Just Jump

7

I know what’s going to happen. I see it in my head.

Brent shoots.

The cloud appears.

There’s no door anymore.

There’s a squeezy poppy feeling.

And we’re standing on a gravel road.

Ray sets me down and I look around. 

This was a good place to Jump. There are no people here to see us, only a - 

“HORSE!” Darcie screams.

I snap my head up just in time to push Sheila and Paul out of the way as Ray grabs Darcie.

Sure enough, there is a horse running – well, galloping, I guess – toward us.

The girl on horseback shouts something and stops.

“Who are you?” She asks. “Where did you come from?”

No one says anything until I step forward.

“Uh, I’m Ben,” I say awkwardly. “And Sheila, Paul, Ray, and Darcie,” I point to each person as I say their name. “And we are from…”

“Greenhorn, Oregon,” Darcie peeps.

Paul’s brow furrows. “We are?”

Ray elbows him in the side.

"I mean yes, we are definitely from there,” Paul says, nodding. “We are surely from Horn Green, Oregon.”

“Greenhorn.” Darcie corrects. “Where are we now?”

"Park County, Wyoming,” the girl informs us. “I’m Sarah,” she says, “and this is Ashputtle.” She gestures to the dappled horse. Sarah has auburn hair pulled back with a makeshift bandana headband. “Why don’t you come back to the house? If anyone can figure this out, it’s my Ma.”

She mounts the horse once more and offers a hand for anyone to join her. No one does. 

We walk along the dirt path in silence until she asks us, “How did you get here? You just… showed up. It’s almost like you came out of thin air.” She looks down at us and jumps as she sees Paul’s left hand.

“Oh my God! Are you okay?”

“Well,” Paul says, “I’m missing two fingers and bleeding all over the place, so no.”

She whitens but assures us we’re almost at the house. “Look,” she points to a mint green building in the distance. She says something else but I don’t really listen.

Sheila, who’s on my right, turns to me.

“What?” I whisper.

She shakes her head and runs a hand through her long blonde hair. “I’m just worried, that’s all.”

“Why?” 

She shrugs. “We don’t know anything about the outside world, Ben. Where are we supposed to go?”

“I don’t know,” I tell her. “But everything will turn out well eventually.”

“But what if it doesn’t?”

I smack her arm lightly. “It will. Trust me.”