(GE Copy)

Chapter 5: Expanse of the Infinites

“Every word is like a prophecy, but I have forgotten what path they came onto, reading the notes someone else left behind. I wonder where they ended up...”

The pale white sun bathed the crisp dew of a chilly morning. The kind of sun that is seen at the break of dawns first warming kiss, where all that which is about lives to rip the warmth from a person's body. Humid, bone rattling cold. His nightmare took him, Aaron swore between the sweat soaked sheets that a voice caressed him from outside his mind and before the sun had peeked he had taken to the kitchen to fix him up. Now he stood, shivering in a long sleeve shirt, leaning against the ‘barn door’ of his families garage. Mint herbal tea. It wasn't his favourite but he liked the flavour, there were many options sprawled amidst the cupboards but coffee wasn't one of them. Not to him.

His mind wandered as his senses unwound. “I prefer a black ash myself... Have a taste?” The cup held two feet off his starboard port. “All the way from Pompeii, it may have happened eons ago but the soot that fine Cadillac shot out was unending... I also have Mount Saint Helens if you prefer something less vintage.”

Without his full faculties restored, Aaron returned dryly, “I'm about to put a bullet through my fucking head if that was you last night. I'm no good to your group of vandals dead now am I?”

“Was it us, who knows...” The contractor confessed solemnly “With eyes like yours it's hard to say what they could be triggered by. The past, the future, perhaps another world entirely had become aware of your name. I could have stopped it, I suppose, the suffering... But a gift is something that should be fostered, not snuffed. Oh, it comes at a heavy price indeed... Not to get sentimental or anything, it's the first joe of the day before its business as per usual. Going door to door, spreading the better word, signing contracts, pounding out some frustrations with management...” He motioned humping the air with his hands revving an invisible handlebar. “You know, the shit that helps a man get by this line of work, real classy shit. Yup...” Groaningly swishing his mouthful of swash about disconcertingly “Don't worry...” The oversized imp changed back to a reassuring smile “You got nothing to fear from me until this cup goes down. After that,” Spitting out a coal from his mug. “We got some serious talking to do... Sure I can't interest you in a Yellowstone park? Fresh daily... You know, you won't believe how hard it is for me to give this shit away to some people, always say it smells like ass... Wait, no, that one is the aphrodisiac! OH! Two for two.” Returning to his animate vulgar pelvic thrust. “Ahh, but... Like all good jokes, I suppose it has it's denouement” Smashing the empty mug onto the ground. “You gonna squander yourself all your life boy?” Scowling as his finger grew deep, penetrating Aarons eye and reached beyond the edges of his sight though never touched.

Smacking the prune's hand away, Aaron retorted “How about I grab that testicle of a head of yours and smash it into the fucking pavement?”

“Your life is a thread boy! A thin line surrounded by scissors and if you start swinging you'll in between their blades praying they don't have to fucken sneeze!...” Reposing himself as he refit his suit. “It's this line of work which is why I sanctify my morning coffee. Tell me, how many opportunities are there, before your last lifeline is cut loose. We've already saved your life from the shadows, from things you are blissfully ignorant of.” Recounting in bore.

“You'd think I'd remember an old, walking sack of shit flaunted his ass around, humping the air” Sarcastically mimicking the vulgarity from earlier “Smaaaack'en up da bad guys.” And digging his face past the bastards personal space. “Sounds like something original, like something I'd actually remember. But I don’t!”

The contractor’s jaw moped crooked, “Perhaps it was my own temper all these years” Reposed to himself, calmly turned to the hillside behind their house. “You wouldn't pin an old man for his youth, would you son? Oh...” Grieving. “Oh! how we have gone so far astray. We used to be friends... But, time has embedded a star of anger in the constellation of your soul.” Peering back at Aaron. “You are rightful to bare hatred onto your Father such as I, who hath sworn to protect but hath sown such a wretched weed in your chest. Woe! Would you see it in yourself to absolve the past for the sake of my revelation from ignorance...”

“...And maybe I was smart enough to pick up on your shit before I turned ten.” Stepping the creature back. “You wanna call me Son? You ain't got the fucken right to, you ain't my fucken Father. I don't look like a fat stubby wart with skin cancer! You're a conniving, psychopathic mongrel lying about how much you care, coz two seconds later you're playing the fucken victim. You're a pathetic old weasel that should crawl up into someone else's asshole for once and just fucken die there so someone can shit you out and give you the funeral you deserve! Down the toilet!” Aaron felt himself wake from an atmospheric pressure, yet his anger still kindled like a low hum. Sound, however quiet, reached clearly inside him. His apocalyptic tea salesmen, scarce. The only remnants scattered on the ground. The pieces of mug shattered around the wet grounds of ash, slowly fading out from existence. A big damp coal amidst, abandoned as the pavement soaked up the moisture, dispersing through the stone like a spiders web. “And take your shit with you when you leave!” Taking the coal in his hand, cocking back to chuck it at the vacant void where nothing remained of this pest.

Gritting his pride, Aaron gripped the lump firmly; feeling the tension of it's wet hard edges so it would not disappear this time, as he strutted into the house. The coal wreaked of a discarded bottle of used chewing tobacco that fermented until black. Upon reaching through the doorway, a burning heat seared into his hand, as though it combusted spontaneously. Opening his clenched palm, the ignited coal spattered like burning acid and the flame carried across his entire hand. Unrelenting as he swung his arm but the black bead had embedded itself deeply into his skin and foamed up around his palm. Frothing and blistering, with pieces of flesh exploding like an egg in a microwave. The flame ran down his arm under the skin, burning the flesh off the bone where it connected. Aaron so panicked by this had not realized until now his screams were unheard and silent as the film itself, dancing about to relieve the cinders searing agony.

“Your hand alright? Looks like a mean charley horse...” He heard, distracted with his pain.

Looking up, his father came waltzing by, coffee in hand. Aaron looked down at his ailing palm. The scaring removed, with no sign of damage, or the coal. “I guess...” Aaron dumbfounded to find an answer. “I must have sprained it.” The lingering feeling of cuts and abrasions digging into his veins slowly dissipating.

“Yeah, bugger when it happens.” Taking a preemptive sip. “When you're working it doesn't heal up too well. I’ll tell ya, seventeen years old and putting in the morning shift while Uncle Greg was ill, felt like Ma' loaded up the sink with the knife collection for weeks.” Patting his son on the shoulder. “Say you knock up that Sophie girl at all?”

“Um, wow... Yeah, uh...” Blank faced. “No...” Staggering off to the living room “Yeah, no, that's... That's a no...”

Looking down to remove a hair from his morning mug. “Well, if you can't reserve yourself til consummation, that's why you're given two hands. Give it plenty of rest, and it’ll feel less like touching the hay baler while it’s turned on...”

Creasing his eyes as his Father sauntered off, Aaron shook the awkwardness from his face; but like the degraded tar from the windows of an old eighty five pickup, it was stuck on pretty good.

The brisk morning invigorated old Paul. It was the calm of these days which he relished most in; as the one tranquil and innocent aspect from his old life which was not diminished in some big city area. Cold met with hot and the sweetness in the beans mingled like dark chocolate, bitter and smooth. Looking over to his left, the neighbour out on his porch doing the same. A grieved expression on his face however, having overheard more than he cared to, he sympathized with old Paul “Rough family, huh?”

It was numb at best. Still prodding his hand, Aaron couldn't shake what happened. “Aaron.” His mother mentioned. “Are you going to eat? You've been laying there for almost an hour. The bus will be here, and Zachery's on his way.”

“What?” Aaron replied, his attention falling short off of his prolonged sulking on the chesterfield. “Did I forget something, or...?”

“His mom called about five minutes ago, said it was important he came over here, wouldn't really say why, just that it was best he stayed with us for a while. At this rate, you'll probably see him when your back from school. She's already talked to the school about excusing him from class today... Or, I might be mistaken.” Her sight trailing a foreign figure outside the front window. “You can wave him off when you head out.”

Skooching off the couch, Aaron opened the door just Zack began knocking. “Hey... You look beat, did you run all the way?”

Pressing the air from his lounges, Zachery huffed deeply. Desperately finding his dry and overwhelmed voice. “Hey, Dude. My brother's in town, I kinda need a place to stay.” Waltzing himself in, checking behind him as he did.

“I thought that would be a good thing.”

“Make yourself at home Zachery.” Crystal welcomed, moving into the kitchen. “I'll make you both some food, seeing as Aaron is still refusing to eat.”

“Thank you second mom!” Zack replied.

“So, what's this all about?” Aaron questioned, still reorienting himself to the road bump from nowhere.

“He's six months due... He uh... He's looking for me. Something he said before he... Before the arrest. So... I need to lay low. Now would be an excellent time for one of those adventures I’ve been opting out of. Somewhere that isn't here either. They're looking for him. Someone swore they saw him at the 'Eleven, we thought they were seeing things but a little while later the news popped up, said he escaped prison. Mom's loosing it right now, I just know it.” Walking to the back wall.

“I wouldn't open that...” Aaron dashed to the door.

“You keep all your junk in here,” Opening the door anyway “There's probably something in here to take with us.”

“Us?... Like...”

“Playing hookie.” Zachery explained guiltily quiet, under his stuffy throat. “He knows I hang out with you... It's not that I don't trust here, but...” Walking into the storage room.

“Yeah.” Aaron confirmed under his breath. “I figured we'd probably hop out, but with a little more... Discretion.” Looking about for prying ears to their premeditated high school felony. “Man, this place still gives me the creeps. Some bad juju went down in here...”

“This stuff looks like it was owned by an old lady,” Zack commented, lifting a stack of folded sheets to find only silverware in the container below “Where are the tools and stuff.”

“That's because it was owned by an old lady... If you want tools, I already gleamed it for stuff, it's in a tool chest.”

Eeiry looking around the stacks of old items and furniture, “It in here, or... Can we ditch, coz I'm starting to get the hibijibis now.” Zachery confirmed, feeling the hair on his neck start throbbing in waves.

Beside the bedpost, Aaron withdrew a wooden case. Within laid an assortment of devices and necessities that were glummed from the storage. “Small pick, string and pegs, folded tarp, compass...” Aaron listed off. “Electrometer because Sohpie's plan actually worked...”

“We should give her a call...”

“You know how she stands with ditching institutionalized governmental requirements... Besides, boys day out, get to oggle as many girls as we want.”

“Bichen. These granola bars didn't come from the storage room, did they? They look kinda haunted.” Swinging the floating bars above the floor. It took Aaron the entirety of five seconds to notice the six inch hair attached to the sealed foil, which Zachery had suspended the ration from like invisible wire.

“Granola, one with factory hair attached, straight not curly, eleven others without. Water bottles, vitamin packets, bought out of good intentions... Assorted, unused for three years. Widdled fire striker, and lighter because you should always have two ways of making a fire. Glass jar, empty, disposable camera, unbroken and undiscarded. Useless reference that no one will understand. Flashlight, and a hunting knife... Used.” Mimicking a ghastly motion with his hands. Aaron dragged out a backpack. It was black with an embroidered bear and mountainscape behind it. No brand name, just a bear and a mountain.

Knocking on the door casing, Aaron's mother informed the two. “I swear if you don't eat something before the bus shows up in five minutes, I am going to come with you, and all your class mates can see what it looks like to be forcefed by your mother... I made tuna.” Finishing with a chime.

The bus wheels went in a circular motion until the first intersection. One which stopping was more a formality than a requirement. Two dollars gets you a long way, and five gets you a delux fart with a wet finish. Which, sounds an awful lot like the squeaking of a bus window being opened, and smells like the wrong part of town; which they were next to. It's five dollars Aaron was short by the end of the day, but at least the kid he paid had something to wipe with. Not that plasatic shit, but actual paper. As Aaron stood in the buses blind spot, it took off, disappearing over the hill and only a block or two from home.

“So you paid Eric Crandle to rip the sickest gassing of our highschool career to distract the bus driver as you American Fandangled out the window; then, had the balls to see the ship off beyond the horizon?... He shit himself, didn't he...” Zack chuckled confidently.

“It'll probably be written in his year book, yeah. They'll still know that I'm missing, but hell if it wasn't five dollars well spent.” Behind the backwoods of Aaron's home was a treeline, a very thin one crawling up the side of the hill. Past it's branches they had vanished.

Not far up the incline, met with the rail, which services were not in use until much later that day. After a small debate, they instead crawled past the ‘KVR’ and above it's overhang into a flattened forest plateau. “I know they can't see us from here, but... I'd like to leave most of this to a day where we could relax.” Zachery commented, still taking a brief moment to appreciate a new overlook despite his claim.

Pine needles and dried logs, covered their walk, somewhere between the Simpson road, and the rail below. As long as they were gone, was all they cared about. Hoping to avoid anyone's property who may be in possession of a long range walking cane. As they walked, foliage became more abundant, likely as the agriculture leaked it's water supply into the neighbouring area. Bushes and large wet patches created hideaways which appealed as great retreats; but as they tread, the escapes were made of greater and more bountiful lush greenery which beckoned them hither. Above them, the old pine cones from last year found their way back to the earth as a squirrel blazed a trail between the branches. It became more abundant as more and more followed in behind, into a network of tree highways.

“It’s getting pretty bad, man...” Zack mentioned at the dropping of a rather large cone in the bush beside them. “Everywhere I look, I figure he’s gonna magically pop out of the woodwork, like randomly seeing an old friend while out of town. You’re just walking down the isles then bam! There’s the guy you never liked five feet off your knob saying it’s been a while.”

“What, is your brother going to just fall out of a tree, like ‘Bro... I’m here’...” Aaron joked in a macho voice. “You owe, fifty dollars, and a Movie Gallery discount card... That’s not cool.” Stiff armed, Aaron flailed his bent arms around in an unsuiting visual mockery. “Bro... I’m gonna turn your ass into a tiki torch, and have a luau. But! The only thing you’re gonna eat, is gasoline, to keep the mosquitoes off of the my southern border.”

“That’s real funny...” Zack returned slant eyed in a partial disgust.

“You said it was nothing like threats of violence,” Still performing his macho arm dance. “I can make as many jokes about that subject as I want. It’s not like that’s what he’s gonna do or anything... Like...” Finally giving it a rest. “What’s the big deal anyway?”

Moping Zack murmered “I’d prefer just to find a nice cave, and play poker with the bears.”

Exhaling sternly, Aaron reconsidered things. “That bad, huh?”

“Probably not...” Trying to smile but closed the blinds half way. “The more I think about it the more I hate it. It’s so fucking pathetic, that if I told you id be worse on me than dealing with it.” Picking up a walking stick he turned to Aaron, with the one legged crutch under both arms. “The sooner I can get my mind off it, the less I see him in my mind running down the hillside.” Leaning into his arm rest. “He could totally jump over that bush... I’ve seen him parkour from a tree, ninja kicking pop bottles when his friends came by. Doesn’t help me count my securities knowing that I can scarcely walk the cement barriers outside the school parking lot without loosing my balance.”

“I’ll give you thirty bucks if he shows up on a wolf, middle of the woods, with a five-o’clock shadow and a headband... Fourty if he takes a mad hit of vodka and tosses the bottle behind him.”

Zack laughed, dishearteningly “Cant pay what you ain’t got it with you... Damnit!” Covering his mouth in shame “You know what I forgot...” Muffled through his fingers”

“What?”

“The entire freaking survival kit that we spent all this time packing. Left it by your bed, didn’t want it to be obvious we were heading out. DAMNIT! Why am I so freaking stupid today! Every two seconds like some kind of worthless sidekick. Too busy thinking about some imaginary guy wielding twin switchblades and tomahawks in his hair, riding in on a freaking bear into town, with a voice like the deconstructor ‘hey, bro, get in the fucken caaarrrr.’ I’m just done with it all.”

“Just a small setback, nothing to get that upset over.”

“I know it’s not Aaron! I’m just... So... Pathetically inept...” Stacking his frustrations. Just making it so much better that I loose my shit... Over a stupid f-ffff...” Ready to explode Zack felt a hollow rattling object plunk off his head. Zacks frustrations melted into a stagnant bewildered gaze. “Hey! Squirrels... Fuck you... Yeah... Yeah! Fuck you!”

“Dude, that’s rude. They’re just up there, going about their day, doing squirrel things.”

“They're just squirrels dude, it's not like they can understand us.” Noticing the silence in the trees “I said, fuck you!” Flipping off the furry pedestrians while biting his lip in his angered pouty frown. One squirrel held the ears of it's child. One other squirrel, mangy and old looking back at them on two legs like the kid lost his rocker. “Huh... You...” Looking around. “You think that's a sign they heard me?”

Shocked at the response, Aaron stared back attentively. “I don't know,” He joked sarcastically. “Try saying it again.” The ominous details starting to settle in him.

Now, I would like to tell you that Zachery was the smartest kid on the block. I wish I could, really I do. I wish I could tell you that he picked up on the sarcasm. That he shouldn’t pour salt into the wound. I wish I could tell you that he left those squirrels alone.

I should, however, take this moment to say that about six years ago I have scoped out this concept of a herd of angry squirrels... Not... Apocolyptic levels, but... It was at that time an original concept to me, which I thought was hilarious. Within this six year period I have seen notable herds of angry squirrels scenes from movies to cartoons. Some with sentience, some with bad voodoo and I began to talk myself out of doing this... So, for the sake of originality and clarity on the matter, this is a herd of angry squirrels who are just plain pissed and fucking nuts... Oh, OH! Those poor, poor highschoolers had no idea what kind of tidal wave they enraged. Oh! The horror! OH! The squirrel-nami!

From overhead came out of the crowd a squirrel, so jacked, and so fucking tan, like a massive sweet potato on steroids but fuzzier. Leaping like a fucking puma, the buff hairy tuber declared that it just met his quota for fucks to give that day and the only overtime he was putting in was clocked into Zacharys face.

I would like to take this moment to also say, that the Squirrel face gag has also been done to death, but... You know you like it. - Sincerely, The Author. “HELP! HELP! GET HIM OFF MY FACE!” The helpless boy squawked. Squawked for his mortal life. Squawked like the crow who was covered from beak to talon in raging fire ants. Like a man covered from face to balls with angry, livid squirrels!

Aaron instigated, brushing the squirrels aside like bees from a nest. They clung to Aaron on their hell path to get back to Zachery. Pulling the furry face huger from his friend, Zack screamed, trying to unhook the claws from his cheeks as Aaron continued to yank. Zack flung his fist out, throwing the squirrly weights off from his arm like staticy packing peanuts. With a swift uppercut, Zack landed a shot between the bells, effectively doing jack shit; but beside the raising of an already high octave war cry, the low blow only clenched the talons of the bloodthirsty body builder from the pain to his acorns. It reared it’s head back to sink the massive teeth into Zackery’s skull, but Aaron reached his hands into it’s mouth, holding the jaw open. Grateful that squirrels only have front teeth. With his hands wedged behind the monster’s only source of bite, Aaron pried harder. “They’re in my shirt!” Zack cried out, falling backwards. The claws finally loosing their grip. Aaron fell backwards as well. His assailant turning it’s evil gaze onto him. Holding the ten pound tornado from his own face Aaron shrieked, trying to keep the weighted hell spawn under control.

Zack rolled around, shaking what few he could before returning to his feet. He dashed through a bush, then through another. After realizing it just made things harder he stopped being an idiot. He ran back into the pen, with his hands over his eyes to stop the branches from whipping his sight he ran over top of Aaron, kneeing the fluffy mess from Aaron’s hands. Both free, they began to run. Aaron taking whatever squirrels off of Zacherys back as he could. “I can’t see where I’m going” Zack cried out, flying into a tree. The squirrels still attached fell aside like water from the impact. He got up, keeping his eyes open this time.

Looking down, he dismayed. Barely hanging off of his shirt was a squirrel that took the full brunt of his impact. Picking it off, he pitying the flattened body. What a poor sight, the rendered creature’s stiff lifeless body, having ejected it’s soul to the afterlife by Zack’s poor, panicked, choices. “I’m sorry little buddy.” Zachery confessed to it, holding it up to hear his voice. It’s eyes shot awake, garbling it’s undead squirrel hex over him, clawing and scratching at the air. The still flattened squirrel shook loose, crawling up his arm with great zeal. Zack swept the nut aside, making for the path ahead.

They leapt over dead fall and between bushes. Not directly through them like Zachery was earlier. Aaron hopped forward, curling in the air to roll horizontally onto the stomach high ledge to maintain his momentum as he climbed it’s obstruction. Zack flopped onto it instead with his belly, pulling himself up on the grass and tree roots while kicking the air for traction. To be fair, you probably would too. Cries of enraged squirrels still chirping in behind them, they picked up speed.

From under them, Zack’s footing fell, tumbling him forward off of an old rusted car. One which time piled dirt and needles upon until grass grew over it as the ground itself. Aaron pulled Zack back up, dragging him from the crash site. “Dude!” Zack uttered. “We could have hid in that thing.”

“You have any idea how good a squirrels nose is?”

“I don’t know, they loose like half of the nuts they bury.” Their tracks lead them through a small open den, where a deer trail made a rest at a slip of the embankment and a flat between two trees before a hillside. Scampering down, Aaron’s footing was caught by the exposed root, flinging him over the drop into the sand pit. Zachery however fell in from the side, having noticed Aaron’s path and then took to the grassy hills. It was not nearly as effective as he wished for. It sounded as though the rage continued up the hill, moving aside, as though they lost track but they wouldn’t stop here. They weren’t really sure where they were, but they could still see giants head to their lefts barely skimming off the treetops. As they curled around along the hill, they found an opening. Small, but quiet. The sounds of war had nearly vanished in the distance. Convenient that something someone should be running from should give away their location. Zack, who had given up the ghost, collapsed beside a fallen tree, rolling over it into the tall grassy hideaway. Aaron, sitting on top, dry heaving his lungs back into homeostasis. (CTRL F Lounges, it’s lungs)

Zack panted heavily, “You ever... Read that book... 'Screaming at squirrls' Well, I think I understand why they are so angry now...”

Shaking his head, Aaron dismayed, somewhere between sarcasm and being irritated.. “And what... The heck happens... In that book?”

“Rich millionaire has a servant that sits in trees waiting for squirrels.” Coughing up a lung “Every so often one shows up,” Spitting out the wad that came with it. “...And his job is to scream at it really loudly until it faints. He does this because they were not physically harmed and he can legally claim them as rescue squirrels instead of poaching. Sorry,” Continuing to find his breath “They...” Giving out another hard cough. “...They are then brought into a little doll house squirrel hospital, dressed up like people and are greeted into the world until they are rehabilitated into the new squirrel society. The rich millionaire plays the role of their ever loving deity in his giant squirrel city. He watches them go about their day, make love, commit crimes, and teach their children about the guy beyond the veil...”

Regretting his question, Aaron clasped his head between his hands “This sounds like something a crack pot would write...”

“No, no, it's totally real. I found it at the library.” Sitting himself up. “I thought it was horrifying, but now that I'm older it's kinda funny... And then this shit happened... I'm starting to reconsidering my mental state.”

“I've lost interest...” Getting up to listen for the war cries. “I'm all scratched up, my heart is beating out of my chest, I'm not in the mood for a nuthouse's fantasy about squirrel sex and office problems. I can’t hear shit, you think their finally gone?”

“Put on a smile, LAUGH!” Bracing himself on the logs, Zack lifted himself. “Who else in the world discovered squirrel society to understand us? We gotta be the first, right?”

“Who else screams 'fuck you' to squirrels?” Aaron paced. “You hear of squirrel rampages? No, no one pisses off squirrels. That why no one hears about it, because it's fucking nuts. No one would do that!”

Counting his cuts. “Probably because they don't normally live to tell of it.”

“Great job! Why would you even scream, 'fuck you' to a herd of squirrels that are jacked and tan like their about to rip the girl off your arm.”

“That's real easy to say it now!” Taking the moment to reconsider his volume. “And that was one squirrel, no one expected that! They should just sit there and take it. Their fucking squirrels... I'm... Just so pissed, full of hormones and fear, and...” Rearing to kick at a giant mushroom, but stopping before he pissed off the gnome society in the same day. “I... I don't want any of this! I want to live a normal life, with cool shit happening, sure... But it gets too damn real some times. I just want to escape. To have the confidence to look at someone who won't hear you and just shout, let it all out, and pretend that they actually heard it. To get out of this shell and know I have the strength to keep going... Because” Scratching between his hair. “It's scaring the shit out of me... Dude... I almost ran before you even got back from the bus. I was so paranoid, I just kept... Thinking about diving into the hillside and just hide. Wait for night time and cry in whatever shitty hollow I found by then...”

“What did he say that is so bad anyway?” Aaron sat down. “Really... We’re out here getting our asses handed to us twenty minutes from home, and I have no idea why. Did your brother tell you that he's gonna rat someone about your darkest secret or something??”

“No... It's... It's probably less than it sounds.” Zackery levelled. “It's just that after three years of having it stick with you, in the back of your mind... You kinda, well... It beats you in. Like not wanting to go to class because the bully is waiting in the schoolyard, except it never happens, every single day. You can't resolve it. You desperately want to just get it over with but, it never comes. Then one day, it's there.” Zack laughed pathetically. “It wouldn't even be that bad, but... Everyone else starts to panic and whatever reason in your head that you've made to get over it just dissolves and you start to wonder if it's actually much worse than you think it is. It's emotional, it's not logical! Just... Fear associated with something, and attached to nothing. Fuck you... Yeah... I wish I could say fuck you. To everyone, everything, to a group of squirrels who won't hear me but even they take offence to my suffering so fuck it. I’m a fucking nusence to everyone else. Maybe I'm just better off heading into town with a giant sign over my head saying 'here I am, take me away.'”

“To where?” Aaron asked, finally getting a depth into it, his eyes empathizing with his friend’s struggles.

“Aaron...” Scooting onto the stump. “You're my bro. You're... Probably fine with me spouting my piece, Hell! It's probably better than hyping up some crap no one understands like some emo kid who believe the world will never understand him. Saying so much without saying a single damn tangible thing to latch onto...” Wiping his nose. “When I was about eight, you might remember a big event... And if your folks were open enough, they might have even told you what actually happened.”

Thinking back, Aaron recalled something he always wondered about, but was always told to let it go. “They were pretty tight lipped. Really worried about something.”

“They told me to never tell anyone what happened because if word got out of hand, there'd be a lot of gossip but I think they were more trying to protect me from the bullies. Round then, my brother, drunk off his rocks picked me up and took me for a drive. We must have been just outside of Hope when they found us with four cop cruisers. We were gone for three days. He said, uh... That he was gonna show me what freedom really was. This all happened just after a big argument I had with my mom over going to someone’s to visit, where if I was a few years older it wouldn't have been an issue. I guess he saw how restrictive they were over something pretty petty and he lost it seeing them treat me like a baby. No word of leaving, just sitting in the shotgun seat the whole way down the back roads and camping with no one around. First time I tasted whisky, was the last mouthful he had left in the flask. I spat it out after it burned every last taste bud in there. Just saying to me the whole way, this is what freedom means, this is what they are holding you away from... And I...” Tapping his knee against the ground. “I guess I just never really understood what was going on. When we got sent back home in separate cabs, they toed his truck and he spent the night with them at the county. Being an internal family dispute, or... Misunderstanding the bail was set low and mom paid it but they had a pretty firm discussion. Not sure they came to an agreement...

He moved out the next day, since then he ran his, probably hot, car shop down in the Pentiction industrial outskirts for a few years, they didn't talk too much. So... When he was on the run, he showed up to school that one day out of nowhere and said ‘get in’. He needed to get some things from home so we drove up. He told me not to say anything, that if I wanted to see the free world now was a good chance coz he was gonna disappear. Well, when he dropped by I figured everyone would be fine. Might even be happy to see us, after it had been so long and I couldn’t understand why they were upset. Dad kinda picked up on things pretty quick and whatever my bro did to warrant it... The officers were at the door pretty quickly. You take care of family, even when they are wanted for several things... Apparently they didn't leave on such bright of terms last time round.

While they carted him off, mom grabbed me and choke held me back from it knowing I was too big for her to hold down without my vitals under her wrist. Between her screaming at my dad to hold me down, and the cops, my Brother looked at me and said when I was old enough, and he was 'allowed' to show me the world, he was gonna show up one day and say get in the car. It took about five officers beating him with clubs to finally stop him. As he tried to rush for me, mom choked me harder. Trying to separate us. I don't think she meant to hurt me, but every time I felt the bone in her arm nearly crush my wind pipe I saw his eyes grow larger. Practically foaming at the mouth, he knew his rights, but you could tell he set a black mark on my Mother that night. Took hours to even breath right again. I honestly thought I was going to black out and I kinda wanted to. Figured if the cops saw it, someone would know what was happening to me, to make the suffering end... But they didn’t. That night it came back up again, was three years ago. She's probably the most terrified out of all of this. If I’m not there, there’s no telling what he might even do to her. Might honestly be easier if I went with him, just to spare her. Maybe she deserves it. I’ve forgotten which side I take on it anymore, just one giant argument between two psychopathic people that I love.”

“I hear second children get it worst.” Aaron reasoned, beside himself. “The first child becomes wild, and after they realize that, they begin to double down on the younger kid. I remember they wouldn't even let you walk by yourself until you were fifteen...”

“...And that was on trial period, or what I called probation...” Laying back on the log. “One time, after I had a three day long dispute and my mother cried so hard that my father almost beat the shit out of me. He stopped after saw what it was doing to the family. Probably would have put me in the hospital that night if he didn’t catch on. Yup, getting to be a normal child was the only thing I ever did for myself. I guess, something clicked somewhere, and everyone lost it but it worked out I guess. With my Brother though, it's kinda hard to blame my folks for their sanity. I just want to make my own decisions for once, neither my folks nor my brothers... And right now he wants to choose for me. Like all that freedom just smokes up like cotton.”

“I get why you are scared... Yeah... I have that too. The longer I wait for the unknown, the more I start to second guess it. I’ve become kind of careless, because I know that if I think about it, I'll turn away. Some things... Have a way of getting a worrying nerd like me out of my shell. If I gave in when I felt a pit in my stomach, I wouldn't have called up Sophie and told her to go up there with me... If you gave in when your folks wanted to tie you to the barn door, we would have never got to live normally together. It's scary, and people do real things. There are worse things than relatives out there... But we gotta keep moving. Else, we'd be... I don't know where we'd be. I don't even know where we are.”

“Yeah...” Zachery agreed, picking himself off the stump and began take inventory on his swelling face as he spoke. “Chased us a half kilometre, wasn't really worried where we were headed.”

“Couldn't really see with the squirrel on your face either.” Looking at the ground, they noticed a scarce amount of pine needles scatter amidst the grass. Green grass. More lush and taller standing, however still only shin tall. Objects in between were encompassed by the green beard of the earth with only small indents to signify the next rock they would be nearly breaking their ankle on. “I'd say were getting closer to leaving Kansas... That or entering it.” But a loud pickup truck ripped up the hill within ear range. A deep meaty bass with a sputter which sound like a myriad of bullets fired in rhythm, unmistakably a rust bucket. Unmistakably still home.

“In the least, it's a lot greener than what I'm used to seeing without irrigation... Even if it probably will give us cancer.” Sliding his hands around the tender shafts of succulent greenery. “Soft enough to lay on...”

“Given you're not afraid of spiders crawling on ya...”

“You know, I could live without that memory, thank you very much. You know, some day I'd like to chill out in nature, weaved in a blanket of grass, not covered by an ant hill of freaking eight legged...” Looking around to assure their offendable audience and whispering “freeeeaaaaks....”

Noticing Aarons smugness. “What?”

“Lets get moving before we got spiders crawling up our bung holes next.”

“Already had the squirrels do that one...”

“Just be glad they didn't stop half way between both your pant legs like that one British joke.”

As they ventured, the remnants of their homes fleeted until, if nothing else, they were now deep enough to no longer care. A long visible hill laid in front. Their open field turned to a lane, which sight over the mound was blue with a smattering of treetops. Trees which qualities would not become apparent to them until passing the precipices of the hill. Above them a tattering in the trees. Instinctively they both looked up, finding a magpie lifting itself into the air. “That's a relief...” Zachery announced, turning to Aaron. Behind his friend however, standing proud with three middle fingers and a mean tan was their old friend.

The pale tone in Zacheries face turned Aarons whole head behind him. “Aw shit... It's the Russian grizzley squirrel.” Turning back to Zachery who was well advanced on the retreating charge. “What was that about not leaving a guy behind?”

“Pick your ass up and run dude!”A rainfall of acorns and other hard objects fell upon them at the ambush. Aaron took his leave, following the path out of dodge city. The revolt was upon them. Like lambs to the slaughter, it was a bloodbath. Unbridled, and unrelenting. Too bad it was only squirrels, so, they got out pretty easily. But he stared them in the eye, a proud squirrel warrior leading the barrage. There were acorns on the ground that day. A wide salute followed him across the store isle from his comrades in synchronicity. Bold and heart felt, it was downright patriotic. From young to old, including that one baby squirrel in his mothers arms, which... Frankly, I'm not even sure he knew what the heck he was even doing. But damn did he throw a mean left hook for a toddler.

Their feet stopped after their lunges had dried up, both gasping a mean swallow for air. Coughing up nothing more than the dust in their chests. “I hope... That... Isn't every day now fo... For the rest of my...” The wheezing finally beating him into submission.

Laying upon the Earth, Aaron replied, with a rumble of phlegm interrupting the flow of his words. “Still better than seeing your bother?” They both looked into the sky, staring for a dogs age regaining themselves. Aaron stuck inside his head, grieving over their struggle. “We just got chased out of town... By... Freaking, squirrels...”

Smiling, Zachery confirmed. “Yup...”

“That's pretty pathetic...”

Smiling harder “Yup!” Now with a titter. “Most pathetic shit I've done all day. Maybe even all week!” Before breaking into a full bodied fit of laughter. “It's... It's the most pathetic thing, imaginable.” Zack got his hoots in. Aaron turning his shame into worry before finally grasping Zack’s jist. “Aaron... We're fucking pathetic! And I'm the fucken king!...” Roaring out a good spiel before returning his composure. “Sure puts things into perspective, huh?... All this shit, just to avoid standing up to him. Running away, playing the coward, getting chased by an American football sized furry potato with legs.” Shedding some tears as he shot another good set of laughs from his gut, where it hurt even more.

“I'm glad that you're getting a good kick out of this. Couple minutes ago I was about to fall apart over my pathetic ass... But... Yeah, it's...” Reminiscing about the adventure. “It's pretty freaking pathetic.” Scoffing at it, but the thought caught him off guard and even Aaron got a chuckle. Not to the extent of Zachery, there was no helping that kid. “I guess... That was pretty fun, huh?... Scared to death by squirrels. How much of a massive tight ass does one need to be, to live through that and it not be funniest shit under the earth.”

A leaf fell into Zacheries mouth as he chuckled to himself. Spitting it out, “I'm starting to feel a lot better now, been miserable all day...” He said, sitting up and pick up the half bitten leaf from his chest and gave it a toss “Just needed a good laugh.” Sitting there moment, his mind started to take note. “Dude... Aaron!” Interrupting Aaron’s chuckles. “The hell did this leaf come from? Thought it was all pine trees here...” Feeling the soil. The moist dark soil. Turning to Aaron, the widest grin on his face.

Hands wrapped around the back of his head. “We did it dude... We made it...” Hand over his face, jirating with joy. “ Strange, isn’t it? When you cross over, it has happened twice now without knowing... Like you have to forget what you’re doing to get there. This is the very world itself... Not a sight of giants head, nor the roads, or the dry pine forest in between. Neither orchard, or car in ears distance. You smell that?”

“It's...”

“Bold, full bodied, the smell of deep wood from the soil fills the air, instead of the sap which soaks on the dust. I've never smelled anything like this, and the air... It's colder, maybe twenty five out. The sky is clear when I saw clouds coming towards us a while back. Save, of course, that big fluffy one right there. It’d almost be refreshing if not for the last time I did it.” Flicking open his knife, which is always an every day carry for a survival expert. “I have a feeling squirrels are going to be the least of our worries from here on out...”A gleaming confidence that made Zachery uneasy.

“And home, just behind us, yeah?”

“Probably, that and a few angry locals... You see that?” Pointing to a mountainside of sheer grey rock. It’s peek overhanging like a fantasy piece “I bet if we keep that in sight, it's only a matter of time until we find our answers about this place. Getting chased by squirrels ain't much of an accomplishment, but knowing that it was more invigorating than our lives before, makes me wonder just how much I've grown boring in these years. Thank you Zachery... You really woke me up to how much I was missing, being scared by pathetic shit. You're a lot braver than you make yourself out to be. That trauma shit sucks, but... I wouldn't be out here, out of my shell, doing all this fun shit if you never stood up to me and dragged me up a damn hill in the middle of the night. We've grown up now, but we forgot our dreams, yet they all comes back when I look at this. Like the child’s fantasy, the dreams I left behind the safe wall of my folks. You think you hid pretty hard, you had a reason... I... I was just scared. Scared of my own anxiety. Scared of my own paranoia. Yeah...” Sitting up. “Lets do some dangerous shit together. Six to eight hours, maybe more if time progresses different here. We can do whatever we want in that time, and more if we want to pay for it later. I must have sounded like a freaking dweeb, worrying about etiquette and punctuality. Mrs. Gerelda’s stiff metal ruler ain’t got shit on those squirrels man. Sorry I put you through that.” Sounding unusually bold and confidant.

“I’m not really sure what’s gotten into you. I’m not used to seeing you this... Determined. I’m the one having to drag you around.” Chumming back to Aaron, under an unsettling concern behind his voice. “It’s like you’re grown a backbone the second we got out here.”

“I guess I just... Remember why I’m passionate, most of the time I get locked up in my head. It’s nice to be out...” Feeling the cool air penetrating through his sleeves. His hand clench involuntarily like a weird twitch. He looked over to it as though he had been aware of it the entire time “You know...” The memories coming back to the morning. It was weird, as though it only occurred to him now, that he never once told Zackery about his friend. “You know, it was just this morning...” But as he chased the thought it slipped out. “I was...” and he felt as though there was something important to say. Yet when he tried to remember it was gone. All he could tell at this point was that he was going to say something, but no idea if he even thought about what he wanted to say. And the void between his thoughts grew into a chasm until he almost lost consciousness, just staring out into the hillsides, taking in the wonder. “The hell is that?” He pointed out, at seemly nothing. “Looks like a weird moss growing on that rock, it’s all blue and stuff. We should go check it out.” Kicking back into his adventure with a new battery moving his weary bones like a child who knew nothing of tire. The thread around his neck, loosening as his distraction kept him in check.