Lark On The Run

Lark Birdsong and Edwina Fletcher slammed the apartment door behind them. Lark shuddered and said, “I’m so sorry, Eddie. I’m terrified.”

“No, shit. We’ve got to get you out of here, Lark.”

Lark nodded, turned to the door, locked the deadbolt, and the slid chain lock on the door. “I agree, Eddie, but I don’t dare try to leave tonight. I’m terrified and exhausted. We have less than twenty-four hours before the thugs come after us again.”

“You’re assuming they are honest thugs?”

Lark snorted and nodded. “You're right. I don’t trust them not to come after us sooner than they said they would.”

Edwina, known as Eddie by those who loved her, said, “Well, it’s only two hours to Niagara Falls, Lark. I could drive you there and get you over the border, then head home to Fanshawe and hide with Mom. Once you’re back on American soil, you might be safer.”

“Don’t count on it. Being American isn’t a get-out-of-trouble-free card. Besides, I’m simply too tired to travel right now.”

“I understand, but you need to be safe. What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to pack, get some sleep, and then go our separate ways before the sun comes up.”

Edwina wiped tears from her eyes. “Okay, but this is me saying I don’t like it.”

“You’ll enjoy being alive and back home with your mother in Fanshawe. We will drive for two hours, but in opposite directions, and lie low. We can be back together in a few months if we’re lucky.”

Edwina asked, “Do you have the letter to give to my Aunt Minerva in Oklahoma?”

“Yes. It’s already in my backpack. I’m still not sure we can trust your mother and certainly have no reason to trust a woman I’ve never met. I’m not interested in being mothered. On top of that, I’ve never been to Oklahoma. Before coming to Toronto to study computer engineering, I’d never left Macon, Georgia.”

“I know you had an awful childhood and an addict for a mother. That doesn’t mean all mothers are useless.”

“Maybe. But the only person other than me I trust in is you, Eddie.”

Edwina sighed and nodded. She lifted her smartphone. “Another thing is, I hate tossing our nice phones and taking new burner phones with us. It feels too much like more drama than necessary.”

“Remember how we got into this mess?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Instagram on our phones and then emails, too.”

“Right. The guns held to our heads tonight should be an adequate reminder of the need for burner phones.”

“You’re right.”

“Now,” Lark said, “I have your burner phone number, and you have mine. I tucked your mother’s phone number inside the lining of my backpack—just in case. We will not activate our new phones until tomorrow when we’re both on the road and headed to safety. Along the way, toss your SIM card and phone.”

“Okay. I guess that’s the best way—really the only way.”

“Now, go pack, Edwina. I’m finished packing and want to get a little sleep before we leave.”

Edwina pulled Lark into her arms and said, “Kiss me quick before I totally melt down into a puddle of anxiety.”

Lark grinned and kissed her. She held her lover close and whispered, “Eddie, move your ass so we can have a final snuggle and sleep.”

Edwina stepped back, smiled, and nodded. “I’ll pack, but dammit, this had better not be our final snuggle, or I’ll kick your ass all the way to the North Pole.”

Lark laughed. “Fingers crossed, we’ll find a way out of this mess.”

~~~

Lark woke hours before sunrise while Eddie slept. She lifted the covers, slipped out of bed, grabbed her clothes and backpack, and went to the living room to dress. Lark didn’t bother to pee, brush her teeth, or wash her face. Without making a sound, she opened and closed the front door of the apartment where she’d lived with Edwina for three incredible, love-filled years.

She drove for nearly an hour, but she felt herself dosing off. Lark pulled off the freeway to a Tim Horton’s. She muttered, “Coffee and donuts will perk me up. Besides, I need to pee, brush my teeth, and my hair.”

She parked her car, pulled out her burner phone, and texted Eddie, Goodbye. I love you. She pulled out the SIM card, tucked the phone in her pocket, and carried her backpack with her into the store. “First the ladies, then coffee, then on the road again, Willie.”

All the cubicles were empty when she opened the bathroom door. She tossed the phone in the trash bin and then took the stall at the end, intended for people with disabilities. She was alone in the bathroom and wanted to put her backpack down without leaning it against the door.

Lark opened the sanitary disposal bin on the side of the wall and dropped the SIM card inside. The smell of old blood wafted up, and she quickly closed the lid.

She sat on the toilet, tucked her backpack close to her feet, closed her eyes, and with relief, emptied her bladder. Lark felt a sudden wave of nausea, then dizziness, and laid her head against the cool tile wall. She took a deep breath and said, “I’ll close my eyes, sit here for a moment, then get some coffee.”

~~~

In the Toronto apartment, Edwina woke to find Lark was no longer in bed beside her. She went to the bathroom to see if Lark was there. When she saw Lark wasn’t in the bathroom, she checked the other rooms in their shared apartment. On the kitchen table was a note from Lark:

I’m leaving while you’re sleeping, so we won’t be tempted to stay together. I love you. Please, please be very careful. We’ll be together as soon as it is safe. I’ll try to trust your mother, but it will be hard. I’ll let you know if and when I’m willing to trust Minerva. Just because she is your mother’s sister doesn’t mean she is trustworthy or willing to help us.

The note ended with a heart sketched in blue ink, with the letters L & E in the middle. Lark’s keys to the apartment were on the table beside the note.

Edwina brushed away tears, folded the note, and carried it into the bedroom where her luggage was waiting.

~~~

Lark opened her eyes as her nausea passed. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She felt sudden terror and cold certainty that she was dead.

She murmured, “Don’t be silly. You’re in a Tim Horton’s bathroom.”

She nodded in agreement with herself, then said, “It looks like I’m on a train, but of course, I’m not. I’m in a bathroom stall at Tim Horton’s.”

She closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then opened them again.

~~~

Edwina gathered her suitcases in the front hall by the door and turned to go back into the kitchen. She added her apartment keys to Lark’s with a note that they’d cleaned the apartment, and she would call in a day or two for where to send the deposit money.

Edwina worked hard not to weep as she gathered all the things and carried them to the front door. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the fresh fruit and cold brew coffee. She added all the nonperishable food to the table, opened the broom closet, and took out bags to carry the food to her car.

It took two trips to carry everything. Edwina took the luggage first with her purse and locked them in the trunk of her car. She tucked the car keys into her pants pocket and headed back upstairs to their apartment. She opened the door and couldn’t believe her eyes.

A big, baldheaded man with a silly grin on his face, was pointing to the television and laughing. Edwina looked at the screen and saw an old Bugs Bunny cartoon with Bugs, the rascally rabbit, being chased by Elmer Fudd on top of a racing train.

Her phone chirped, and she read the text message, Goodbye. I love you.

Edwina said nothing to the man and simply bent down and picked up the remaining bags of food. The man laughed even louder, grabbed her arm, and asked, “Ain’t you gonna hang around and watch the show?”

“No, I’m not. Please remove your hand.”

He grinned, showing his rotting teeth, caked with the debris of whatever he’d last eaten. He said, “Whatever you want, princess.”

Edwina shuddered, remembering the last time a man called her princess was while he pointed a handgun at her and another brute held a gun to Lark’s head. She turned and walked out of the apartment as the door slammed behind her. The man’s laughter and the smell of old blood wafted around her like a cloud of misery.

Edwina raced out to the garage. She pulled the SIM card from the burner phone with the text message from Lark. She broke the SIM card in half and tossed the pieces in different directions, as far as she could throw them. She laid the phone under the rear driver’s tire and opened the car door. Edwina locked the door, pulled out another new burner phone from the lock box under her seat in the car, then backed out of her assigned parking place, crushing the old burner phone.

She put the car in gear and drove forward. The big bald man was standing in front of her car, laughing, and waving while gripping the groin of his dirty pants. She put her foot on the accelerator and pushed it down. The tires squealed and left marks on the garage floor.

The man vanished.

She shuddered but kept driving.

Tears fell as she headed for her mother’s home at Fanshawe, near London, Ontario. “Damn. I can’t believe any of what’s happened. I long to hear Lark’s voice. If one of us has to die, I want it to be me.” Living with Lark’s death would be more than she could bear. Edwina knew miracles didn’t happen, but she’d hold out the dream of having Lark in her arms again.

~~~

Lark looked around. She was no longer in the bathroom stall at Tim Horton’s. She saw she was in the business section of a train. Lark was the only passenger. She muttered. “None of this makes sense. I don’t have a ticket, and I sure as hell didn’t board a train.”

She stood up, picked up her backpack, and walked to the door.

The doors closed with a soft shush. An announcement from an overhead voice chuckled and said, “Everyone, please return to your seats.” Lark turned around to sit back on the toilet, but there was only a leather seat with a table in front of the seat. The voice said, “The sooner you sit down, honeypot, the sooner we can get moving.”

Lark swallowed back fear and said, “Nothing to be afraid of. I’m dreaming.” She sat in the train seat, tucked the backpack under her legs, and closed her eyes.

The voice said, “Now, isn’t that better? Sit back, relax, and enjoy your Journey.” She shuddered a little when the voice chuckled at the end of the announcement.

She opened her eyes and looked out the window as the train began to move. Lark hoped this dream, or whatever it was, ended soon. She looked up and saw a call button. She pressed the button, but nothing happened. Lark looked around the car again and thought, this must be a dream. I’m the only one here.

A voice in her head cackled, and she could nearly smell the rum when the voice said, “It’s okay, sweetie. Nothing to get your knickers in a knot about.”

Lark shuddered. It was her dead mother’s voice. The voice that would call her sweetie when she was preparing to slap Lark, or worse yet, let her boyfriend ‘play’ in her panties. Lark opened her eyes and said, “Shut up, Mother.”

She tugged the backpack from under the seat, stood up, pulled the backpack over her shoulders, and went to the door. “I’d rather sit in the lounge car than here alone, even if it is a dream.”

She touched the door, and it opened in a flash. She walked into the next car and looked around with mounting anxiety. No one was in this car, and the car looked exactly like the business car she’d left. Lark muttered, “There must be more than one business car.”

Lark walked to the end of the car, and the door opened, smooth as silk. She walked into the next car—another business car. She repeated the process twice, then two more times. Every time she was in a business car on a train. Lark looked at the seat in front of her, slipped off the backpack, and sat down. Not because she wanted to sit down, but because she had to sit down.

What she wanted was to wake up and be sitting on a toilet in a Tim Horton’s bathroom just off the freeway.

Her legs were wobbly, and her heart was beating fast. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat. She looked out the window, and the train sped up. Trees, houses, and businesses flashed by faster and faster. The more she looked through the window, the faster the train blasted down the tracks.

“This can’t be happening. I’m in a bathroom at Tim Horton’s." She closed her eyes again and muttered, "I’m in a bathroom at Tim Horton’s. I’m not on a train. I’m in a bathroom at Tim Horton’s. I don’t have a train ticket, and I absolutely did not get on a train.”

The voice laughed from the overhead speaker and said, “Hang on there, girly. We’re going for a ride, a Journey if you will.”

The train sped up again, faster and faster and faster, and then it slammed her back into the seat. She couldn’t move. She closed her eyes tight and held on to the armrests as fear and dread closed in on her. The sounds of the wheels striking the track were a solid drumbeat in her head. The tighter she closed her eyes, the harder she gripped the armrests, the faster the train went—faster and faster. She thought, the men I’ve been running from have taken over the train and I’m going to die. Then she shook her head and muttered, "It makes no sense. I’m not on a train. I’m in a bathroom at Tim Horton’s."

Before she could mutter again, the loud beat of the wheels on the track and the sensation of the racing train stopped. Lark decided not to open her eyes yet. She didn’t understand what was happening but being on a runaway train was something she’d never have expected to experience. Or even considered experiencing. Ever.

A small, sweet voice said, “Relax, Lark. A runaway train is no big deal.”

She muttered, “Perhaps not to you but to me, it’s scary as shit, and I’m,” she stopped talking and asked, “Who are you? Where are you?”

“Open your eyes, Lark.”

“I’m afraid.”

“I know. Open your eyes. Nothing in your life will change until you open your eyes.”

Lark opened her eyes and gasped.

She was sitting on a blanket in a pretty meadow with a creek meandering through the scene. Butterflies flitted about touching wildflowers, a squirrel raced up a tree and threw nut shells at her, a coyote sat on a hill and howled and then grinned and waved to her. A black bear lumbered along on the far bank of the creek, not bothering to look up at Lark. He was tired and wanted a nap. He muttered, “Driving a human car is hard work for a bear.” Lark heard every word he said and felt a chill creep up her spine. Her lips tingled, and her first thought was, I’m in deep trouble.

The small, sweet voice said, “You’re safe. For now.”

Lark shook her head. “Who are you? Where are you?”

“I’m in the tree above your head. My name is Opa. I’m a meadowlark.”

Lark looked up and saw the bird, shook her head, then covered her face. She forced herself to breathe deep, slow, steady breaths. When she was calmer, she opened her eyes, peeked between her fingers, and saw the bird was still on the branch. Her feathers were dark gray with white stripes, and bright yellow, downy feathers covered her chest.

Lark closed her eyes, then opened them again, nodded, and said, “Okay. I’ll play this game. Beats the hell out of riding on a runaway train.” She shook her head at the absurdity of the whole day. Lark asked, “Are there murderers waiting behind your tree?”

Opa flew down and sat on Lark’s knee. She said, “I know you are afraid and feel as if all is lost for you. Don’t give up—it’s not in your nature to give in to fear or to let anyone bully you.”

“How can you possibly know anything about me? And what the hell am I doing talking to a bird or more to the point, how can you be talking to me?”

The bird sang a little, then said, “I’m your Spirit Animal, and I know you very well. I’ve known you since before you were born. When you get to Oklahoma, Minerva will love and care for you. She’ll be your mother.”

“I had a mother, and she was a total loss to humanity. Don’t do me any favors by giving me another mother. I can do without going through that again.”

“You need a mother.”

“No, I don’t.” Lark shook her head, then her shoulders sagged. “Am I dead?”

“No. Of course, you aren’t dead. You’re on a speeding train that has no intention of stopping. You believe you’re the only one on the train.”

“Well, last I looked, I was the only one on the train.”

“You feel isolated and afraid.”

“Wouldn’t you if you’d been standing in front of a man threatening to kill you and another man with a gun to your head?”

“Perhaps, but that has never happened to me. Even hunters don’t bother to shoot Meadowlarks. All I know is you need to settle down and never, ever allow yourself to lose hope.”

“Well, since I’m no longer on the train and have no damned idea where I am, it doesn’t matter.”

“Of course, it matters. You’re still on the train, but you’re also in Non-Ordinary Reality, having a vivid dream. When you’re ready, you can wake up. The train is getting close to Niagara Falls, so you might want to wake up.”

“Will the train stop?”

“I doubt it. The train has its own ideas about how things are going to be today. It has no intention of stopping. However, you need to wake up.”

Lark nodded. “How do I wake up?”

The bird laughed and trilled a merry song. “All you have to do is decide to wake up.”

“I guess I’ve nothing to lose by giving it a try.”

“There! That’s the spirit! Never give up hope.”

“I’ll try.”

“I think Yoda has something to say about trying.”

Lark laughed and felt a bit of relief. “Okay. I’ll quit trying and start doing.”

“And being. Never forget to be.”

Lark stood up and looked around her. She was standing in line, waiting for her turn to walk into the United States. Not a meadowlark or bear in sight, nor even a train.

She did not know how she’d gotten to the Niagara crossing. She didn’t drive and certainly didn’t really ride a train, so it was impossible for her to get off the train. “Or did I,” she asked. Then shook her head. “No, I most definitely didn’t get on a train or off a train.”

She looked around and saw no one she recognized, and no one seemed to watch her. She opened her backpack to get out her ID and her passport. Lying on top of her clothes was a small yellow feather. She smiled, picked it up, kissed the feather, and tucked it in the breast pocket of her shirt.

She whispered, “Thanks, Opa.”

She walked in the line to the kiosk where people who were walking across the border were checked. Once she was cleared through, she asked the border agent, “Can I catch a bus close to here?”

“Sure, you can, but wouldn’t you rather drive your car? You left it here earlier. You said you had a quick errand to run and would be back in less than an hour, and you are. Here I mean. You know, in less than an hour. There’s your car,” he pointed across the walkway. “If you’re going to need to park it long term, you can’t do it here.”

She nodded. “No problem. I’ve not been feeling well and forgot for a few minutes.”

“Will you need help?”

“No. I’ll figure it out.”

He nodded, and as she walked away, he thought, there’s a lot of silly people in this old world, including the fella who paid me extra to look out for her and show her where her car was parked. He looked as much like a bear as a man could with his furry arms and bushy beard and little black beady eyes.

The border agent quickly put it all out of his mind and talked with the next person in line. He didn’t look up as Lark got in her car and drove away.

Lark drove her car to a large grocery store and parked while she looked up a used car dealership on her burner phone. She had no intention of driving all over the United States by herself and, besides, she needed to get rid of the car. Too much weird had already happened. She damned well wouldn’t be on a train. A bus would do nicely.

Opa sighed in relief. The men who were after Lark and Eddie were still looking for them in Toronto. Leaving the car behind was a good idea.

~~~

Lark sent Edwina a text message on her new burner phone: I sold the beast for a few hundred dollars. I’m waddling my way to Minerva.

Edwina smiled at the text, glad they had called Lark’s car Beast and that they might as well waddle if they were riding on a bus. She pulled into the driveway of her mother’s home and sat in her car, looking at the promise of safety.

She grinned and said, “Hi, Momma. I’m home.”

~~~

Lark got on a bus heading to Atlanta, Georgia. She’d dumped her burner phone and bought a nice smartphone and tablet. Once she reached Atlanta, she’d decide what to do next. She wasn’t at all sure she’d go to Oklahoma so another woman could make her life a misery.

For now, the only woman she cared about was Edwina. She crossed her fingers and muttered. “Eddie, I hope you’re true. I couldn’t bear to be taken advantage of by you.”

But she was taking no risks. All communication with Eddie and her mother would wait until she decided on her next steps.

~~~

Eddie walked into her mother’s house, surprised she hadn’t come to meet her at the door. She looked down at the kitchen floor and saw streaks of blood. She turned to race out of the house and bumped into the big bald man. He grabbed her, put her in a choke hold until she fainted, then tossed her over his shoulder.

When Edwina awoke, she knew she was lying on the floor of something moving. She could feel the movement through the floor. She heard the sound of train wheels thwacking on the iron rails. Tears trickled from her eyes as the train moved faster and faster, and the sound of the wheels beat a rapid hammer in her head.