Flight

Chapter One: Flight

Her sister, Char, who was chaos personified, and mother were at it again. They were always fighting. And when they weren’t it was only because they were too spent from the last argument to do anything at all. Roaming around the house like zombies with heavy bags under their eyes. Avoiding each other until they recovered strength enough to fight again.

When they got like this Jess couldn’t be there anymore.

A couple months ago, Jess stayed at a friend’s house for a whole week and when she got home mom asked, “Where were you last night? I made dinner. Your favorite. Spaghetti.”

“Yeah, sorry mom. I’ll let you know next time.” But she wouldn’t and mom would never notice. Mom cared, really, but she was preoccupied.

Craving quiet in the chaos, Jess was slipping away now. None of her friends were able to pick her up but she was not going to sit around and wait.

She pulled on her hoodie and grabbed her book bag, which had a change of clothes for moments like this. Outside around the back of the shed she uncovered her bike. Hidden because Char stole, or as she put it, borrowed, then traded the last one. So now Jess hid anything she didn’t want pawned, broken, or permanently borrowed.

As she hopped on the bike and peddled out from the driveway mom and Char’s voices faded away, replaced with the sound of the wind and the chirps of frogs.

Jess rode down the neighborhood and onto the trails which connected her neighborhood to the next and continued on to the school. As the light began to fade, she rode over the wooden bridge, slowing to look down into the creek. Sometimes she saw a duck or muskrat and would stop to watch them go by. But she only had an hour maybe of good light then the woods would be too eerie to ride through, although the area was relatively safe and she would only come across some kids smoking pot off the main trail.

She was going to ride to the end of the old stone wall, which was a remnant of some old farm wall maybe dating back hundreds of years. This part of the country was like that, old and used a hundred times in a hundred ways dating back to the Mayflower days and centuries earlier. Jess would be walking through the woods and come upon an old foundation of a wheat house out of nowhere. She always thought it would be fun to bring an old metal detector to sweep around the area. People were always digging up footlockers of money and old guns while landscaping their backyards.

This particular stone wall started nowhere in particular and abruptly ended at the edge of a hill that overlooked a clearing where she could sit and smoke a cigarette and watch for any deer below relocating before dark.

It was one of her favorite spots and times of day. She never saw another person there. She had even camped out there a few times, not just to get away from the house, but also to watch the animals below and see the stars. A good meteor shower and she was here laying on the other side of the wall in a bag under a tarp. Tonight wasn’t a meteor shower or even a good moon, so she wouldn’t be there too long. Just long enough to sit, watch a bit of the sunset, and wait until a friend called her back to come over and play a video game.

Following the wall up the last bit of hill, she rose to her feet on the pedals to push out the rest of the way. She looked down at the front tire as she struggled through the final strokes. Looking back up into the clearing, she saw a woman standing at the end of the wall.

Startled like hell, Jess jerked the handlebar hard to the side and tumbled over end and into the wall. The landing smacked the air out of her lungs and she couldn’t get it back right away. She laid there and gasped, empty gasps, mind blank, ears ringing, until little by little the air seeped back in.

When her breath came back and her mind cleared she turned her head around surveying. Jess stood up to brush the leaves and dirt from her, well, everywhere, and saw her front tire bent. She kicked and let out a “fuck”. Now she was going to have to use her savings to replace it and maybe even walk back if she couldn’t straighten it out enough to get down the hill.

Her vulgar word made her suddenly self-conscious as she remembered the woman. She looked back at the end of the wall, then turned around and back but couldn’t see the woman in the fading light.

Jess worried she might have scared the woman equally and said loudly, “Sorry! I’m alright. You just scared the shit- the, the crap out of me. I’m not a weirdo or anything. I don't think I’ve ever actually seen anyone out here before.” She started a laugh, but there was no response. “I’ll totally leave if you, like, want privacy or something.”

But there was only silence.

“Um, hello?” She tried one last time in vain. She thought aloud, “Dang, I must have really snuck up on her.” She gathered up her bag, righted her bike, and walked down to the edge of the wall. She looked around but seeing still nothing rested her bike, bag, and sat on top of the wall to breathe.

She shifted and the rock under her gave way. Normally, she had some semblance of grace but here she was laying flat ass on her back again. “What a fucking day.” She said, getting back up to her feet. Her eyes darted around to make sure that woman wasn’t back laughing her ass off behind a tree.

Looking down at where the rock had broken free, she expected to see more rocks, but instead, she caught the light reflecting off something sticking out of a gap in the wall. Looking around, she reached in and felt something cool and soft. Grasping the object tentatively she pulled out a leather bag.

Did the woman hide this here just now? Should she just mind her own business and put the rock back? What if it's drugs and she ends up with no knees out here left to die for who knows how long? Thoughts raced, but the calm around her assured her that she was alone. So she took a deep breath and shook out the bag on the wall. Out fell a black book and coins as they plinked onto the wall and off into the grass at her feet.

Wrapped by a length of thin rope the book started up at her. She picked a coin up off the cover and examined it. It wasn’t a coin she recognized but the coolness said it was metal. Holding it to her eye and using the glare of sunset, she could make out a little tree and few letters but the word didn’t make any sense. The other side said “NEW” and 1652 but that's all in this light. Was that a date? Jess raised an eyebrow and thought an old coin could probably be enough to fix the tire, maybe the whole bike.

She jumped as her phone erupted in song and vibration. She struggled to get it out of her pouch and she frantically tried to silence it.

“What?” She shouted into the phone.

“Dude, is this a bad time?” It was just Dan, her buddy from school, on the other line.

“Shit. Sorry. I was just, uh,” she looked slowly over the coins and book, “surprised. Uh, sorry. What’s up?”

“Anyways, I was getting out of work. Did you want me to swing by and get you? Are you still home?”

“No. Yes! I mean sure. I’m not at home right now but I can be at your place in like 10 minutes.”

“Cool. I am bringing back a pepperoni if you want a slice.”

“Yes. Awesome. Thanks. I’ll, uh,” she wiped her brow, “see you in a bit.”

“Sweet. Later.”

Jess ended the call and took a deep breath. She gathered up the coins, shoving them and the book back into the leather bag, and quickly into her book bag zipping it tight.

She stomped on the front tire and managed to give it a good bend in the other way. Not perfect, but she could cruise slow down the hill and use the rear brake.

As she got back on the bike, Jess took a final look around the area at the end of the wall but saw only the placid clearing. She pedaled slowly then coasted back down the hill.

Pizza did sound good.