Teen Ink

Chapter 3

I am awakened in the morning by somebody shaking me vigorously by the shoulder. “Wha…huh?” I mumble incoherently. I open my eyes to see that face staring down at me. Damn it. “What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. “I came to find you,” the guy says worriedly. “I thought you were hurt or something.” I notice that Scott is perched contently on his shoulder. S**t. “No I wasn’t. I, um, just needed some, uh, fresh air…” I mutter, covering up. “Alright… Well I packed the rest of the stuff. It’s all right here.” He points behind him. “Great,” I mutter, standing and stretching. “I guess we should keep going, then.” “Alright. Which way?” he asks, walking over to pick up his pile of stuff. “Follow me.” I start to walk one direction, the direction of town. We walk in silence for a while. Scott flutters to my shoulder, rubs his head against me, and takes off. Stupid bird. “Where’s he going?” “No idea. He usually just goes and does his own thing,” I shrug, rubbing my sore shoulder. “Is your shoulder bothering you?” “Oh no. I must’ve slept funny.” “Here, hold still for a second.” He comes up behind me and puts his hands on my shoulders, rubbing gently. It feels so nice. “Where…where did you learn to do that?” I say, rolling my head and neck in time with his hands. “I took a massage course a while back,” he shrugs, working out a knot in my right shoulder. “There, that should do it.” “Thank you,” I sigh, smiling. “You’re welcome,” he smiles back. “We should probably keep going, huh.” I nod, walking away. What am I going to do? I can’t really…I mean I haven’t… What is wrong with me? I promised myself I wouldn’t… “Are you ok?” he asks. “Huh? Oh yea I’m fine,” I cover up. We walk in silence for a while, when a black haze appears in the distance. “Is that the town?” he asks, worried. “Yep. That’s it,” I nod, relieved. “What are you going to do when we get there?” “I don’t know. I might visit some old friends for a few days,” I lie, “but I’ll probably leave after a while.” “Oh…” he says sadly. “What?” “Oh nothing…” he looks down, a saddened and thoughtful expression on his face. I shrug, watching the sky for Scott. Towns make me nervous, and I feel better if he’s with me. We reach town just before dusk. Avoiding all the major roads, I take the guy to the hospital. “This is where I leave you,” I say as we’re standing outside the building. “I have some weird chip in my neck that tells my dad which hospital I’m at. I can’t go in.” “Oh, ok,” he replies sadly. He’s in good hands, I shouldn’t feel guilty. I turn to walk away. “Stay with me.” “What?” I turn back, staring at him. “Stay with me. Please,” he pleads. “I…I need you.” “I…I can’t…the chip…” I stutter. I want to stay with him, but I can’t. He’ll just leave. “I’ll learn how to live out there,” he gestures back the way we came. “I’m a fast learner.” “It won’t be fast enough… Just let me leave.” “No.” He closes the distance between us, pulling me into his warm embrace. “I can’t live without you,” he whispers. I pull away gently. “You have to.” I slip out of his arms and run into the darkness. “Wait!” he yells after me, trying to follow. “Goodbye,” I whisper to myself. I’ll never see him again. Tears start to gather and run down my cheeks as I run towards my haven, the untamed wild.