The Relative

Chpater 10 - Manhattan

The rest of our journey was in peace, no attacks and no interruptions. We excitedly talked about what we had done in the car, taking up the rest of our time. We reached Manhattan at eight o'clock, sleeping in the car once we realized we had no money but forgot we could make some. Go us.
We awoke the next morning, sore but energized to find more about whatever I need to find. We drove to the spot, parking on the side of the road. The night of the crash flashed through my mind.

"Mom!" I laughed at one of her corny jokes. We were coming home from dinner, eating out on Fridays was our tradition. We were on 36th street, laughing and raving about how good food was at our favorite place when BOOM, head on collision. The air bags went off. I was thrown from my seat, my seatbelt catching me. I saw my mom's head hit the dash and heard a crack. The air bag on the drivers side had too much force and snapped my father's neck. A drunk driver killed my parents and turned me into an orphan.

"That's awful." Zaria said once I told them the story. Jason put a hand on my shoulder while Mark stayed in the back. I nodded, "I miss them terribly but if they're what I lost, then I can't wait to see them." I said excitedly. "Hey where did the crash happen exactly?" Mark asked, interrupting the somber tone. I pointed to the right, "There. They died there too." Mark went to inspect the place and held up a necklace. "That was my mother's! It must've been thrown out of the car." Interesting coincidence. Mark handed me the necklace and I held it tightly. I looked at it fondly. "My mother had an inscription on the back. I always loved it." I turned it over, "Head to the light for that is where you will find.
Ahead you will fight,
but then you will receive what lost your mind."
Extremely coincidental. "Funny, that wasn't the inscription. It was her marriage vow on it, not this." I said puzzled. "We have to follow what it says." Jason said. "We have to." 

So we did. We drove into the west, since that is where the sun sets. We drove for hours...until we got a flat. "Does anyone know how to change a tire?" Zaria asked. Mark nodded, "I do, but we don't have a spare. We'll just have to walk it." Here we were, in Manhattan, lost, and without a car. Great. We wandered west for hours, until we came upon a small neighborhood. "Should we knock on a door and see if anyone will take us in?" Zaria asked, rubbing her arms against the chilly night. This is going to sound so cliche. I thought. "We could try, maybe someone will take us in." I shrugged. So we went knocking on doors until the last house opened for us.

It wasn't kept well but the people living inside were elderly, so you could understand why. The outside paint was falling off and the plants were all dying. The inside wasn't much better. The furniture had stuffing falling out due to a cat or maybe even mice. Everything smelled of moth balls and bleach. Gross. The elderly couple were lovely though, making up for the rust and dust. They were Mr. and Mrs. Boone, both in their late eighties. We introduced ourselves and explained our predicament without the Beginning stuff. They welcomed us into their home and shut the door.