Through the Windshield Glass (27 page)

No one
questioned the story; they all just nodded and proceeded to open bags
containing all sorts of foods.

Sticky buns
were passed around, along with a few thermoses of hot chocolate, and some
apples. We ate in silence and began walking again. The sun had begun to rise by
then, and as it did Maria slowly opened her eyes until she was able to walk by
herself. Leigh kept holding her hand though and soon they began practicing
Maria's speech again. I was no help so I caught up with Michael.

"Why are
we going the wrong way?" I asked him.

"We're
not," Michael said.

"But Avery
told me--,"I began.

"Avery was
correct in what he told you. When you asked we were going the wrong way, now we
are headed in the right direction. We followed the trees around the compound.
The trees keep extending until we reach the border of the main city."

Again, what
Michael was telling me made no sense, so I just ignored it and pressed on with
further questions, "How long until we get there?"

"If we
keep moving at this pace we should be there by tomorrow afternoon. It's not far
away, but we have to be careful about how we proceed. Especially now that we
have Leigh and Maria with us." Michael said. He still wasn't looking at
me, as he led our party through the trees.

"Are we
ever going to sleep?" I asked, "Leigh is doing her best, but she's
exhausted and Maria won't last long either."

"I
know," Michael said, "We'll be at another clearing around two o'clock
this afternoon, we'll sleep then and continue on through the night."

"How do
you know the forests like this?" I asked.

"Did you honestly
think I've sat in that compound like an obedient dog for the more than fifty
years I've been here?" Michael asked. He finally looked at me and although
the comment was supposed to be mildly sarcastic, there was nothing jovial in
his eyes. He just looked worn out, sad, and slightly angry.

It was weird to
think that Michael had been here for so long and yet still looked as young as
he did. I knew that it was his choice to stay the way he was, but it was still
slightly odd to me. It only seemed natural to age. Then I remembered that there
was nothing natural about that place. The trees looked painted, the plants on
the ground were far too aesthetically placed and there were no bugs, or animals
to speak of. We were simply walking through a very well done set on a movie.

I didn't feel
like asking anymore questions, I knew that any I did would be met with the same
vague answers and disinterest so I walked alone behind Leigh and Maria and
tried not to worry about what I was walking into.

At least the
first time I died it hadn't been by choice, but now I was marching towards
something that could very well end my life for a second time and I was doing it
on purpose. It almost felt like suicide to me. I didn’t like that thought and
tried to remember that it was going to be for the greater good and that even if
I didn’t survive at least I could go to a place where people might be a little
less serious.

Chapter Thirty-seven

Michael was off
by three hours. We didn't reach his clearing until after five o'clock. By then
it wasn't just Leigh who was exhausted. Avery was complaining loudly, Roman and
Max kept exchanging testy words like they would like nothing more than to
attempt to kill each other; even Bridgette looked like she could use a little
beauty sleep.

Finally,
Michael dropped his sack and turned around to face his down trodden group of
followers. Scarlett spoke for the first time, "I think you underestimated
that walk a bit."

Scarlett and
Michael appeared to be the only ones who weren't ready to collapse on the
ground.

"Why do
you two look so fresh?" Avery snapped. He was breathing heavily, his face
was more red than usual and he looked like a very angry dwarf.

Michael and
Scarlett looked at each other and shrugged. I realized how beautiful both of
them were, their features complimented each other and I couldn't help but think
of them as a couple. An insane surge of jealousy made me grateful my cheeks
were already red from exertion and sunburn. Sunburn, really!

"Let's
make camp," Michael said, "We'll sleep here for the night and start
at dawn tomorrow."

Dawn?
Basically, Michael had fallen far down my list of favorite people.

Preparations
for dinner commenced. Roman and Bridgette were on food duty and soon had some
kind of edible something ready. I don't know what it was; I could barely keep
my eyes open enough to see my fork as I ate.

Avery and Max
pulled tents and bedrolls from the larger packs they'd been carrying. Maria,
Leigh, and I all crammed into one tent around seven o'clock and huddled
together. Within five minutes all of us were snoring and enjoying every second
of the much needed slumber.

A hand touched
my arm and I tried to scream before realizing there was a hand covering my
mouth. I squinted angrily up at Michael and fought the temptation to lick his
hand.

"We need
to talk," Michael whispered. I rolled my eyes and slumped away from his
hand back onto my portion of the ground, "Now."

I growled in
frustration and propelled myself less than gracefully into a crouching position
so I could crawl from the tent. Michael chivalrously held the flap open for me.

"What?"
I snapped when I was in a standing position, "What is it that's so
important you have to wake me up and drag me out of my nice warm tent?"

Michael didn't
say anything; he just grabbed my wrist, put a finger to his lips and started to
drag me through the clearing. A moment of panic set in before I realized that I
would be able to scream before we got far enough away that we would be out of
earshot of the group.

Thankfully, I
was worried for nothing. The clearing wasn't much more than sixty feet behind
us when Michael stopped at an
　
evergreen
　
tree and told me to climb.

"Are you
serious?" I whispered fiercely. It wasn't that I was scared, tree climbing
was one thing I could do when I was alive without fear, but I wanted to know
why Michael was telling me to do it now.

"Just do
it," Michael said, "I'll be right here in case you get scared, but
you'll be glad you went up there."

Michael bent
one knee and laced his fingers together to make a holster for me to boost
myself into the tree with. I brushed his hands away and gripped the surprising
sapless branches, "I've got it," I said over my shoulder to Michael.
I could tell he didn't believe me, but I ignored his silent criticism and began
to climb.

It felt amazing
to be up in a tree again. The smell of the tree reminded me of Christmas, books,
and summer all at the same time. I used to go to the park near our house just
to climb the high evergreen tree that used to stand by the swings before it was
cut down to be some important person's Christmas tree when I was sixteen.

I tried to get
a petition going to keep the tree from being removed; Maria was the only one
who signed it. All the adults I talked to were glad to see it go, they said it
was a hazard for their children. I hadn't climbed a tree as tall or strong
since. This tree though was magnificent. Each branch
　
was long and sturdy and it
　
was probably close to fifty feet in height.

I climbed like
a monkey, all gracelessness left on the forest floor below. I could hear
Michael below me struggling to keep my pace. Even in the dark it was easy to
find holds in the trees welcoming arms and soon I was more than halfway up the
tree. I finally paused to wait for Michael to catch up.

I could see the
stars through the branches of the trees. The sky was beginning to blush into
dawn and soon the world would be alight with the glow of the artificially warm
sun.

Michael finally
reached me, his face was red and he was sweating a little as though he'd just
run somewhere instead of moved twenty-five feet, "You never told me you
could climb trees," Michael gasped.

"I guess
it slipped my mind
　
while I
was comatose after I got here," I wasn't really paying attention to what I
was saying. My eyes had left Michael's face and were instead gazing up at the
stars. I couldn't help it, despite everything else that seemed too perfect, the
stars seemed to still be real. There were the same constellations, when I
squinted through the branches I even thought I saw a planet or two.

When Michael
had caught his breath he told me to keep climbing until I could get a clear
view of the sky. He didn't have to tell me twice. I grabbed the branch above me
and pulled myself up another few feet before Michael even had time to get a
good handhold on the branch I had just been occupying.

It really
shouldn’t have been as easy as it was to climb the tree. The branches should
have become shakier as they got thinner, if anything they got stronger. It also
didn’t seem like it would be possible for me to fall, something in the tree
made me feel as though I’d just float to the branch below me.

My clear view
wasn't much more than ten feet up. The forest canopy was relatively low
compared to others I'd seen. At 35 feet I was already up higher than most of
the trees were at their peaks so it made it easy to see everything on either
side of me. I couldn't really comprehend what I was seeing until Michael
finally yanked himself up to my level again.

"It looks
like your home doesn't it?" Michael asked.

He was right,
it looked just like Nevada. The mountains were just as I remembered them, the
roads were just as busy, and I felt like if I kept looking I could see the
intersection where I'd wrecked.

"Why is
everything here an illusion?" I asked, "Why can't one thing just be
real?"

I was surprised
to feel my voice almost catch, not with sadness, but with longing. I missed how
my clothes would get sticky when I climbed trees and how bugs would sometimes
land on me as I read a book or wrote my thoughts. I missed the real sun, and I
missed real colors that were formed by nature, not memories that were too good
to be true.

"I don't
know," Michael said, "I think people just created here what they
wanted when they were alive, but everyone's ideas butted up against one
another, broke apart, and reformed into what we have now. To some it's the
perfect world, especially for people who lost everything in life. But to people
like us who were the ones that were lost, it's just an illusion, and sometimes
a poor one at that."

Michael's words
rang true within me. I ran a hand through my hair and suddenly realized how
atrocious I must look. I discreetly began untangling my lopsided ponytail with
my hands while keeping up a conversation with Michael.

"Why did
you bring me up here?" I hissed in pain as my fingers caught a
particularly nasty snarl in my hair.

"I wanted
you to see the sunrise, if you catch it at just the right time it almost looks
like the ones I used to watch back when I was alive," Michael looked
wistful, as if he were caught in some memory. It was probably a memory that
involved a pretty girl, summer nights, and the tension of war.

"So you
robbed me of twenty extra minutes of sleep to watch something that's almost as
good as the real thing?" I questioned. I was teasing and for once Michael
caught on and looked as if he appreciated it.

"Only
Bridgette needs her beauty sleep, I thought you would be okay without it,"
Michael said with a grin. I couldn't tell if he was actually attempting to
flirt or if he was just joking. Thankfully, we were spared yet another awkward
moment when Michael pointed to the horizon and said, "Look."

I followed his
finger and saw a hazy pink smile form above the Nevada mountains. It slowly
crested and the sky became awash in the colors of fire. When I used to watch
sunrises when I was alive I felt like it was a promise from the loved ones who
had left us. It was like they were saying, "Life is
　
ugly now, but look at the beauty you have to look
forward to."

Now it seemed
like the reciprocal and more of a taunt than a promise. As though the sun was
reminding us what we had left and how easily we had been duped into believing
there was something better beyond what we knew on Earth.

I watched as
the last of the stars were overtaken by the glow of their more powerful
brother. The final star winked at me as it hid its face to sleep. Michael was
the first to break the silence.

"We should
go back down and wake the others. We have to get moving if we want to get to
the palace in time."

"Where is
the palace?” I asked as I followed Michael back down the tree.

"The
palace is right on the border of the forest. Another ten miles from where we
are. It will take us nearly all day to get there, but when we do, no matter
what happens next, it will be over quickly. I'm sure Daman already knows we are
coming, and if he doesn't he soon will." Michael said. I passed him going
down and landed on the ground a full minute before he was low enough to jump.

"How would
he know we're coming?" I asked, "No one has told him, you haven't
seen him again have you?"

Michael shook
his head, "No, but he still knows me, and he knows how I feel about what
he's done. It won't take him long to put two and two together. In fact, I'm
surprised that he hasn't sent a welcoming party for us already, but I guess he
likes the anticipation and probably wants us to be tired when we arrive."

"I guess
you're regretting not letting me have those twenty extra minutes now aren't
you?" I asked. I jabbed Michael in the stomach with my elbow and set off
in the direction of the clearing with Michael behind me.