Unbroken

Chapter 24

The first thing that I did was get rid of my dress. I traded it with a woman for a pair of trousers that belonged to her son. She also gave me a good shirt and I walked away watching her spin around while holding her the dress up. The trousers were nice to walk in and they made walking a lot easier. The trousers would come in handy if I needed to be able to make a quick exit if anyone recognized me. There was also a good chance that my mother was having me followed so she could drag me home. She would try to talk some sense into me but it wouldn't work. In the end she would either have to let me go or take me home and lock me up.

For the first time in my life I was completely free and it was an exhilarating feeling. It was glorious to be entirely alone and relying completely on myself. The knowledge that I was finally free added an extra spring to my step. With nobody there to tell me otherwise I splashed through the stream and ran through the forest.

The day passed quickly and my initial joy at being alone was slowly fading along with the light as the sun set in the sky. Being alone at night was much less appealing than being alone during the day. Without lighting a fire I hunkered down next to a large tree trunk and securely wrapped my cloak around my shoulders to ward off the chill.

Each and every sound of the night made me nervous. With each sound in the silence I had to remind myself why I was out here. I stayed rooted to the spot with the safety of Lord Jonathan's castle beckoning to me a few miles away. But I was determined. I would make it through the night alone then laugh at myself in the morning. Another crunch nearby had me wishing morning would hurry so I could laugh at myself for being scared of a little noise in the darkness.

Finally sleep found me and wrapped me in its arms like an old friend. Then the dreams would start. The dreams were the worst part of being out alone. I saw Grant in all of them. He was in impossible scenarios and he was depending on me to save him. Each and every time I failed and he was killed. As he died in my arms he would whisper and tell me that his death was all my fault. The next morning I was even more exhausted than the night before.

The sun was just beginning to rise when I decided to get moving. The morning air was brisk causing me to rub my hands together to keep them warm.

Through the trees to the North I could see smoke lazily making its way up into the sky. I was approaching a town. My hopes soared with the possibility that Grant might be there. I wanted Grant to be there. He might be angry at first to see me but eventually he might come around. I was willing to wait for as long as he took.

With the town in view I wanted to sprint at full speed towards it. The possibility of having Grant so close was comforting. There was a woman out in front of her yard. She had a rug draped over a clothes line strung between two trees and she was beating it with a stick. The dust that exploded from the rug with every powerful swing was impressive.

"Excuse me!" I called to her trying to catch her attention.

"Ehh?" She replied turning around to face me. "What do you want?" She practically growled.

"I was wondering if you've seen a man pass by here?" I asked as I walked closer to her. She held onto her stick like a shield out in front of her. I stopped a few paces away giving her space should she decide to swing the stick at me.

"Yes." She answered still growling and I noticed she was missing several of her teeth. "I've seen lots of men passing through here You'll have to be more specific."

"I'm looking for my friend. He might have passed through yesterday? He's tall with curly blonde hair a blue eyes. Do you remember if you saw him or not?" I asked as sweetly as I could.

"Maybe a bit more specific," She said. I reached into the pocket of my cloak and handed her a silver piece. 

"Yesterday did you say? A tall fella was he? And handsome too?" She giggled and smiled her toothless grin at me.

"Yes!" I said. "Where did he go?"

"I haven't seen anyone like that." She smirked "Now get off of my property or I'll beat you with my stick!" She growled with a lunge forward and I marched away not needing a second prompting from the old bag. I threw her a scowl over my shoulder and she nearly doubled over with a howl of girlish giggles.

I grumbled under my breath as I made my way farther into the town. If he had gone this way he might be here somewhere. As I walked the buildings became even more worn down the farther I got into the town. The buildings were dusty and many of them were falling down. Few people were outside and the ones I passed shook their heads at me when I asked if the had seen Grant. Some laughed at me before they sent me on my way. I could feel eyes on my back as I made my way to the edge of the town. It was a bit disheartening but I refused to give up my search. I reminded myself that there would be other towns and I could look through all of them. I would look for Grant until I found him even if it took me forever.