Chapter 31—Hitching a Ride
Ding-a-ling! As if Lydia’s inner desire had been heard, Jando stood in the doorway. She thought he looked scared to death. He held his hands up when a gun was trained on him. Outside, the truck they’d arrived in started up. So much for our ride. As its engine faded into the distance, she sighed.
Meanwhile, the ski mask guarding her pointed his gun at the father. The children’s cries were building. “Would you shut them up? That racket is driving me crazy.” He stepped forward, coming closer to the father. Close enough so that Lydia could tackle him.
Lydia pushed through her fear, and tackle him she did. She rammed her shoulder into his gut and latched her arms around his midsection. The gun went off, firing holes into the ceiling. Fists and feet swung through the air. Through the erratic fighting, Lydia grabbed hold of an arm. She turned the ski mask guy over. She pressed his face hard against the floor, clumsily lying on top of him. Bending the arm up, she meant only to restrain him. Crack! A bloodcurdling scream filled the whole store.
“My arm!” ski mask cried. He dropped the gun as Lydia dropped his arm. “She broke my arm! Joey! Help! Agh!” He reached for the pistol, but Lydia grabbed his arm, holding it up toward his head even farther. Ski mask was wailing, banging the floor, and tapping his shoulder. “Please! No more!”
Joey was fighting up front with the boys. Jando had dropped his hands, revealing Aidan from out of thin air. Aidan hit Joey from the side. Joey went down and brought Aidan with him. They proceeded to trade blows on the floor. Nose for nose, eye for ear, a bruise for Aidan and a couple of missing teeth for Joey.
Jando added in a few kicks. But when Joey squeezed off a gunshot in his direction, Jando screamed higher than the sobbing ski mask in the back. The bullet missed and struck the ceiling. Jando dashed to the snack racks and hid behind them.
Aidan knocked the gun away and kneed Joey in the face. Joey yielded and his head lolled on the floor. Aidan kicked the gun over to Jando, but he didn’t pick it up.
Lydia looked around. Her thoughts were scrambled. The terrified people. The wailing crook. One idea emerged through the chaos: She had to separate her quarry from the other people. Stumbling, she dragged him up to the front and yanked off his mask. He was a young red-faced guy. She laid the whimpering man on top of Joey, who groaned. “Get off me, Dan.”
Aidan backed away, gulping down air. He was winded and shaking his head. He examined his hand, pulling out a pinpoint piece of tooth. “Man, that hurts,” he said, holding his hand. He turned to the cashier, stunned into silence at what was happening in her store. “Where are your Band-aids?” She pointed a trembling finger toward the back, her eyes never leaving the crooks.
Jando came out from behind the rack and nudged Dan’s arm. “Agh! Don’ttouchitdon’ttouchit!” Dan said.
“Not bad, Lydia,” Jando said. “You snapped the guy’s arm.”
“I was actually trying to hold him like Arthur showed us,” Lydia said, rubbing her shoulder. She sat on the ground, bouncing her fists on her knees. “Guess I don’t know my own strength.” She tightened her fists, turning them white. The adrenaline had worn off, and she realized the gravity of what she had done.
Jando laughed. “I’ll say.” He held out a hand to her. He looked as pale and sickly as she felt. She had confronted a gun and lived. Not many could say the same. Lydia took his hand and he helped her up.
“So what made you guys decide to help?”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I can’t resist helping a beautiful woman. Was pretty worried about you when we didn’t hear anything.”
Somehow, she knew he was lying. But she let the matter go for the time being. Aidan walked back over, his hand covered in a few Band-aids. He was touching the swelling bruise underneath his eye gingerly, flinching when his fingers brushed it. “Does it look bad?” he asked.
“You’re ugly enough that it won’t make any difference,” Jando said. “It might even be an improvement.”
“It’s not bad,” Lydia said before Aidan could take a swing at Jando. The other customers were coming around. Still watching the criminals, the cashier dialed the police. Lydia knew they’d be detained for questioning. They had to get away—now. She dug into Joey’s pocket and retrieved her bracelet.
Aidan turned to the cashier and held out the open box of Band-aids. “How much do I owe you?”
Her eyes snapped away from the crooks. Waving her hand, she said, “Take them. They’re on me.” The customers were helping to restrain the would-be robbers, using any means necessary to tie the pair up. By then, Lydia and the boys were out the door, heading back to their bench.
“We better hurry before the cops get here,” Aidan said.
“Too bad about our ride.” Jando looked out at where the truck had been parked.
“It’s probably for the best. It would’ve been tricky getting past the men without being seen when they unloaded the empty crates,” Lydia said, sitting between her companions.
“You have a point,” Jando said. “Plus, it felt like we were riding blind—never knowing what was going on outside.”
“Exactly.” She clutched her stomach, gritting her teeth against the gurgling sensation. The wild activity in her gut was not unlike riding a roller coaster after having a full meal. “First, give me back my jacket. I’m freezing my butt off.” Jando handed her the jacket. Then she pulled out the map and laid it across her lap. “Now, if everyone can focus for a moment, we need to choose a direction. Mattenson. Probably our best bet to get some bus tickets. Maybe catch a train. Which way?”
“That way,” Aidan said, pointing to the right.
“I say left,” Jando said. “I have a natural sense of direction.”
“Oh yeah? Look at the moon, nimrod,” Aidan said. “The city is north. The moon is east of us. Hence, it’s down that way!”
“Who made you the astrologer?”
“Astronomer,” Aidan corrected.
An especially strong wind whirled past the trio, causing the temperature to drop several degrees in an instant. Lydia’s teeth chattered frantically and she gripped the map tightly. The arguing wasn’t helping her stomach, and she wanted to be some place warm. Accompanying the sudden gust was a mild-mannered voice, agreeing with Aidan. “He’s right. That is the way to Mattenson. You three looking to go there?”
Lydia looked up. The father from the store was standing there, his head bent over their map. Behind his legs were his two children, each shyly peering out, then ducking away to whisper to one another.
“Actually, we’re trying to get to Colorado,” Lydia said.
“Colorado? On foot?”
“Yeah.” He gave them a suspicious look and she gulped.
Aidan chimed in. “We had a friend at Illinois State drop us off and another was supposed to pick us up, but he couldn’t make it.”
Lydia was impressed and added, “Thought we’d cut classes early for Thanksgiving. He invited us to his house this year.” She nodded at Jando, who sat closest to the father. As the oldest of the three, he could just pass his appearance for college age. He gave a confident smile while Lydia and Aidan shifted however they could to hide their faces. Thankfully, the walls of the convenience store afforded a few shadows for them. “But it looks like we’ll have to hitchhike to a bus station in Mattenson.”
The father studied Jando’s face and seemed to buy the lie. “Not many cars coming through.”
“Then it looks like we’re walking to the bus station.”
“That’s quite a long walk,” he said.
“You don’t say,” Lydia said sarcastically, beating her arms for warmth. She bit back a yawn crawling up her throat. It was getting late and they needed to start moving. Cops would be at the gas station any minute and they couldn’t afford any delays.
Another chilly breeze whipped through. The father buried his hands deeper in his jacket and shivered. “It’s pretty cold out here.”
“You don’t say,” Aidan copied L
ydia, blowing into his cupped hands.
“Look, if you guys are heading to Colorado, we can give you a lift.” He jerked his head at the RV. “We’re on our way to Oregon to see my sister-in-law. She’s come down with something fierce. We could drop you off in Nebraska. Or Wyoming. Whichever is closer to where you want to go.”
It was a miracle and Lydia accepted. Or tried to, except Jando cut her off. “Why are you offering?” he asked.
“Why? Well, you three saved me and my kids,” he said as if the answer was obvious. “I owe you more than I could ever repay. I shudder to imagine what I would’ve done if I had lost one of them. Please, let me do this for you.”
“Sure,” Lydia said. “Sorry I was rude. Thanks for helping us.”
They followed him to the RV. Aidan leapt inside as another gust blew through the area. Jando lagged behind, taking a moment to give the vehicle the once-over before he stepped into it. The woman in the front seat snored softly.
“If you can, I’d appreciate it if you three didn’t tell her about what happened,” the father said in a low voice. “She’s got a lot on her mind, with her sister being ill.” Lydia nodded and he smiled. “Good. Name’s Ron. The little ones are Kimmie and Tommy. Make yourselves at home.”
“You’re not worried about waiting for the cops?” Lydia asked.
“Those young’uns inside have those two under control. I left my number in case the cops need to get ahold of me,” Ron said.
“You seem awfully calm for someone held at gunpoint,” Jando said.
“Well, I used to work in a convenience store myself,” Ron said, settling behind the wheel. “Got robbed five times in a month once, so I’m no stranger to a holdup. I’m more concerned about the young’uns,” he said. “Had a hard time to get them to even let go of me. Thank God you guys were there. Who knows what would’ve happened?”
While not exactly luxurious, the RV did have all the basic amenities. There was a bunk bed right across from a booth table. Near the back was a cramped bedroom with an unused bed big enough for two. There was a sink, a microwave, and a restroom. Aidan took advantage of the latter, muttering, “Yes, yes, yes,” as he raced to the toilet.
Lydia took a seat at the booth and looked out the window. Jando sat on the other side of the vehicle, watching Ron start up the RV. Soon enough, they were on the road. Aidan joined Lydia on her side and Jando left to use the restroom next.
“Stars look nice tonight,” Aidan commented.
“Yeah,” Lydia said. The black sky was lit by thousands of tiny white bulbs, each trying to outshine the others. “It would be great to fly up there among them.”
“Flying isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
She grinned. “I think we’ve had this conversation before.” He nodded sheepishly. “So if you had your way, you would never fly at all?”
He scratched his chin. “I might fly under the right circumstances,” he said. “Why?”
“Well, back at the Cave, I noticed that you were fine when you flew close to the ground.”
“Yeah, I am,” he said. “I even hover around in my room now and again. A few feet off the ground isn’t bad. That’s not the problem. It’s when I get to heights where I can break a leg if I fall that bothers me.”
“Good thing they pad the floor at the Cave thoroughly, then, or you would never recover,” Jando said, taking his seat.
“I should make a note to stop by that gas station on my way home,” Aidan said. “Get a copy of their security tape. You screaming like a baby and hiding should really boost your popularity.”
“As I recall,” said Jando, chuckling, “I was dodging bullets while you were getting tossed around. Besides, you couldn’t get that tape. The most you’ll have is your word. Nobody will believe you over me without proof.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Aidan said as Jando’s eyes flitted away to Ron, then back. “People seem to believe your dad really is incarcerated. No proof required whatsoever.”
The moon, peering around the stray, wispy clouds in the sky, played with the lights and shadows of Jando’s face. First, his eyes widened like a poor animal caught in a car’s headlights. When the moonlight was hidden by a cloud, his eyes narrowed into dark orbs and directed pure, unbridled, uncharacteristic malice toward Aidan. Finally, as the moon returned, so did Jando’s playful attitude. Except for his smile, tenuous at best. The entire process happened so fast that if Lydia hadn’t already been watching him, she would’ve missed the subtle changes. “What are you talking about?”
“So it is true,” Aidan said. “And here I thought it was just a rumor. What’s he in for? Murder? Theft? Some crime so unspeakable it makes you restless?” Only then did Lydia catch Jando’s fingers drumming rapidly on the table. “Is it unfit for polite ladies to hear? Might want to cover your ears, Lydia.”
“You’re lucky there are kids around,” Jando said. “Or else—”
“Or else what?” Aidan asked, sneering. He was enjoying this far too much. Lydia touched his shoulder and tried to stop him. “You would do something to me? Something to get you thrown in jail with your dear old dad?”
Jando reached across the table and punched the side of Aidan’s head. Lydia held back Aidan’s fists, squeezing them hard. He bit his lip and attempted to wiggle his hands free. “Everything okay back there?” Ron asked.
“Fine,” Lydia said, letting go of Aidan. “Fine.” She lowered her head between them and spoke softly. “Look, he’s been nice enough to give us a ride and I will not let you two get us kicked off because you can’t stop fighting. If you want to continue when we get Nebraska, be my guest. Until then, knock it off or I’ll knock you out.”
Jando stood up and strode to the back room, plopping into a chair. He turned to the side, enough so that he could watch the front of the vehicle without seeing Aidan.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Lydia said.
Aidan was positively pleased with himself. He rubbed his hands. “Oh, please. I’ve finally got something on him and you want me to drop it. No way.” He leaned out of the booth, catching Jando’s eye briefly. “I’m going to ride this for all it’s worth. It’s only fair. That contentious little—”
Kimmie sat on the bunk bed, swinging her legs and listening intently to Aidan. He swallowed his insult and sat back next to Lydia. “Guy deserves it,” he continued.
“But that was pretty bad.”
“He’s pretty bad.” Lydia couldn’t deny his counter. If the roles had been played by Mark and her, she might have done the same. The urge for a chance at payback would be great. Still, when she glanced at Jando, she pitied him. Lydia saw that she was at a dead end on the topic for now unless she wanted to threaten Aidan again.
“Just try and make nice with him for now, alright?” He nodded and leaned back in his seat. “Is it true?” she asked. “About his dad?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know? You said it was a rumor.”
“Because I’ve seen that expression one hundred times on one hundred faces when confronted with the truth unexpectedly,” he said. “It’s the only defense I had in middle school. The numbskulls there grow thicker skin as well as thicker muscles as soon as they enroll. You can’t exactly use elementary school insults and childish rhymes anymore. You have to dig up dirt. Once you get something good, you use it when they least expect it.”
Lydia turned to admire the stars. Aidan looked down. “So what’s your plan for helping your parents?” he asked.
She gave a casual shrug. “I don’t know. Try to sneak them out of there, I guess,” she said.
“And if that doesn’t work?”
She watched Tommy and Kimmie in the back room. Jando was showing off to them, making the bed disappear as they sat on it. “Fight. Give myself to them. Whatever it takes to help my parents.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” Aidan said. “These guys are known killers. Terrorists hunted by the government. They can’t possibly be planning to use you for good. Y
ou would be putting people in danger in one way or another.”
“What would you have me do?” Lydia asked, her temper flaring. “I’m not going to let them kill my parents.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said.
Lydia sighed. “Sorry about that—and about before. I shouldn’t keep blowing up. I’m just stressed and nothing’s helping.”
“It’s okay,” Aidan said. “I didn’t mean to add to it. Sorry.”
She buried her face in her hands. On one side, her parents. On the other, the fate of unknown people. Did she doom either group when she left the Cave? Would she have to aid and abet criminals if she didn’t want her parents to die? What was I supposed to do? Wait around? No, no she couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. She had had to act, to choose, and now she’d try to resolve the situation in the best way possible.
“Guess I’ll figure it out when I get there,” Lydia said dejectedly. She was tired and wanted to sleep. She leaned her head back against the hard booth, shutting her eyes.
Aidan gave her hand a quick soft pat. “I’ll help you think up an idea if I can.”
She cracked open one eye. “Like your idea to help me at the gas station?”
He was more baffled and bewildered than Jando had been. His eyes swelled up, then narrowed, then he looked elsewhere. He stumbled over his words briefly.
“Well, I figured we couldn’t let our guide die on us,” he said. “Least I could do since you helped me get out of the Cave.” He massaged his temple. “I must be losing my mind though. Walking in when those guys had guns. Although looking back on it, I doubt they would’ve done anything.”
She nodded and closed her eyes again. “I’ll check you into an institution when you go insane.” He chuckled. “My way of saying thanks for that, Aidan, and for your little tip, too.”