See How She Runs (5 page)

“I really have to go to the bathroom,” I
said, sounding as pitiful as I was afraid I might be.

To my surprise, he just stopped the car in
the middle of whatever could be road we were driving down. He
pulled out a roll of toilet paper from a bag in the back and handed
it to me. I looked down at it like it held the answers to the
mysteries of the universe.

“I thought you had to pee. Or are you afraid
to go in the woods by yourself. I can come with you if you really
need me to hold your hand,” he said gruffly and without a hint of
his usual humor.

“No, that is fine. I will just go park it
behind some tree in the middle of woods while it rains. Sounds like
a great plan to me.” I sounded snarky even to my own ears, but I
was irritated beyond belief. I had been kidnapped by my only
friend. I had been taken to God knows where. And I didn’t know what
in the hell was going on.

I climbed out of the car and headed to the
nearest tree. I had to pee so badly I just ignored the embarrassing
fact that he could probably still see me from the Jeep. I finished
up and headed back to the car.

“Where to now? Or do you want to go ahead
and suffocate me with your magic towel there again?" I snapped as I
buckled myself back in.

“We will be where we are going to leave the
Jeep in about an hour. You should eat something. You have been out
for two days. I promise when we get where we are going I will
explain everything." Yup, man of mystery over here. I was starting
to think I did not like this new Kennan at all. While I was overly
curious as to what in the world was happening to my seemingly
normal life, I was also too stubborn to give him the satisfaction
of asking.

I occupied my time looking out the window. I
noticed that everything was really green here, and I did mean
everything. It was as if any surface that stood still long enough
was covered in moss. I was pretty sure if I went out there and
stood still for an hour, I would turn green as well. Then there was
the sky. It was an endless blanket of grey that leaked a fine spray
of constant moisture. It was not enough to call rain, but it
certainly was not dry. Then I noticed the ferns. Good God! I did
not know that ferns could even get that big. By the time we finally
came to a stop at the end of the gravel road, I was totally
entranced by the beauty of the place.

“Alright, time to get out Izzy. You need to
put on those hiking boots in the backseat. We will be walking from
here," he said tiredly, as if he just knew I was going to give him
problems.

I bit my tongue and put on the shoes in
silence. They fit perfectly. Then I threw on the raincoat that was
lying next to them. I didn’t need him to dress me as well. I got
out and stood staring blankly at my former best friend. I felt as
though I was looking at a complete stranger. I guess I could try
and run, but first I needed to know where the hell I was. I could
be patient. I would just go along with whatever Crazy Pants here
had planned for me until I knew more about what special kind of
hell I was in.

As I was getting ready in the car, Kennan
was unloading supplies and filling up a giant hiking backpack. He
had a second backpack that was loaded with barely anything. I knew
which one I wanted to carry. He then proceeded to cover the vehicle
so that no one would ever notice it was even there. He turned and
grabbed the giant backpack as if it weighed nothing then handed me
the lighter one.

“We will be walking for about four hours. We
can stop and rest as much as you need to, but we need to try and
make it where we are going by nightfall," he said to me before
turning and disappearing into the tree line.

I stepped in after him noticing that there
was no discernible trail. The trees were the biggest trees I had
ever seen in my life. I could not even wrap my arms a quarter of
the way around some of them. I was lost in a dreamland while
blindly following him. As my mind wandered, I remembered the dream
I had had of my mother warning me to hide. Could she have been
warning me about him all along? Or was it just a coincidence? I
stumbled on a root and a hand reached out to steady me lightning
fast. Inhumanly fast. Without any explanation Kennan turned and
kept walking.

I refused to ask for a break and after three
hours of walking up what felt like a mountainside I was exhausted.
Kennan did not look back at me but any time my steps faltered, he
was there to steady me. By the time the fourth hour had passed I
was about dead on my feet. We were steadily climbing when there was
a sudden break in the endless trees and man-eating ferns.

There, standing in the small clearing with a
rock face at its back, was a cabin. It was not a meager one room
shack type cabin either. This was a huge, well-built structure. I
marveled at how something like this could be built up here. There
were no roads to bring supplies, so I had no clue how it would have
been done. Just to clear a patch of forest to build it would have
been a feat in itself.

“We are here,” Kennan announced the obvious.
As if there were another cabin out here in the middle of God knows
where.

“How does your head feel? Is there a pull
anymore?" he asked with concern lacing his voice.

How could he possibly know that what it felt
like back at the gas station? I tried to hide my surprise as best I
could and replied shortly, “I am fine.”

“Alright then, well, I guess you should know
this is going to be home for a few weeks. You might as well get
used to it, because there is no way you will ever find your way out
of here by yourself. Like I said before, I will find you. Always,"
he said cryptically.

“Okay then, can we maybe go inside, or are
we just going to park it out here like a couple of lawn gnomes? I
think that there are parts of me that aren’t drenched and freezing
yet," I said snippily. I felt I had a right to be a little grouchy
considering what the last few days had been like.

“In ya go then. Why don’t you take the
bedroom and I can sleep out here on the couch. If you want to take
a bath or anything, the bathroom is down the hall."

“That would be nice.”

I headed to the bedroom and was relieved to
find an actual bed with an actual mattress. Not for the first time,
I was curious as to how everything had gotten up here in the first
place. I took the boots off of my feet and peeled off my damp
socks. I noticed my feet were now covered with lovely blisters. I
was used to walking, but not mountainous hikes. I took the jacket
off and started to take my shirt off when I realized, I did not
pack a stitch of clothes. I headed back into the living room to
find Kennan building a fire in the large stone fireplace that took
up one end of the cabin.

Kennan did not even look back at me. It was
unnerving, this new development of his. It was as if he knew
exactly where I was at all times, without ever having to look for
me. He just started talking as if it was the most normal thing to
talk to someone that was not there five seconds ago.

“Your clothes are in the bag I just carried
up. I told you to pack a bag. Unfortunately you went all hysterical
back at the house, so I had to pack one for you. Everything you
need should be in there. If you didn’t have it, I packed it for you
out of what I already had prepared. All of your toiletries and
stuff are in that bag as well. If you want to go get cleaned up, I
will make us some dinner."

Without responding, I went to the now much
smaller bag he had carried up and took it to the room. I unloaded
the bag slightly mortified that he had been fondling my
undergarments only to find that almost none of the clothing inside
the bag was mine. The only thing I recognized was my green sweater
and my underwear. The rest of the clothes were all in my size, but
they were meant for hiking and camping. Granted, most of my clothes
back home were for work, and we were in the middle of the woods,
but jeez I would have liked something that is mine at least.

I noticed in the bottom of the bag was the
only picture I had left of my parents. It had been taken out of its
frame, but it was there none the less. I didn’t understand what was
going on and I just couldn’t take the not asking thing any longer.
I stormed out in the living room and started talking at him before
he could do the creepy talk to you without looking at you to know
you are there thing.

“What in the hell is all of that in there?
Those aren’t my clothes. You kidnap me, drug me, haul me to God
knows where in the middle of the woods to probably murder me. The
least you could do is pack my own damned clothes. How do you even
know my sizes? Invasive much? Or for that matter, why the hell do
you have a stockpile of clothes for me lying about? I have been
trying really hard to keep it together and not go totally postal on
you. I have been trying to figure out why three days ago my life
was totally normal but now I am in some parallel dimension where my
best friend speaks in a totally different accent and kidnaps me.
But I can’t anymore. And cheese on a cracker, I am going to lose my
job and then Grams house if I don’t call Mike.”

I fell onto the sofa totally losing steam
from my rambling rant.

“First, I need to clarify that it has been
about a week now since your life was normal. It took us three days
to drive here. You don’t remember a lot of that probably. For that
I am truly sorry. The clothes were a precaution, as is this cabin
and the drugs I used on you on the way here. Mike already knows you
are gone. He knows far more than even you do about who you really
are. Your Grams was not your real grandma either, and I am not
really an American at all." He said all of this as if it was
supposed to make some sort of sense.

I just stared at him hoping to get more. He
stared right back for a moment with that same tumultuous look in
his eyes that I had been noticing lately. After a moment, he went
back to poking the fire. Clearly, I wouldn’t be getting any more
information from him right now. Mister
"I-keep-my-mouth-shut-about-all-of-the-important-crap-but-for-the-past-two-years-I-have-had-time-to-play-pranks-on-you-and-stockpile-emergency-kidnap-you-supplies."

I headed back to the room and started to
just change into some other clothes, when I realized I smelled kind
of bad. I guessed if I had not showered in that many days I would
be kind of rank.

I took my bag down the hall to the bathroom,
avoiding him as much as possible in the cabin. I started the water
and was surprised to find that there was hot water. How in the
world? There must be one heck of a generator up here. I climbed in
under the hot water and let it take me away for a few minutes. I
scrubbed myself thoroughly and got out to find two fluffy towels
hanging on the rack that weren’t there before I got in the shower.
Or maybe I just did not notice them before. I grabbed them and
wrapped my hair up in one and dried off with the other. I climbed
out of the tub and rifled through the bag looking for some sleep
clothes. When I found them, I stormed out into the living room
wearing nothing but a towel and dangling a nighty from one
finger.

“Are you freaking kidding me Kennan? Whose
is this, one of your ex-girlfriend’s? Do you expect me to parade
around like some vamped-up, sex-kitten, eye-candy in front of the
man that just kidnapped me? Where are my t-shirts and holey sweat
pants? Where are they?" I asked through gritted teeth. I really
could not seem to get my temper under control right now.

Kennan laughed. He honest to God had the
audacity to laugh at me. And not just a chuckle, he laughed his
deep belly laugh that seemed to rumble and resonate through every
surface around him.

“So, that’s the straw then? The choice of
pajamas and the clothes are what is setting you off. It wasn’t the
drugging you, or the making you pee in the woods, or even the four
hour hike, it is the clothing I packed for you.” He said it
laughing the entire time. Tears started to leak out of his eyes
from laughing so hard at me. This at least was a trace of the
Kennan I used to know, but I was too infuriated to be relieved.

“Besides, Lass, that towel covers less than
those pajamas do. Yet you don’t seem to have any objections to
prancing out here in it.”

“Quit calling me 'Lass,' you sound like a
freaking leprechaun. Who are you? Clearly you aren’t the Kennan
O’Malley I thought you were. So please, just give me something
here, or I am heading back out into those woods and walking until a
wolf or a bear or something eats me and I don’t have to deal with
this craziness anymore!”

He sobered very quickly and nodded as if
deciding it was time.

“Go put some clothes on, we will eat
something and then I will tell you everything you need to know.
About me, about you, and about what is happening. I promise I will
try to stop calling you 'Lass'.”

I walked back to the bathroom with my sails
slightly deflated and finished cleaning up. I looked in the mirror
and realized I had mascara streams coming down from under each eye.
Not only did I just go ballistic, but I did so looking like a
glorified raccoon. Ugh. Could this day get any worse? No really,
could it?

Part of me was excited about finding out
what was really happening, but the other part was wary. I was not
one hundred percent sure that I could trust anything Kennan said
now. I headed back to my room and pulled on some long john pants
and a tee. I came out of the room with my hair in damp ringlets and
my makeshift pajamas.

**********

SEVEN

The most intoxicating smell was filling the
cabin. It smelled like heaven, and I realized I had probably not
eaten in a long time. I headed towards the small two person table
in the kitchen and sat down while Kennan scooped some sort of
pasta, chicken, veggie mix onto my plate. He brought me a glass of
water as well. Even now, he still had to feed me. I really was
pathetic. He sat down and we ate in companionable silence with him
eyeing me warily. Even though I was bursting to know what brand of
crazy he was selling, I was famished.