Communication

Peridot is stuck in an empty room. She doesn't know where she is and is scared. Walt is determined to find her.

   Peridot woke up. Her head pounded, and she was overcome with dizziness. She supposed those were side effects from the chloroform. She had been kidnapped.

   Where was she? The room was not decorated in any way; there was no furniture, carpeting, or belongings anywhere. It was barren and gray. What struck her was how clean it was. It looked like a good room to keep hostages in, in which case it would be even messier, and even if she was the first, rooms weren't often as spotless as this one. Blood and grime weren't the only things absent; there wasn't a single dust bunny.

   She noticed a door. It was gray like the rest of the room, and she could see why she hadn't noticed it before. It had no knob to turn, but it was obviously a door. She stood cautiously. She had to hang onto the wall tightly to move at all, and even then she nearly lost her balance and the room swam before her eyes.

   She found as she leaned heavily on it that the door was not a push door. It must have been a pull door with the handle removed so that it was one way. The perfect door for a prison.

   The men must have been after Mother. Perhaps they thought she would come after Peridot, but Peridot thought they were sadly mistaken. Mother would consider her a lost cause and try to get herself and Walt to Mexico.

Walt. He would be so worried. She wanted to tell him she was okay. She wanted him to come rescue her. She knew they wouldn't just leave her alone in here for long. They would make her give them information, and then they wouldn't understand her way of giving it if she did give in. They would punish her. The thought scared her.

   She sat where she was when she heard the jostling sound of keys turning in a lock. She looked up to see a man standing in her doorway.

---

   Walt's mother still wanted them to go to Mexico. Walt wouldn't let her. They were in a heated argument in a hotel room she had gotten for the night while they discussed.

   "Your daughter was kidnapped! Does that not evoke any emotion in you at all?" Walt was so frustrated with Mother. How could she be so soulless? She brought Peridot into this world and raised her for 9 years, and yet she would leave her to die to save her own a*s.

   "Of course it does. You think I don't care? Fine, let's say we do stay. Where do we start searching? They'll catch you too. And me. I've lost enough!" She missed the point completely, as always. She was trying to rationalize abandoning her daughter with scumbags that terrified her.

   "Can you think of anything but yourself for a single second? You're terrified of those men! You would leave Peridot with them? We have to find her!" He hated Mother. She was more selfish than he could believe. How could she even stand to be around herself?

   "Think of the bigger picture. Peri will be fine. We have to get out of the country! I've already explained that to you." Walt was nearly in hysterics. The bigger picture? How did she know Peridot would be fine? Was she willing to bet her daughter's life on it?

   "Fine. Suit your damn self. I'm staying. Go ahead to Mexico while I look for your only daughter!" He ran out of the hotel room and slammed the door. He didn't look where he was going. He just wanted to get away. He couldn't believe he was related to her. She was the worst person he knew. He broke into a run and didn't stop to look back.

   He sat down by the road after a while. His breath was rough and uneven. He should have signed up for track. Maybe then he wouldn't be so out of breath. He couldn't running for more than half a mile. He seemed to have left the city behind. All of the houses looked alike. The suburbs. He must have been somewhere on the outskirts.

   It reminded Walt of home. Like his hometown, it looked sweet and peaceful. He hoped looks wouldn't deceive like they had where he lived. He didn't know how he would find his sister, but he knew he was doing more to help than his negligent mother.

---

   Peridot gazed up at the man. He was the tall one. Now that she got a closer look, she saw that he was also incredibly thin. She could almost see his ribs through his shirt. His skin was pulled tight over his bones. She could almost see an outline of a jawbone on his face. His clothes were all much too big for wore a large, gray long sleeve shirt and long, black sweats. His eyes were large and dark brown, and his hair was densely curly and midnight black. He wore no shoes or socks.

   She knew that he wasn't in charge. He didn't hold himself like he was. He kept a slouched posture and wouldn't meet her eyes. His skinniness and that he didn't wear shoes helped to give it away as well. She wondered if he even wanted to be there. He leaned over, still not meeting her eyes, and handed her a couple pieces of bread that were rock hard. His hands shook as he handed her a glass of water.

   "I'm sorry." He barely breathed the words into her ear. As he left, he turned around and finally met her gaze. It was a sincere look. A look worth a million words.

   A lot of people defined communication wrong. To Peridot, communication and speech were two very different things. You could talk for hours and not communicate anything. You could communicate for hours without saying anything. Peridot knew that communication was any way someone decided to tell you something. It could be talking, yes, but it could also be a sincere look or a kind gesture. You could communicate so many things with the tiniest little gesture.

   This one little look let Peridot know that she liked this boy. If she could get out of here, she would take him with her.

   The other man came in through the open door. He was short and much more heavyset. His hair must have been like the boy's at one point, but now it was graying.

   "I think you'll be wanting to answer our questions now." He said it calmly, and followed it with a huge grin. He made Peridot nervous. A kitchen knife rested in his hand. He leaned over her. She felt more trapped than ever.

Reviews

[Terra Hart]

Ooh, I would totally panic.... Hmm, it would be terrible if you couldn't talk and someone was threatening you with a knife... Huh! I knew the mother would be selfish. Grr, she makes me mad. If I had a child, and she was kidnapped.... I would have every single person on it! And posters! And I sooo wouldn't let my 15 year old son go after her ALONE! Although I wouldn't be in that situation because I'm never going to drink myself into debt.... no matter what.