars now gaining on us. I didn't know what to respond with. We were at a long stretch of open road. A crappy Nissan couldn't outrun pimped out government cars for long. My dad peered in front of him. He set his jaw.

"There's a sharp turn in about a mile. When we hit the turn, jump out, aim for not the pavement."

I turned to my dad, and saw him smile grimly, looking at me. I got a bit of a lump in my throat. He was probably going to go to his death to make sure that I don't."

"Dad-"

"It's coming up now, get ready." I looked ahead of me and saw the bend coming up to meet us fast. "I'll try to find you as soon as I can" He didn't sound sure. I put my hand on the door handle. "I love you, dad." I said.

"I love you too son." He croaked.

We rounded the turn.

And I jumped.