Insanity Was A Man

5. Somewhere

He led me to a place I didn't expect. A place right next to the park.

Walmart.

"We're going here first," he told me.

He began running through the the parking lot and towards the building. I jogged up next to him.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do we have to go to Walmart?" I gave him a "duh" look.

He turned back to look at the large building. "Because I've never been. And it looks cool. It's big. And it's blue. I like blue."

I glared at him, incredulous. "How have you never been to Walmart?"

"I'm not from here," he said. "I rarely come. We have stores where I'm from...but they aren't as big as this...this Walmart."

I shook my head. "Let's not go. It's pretty trashy. Haven't you seen those People of Walmart things?"

A confused look.

I sighed. "Never mind..."

He began running again. He sprinted all the way up to the entrance to the store. Thankfully, neither of us were hit by cars. He bursted through the automatic door, face astonished as soon as he hit the air conditioner.

"Wow...it feels great in here! We have cold air in our houses and stores, but this is top notch!"

"Dude," I half-way yelled, having to sprint to catch up with him. "Calm down! Are you ok? It's just a store..."

But Max wasn't paying attention. He had already began walking into the main store.

"They sure do have a lot of stuff! Do they have a toy section?"

Max kept going on and on about how fantastic Walmart was, going to every section and every isle and looking through every little item they had. He kept talking about how where he lived, they had some of the same stuff, but the stores were a lot smaller. He talked about "where he lived" so much, comparing the store to his stores and this place to that place. It just made him seem even weirder. Like, he somehow knew about my personal business, and now, on top of that, he was at a Walmart, acting like it was the most magnificent thing he'd ever seen.

"This world is so much cooler than mine," he said in the toy section, smiling to himself.

"What?"

He paused, putting down the hot-wheels car he had been holding. "Hmm?"

I threw my hands in the air. "Your world?"

"Oh..." He looked down at the ground, biting his lip as if he'd just made a mistake. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it, ok?"

I was about to say something back, but decided not to. He'd say something else that I wouldn't understand, and I didn't feel like being even more confused.

"Look," I said. "Can we please just go?" I was starting to get frustrated. He said he knew where my grandma was, but he wouldn't tell me. He just kept us stuck in Walmart. It was a waste of time. "I don't even know you, and I really don't know if I should trust you. But if you know where she is, then take me!"

Max stared at me, expressionless. "I know where she is."

I gave an angry sigh. "Then tell me where!"

Max casually picked up another hot-wheels car, examining the box. I eyed him expectantly.

"My grandpa's house."

"What?"

"Your grandma. She's at my grandpa's house."

***

"What do you mean, she's at your grandpa's house?" I asked him, as we finally exited Walmart.

"I mean, she's at my grandpa's house. Man... your city is so interesting," he started looking around at all the stores and gas stations. "No spirits like me. I could stay here all day."

"Spirits?"

"Nevermind. Anyway, I wasn't about to waste a trip here and not tour around by going to at least a few of your stores. You live a lot like us, but it's still cool to compare. I went by Hobby Lobby on the way to the bus stop. Man, do they have some cool stuff! I'll have to come back there sometime."

The more he opened his mouth, the more I was convinced he really was from another world. "Where does your grandpa live?"

"Somewhere," he said, making me want to punch him in the face.

"No duh!" I yelled. "Can you take me there?"

"Of course!" He replied, happily. "Hey, let's go back to that park. They have woods there, right? I hope they aren't busy."

"Why not."

He pulled something out of his pocket. Something shiny and metal.

"Because," he said. "We're going to need a lot of space."

He began walking.