Chapter 11 #2
“Go ahead and cry, this arm is a mess. I know they thought they were helping, but all they did was push the debris into your flesh further. You just tell me if you need a break. I won’t think any less of you if you do. So, you looked for me?”
“I thought you stood me up. I waited at the restaurant for a good hour after you were supposed to show. Tried calling your cell, but when you didn’t answer, I figured you were just ghosting me since it went straight to your voicemail.
Humiliated, I remember throwing the money on the table and then apologizing to the waitress, since I kept telling her you were just running late.
I had no idea where you lived, so I went home pouting.
The next day in class, I overheard one of the girls sitting behind me talking about finding a purse near the restaurant where I had been waiting for you.
I asked the girl if she knew who the purse belonged to, and when she said your name, I just knew something bad had happened.
I went to the secretary to ask for your address, and of course, she wouldn’t give it to me.
But just as I was leaving the building, I happened to run into the girls I normally saw you with in the mornings.
At first, they all kinda looked at me suspiciously, especially when their answer was, ‘Tracy never came back from your date.’
Throughout my explanation, Tracy has carefully been removing pieces of dirt and debris I didn’t realize were still in my arm.
But I can tell my words are bothering her simply by the many emotions that flicker across her face.
I lose track of what I was saying because she keeps sticking out her tongue as if she’s concentrating.
“What happened then?”
I shake my head, trying to focus. “One of the girls, hell, I can’t even remember her name now, was able to get hold of your Aunt Irene.
She was the one who finally filed the missing person’s report.
The cops didn’t take us seriously until like thirty-six hours later, then they wasted two more hours questioning me before they started actually looking for you.
Your aunt believed me the minute I told her I had no idea what had happened to you.
She even let me come with her when she unlocked your apartment for the cops.
Everything was just as you’d left it getting ready for our date.
There were two dresses lying on the bed, and your makeup was on the counter.
The coffee pot was still half full, and there were a few dishes in the sink.
I think the one thing I noticed was just how much it smelled like you when I walked in.
The college went on high alert. Several others joined in on the search, and we walked the woods in the surrounding area.
We even helped the cops dredge the small pond behind the garden center.
They were finally able to pull all the camera feeds.
The last time anyone saw you was when you were leaving your apartment.
You were crossing the street a few blocks from the restaurant.
You have no idea how many times I cussed myself for not insisting I come get you. ”
Tracy smiles sadly, tears in her eyes.
“You and me both, Owen. At that time in my life, I had a huge chip on my shoulder. I was stubborn and independent. In my mind, I was damn well going to prove to the world that this small-town girl could make something of herself and look where that landed me … Kidnapped and discarded.”
Before I can say anything, Tracy changes the subject.
“Hold still, this is going to hurt, but I believe I’ve found the source of at least some of the pain.
You have a sliver of wood practically going all the way through your arm.
So, every time you move your fingers or wrist, it’s just digging around in there.
If I had a way to numb it, I would push it through, but as inflamed as this is, you could never stand it.
So, I’m gonna try to pull it out slowly. How did Aunt Irene take the news?”
“She was strong at first, but as the days went on, I could see her crumbling. After a few weeks, they called off the search, and because I was trying to catch up on the classes I’d missed, I wasn’t there when she had your apartment cleared out.
From time to time, I’d get a random text from her wishing me a Merry Christmas or just asking how I was doing.
Then the world went to hell, and here we are. What the hell happened to you?”
Tracy bends down closer, gently wiping away the blood that is running down my arm with gauze.
“Big ass blue, four-armed monsters that smelled like dirty socks … is what happened. You’re right, I was on my way to meet you.
I was actually looking forward to it, because you were the first guy who had caught my eye since relocating to that big college town.
Most of the guys I had met were stuck on themselves or sports addicts.
You were the only one who seemed approachable …
real. I tried on half a dozen outfits before I settled on the one I eventually came to hate, as it was my only piece of clothing for months and months. ”
She stops talking, concentrating on what she’s doing, while my arm is bleeding all over the table. The pain from her pulling the pieces out has saliva building in my mouth as I grit my teeth on one particularly hard tug.
“Ahhh, I think I’ve got it … take a breath while I clean this once more.
Ok, where was I … oh yeah, my kidnappers.
I was just walking past the dog park when there was a bright flash in front of me.
I remember being temporarily blinded, and I didn’t even fight the first set of hands that felt like they were leading me out of the way of something.
But do you know that feeling when your hair stands up on top of your head, and your Spidey senses tell you something is wrong?
Well, mine apparently were out of order because it was ‘beam me up, Scotty’ without even a fight from me.
I woke up in a cage, wallowing in filth with three other girls, groggy and disoriented.
Before I could even ask their names, a fog entered the room, and the next thing I remember was waking up on Deapra.
Mam and a few other Ruks were standing over us, trying to get us out of the failing cryopods.
To say I screamed doesn’t even begin to cover it, but ironically, I was one of the calm ones.
We couldn’t understand a word at first, but the more they talked to us, the more these things they put in our heads understood.
It took time, but the four of us humans finally stopped feeling sorry for ourselves.
Even though we were all from different locations, we became great friends along with the Ruks, who took us in.
I was never a girl who liked to rough it, but man, did that way of life change.
Even though we talked about it a lot, we had no way of knowing how long we were kept in stasis until Ginger crash landed, and she wasn’t sure how long she had been gone from Earth either. ”
“Time is all jacked up for me too. I had just graduated when the announcement came over the TVs and cell phones about the planetary storm that was going to wipe us all out. You had already been gone for about four years by then. After you went missing, I just concentrated on school. I lost all interest in dating and girls. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I blamed myself for you being gone, and I didn’t want to push my luck again.
But Tracy, you need to know something. I’m only here because of your Aunt Irene. I owe her my life.”
She stops cleaning the smaller wounds and looks up at me. “What?”
“I was packing up to try to get back home when she showed up at my dorm room with a packet in her hand. I argued with her that she should be the one to go, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
Said she was too old and had lived her life to the fullest. I asked many times …
how she got that packet, but she would never tell me.
Just said she hadn’t been able to save you, but she did have the means to save me.
She helped me redo the bag I had been packing and even drove me right up to the front door of the scientific center, where the pods were located.
How she managed to get me there before people started going crazy, and the place had to be locked down, I have no clue.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was one of the lucky ones because I got to say goodbye to my loved ones, while many did not.
I will say I constantly questioned my choice to stay, especially when so many were being turned away.
Because of this internal conflict, I tried to leave one night.
I was going to head home so that I could at least be with my family in the end.
Only, Ricky stopped me, forcibly putting me back inside the compound.
He told me to think of how I got here and to consider it a blessing.
That even though my mind said I was not worth it, apparently another thought I was.
There’s something else you should know. Irene whispered something as I hugged her goodbye.
She said, ‘Go find my girl. The stars took her from me, but she’s out there somewhere’.
It was like she knew something unthinkable had happened to you, but still believed you were alive.
When I saw you earlier, I thought you were a ghost.”
“Owen, it was a path I wasn’t sure I’d survive and many times I didn’t want to. But after I stopped feeling sorry for myself, life reset me, like hitting a button. And I’ve learned to be grateful for each sunrise and sunset since.”
Tracy wipes a tear off her cheek with her shoulder as she glances up at me for a second before turning all her attention back to my arm. Because I was so wrapped up in her, the pain and my arm were almost forgotten.
“I believe I’ve gotten all the splinters and the dirt out.
It should already be feeling better. I think you have a slight fracture, but the bone didn’t break all the way, so hopefully, once I get you stitched up and we wrap it well, the pain should be more tolerable.
I’m glad you’re here, Owen. It’s almost like we were given a second chance. ”
“You know, you do owe me a date, Tracy.”
Her pretty green eyes sparkle playfully.
“Oh, do I?
“Yeah, and if you have nowhere you need to be later, I can fix a mean replicator meal.”
“You should be resting.”
“Who better to make sure I am than my doctor?”
Tracy laughs lightly, and I think I fall a little in love right on the spot. She’s thinner than I remember; her hair isn’t styled; she has no makeup on; and her clothes aren’t glamorous. Nonetheless, I can see myself waking up to that smile for the rest of my life.
“What do you say, Trace? I know we had a slight interruption, but I feel the same way about you now as I did the first time I asked you out. Are you willing to take a chance on a poor boy from Earth?”
“Yeah, I think I just might be, but this time you’re coming to get me at the door.”
“It’s a date, beautiful.”