ARKEN

Nowhere to Go

Tobias stood looking into the empty shipping container. Nobody was there, it seemed that Vanessa and the others had cleared out entirely. He limped along back to the street. If Vanessa isn't here, I have no idea where she could be. He wondered if she had even gotten his message. He checked how much money he had left, enough for another cab ride, or a cheap bottle of booze for his episodes. There wasn't even enough for a strong bottle, the weak stuff didn't suppress his episodes enough.

Tobias walked down the street for a while. Before he could even hope that it didn't, it started to come. He hurried along until he found a place under the elevated tracks to collapse. He gritted his teeth as the discomfort came and he was in the purple world again. He tried to fight it, but had no luck. "Argh! Ahhhhhhh!"

It had to be almost five minutes. He almost passed out, but it finally ended. The train passed overhead, the columns supporting it shook slightly as it went. He needed to go and see Mr. Devers and tell him what had happened, tell him about the HDF being after Jordan. Maybe he had had more dreams that could shed light on what to do next.

Tobias didn't have enough money for a cab ride that far. He hailed the first taxi he could, which was easier now that he didn't look like a homeless person. He gave the cabbie the address and handed him the cash, telling him to go as far as he would.

The taxi took Tobias half way. He thanked the driver and went on walking at his slow pace. It took forever with the crutch, but he didn't have any other options. A slow and steady rain began to fall on Tobias as he went. So much for nice clothes.

Tobias stopped a moment to catch his breath. Staring at the sidewalk as many pairs of feet walked by, he suddenly was reminded of one of the many times his parents took his brother and him to the local fair when they were kids. He wasn't sure why he suddenly though of that, but it made him smile. It was enough for him to keep going.

It took almost an hour and a half for him to get to his old neighborhood. He reached the end of the sidewalk and was about to turn right and head for Mr. Devers' house when he paused.

He glanced back, looking the other way. He thought about his childhood home that he hadn't seen in a long time and he felt the sudden urge to see it now, even though no one lived there. It's not like I can get any wetter out here. Tobias went left across the street and hobbled down the block and around the corner to his street. He walked three houses down, and there it was.

It had been given a new coat of paint since. The old front steps had been replaced good as new, the dent in the garage door had been fixed, the gutters had been replaced. A 'For Sale' sign was placed in the grass.

He walked to the bay window and looked in the living room. He could still picture his family's own furniture where it used to go. The couch right up against the bay window, the two arm chairs facing the television. In the corner was where they would put up a tree every Christmas. He missed his parents, he missed Stuart, he wanted to be with them again. His parents lived in Springfield, and Stuart had a wife and baby in Cleveland that Tobias had never seen. Maybe he could have had a nice life like his brother, except he had been the one unlucky enough to become an arken.

The rain was picking up now and it was time he got to Devers'. He walked away from his old house and around the corner, going back down the sidewalk and across the street. As he crossed the road, Tobias glanced to his right and saw a car parked along the curb. For some reason, it caught his attention, it was just sitting there, not even on. He thought he could see people sitting in it. Without warning a wave of nervousness overtook him. Are those people watching me? What are they doing?