Insanity Was A Man

4. Max

When I got to the bus stop, the only other person there was a boy about my age. He had bright blonde hair and was about my height, but slightly chubbier than I was. In his hand was a bag of sour patch kids, which he was nibbling on. I sat down on the green metal bench that he was on, at the opposite end so we were as far from each other as possible.

The boy looked at me and smiled, but it quickly fell as he returned his attention back to his snack.

When the bus pulled up, I got off the bench and climbed it's steps, followed by the boy. The bus driver both gave us questioning looks as we payed him, most likely wondering where our parents were, but he didn't say anything.

There was only one other person on the bus besides me and the other kid. A rather creepy old man, sitting in the dead middle. He looked rough, dressed ruggedly with holes in his dirty clothes and a pack of cigarettes next to him. His grey hair was all over the place, untamed beard covering up much of his shirt.

I walked past him, and he didn't even stop to look at me. I could smell body odor from five feet away from him, prompting me to walk faster. Even though he didn't even seem to take notice of me, I still felt like I could feel him staring at me as I made my way to the very back of the bus and plopped myself down near the window, unzipping my bag and grabbing a Dr. Pepper to enjoy for the twenty minutes I would be on this thing.

I say 'this thing', but the bus itself wasn't all that bad. It was kind if worn out, with slightly ripped seats and grubby Windows full of handprints, but it was no worse than most city buses.

The other boy who had gotten on the bus was sitting at the very front nearest to the driver, now completely going to town on his candy.

I took a sip of Dr. Pepper, staring at the old man. I knew he hadn't done anything wrong and was probably just a perfectly innocent guy, but another part of my mind was setting in. Paranoia. Paranoia because I was a little kid by myself. I know that kids are out in cities all the time, walking to school and home from school or doing whatever, but I wasn't used to it. The paranoia that I was going to be kidnapped or murdered by some random guy on the bus or in the park was setting in, thus furthering my logical doubt that this whole thing was a horrible idea.

I sighed. When in doubt, look at the picture, I told myself. And so I did.

Then I looked at my watch. It was 10:30, and I had gotten on the bus at 10:15. The five minutes to complete the twenty minute drive went by fast, and I soon found myself at my stop. I heaved my book at off the floor of the bus and onto my back, walking past the old man and the boy. I thanked the bus driver and got off, not noticing something.

What I didn't notice was that the boy had gotten off a few seconds after me.

And he was following me.

***

I didn't see him until he caught my attention. I was in the entrance of the park, about to walk in, when I heard a voice.

"Knowledge knew you would be on the bus at 10:15."

I turned around, nearly jumping from the surprise. The boy with the sour patch smiled at me.

"Told me the exact stop and everything."

I began walking faster, giving him a confused look and trying to hint to him that I didn't want to talk and didn't even know what he was saying.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"I'm surprised I found it so easily."

I gave him another weird look and scooted away from him more, but the second as I did, he filled in the gap I had made between us.

"I'm Max. What is your name?"

"Greg," I said, hesitantly.

Max nodded. "That's neat."

I didn't reply. I just looked down at the concrete below my feet that led into the park, pondering how to get rid of him.

"Are you shy?"

I nodded, still not looking at him.

"Well, that sucks. But guess what."

I made a 'hmm' sound, but tried to sound uninterested.

"I know what you're doing. You are looking for someone."

My gaze was on him in less than half a second. "How do..."

He smiled again.

"I can help you."

***

Max didn't really seem very interested in the park. I had only made it like fifteen feet into it, not even close to any of the nature trails or playgrounds or lakes. It was just an area of open grass where a few people were throwing around a football. Max was still standing at the entrance, having not moved at all as I walked further into the park.

I turned around. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"You said you could help me. So, help. I'm looking for my grandma. This is one of her favorite places to go."

He just continued to stand there. The question burned in my mind...who was this kid? Who was this kid, and how did he know I was looking for someone? Was he some sort of spy? Or professional hacker? A stalker? Given his age, none of those really made much sense.

He shook his head. "No. You're grandma isn't here."

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "How do you know?"

"Knowledge," he told me, as if that was his answer to what I had asked him. "And I told you. I'm Max."

"Well Max, if you can help me, then help me. Where do you think my grandma is?"

Max snorted, rather arrogantly. "I know where she is. I can take you there."

He turned back the other way. And I was confused as hell, unsure who he was or what he knew or even how he knew what he knew. But it was clear he knew something (or at least thought he did) that I didn't. Something that was probably more useful than my tedious little plan.

So, I ran after him.