Chapter 3: Learning to Listen
"I think you should call them," Peter told them.
"Call them? On their cell phones? But they're in Minnesota! They could be out of range!" Abby complained. She didn't really want to call them. She thought it was about time that those two spent some more time together. And learned a lesson or two about respecting what other people have to say.
"They aren't out of range, now call them!" Peter ordered. Abby sighed and began to dial Carter's number. She waited a minute then hung up.
"Ah ha!" she said, "You see, they're out of range!" Abby said.
"Did it say they were out of range?"
"Um... No, it just said that the phone number was-"
"I thought so," Benton said, "Try Dave's,"
"You know what, Malucci, this is all your fault!" Carter stormed.
"Oh, *My* fault? If you hadn't been wining the whole time then maybe I wouldn't have been distracted!" Dave retorted
"I never whine!"
"Oh really? 'We should be there by now, Malucci, you suck as a navigator!' 'How much longer Dave?' 'This sucks, when are we going to get there?' 'It's all your fault Malucci!' That can be considered as wining and that stuff can get on one's nerves!"
"Well I shouldn't have listened to you! We should have just stayed on the main trail in the first place! Then, we wouldn't be all lost! So it is your fault and don't try to shift the blame on me! I wouldn't be complaining if we weren't on this dusty, thorny trail!"
"I'm not the one shifting blame Carter! You agreed to come on this trail with me! You know what, I shouldn't have listened to Abby! I should have said no! 'No, Carter cannot come,' that's what I should have said! So in that way, I guess I am to blame a little!"
"I would have been delighted if you hadn't dragged me along on this new adventure of yours! I was wrong! This doesn't get my mind off of the dreams!" Carter's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.
"Dreams? Has somebody's past come back to haunt them? Are they delusional?" Dave asked, calmly smiling, eager to spread the word.
"No dreams! It's nothing! Nothing to worry about, just dumb dreams! And even if you were in them I would just let you die!" Carter paused and swore at himself, "Why do I let these things slip when I'm mad?" he asked himself. The grin on Dave's face faded.
"You dream about me? I... I die?" he asked, hesitantly. Carter sighed and looked at Dave, frustrated.
"Yes, Malucci, I dream about you! All of you! It's Valentine's Day. At first, I'd walk in and find Lucy there on the floor and relive the whole experience. That wasn't as bad as what came after. Now, I dream about other people. I find Benton there now, bleeding to death, I find Corday, I find Abby... Sometimes, I walk in to find you on the floor Malucci! And it scares me! Because I don't want to lose anyone else to that thing again, especially anyone I never really appreciated. Like you. Like Lucy..." Carter sat down on a log. Dave was looking at him, completely shocked. Carter was scared. Scared for him. He couldn't believe it.
"I... I'm going to take a walk..." Dave said, his voice was flat and expressionless. Carter just had his face in his hands now and shook his head. Dave walked off towards the river. Carter was scared for *him!* He'd never thought that could be possible. Carter actually cared what happened to him. Now, Dave knew deep inside that Carter always cared what happened to him, as did everyone at the hospital no matter how they treated him. Sometimes, he even thought of even using that factor against them. You know, like disappearing for days on end just to see what they'd do. But to hear someone actually *say* it! Now that was a whole new thing because Dave also knew that the people at the hospital, especially the guys, would never admit it willingly. They'd always make up some excuse. He hadn't cared then because he knew it. But just to hear him say it made Dave feel... Well, it made him feel! It's like, you know that someone loves you, but they never actually said it, and then, one day, they tell you. It makes you realize how much they really do care for you and/or how scared they are to lose you. It gives your relationship new meaning. Dave came to the bank of a small stream. He could see the round, smooth stones that lined its shore and bottom. He could almost see his reflection in the clear, fresh water. He continued past the stream. He was so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't realize how far he was going. He soon came to the foot of a tall cliff. He looked up.
"God, I'd hate to fall from there!" he said. Then, he heard a rumbling sound, but didn't know where it was coming from. He looked around, but saw nothing that could have caused the noise. But then, a thought occurred to him and he looked up just in time to see rocks and boulders tumbling down the cliff. He couldn't get out of the way in time and screamed as the rocks descended onto the lower half of his body.
Abby tried Dave's cell phone number. It rang. And it rang. And it rang again. He wasn't answering. Suddenly, she got his voice mail.
"Hi, this is Dave Malucci. Won't bore you with details, you know what to do," and there was a beep.
"Hey Dave, it's Abby. Just wanted to see how you guys were doing. I was afraid you'd get lost trying to reach the cabin on foot, so I just decided to check. If you need help, just call," and she hung up again. She turned to Benton and Corday.
"They should have their phones on. I really don't think they're at the cabin yet. All right! All right, I get it! I'm getting a little worried now," she said.
"I think you should call them," Peter told them.
"Call them? On their cell phones? But they're in Minnesota! They could be out of range!" Abby complained. She didn't really want to call them. She thought it was about time that those two spent some more time together. And learned a lesson or two about respecting what other people have to say.
"They aren't out of range, now call them!" Peter ordered. Abby sighed and began to dial Carter's number. She waited a minute then hung up.
"Ah ha!" she said, "You see, they're out of range!" Abby said.
"Did it say they were out of range?"
"Um... No, it just said that the phone number was-"
"I thought so," Benton said, "Try Dave's,"
"You know what, Malucci, this is all your fault!" Carter stormed.
"Oh, *My* fault? If you hadn't been wining the whole time then maybe I wouldn't have been distracted!" Dave retorted
"I never whine!"
"Oh really? 'We should be there by now, Malucci, you suck as a navigator!' 'How much longer Dave?' 'This sucks, when are we going to get there?' 'It's all your fault Malucci!' That can be considered as wining and that stuff can get on one's nerves!"
"Well I shouldn't have listened to you! We should have just stayed on the main trail in the first place! Then, we wouldn't be all lost! So it is your fault and don't try to shift the blame on me! I wouldn't be complaining if we weren't on this dusty, thorny trail!"
"I'm not the one shifting blame Carter! You agreed to come on this trail with me! You know what, I shouldn't have listened to Abby! I should have said no! 'No, Carter cannot come,' that's what I should have said! So in that way, I guess I am to blame a little!"
"I would have been delighted if you hadn't dragged me along on this new adventure of yours! I was wrong! This doesn't get my mind off of the dreams!" Carter's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.
"Dreams? Has somebody's past come back to haunt them? Are they delusional?" Dave asked, calmly smiling, eager to spread the word.
"No dreams! It's nothing! Nothing to worry about, just dumb dreams! And even if you were in them I would just let you die!" Carter paused and swore at himself, "Why do I let these things slip when I'm mad?" he asked himself. The grin on Dave's face faded.
"You dream about me? I... I die?" he asked, hesitantly. Carter sighed and looked at Dave, frustrated.
"Yes, Malucci, I dream about you! All of you! It's Valentine's Day. At first, I'd walk in and find Lucy there on the floor and relive the whole experience. That wasn't as bad as what came after. Now, I dream about other people. I find Benton there now, bleeding to death, I find Corday, I find Abby... Sometimes, I walk in to find you on the floor Malucci! And it scares me! Because I don't want to lose anyone else to that thing again, especially anyone I never really appreciated. Like you. Like Lucy..." Carter sat down on a log. Dave was looking at him, completely shocked. Carter was scared. Scared for him. He couldn't believe it.
"I... I'm going to take a walk..." Dave said, his voice was flat and expressionless. Carter just had his face in his hands now and shook his head. Dave walked off towards the river. Carter was scared for *him!* He'd never thought that could be possible. Carter actually cared what happened to him. Now, Dave knew deep inside that Carter always cared what happened to him, as did everyone at the hospital no matter how they treated him. Sometimes, he even thought of even using that factor against them. You know, like disappearing for days on end just to see what they'd do. But to hear someone actually *say* it! Now that was a whole new thing because Dave also knew that the people at the hospital, especially the guys, would never admit it willingly. They'd always make up some excuse. He hadn't cared then because he knew it. But just to hear him say it made Dave feel... Well, it made him feel! It's like, you know that someone loves you, but they never actually said it, and then, one day, they tell you. It makes you realize how much they really do care for you and/or how scared they are to lose you. It gives your relationship new meaning. Dave came to the bank of a small stream. He could see the round, smooth stones that lined its shore and bottom. He could almost see his reflection in the clear, fresh water. He continued past the stream. He was so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't realize how far he was going. He soon came to the foot of a tall cliff. He looked up.
"God, I'd hate to fall from there!" he said. Then, he heard a rumbling sound, but didn't know where it was coming from. He looked around, but saw nothing that could have caused the noise. But then, a thought occurred to him and he looked up just in time to see rocks and boulders tumbling down the cliff. He couldn't get out of the way in time and screamed as the rocks descended onto the lower half of his body.
Abby tried Dave's cell phone number. It rang. And it rang. And it rang again. He wasn't answering. Suddenly, she got his voice mail.
"Hi, this is Dave Malucci. Won't bore you with details, you know what to do," and there was a beep.
"Hey Dave, it's Abby. Just wanted to see how you guys were doing. I was afraid you'd get lost trying to reach the cabin on foot, so I just decided to check. If you need help, just call," and she hung up again. She turned to Benton and Corday.
"They should have their phones on. I really don't think they're at the cabin yet. All right! All right, I get it! I'm getting a little worried now," she said.