Something Like Thunder (9 page)

“You sure it wasn’t a crematorium?” Nathaniel asked. He laughed at Caesar’s worried expression, since they were standing in the middle of the space now. “Don’t worry. I’m sure this is hallowed ground. Perfect place to eat lunch.”

Caesar just stood there.

“And unless you open your backpack soon,” Nathaniel added, “we’ll have to call it dinner.”

“Oh!” Caesar hurried to free his arms from the pack.

They were both curious about the contents, since Mrs. Hubbard had packed lunch for them. Inside was a blanket, which Caesar spread out on the ground, making a place to sit. Then he pulled out a few sandwiches, two slightly browned bananas, two cans of Coke, and some of her homemade brownies wrapped in aluminum foil.

They gobbled down the food, Nathaniel finishing first. Caesar was still chewing the second half of his sandwich and wearing a thoughtful expression. He swallowed a bite and took a swig from his can. “What did you mean earlier, about my parents being good people for letting you come along?”

Nathaniel paused. Caesar was a quick learner, but he was no Sherlock Holmes. The information he was after had nothing to do with such a vague statement. “How much do you know?”

“About what?” Caesar said innocently.

“How much?” Nathaniel repeated.

Caesar shrugged and looked away. “I was surprised you were coming with us. Peter wasn’t allowed to bring a friend, and I never was allowed before. Normally these trips are about ‘the family spirit,’ as my mom likes to say. So I was surprised, that’s all.”

Nathaniel continued to scrutinize him. “Did you ask your father?”

“Yeah. He just said it would be good for both of us, whatever that means.”

“He’s hoping I’ll be a good role model to you,” Nathaniel said. “Nothing more.”

“Then why did you get so defensive about the question if you’ve got nothing to hide?”

Fuck. Okay, maybe he wasn’t Sherlock, but he did have a touch of Columbo. “Don’t worry about it.”

Caesar wasn’t discouraged. “Did it have something to do with your wrist being all bruised?”

Nathaniel snapped. “Just shut up, okay?”

The loudness of his voice carried through the clearing, birds pausing before continuing their chatter. Caesar looked away and resumed nibbling on his sandwich. He didn’t make eye contact again. Nor did he try to make conversation.

Nathaniel sighed. “My brother and I don’t get along.”

Caesar’s eyes met his and widened. “He did that to you?”

“We got into a fight.” That kept things simple. Two brothers arguing until they started swinging wasn’t hard to imagine. How he had sat still and let his brother slowly hurt him, not offering any real resistance—that would be difficult to explain. “We get on each other’s nerves a lot, so your dad thought me getting away would help cool things down.”

“Oh,” Caesar said. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I just don’t want to talk about it. The point of being here is to leave it behind.” Nathaniel flopped onto his back, considering the clouds until the sun came out from behind them and brightness forced him to close his eyes. “I like it here. Your dad was right. This is what I needed.”

Caesar was silent, probably wondering how a person’s wrist could be bruised so badly during an ordinary fight. Or perhaps he just wanted to respect Nathaniel’s wishes. “Usually I hate these trips,” he said eventually. “Especially the last few times. I’d rather be with my friends.”

“Or Steph, I imagine.”

“Yeah.” The blanket rustled, the fabric beneath his back tugging a few times. When Caesar spoke again, his voice was lower, like he too had opted for a sun bath. “I’m glad you came along. Forget the family bond. I’d rather have fun.”

“I’m glad you’re glad,” Nathaniel murmured.

Caesar laughed. “I’m glad you’re glad that I’m glad.”

Nathaniel’s thoughts felt sluggish, his stomach full. “I’m having fun too.”

The only response was a light breeze that rustled the grass around them. Then Nathaniel didn’t hear much of anything, his thoughts abstract until he was no longer aware of them at all.

* * * * *

Something cold and wet splattered on his forehead, jerking him awake. The sky was gray now, just a hint of optimistic blue visible on the distant horizon. Caesar was sitting up, staring at him. Nathaniel expected him to look away, as he so often did. Not this time. Caesar watched him until a drop of rain struck his own cheek, causing him to flinch.

“I guess we should get going,” Caesar said, wiping it away.

“How long was I asleep?” Nathaniel asked, head feeling light as he rose.

“An hour. Maybe more.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

They didn’t have time to discuss it further because raindrops were coming faster now. Together they shook out the blanket, everything on it tumbling off. They stuffed the blanket messily into Caesar’s backpack, leaving little room for anything else.

“Let’s just go,” Nathaniel said, glaring up at the clouds.

“It’s a church!” Caesar insisted, crouching to pick up the litter.

The gods had a funny way of thanking him, because as soon as he was finished, the skies really opened up. Rain pummeled Nathaniel as he broke into a sprint, Caesar soon catching up and running alongside him. They were heading for the nearest line of trees, which wasn’t near at all. Nathaniel wished at least one building in this old town had survived, because they were getting seriously soaked. By the time they reached the trees, their clothes clung to their bodies. Caesar laughed, wet hair framing his face. Nathaniel grimaced, pulling at his T-shirt until it let go of his skin. At least the trees provided some shelter. Water still broke through, but it was better than nothing. Hopefully the storm would blow away so they could dry out on the way back to the campsite.

First they needed to find the path. Caesar seemed to know where to go. As they slowly picked their way over brambles and small bushes, Caesar stopped to get his bearings. He took off his glasses and wiped at them with his wet shirt, which didn’t do much except move the water around. When he put them back on, they began to fog up.

“Damn it,” he muttered, removing them again. “I hate these things! I’m getting contacts.”

“I like your glasses,” Nathaniel said.

“I like being able to see. I’ll get contacts and pop the lenses out of these so I can still wear them. Happy?”

“Thrilled.”

“Good.” Caesar folded up the glasses and shoved them in his back pocket. “You’d better lead the way. The path should be right over there.”

He was right. Soon they were on the path again, which made travelling easier but exposed them to more rain—just a drizzle now, but enough to ensure they wouldn’t dry out. After the better part of an hour, the clouds finally parted. The sun was too low in the sky to provide heat, but exertion helped. Half an hour later, Nathaniel was feeling warm. Odd then that Caesar was shivering visibly. All the weight and muscle Nathaniel had put on over the last year might be useless against Dwight, but apparently it protected him against the cold.

“You okay?” Nathaniel asked, bringing them to a halt.

Caesar nodded, putting on his glasses again. This time they didn’t fog up. “I’m okay.”

“Try saying that without your teeth chattering.”

Caesar ignored him, glancing around. “Does this look familiar to you?”

“A bunch of pine trees, a few squirrels, and the occasional armadillo? Yup.”

“Seriously,” Caesar said. “What about the big rock where I stopped to tie my shoes? Remember? We should have passed that by now. Do you remember seeing it?”

“No.” Nathaniel looked farther down the path, just in case it was there waiting for them.

“I would have seen that, even with my glasses off.” Caesar stopped shivering long enough to scan their surroundings. “Maybe this is the wrong path.”

“There’s more than one?”

“Yeah.”

“How many?”

“I’m not sure,” Caesar said, giving up and turning to him. “I wish we hadn’t left our phones behind.”

“There’s no reception out here,” Nathaniel reminded him. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like backtracking for more than an hour. This path has to end up somewhere, right?”

“I guess so.”

Nathaniel led by example, setting off down the path again. After what felt like another half hour, he stopped. The sky above was growing dark, the path they were walking becoming thinner, as if less traversed. He was starting to wonder if this path didn’t lead
to
somewhere, but
away
from somewhere instead.

He turned to find Caesar hugging himself, his normally olive skin a paler shade than normal. “You’re still wet!”

“A little. This shirt is made from sponge or something crazy. Maybe I should take it off.”

“Do it.” Nathaniel unshouldered the backpack, shoving the trash to one side so he could pull out the blanket. “Here.” He stepped forward, wrapping Caesar’s bare torso in the light material. That would probably be enough, but he gave into temptation, pulling Caesar close and putting arms around him. “Just warming you up,” he said.

“Thanks,” Caesar responded.

Nathaniel breathed in, as if concerned by their situation. He was, but he also yearned to inhale the scent of Caesar’s skin. At the moment it smelled like rain water with a hint of sweat, a combination he didn’t mind at all.

“What are we going to do?” Caesar murmured. “I don’t think this is the right way.”

“I don’t know,” Nathaniel replied, forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand. What choice was there besides turning around? No other paths had crossed this one. They could only backtrack to the open field, find the original path, and go from there. Reaching the ghost town originally had taken hours. That, added to how long they traveled in the wrong direction, meant they would be walking in the dark long before they got back to camp, increasing their chances of becoming lost again. Surely if they kept walking, they would reach a river or— “Hold still,” he said. “Listen.”

Caesar forced himself to stop shivering. Nathaniel held his breath. There! Off in the distance! Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but it sounded like tires cruising along a gravel road.

“Did you hear that?” Nathaniel asked.

“Maybe,” Caesar said.

Nathaniel released him and stepped back. “Either you heard it or you didn’t.”

“I don’t know. Over there, maybe?” Caesar nodded in the direction Nathaniel thought he had heard a vehicle.

That was all the confirmation he needed. They would have to leave the path, but it was worth the risk. “Keep the blanket around you and pay attention to where we’re going in case we need to backtrack.”

“Maybe we should do that now,” Caesar said.

“Ten minutes. If we don’t find anything, we’ll turn back.

Caesar didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded. Nathaniel led the way, moving as fast he could now that he was on a time limit. He kept checking his watch, not saying anything when they reached the ten minute mark. He pushed it another five, about to admit defeat when he noticed a crushed beer can on the ground. He glanced upward, the dwindling light slightly brighter just ahead. After pushing past a few more trees, they stumbled out onto a road.

This road wasn’t built for high traffic, so he wasn’t worried about them getting run over. No pavement or painted lines. Just flattened beige dirt and a bunch of small stones. They celebrated regardless, Nathaniel whooping and jumping around while Caesar grinned at him.

“Okay,” Nathaniel said once he calmed down. “Which way to the campsite?”

“Forget that,” Caesar said. “Take me to the nearest hotel. I want a hot shower!”

Nathaniel filed away that fantasy for later. He considered the setting sun, determined that direction was west, and admitted to himself that knowing the cardinal direction didn’t help one bit. Then again, they were walking toward the sun earlier in the day, so heading away from the sunset might make sense. Without mentioning his flimsy reasoning, Nathaniel led them down the road, hoping with each curve that they would see some encouraging sign. They didn’t. Just more trees and dirt. Hope was beginning to ebb when the road behind them lit up. A car!

Or an old pickup truck, as it turned out. Nathaniel stepped in front of Caesar, waving it down. The vehicle wasn’t travelling fast, so the driver didn’t have to slow much to stop. Nathaniel went around to the window, seeing a face tanned by a lifetime spent in the sun. Old gray eyes looked over both of them. Then the man spat off to the side with practiced skill.

“You boys look like you’ve survived a shipwreck, which is odd, because we’re a long way from the sea.”

“We were just—” Caesar began.

“Looking for the campsite when you got lost?” The old man seemed amused. “You ain’t the first, you won’t be the last. Hop in.”

* * * * *

“I can’t believe he knew the name of the ghost town and everything!” Caesar raved. If the tent was taller, he’d probably be pacing back and forth. As it was, he stood on his knees, his gestures animated. “Warton. What a name!”

“Like the town had been a wart on Texas,” Nathaniel said with a smile.