Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Boom! My eyes pop open because a huge bang in the woods. I quickly got up and looked around, there hasn't been much for sound this whole trip. I wonder what it is? Was it a tree falling in the distance? No, it much to sharp and quick for it to be that. Maybe it was a gunshot. For it to be a gun shot there has to be a person shooting it. At first I hold myself back for I think it's the old man. Then I realize that the old man's style is stealthy and scary, he wouldn't shoot before he found us. I try to pick out where the sound came from.

"Hello?" I yell out into the woods. "Help? I need help!" I stop and listen quietly for any response. When nothing happens I jog in the direction of the sound. I really hope this is the way it came from or I'm just getting farther away. I continue to yell out in the woods. "Hey, anyone there? I need help I've been lost for days!" After jogging out aways I see a dark figure in the woods. It was almost dark out and I can't make out what the person looks like. I yell one more time to him and move slowly towards the figure.

"Hello? Look I don't mean any trouble...It's jsut that my girlfriend and I have been lost out here for days." I walk towards the figure and it just stays right where it has been. As I get closer I start make out a tall man wearing a plaid shirt. Also in the right hand he held a rifle which he had resting on he right shoulder. The man wasn't that old, which was a relief. So I approach him and introduce myself. "Hey, my name is Ian." He didn't say anything. "I also have my girlfriend here and her name Jessica." I wait for the man to respond.

"Where is the lady at?" He asks in a deep, manly tone. This man must have been in his thirties. He is well built and clean shaven.

"She is back that way aways...Jessica is sick and she passed out earlier after vomiting blood." I look at the ground, for I find myself to be ashamed. I don't know why but I do.

"Well let's see if we can help her...and get you a shower. My name is Tommy but you can call me Tom." Then I see a smile come across his face which made him look as friendly as can be instead of intimidating like before. I can't descride how happy I am to have met this man. Of course I have my suspicions but no reason to care at this point.

We walk towards where Jessica lays and I couldn't believe how happy I was. The man walked fast, I felt like I was pratically jogging. The strides he takes are long and confident.

We approach and my happiness immediately goes back to sadness once I saw her limp body laying in the ground. She looked as close to dead as possible and it really breaks my heart. Tome kneels down next to Jes and pushes her hair gently out of the way so he can check her pusle.

"Well she is still alive." Tom says, I could of told him that. "What are you folks doing way out here anyway? It's been five years since I've seen anyone on these parts."

"Would you believe me if I told you that we were kidnapped and tortured? Jes and I managed to escape about a week ago." To say the truth I had kind of forgotten about the history and it made me sad to remember it all again. The memories of Joshes dead body and Jes face when Justin was f*****g her brought a tear to my eye and anger into my heart.

"You guys must be hungry damn hungry." Tom changes the subjest for I can tell he saw how sensitive I am about it.

"Mmhm...Haven't had food at all man." The thought of food made my stomach ache, I'd rather have my stomch hurt than my head. I'm glad that the wound on my head is healing up, it's been nice not to have my head hurt all the time.

Walking a little slower now, we find our way to a log cabin not to far from where Jessica and I laid. The cabin looks rather small from the outside, but it holds a type of beauty as the light shines on it through the trees. I saw no car, not even a driveway. Perhaps he has a vehicle but has to keep it somewhere for these are thick woods out here. The cabin is made out of old weathered logs that has occasional mold and a wall that stand covered in some type of vine. Unfortunately I still have the feeling in my gut that something here isn't quite right. However I'm not going to turn down the chance to eat and possibly get a bed to sleep on.

"Do you live here year round?" I asked thinking it was possibly a hunting loudge or something along those lines.

"Yup been here my whole life." Nodding his head towards the door for him. I was planning on it anyway considering he had Jes in his arms. We step inside and he continues. I grew up with my my dead my whole life in this place. Until about seven years ago..." Laying Jessica's limp body onto a couch. "He died of natural causes."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." I replied, feeling bad.

"He lived a wonderful life and he is in a better place now." Tom lays a blanket over Jes.

Entering the living room of the cabin I immediately feel a cozy yet cool feeling. It wasn't large by any means though. The kitchen is on the right wall and it was equipped with very old; and a peachy colored appliances. No microwave and a small one section sink, in fact the only thing on the counter was an ashtray, loaf of bread, and a coffee pot. I ask Tom where I might be able to find the bathroom and he points to a narrow opening on the opposite side of the room. It is the only other exit in the room, besides the one to the front door. I walk down the dark hallway for there was no lighting in it. There was in the other room, though for some reason the hallway wasn't. I peak in the cracked doors as I come to them. After passing two bedrooms, I came to a small bathroom on the right. The hallway is an L-shape, with a bedroom on the left before the turn; and a bedroom on the left after the turn, which left the bathroom the only room on the right. The bathroom was nice and cool. I noticed there is small air conditioners in every room, which is great compared the hot summer sun I've been in for the past week.

One of the first things I noticed was the strong smell of cigarettes lingering in the whole house. It makes crave one more than food at the moment. As I take my piss and scan the bathroom just as everyone does when they enter a strange room. My eyes stop on an ashtray that was practically full. I ske the lighter out of my pocket and light a short that happens to be resting in one of the slots on the side. As I relieve myself and smoke that cigarette I didn't pay attention to anything else except how good it is.

Entering back into the living room/kitchen mix, I sit myself on an old wooden chair that is under a small, dark stained wooden table. Tom is kind enough to be making food already. I'm not exactly sure what he is making but it smells good, I would have to say it's a type of breakfast food. Sausage?...Who cares?... I don't.

"Man, you must be hungry." Tom points out.

"Yeah, you sould say that."

He lays the plate down on the table in front of me. Eggs and sausage, I can't honestly put into words how the smell was so satisfying, I can't wait for the taste. As Tom walks over to the old stove I dig right in to the food. I was done well before he was even done making his. He offers his plate to me, but I refuse because of how full I am. If he would of asked me how many plates I wanted before he gave me one, I would of said at least three. I suppose my eyes are bigger than my stomach.

As Tom sits down to eat his food, he takes a pack of Marlboro Reds out of his back pocket and setes them on the table. I couldn't resist it, I asked for one and he gladly gave me one. As I lit the cigarette, I immediately felt lightheaded. A "nicotine buzz" as most people call it, it felt like my first cigarette all over again. I can feel a slight headache coming on as I took my third hit, but I don't really care at this point. I look over at Jes, she lays limp as a bag of sand. I really wish she was consious to enjoy this meal and cigarette with me. It breaks my heart to see her like this. As I finish my cigarette I realize how tired I am.

"So Tom...Is there anywhere for me to crash out for a little while?" Even though it was morning a bed sounded really good right now, it is far better than the forest floor.

"Of course. Follow me." He led me down the dark hallway to a room with a bed, a dresser, and few pictures of an older gentlemen. "This was my father's room, I this will meet your needs."

"Hah, needs?" He smiled as I chuckled. "That bed alone meets my needs man, Thanks."

"No problem Ian." Tom walks back down the hallway.

I stand there for a moment looking into the bedroom. It was a cozy, yet simple room. It had one pretty big window that lit up the room. I noticed there were no lights in the house, just a few candles here and there. I suppose once night came around it was time to wind down and go to sleep. I walk over to the bed and sit on it for a second. Wishing that the window had some type of drapes or blinds to block the light out, but it was bare. I didn't care once I laid down, I fell fast asleep.

A few hours a wake up to a gentle kiss on my lips. It takes me a few seconds to get my eyes open enough to tell what is going on. I was surprised to see Jessica sitting on the edge of the bed. I sit up and kiss her immediately. A silence fills the room as we just stare into each others eyes and smile. I didn't really know what to say to be honest.

"When did you ...uh...recover?" I asked.

"Well Tom said that it was not to long before you laid down. I was going to come wake you right away, but I figured you were tired. Tom made me something to eat and we played a few games of cards. He is a nice guy, did he just find us in the woods?"

I kissed her one more time before answering. "Well I heard a gunshot so I ran to where I thought it would be coming from. Not really sure of which direction that was, but I wasn't going to sit there therefore I picked a direction and ran. It turned out be the right one too. He actually carried you here, it wasn't that far from where we were."

As Jes sat there and talked for a few more moments Tom came to the doorway and asked if we wanted to go with him into town. He offered to buy us cigarettes, so obviously we didn't refuse. Following Tom out the door, I noticed that he didn't lock the door. Not that anyone would really be able to find this house anyway. You can't get anymore out into nowhere than here. I was wondering how long I had slept but then I realized it didn't matter. It doesn't look like Tom had any source of time anyway. All I know is that it's still daylight, pretty hot out but not to hot.

A path no wider than about five feet led us into the woods. The shade from the trees covered the path. Branches hung over us as if to protect us from the sun's harmful rays. There is not talking right now, which left me to my thoughts. I couldn't help but think that Justin or his Father might be watching or perhaps following us. They can't be...That's unrealistic. I have to keep reminding myself that we are safe, at least I hope. I decided to start a conversation and maybe that would help keep my mind off from it.

"So how far is town from here?" I asked Tom.

"I'd say about thirty to forty-five minutes." Tom is walking in front of us and he doesn't even glance back when he responds. When he told me how long of a walk it is, I couldn't help but wish he had a car of some sort. Jes and I look at each other with a look of regret. After a week of walking through the woods, walking more is not the first thing neither of us wanted to do. I suppose I better try to find some postive aspects of this. So I walk behind Tom and watch the squirrels and birds playing around. It is a pretty day outside so I smile at Jessica and grab her hand, she was already sweating. Either that or I was, it doesn't matter I suppose.

"So how do you kids plan on getting home?" Tom breaks a long silence by asking.

"Come to think of it I hadn't really thought of it." I look at Jessica who was already looking at me and looked as puzzled as I am. "I suppose we should try soon. I'm sure the police are looking for us and Josh. I'll just make a call when we get into town."

"I doubt that." Tom said quickly. I just looked at him even more confused. "We don't have phone around here. This whole town is owned by the Amish, there aren't many left anymore, but we all still live by there ways. Just like the simple days."

"Are you serious?" Jes said. Tom just kind of looked at us as if we she offended him. Then he nods his head. I don't know what to think, how are we going to get home. That would explain why the old man brought us all the way out here. He knew that if we escaped there would be no way for us to get home. If it hadn't been for Tom then we probably would have died in the woods. We weren't even heading towards the town that Tom speaks of. It was quiet again for a few minutes. Then Tom broke the silence once again.

"There is a big map in the middle of town, we can take a look at it and see which direction you need to head. I suggest you stay at least one more night to get some rest and food."

"That sounds good, I expect it's going to be a long trip, perhaps we can hitch a ride with somone on horses or something...It won't be Amish country forever either so we'll probably meet up with some cars after awhile." Jes and Tom both agreed with me, I'm glad too.

After a good forty-five minutes we get into town. Tom wasn't kidding when he said that they like the simpler times. All the building were wood just like Tom's. The roads were all dirt and there was one horse drawn carriage riding about. There weren't even that many more people walking around. I saw an old couple and one middle-aged gentlemen in a cowboy hat walking as well. Jes and I follow Tom into a general store. All the windows were open but it was uncomfortably hot inside, even hotter than outside, at least there was a cool breeze outside. I couldn't see anyone at the counter. Now that I think of it, there isn't even a cash register. I stop to look at some books that they had one a shelf while Tom walks up to the counter. Just like the gas-stations back home the cigarettes are on the wall behind the counter.

"Hello, I need some service." Tom said loud enough for anyone in the store to hear. Not to long, probably about a minute after he said that an Amish man came out from the back.

"What do you need sir.?" The Amish man asked.

"I need a carton of Cigarettes." Tom requested. The old man reached under the counter and pulled out a carton of cigarettes that looked like Marlboro Reds, but I realized that they were named El Amigo. They were the same ones we had been smoking, I had been mistaking by thinking they were Marlboros, whatever, didn't bother me.

"That will be twenty dollars." I was astonished by how cheap they are here, a carton runs about forty-five to fifty dollars back home. If I had some money I would buy some and bring them home. Tom paid the man and they tilt their hats at one another. We leave the store and walk right around the corner to a big wooden platform with a map nailed to it. I couldn't even see the town where Jes and I live. I noticed that there was a familer town on the edge of the east side.

"That's the closet the map gets to home." I stated. "We'll have to head east...If we can't hitch a ride it's going to take us days, maybe weeks for us to get home." I peek over at Jes and she looked worried, so I put my arm around her and whisper, "It'll be alright."

We begin our journey out of town and back down the trail. At least we have cigarettes this time. I found myself chain smoking, which wasn't good considering we only have one pack right now. I quickly stop that and grab Jes's hand again. It gave a safe, comforting feeling when I held her hand. Considering the situation any comfort at all was helpful.