Clouds

Part 2-17 Strange Feelings

Part 17

            The relief is like gold, seeing Jason is okay.  I wrap my arms around him and feel his warmth spread over me.  I feel safe when I am around him, and he truly makes me happy.

            “Emedee,” he says.  I look up at him.

            “Yes?” I ask.

            “I’m so sorry I had to worry you,” he says.  “I promise I’ll never do it again.”  He releases me and takes my hand as we start covering ground, growing closer and closer to our destination: the Hedges.

            “We may be there by tomorrow,” I tell him.  He nods. 

            “If we cover good ground tonight and today, we can get the Hedges within our view and then wait until the following night, when we can enter.”  I see a twinkle in his eyes.  Jason must be excited too.  After all, it’s hardly ever that you get to live in an adventure you only read about in books.

            For a moment I consider giving Jason the teleportation collar.  He is my friend, after all, and has proved himself worthy.  But a single voice holds me back.  I realize it is my own.

            No, Emedee, don’t do it.  You will know when the right person comes along for it, but Jason is not that person.  You know this in your heart.  Do not be fooled by what you want to believe, girl.  You may like and admire Jason, but you still need to be careful.  Do not place all of your trust in him.

            I know I am right, but I still trust Jason more than myself at times, so I decide to wait on the collar and pay close attention to him.  I don’t have to keep trusting him, right?  That is, if he does something wrong.

            The Hedges grow closer and closer into our view.  I catch sight of them from a break in the trees.

            “Jason, look!”  Jason follows my pointing finger.

            “Wow!” He breathes, walking over to me.  “I can’t wait!  Thank you so much!”  He wraps his arm around my side and holds up a camera for a picture. 

            “I didn’t know you had a camera!”  I tell him.  He laughs. 

            “Well, I need to take a picture with you sometimes,” he replies, holding it steady.  “Say cheese!”

            “Cheese,” I say.  We smile and take the picture, our first destination in the background.  Jason shows it to me.  The picture is actually pretty good, and you can tell the Hedges are in the background.

            “I can print a copy out for you,” he explains.  “I still have paper in here.”

            “Really?”  I ask.  He nods.  “Cool!  Go ahead!”  Jason presses a button and the paper slides out of the camera, smaller than regular paper; it is picture paper, of course, and hands it to me.

            “Hold it out to dry for a few minutes,” he instructs.  “You don’t want it to smear.”  I nod and hold it up to the fresh air.

            “Say, this is actually a good place to camp for the night,” I say.  Jason looks at me in agreement.

            “You’re right,” he says.  “The trees shield us from any guards, and this spot is fairly hidden.  It would be taking too much of a risk to set up a fire during the night, and the meat doesn’t necessarily have to be warmed, right?  You set up the tent and I will fix dinner.”

            Used to the model, it only takes me a few minutes to set up our tent under a Briarwood tree and put the sleeping bags inside.  I walk out to see Jason sitting, waiting on me.

            “Here you go,” he says, handing me the meat.  “We’ll go hunting tomorrow, so there’s no pressure to save any more.”  I nod and we eat together, watching the sun set.

            “Would you like to hunt tonight?” I ask him.  He looks at me.

            “Why?” He asks.

            “Well, the deer are more active at night…” My voice trails off.  “Oh.  I guess I truly am an idiot at times.”

            “Oh, Emedee,” Jason says.  “We can’t have a deer carcass at our camp when we have no time to skin and cook it.  You realize that now, I’m sure.”  I nod and sigh.

            “Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” I tell him.  “Maybe I should just give up now.  Jail can’t be too bad, right?  At least I’m warm and fed-“ He slaps me across the cheek.  It burns.

            “Don’t you dare talk that way,” he says.  “Emedee, your friends and family depend on you.  You’re a bit rusty, being caught off guard and all, but you have exactly what it takes.  Jail would be terrible and unforgiving, and you know it.  Besides, don’t you want to go to Rainbow Valley and Cloud?”  I nod my head.

            “I’m so sorry,” I say, starting to cry.  “You’re right, Jason.  I don’t know what I would do without you.”

            “You would do nothing,” he says.  I know he is right.  “Now wipe your eyes.”  He hands me a rag from his bag.  “You look terrible when you cry.”

            “Gee, thanks,” I say, blowing my nose, but trying not to smile anyways.  There’s something about Jason that makes me smile.  Maybe it’s his wavy brown hair or his gorgeous eyes.  Maybe it is his heart, and the fact that he cares for me like not even my mother has.

            When I think about it, Jason did much more for me than I realized.  Not only did he save my life, keeping me from hitting the ground after slipping on the tree, being by my side when I fell down the waterfall, protecting me when the guards came, and protecting me when we were caught.  Not only did he listen to my story and let me hear mine, when it obviously bothered him, but he gave me hope.  Hope is one thing I don’t see often, mostly never.  It comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, sometimes just floating in the air.  But Jason is hope, in a way I’ve never experienced before.  Not with Colby, Awesome, my parents, or Misty, the main people in my life.  Jason is different, but I just don’t know how…

            “Emedee?” I look up.  Jason looks concerned.  “You were staring at me again.  Is everything all right?”

            “Sorry,” I say.  I blush. 

            This feeling is so strange.  I distract myself by staring at the ground.

            “Are you going to eat?”  Jason asks me.  I look from him to the food.

            “Oh, right!” I exclaim.  “Sorry, I’m off in another planet right now.”  Jason laughs and looks at me.  My heart stops.

            “It happens to me a lot,” He says.  I stare into his eyes and become lost.

            “Well, we better rest up,” he says.  “Changing our minds about walking was a good idea.  We can get into the Hedges tomorrow night, so that we can hunt tomorrow in the day.  Get lots of sleep, okay?”  We walk toward the tent.

            “Okay,” I reply, disappointed.  For what reason, I have no idea.