Episode 89

While the others were waking up in the car, Amy sat in the front seat and thought.  The sun was coming up, it was a Monday in May, and she’d just found the people she’d been sent to find.

“Come on,” she said sharply to the back seat, and Ben and Gail straightened up.

“Where are we now?” Gail asked, blinking in the light of the morning sun, but Amy’s door had already closed.  She hurried to open her door and climb out.

Ben woke with red eyes and felt as if he’d been sleeping on cold hard ground.  He stumbled out of the car and put a hand out to steady himself, squinting at the bright light.

“Alright,” Amy said as she and the others reached the picnic table where Miah sat trying to ignore Connor, who was sitting in a ready-to-jump-in-an-instant stance on the table.  “The four of you, well, the three of you, have been missing for eleven days now.  The police are looking for you, to find out where you’ve been and if you’re even alive.  Especially you, Miah,” she pointed out.  Miah lifted her head.  “Your parents even have a reward out for you, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Is that the only reason you came and found us, just so you could get the reward money for it?” Miah spat.

“Let’s not be bitter, Miah Randolph.”  Miah settled down and watched her, silent.  Amy continued.  “I’m going to take you to the police, unless you’d like to turn yourselves in.”  She turned and looked at Miah again.  “You could also try to cover up those legs.  It’d make it less of a hassle if they knew as little as possible.  Act as if you’re in too much emotional trauma to answer any of your questions, and you’ll be fine.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Miah asked.

“You need to know.  Would you rather me not help you?” Amy frowned.

“I just…I want to know, that’s all.  You don’t seem too keen on letting us just go off on our own, as if you have some kind of interest in how we end up.  Why do you want to help us?”

Amy sighed, “I just do.  I wish I could have been in your position, and had your chances, and made the right decisions, knowing what I do now.  But I didn’t.  I can’t change what happened to me, but I can make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

“You’re not my mother,” she muttered, but didn’t go any further.

“Well.” Amy headed back to the van and opened the driver’s door.  “Anyone up for driving?”

Ben raised a hand and headed over to the front seat.  Gail followed, looking relieved that no one had started a fight or broken down or tried to run away.

Connor put a hand on Miah’s shoulder and whispered, “We should go.”

“Yeah,” she replied, still looking down. “I’m coming.”

He nodded silently and got up from the bench, heading toward the rest area’s facilities. He figured that if he wasn’t the only one holding the group up, they wouldn’t suspect anything of Miah. He knew how much she just wanted to be alone, and didn’t blame her.