The Wizard's Herbarium: The Wolf Child

Part 9

Colt packed his stuff, not that there was much to pack. He'd bought the air mattress because he'd intended to stay for his full four days, and maybe then some. Now that that hope had been dashed, he deflated the air mattress, and stuffed it back into its box. He debated what to do with it. It didn't fit in his pack and was more bulky than the sleeping roll he carried, but he paid good money for it. Air mattresses weren't exactly expensive, but with Colt's current income of zero, they weren't cheap either. He'd carry it in his arms. If he came across the next town without a place to stay, he'd need it.

There was a knock at the door, and when Colt went to open it, the owner of the building, John was standing on the other side. He wore a suit, making Colt forget how simply the folks of the town dressed. The suit seemed out of place - too dazzling for the eyes.

"I heard all the news the town is saying about you. News spreads fast around here, folks not having much else to do with their time. Are you leaving?" John asked, and Colt invited him in as he continued to pack everything meticulously, and in a certain order, or it wouldn't fit.

"Yeah. Sorry I won't be taking you up on that free fourth night," Colt said. "Guess it's a win for you."

"A win for me would be having you stay and buy this place."

"Well, you said it yourself: that people won't buy attached when a detached home is only a little more."

"You too, huh?"

"I like my privacy. Though these apartments are nicer than staying in a motel, for sure. Thanks for renting to me, John."

"Sure. If you're ever back in town..."

"I'll consider it."

They shook hands and Colt straightened, slinging his pack over his back and tucking the box with his air mattress under his arm.

He learned from John that garbage pickup didn't exist and that he would have to drop the garbage off at the dump in town. The dump was open on Saturdays, but closed Sundays. So Colt walked down with a small plastic bag of microwave meals he'd subsisted on the last few days.

A chill followed him as he moved through town - glares and whispered murmurs made him want to roll his eyes. Colt was from the city, born and raised, so he wasn't familiar with small-town living. In the city, everyone either ignored you, or was a dick to you. There wasn't much of an in between, but if one were to see someone at the local store, chances were that they weren't going to see that person again. In the town, Colt felt the distinct division between 'us' and 'them'. Colt had not only found himself in the 'them' category, but on the bad side to boot.

There was a lineup of three cars at the dump, but it didn't appear as though things were moving quickly. In the city, living was efficient and everything else was expected to be efficient too, but the town moved at a different pace.

A woman in a bright, reflective safety vest stood at the front of the line of cars. She was chatting with whomever was inside and holding up the line.

Colt didn't know where to stand because there was no other person walking up to the dump, everyone drove. It wasn't a secure area, and the only thing standing in between him and the bins he was to drop the bag was this one woman. So he found himself a bit off to the side, just enough so he wouldn't get run over should a freak accident happen, but so that he could be seen in line.

The woman finally smiled and waved the first car through, and then things progressed quickly. The next few cars were either not locals, or not locals she was interested in chatting with in any case.

"This your first time here?" The woman asked in a voice that seemed louder than necessary.

Colt nodded.

"Alright. The fee for that is $2.50, you can pay that in here." As she walked, a limp made her movements seem lumbering and clumsy.

She abandoned the line of waiting cars in favour of moving over to a tiny building that wasn't even a permanent structure. Colt wondered how warm it was in the winter, and he was betting that it wasn't warm at all.

Next to the building was a roofed-off area that housed items that appeared gently used.

"We have a surplus of books right now," the woman continued, gesturing to the teetering shelves inside the building that was nothing more than a shelter. "So take what you want if you're looking for summer reading."

She pointed to the bins behind her and opposite of the cleared area where the large, green metal bins stood. People were backing their cars up to them and unloading their garbage.

"When you're done all that, put your garbage bag in one of those. Questions?"

Colt shook his head, thanked her and went to the office first. A weathered looking man with grey stubble on his chin accepted his money, his voice such a soft mumble that Colt hardly understood what he was saying.

Colt unloaded his bag of garbage into the bin and stopped to look at the books. There was an eclectic collection of fiction, and a whole bunch of autobiographies that Colt had to wonder whether they had all belonged to the same person. He picked up a steamy romance with a couple entwined together on the front cover and leafed through it. That genre still wasn't his thing and he put it down again. He came away from the whole thing with some kind of zombie novel, limiting himself to only one book so he wouldn't needlessly weigh his pack down.

Colt waved goodbye to the woman and the man with the scratchy voice, and was on his way.

Walking was an almost meditative experience. His footfalls were rhythmic and the traffic was minimal and it gave him time to think about what he was going to do next. He was feeling like he was over towns and people in general. Colt had passed through countless towns over the weeks without feeling the need to settle. Summer would be over before he knew it. No one really cared around these parts, and Colt could always camp out if he needed.

As he walked, the idea of just camping out in the woods began to appeal more and more to him. He had food in his pack, processed snacks with little nutrition but they would sustain him for a day or two. Water was a problem, however, and the more Colt thought it through, the worst idea it seemed. Maybe, if he was feeling the need to be alone, it was time to go back home.

Without paying much attention, Colt was at the side of the highway with his thumb sticking out. He was still in his own head when a car pulled up beside him. Inside was a kid, a girl that couldn't have been too much older than Chuck's daughter.

"Where you headed?" she asked him through the rolled down passenger window.

"The next town?" Colt said. He hadn't hashed out where he wanted to be, but that was the position he'd been in for the last few months anyway. It wasn't new.

"Wanderer. Well, get in."

After a moment's hesitation, Colt climbed in, maneuvering his pack onto his lap. The car was a mess as his feet kicked a bunch of garbage.

"I'm stopping off at Foaming before work in the next town. I can take you there, but no further," she said.

"That's fine," Colt nodded, recognizing the name of the bakery that Chuck had spoke about. "I'm Colt."

"Nice to meet you, Colt. I won't introduce myself. Travelers leave and then never come back anyway. No sense in bothering."

"... alright." It was an odd approach, but one he'd accept, he supposed. It wasn't as though he had a choice and it saved them both a bunch of small talk.