Chapter 6: Off into the Wild Blue Yonder
"Thank you for everything hon," Ixias gave her friend a tight hug at the door. He smiled sadly.
"I do believe, however, this is not the last time we shall meet," he said, his eyes shrouded in knowing mystery. "I see great things for you." Ixias smiled thoughtfully.
"You are so good to me, Max. I wish nothing but happiness for you. And I'll be sure to grab you something extra-special for the holidays," she said as she opened the door. The two shared a final laugh and said their goodbyes. Ixias was on her way.
Inside her jet black Mitsubishi Eclipse, she rubbed her hands together as the engine idled and the car warmed. She flipped on to her favorite station, which was oddly playing her favorite song at the moment, "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5. She began singing along to the lyrics as the car grew warmer.
"Like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe?" She sang softly, her bright hazel green eyes sparkling in the rising sun. The day of reckoning had dawned beautifully.
She turned onto the already busy street, watching dashes of yellow - taxis - fly by her on the left. Traffic was backed up for miles down Avenue of the Americas, past all of the head shops and sex shops and pizzerias and clubs and bars. The sunlight lit the park on her left, spreading sunshine through the glistening green leaves and dousing the sky with its radiance. The morning was flawless in its simplicity.
She finally made it down the road a couple of blocks and searched frantically for the exit which she would take. She had to take the Holland Tunnel, hop across multiple freeways to Route 17, take that to I-87 at the border of New Jersey and New York, and take that north for about half an hour until she reached Tuxedo. She munched hungrily on a candy bar and realized she would have to make a pit stop along the way to pick up her second breakfast.
After stopping at a deli off of one of the freeways, she finally reached I-87 and crossed over the NJ/NY border. A feeling of relief and apprehension washed over her like a wave, complete wish gooseflesh and butterflies in her stomach. She felt dizzy with fear, with anxiety, and with curiosity. She was shaking so badly at one point that she almost spilled her green tea all over her jeans, but managed to steady herself with a soft chant of "Everything will be fine." Of course, she truly didn't believe everything would be fine. She knew she was heading into possibly the stupidest, most dangerous self-assigned mission of her life. She was putting herself in complete danger of the unknown, but, how could the unknown be dangerous if nothing was truly known about it? She had to find out. One way or another.
She watched the gorgeous mountains and trees of New York pass by her as she made her way deeper into the backwoods of her old stomping grounds. Ixias and her ex-boyfriend from her teenage years used to take random road trips into the lower New York area, exploring the back roads and finding hang-out spots to serve as excuses for skipping school and wasting time. The area was familiar, but because it had been so long since she had returned, it now seemed foreign and foreboding. Although the sun was shining brightly, she could not help but feel a shadow pass over the land as she neared her final destination.
She reached to turn the radio louder for some comfort when her celphone began to ring. Puzzled, she reached down and looked at the number on the lid of her flip phone. It was anonymous, an untraceable call. She flipped the phone open curiously and answered.
"Hello?"
There was a pause before a woman's voice spoke.
"Are you sure where you are going is where you want to be?"
Ixias' heart both dropped to her stomach and jumped to her throat. It was happening already. They knew. Someone knew, and she had only spoken to one person, who she trusted with her whole being and even made her promise not to tell a soul. How could.
"Who the fuck is this?" Ixias demanded angrily. She did not appreciate being spied on, nor did she appreciate being called and frightened out of the blue.
"You are putting yourself in unnecessary danger. If you wish to know the truth there are other ways of doing this." The woman's voice was soft and unthreatening, but firm and imploring simultaneously.
"Whoever this is." Ixias paused, steadying herself and focusing most of her attention on the road ahead, "I have no time for bullshit games. You have no right to spy on me, nor to know my business. What I am doing is for my benefit only. Leave me alone."
"But you won't be left alone. You will be found, and then you won't be after they get to you. Rethink your actions, Ixias. This isn't the only way." The mystery woman paused. "I can help you. I know what you are looking for and I can take you there, if you let me."
Ixias paused. The woman sounded like she truly meant to help her, but Ixias had all the help she needed within herself. And who was this they everyone kept throwing at her? Just extra pieces throw into an already jumbled puzzle. It didn't help that she was truly angered by her privacy being intruded in such a fashion.
"Look, thank you just the same but I'll be fine on my own. However you know of all of this information about me, I suggest you forget it and find someone else to spy on. I am not worth your time, and you are not worth mine. I am doing what I must and no one, not you nor anyone else, is going to stop me." Ixias was breathing heavily into the phone at this point, overcome with exasperation and agitation. The other woman hesitated to speak.
"Suit yourself. If you change your mind you will hear from us again." Click.
Ixias cried out and flung the phone into the backseat. "FUCK!" She yelled, slamming her fists into the steering wheel in a fit of maddened rage and nearly veering off the road onto the shoulder. She regained composure and collected what little she could of herself as she straightened the car in its lane. She didn't have time to recap the conversation in her head when she saw the exit sign ahead. Tuxedo Exit 39. A feeling of dread rose in her veins as she turned off I-87 and took a right at the light.
The preserve loomed ahead 5 miles down the road from the exit, past the town and into the backwoods of NY State. She followed the road in the bright sunshine, the fear and darkness spreading in her body. She felt tense and nervous, dizzy and anxious, scared and excited, shocked and thrilled. The complexity of her emotions disturbed her already frazzled mind.
After driving along for some time, her thoughts blocking out the music to complete mental silence with the occasional psychological scream, she saw the wooden sign pointing to the Preserve at Tuxedo come into view. She followed the left and was completely surrounded by trees on almost all sides. The forest was thick enough to create a canopy that blocked most of the sunshine radiating on that perfectly sunny day. The forest was lit by intensely focused beams of sunshine that rained down through the openings in the leaf awning, giving the forest an eerily peaceful glow. She bumped and rolled down the dirty gravel road, kicking up dust and pebbles as the feelings in her mind and soul took over her entire body. She was wracked with apprehensive fear.
She pulled into a parking spot next to the ranger station and climbed out. She bundled up again against the frigidly crisp NY mountain air, and grabbed her purse. She locked her car and kept her map handy in her pocket.
She looked for a larger, more detailed map and found it hanging up on the side of the ranger hut. She followed the River Serenity with her forefinger until it drained into Jasmine Pond, which was X'd off with red permanent marker. A note hung on the side of the map that said Jasmine Pond was temporarily closed for draining due to toxic pollutions. Something didn't set right with that, and Ixias knew it was a feeble attempt at covering up the truth. The trail that ran parallel to the river was off to the right. She bent down to tie her shoelaces and rose, her eyes scanning the trail. Even with the sunlight streaming down like raindrops through the leaves and the fresh air, and the beauty of the scenery, Ixias felt the skies of her soul darken over. She was frightened, enthralled, cold, anxious and alone.
"Thank you for everything hon," Ixias gave her friend a tight hug at the door. He smiled sadly.
"I do believe, however, this is not the last time we shall meet," he said, his eyes shrouded in knowing mystery. "I see great things for you." Ixias smiled thoughtfully.
"You are so good to me, Max. I wish nothing but happiness for you. And I'll be sure to grab you something extra-special for the holidays," she said as she opened the door. The two shared a final laugh and said their goodbyes. Ixias was on her way.
Inside her jet black Mitsubishi Eclipse, she rubbed her hands together as the engine idled and the car warmed. She flipped on to her favorite station, which was oddly playing her favorite song at the moment, "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5. She began singing along to the lyrics as the car grew warmer.
"Like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe?" She sang softly, her bright hazel green eyes sparkling in the rising sun. The day of reckoning had dawned beautifully.
She turned onto the already busy street, watching dashes of yellow - taxis - fly by her on the left. Traffic was backed up for miles down Avenue of the Americas, past all of the head shops and sex shops and pizzerias and clubs and bars. The sunlight lit the park on her left, spreading sunshine through the glistening green leaves and dousing the sky with its radiance. The morning was flawless in its simplicity.
She finally made it down the road a couple of blocks and searched frantically for the exit which she would take. She had to take the Holland Tunnel, hop across multiple freeways to Route 17, take that to I-87 at the border of New Jersey and New York, and take that north for about half an hour until she reached Tuxedo. She munched hungrily on a candy bar and realized she would have to make a pit stop along the way to pick up her second breakfast.
After stopping at a deli off of one of the freeways, she finally reached I-87 and crossed over the NJ/NY border. A feeling of relief and apprehension washed over her like a wave, complete wish gooseflesh and butterflies in her stomach. She felt dizzy with fear, with anxiety, and with curiosity. She was shaking so badly at one point that she almost spilled her green tea all over her jeans, but managed to steady herself with a soft chant of "Everything will be fine." Of course, she truly didn't believe everything would be fine. She knew she was heading into possibly the stupidest, most dangerous self-assigned mission of her life. She was putting herself in complete danger of the unknown, but, how could the unknown be dangerous if nothing was truly known about it? She had to find out. One way or another.
She watched the gorgeous mountains and trees of New York pass by her as she made her way deeper into the backwoods of her old stomping grounds. Ixias and her ex-boyfriend from her teenage years used to take random road trips into the lower New York area, exploring the back roads and finding hang-out spots to serve as excuses for skipping school and wasting time. The area was familiar, but because it had been so long since she had returned, it now seemed foreign and foreboding. Although the sun was shining brightly, she could not help but feel a shadow pass over the land as she neared her final destination.
She reached to turn the radio louder for some comfort when her celphone began to ring. Puzzled, she reached down and looked at the number on the lid of her flip phone. It was anonymous, an untraceable call. She flipped the phone open curiously and answered.
"Hello?"
There was a pause before a woman's voice spoke.
"Are you sure where you are going is where you want to be?"
Ixias' heart both dropped to her stomach and jumped to her throat. It was happening already. They knew. Someone knew, and she had only spoken to one person, who she trusted with her whole being and even made her promise not to tell a soul. How could.
"Who the fuck is this?" Ixias demanded angrily. She did not appreciate being spied on, nor did she appreciate being called and frightened out of the blue.
"You are putting yourself in unnecessary danger. If you wish to know the truth there are other ways of doing this." The woman's voice was soft and unthreatening, but firm and imploring simultaneously.
"Whoever this is." Ixias paused, steadying herself and focusing most of her attention on the road ahead, "I have no time for bullshit games. You have no right to spy on me, nor to know my business. What I am doing is for my benefit only. Leave me alone."
"But you won't be left alone. You will be found, and then you won't be after they get to you. Rethink your actions, Ixias. This isn't the only way." The mystery woman paused. "I can help you. I know what you are looking for and I can take you there, if you let me."
Ixias paused. The woman sounded like she truly meant to help her, but Ixias had all the help she needed within herself. And who was this they everyone kept throwing at her? Just extra pieces throw into an already jumbled puzzle. It didn't help that she was truly angered by her privacy being intruded in such a fashion.
"Look, thank you just the same but I'll be fine on my own. However you know of all of this information about me, I suggest you forget it and find someone else to spy on. I am not worth your time, and you are not worth mine. I am doing what I must and no one, not you nor anyone else, is going to stop me." Ixias was breathing heavily into the phone at this point, overcome with exasperation and agitation. The other woman hesitated to speak.
"Suit yourself. If you change your mind you will hear from us again." Click.
Ixias cried out and flung the phone into the backseat. "FUCK!" She yelled, slamming her fists into the steering wheel in a fit of maddened rage and nearly veering off the road onto the shoulder. She regained composure and collected what little she could of herself as she straightened the car in its lane. She didn't have time to recap the conversation in her head when she saw the exit sign ahead. Tuxedo Exit 39. A feeling of dread rose in her veins as she turned off I-87 and took a right at the light.
The preserve loomed ahead 5 miles down the road from the exit, past the town and into the backwoods of NY State. She followed the road in the bright sunshine, the fear and darkness spreading in her body. She felt tense and nervous, dizzy and anxious, scared and excited, shocked and thrilled. The complexity of her emotions disturbed her already frazzled mind.
After driving along for some time, her thoughts blocking out the music to complete mental silence with the occasional psychological scream, she saw the wooden sign pointing to the Preserve at Tuxedo come into view. She followed the left and was completely surrounded by trees on almost all sides. The forest was thick enough to create a canopy that blocked most of the sunshine radiating on that perfectly sunny day. The forest was lit by intensely focused beams of sunshine that rained down through the openings in the leaf awning, giving the forest an eerily peaceful glow. She bumped and rolled down the dirty gravel road, kicking up dust and pebbles as the feelings in her mind and soul took over her entire body. She was wracked with apprehensive fear.
She pulled into a parking spot next to the ranger station and climbed out. She bundled up again against the frigidly crisp NY mountain air, and grabbed her purse. She locked her car and kept her map handy in her pocket.
She looked for a larger, more detailed map and found it hanging up on the side of the ranger hut. She followed the River Serenity with her forefinger until it drained into Jasmine Pond, which was X'd off with red permanent marker. A note hung on the side of the map that said Jasmine Pond was temporarily closed for draining due to toxic pollutions. Something didn't set right with that, and Ixias knew it was a feeble attempt at covering up the truth. The trail that ran parallel to the river was off to the right. She bent down to tie her shoelaces and rose, her eyes scanning the trail. Even with the sunlight streaming down like raindrops through the leaves and the fresh air, and the beauty of the scenery, Ixias felt the skies of her soul darken over. She was frightened, enthralled, cold, anxious and alone.