Chapter 2
Taking the Step
This is the first time in my life that I hated waking up, but I guess being able to have a good night sleep is a blessing. I still find myself far from home and in a strange house. I should be more worried right now, but I am just to tired. I so tired that I don't even want to part my hair away from my face. I am still in my clothes from last night… What has happened to me? I peeked through my door to fine Dan in a plain blue shirt with his jeans, boots, hats, and gauntlets. He is cooking breakfast which smells really good right now.
…
I hope she is doing okay. She seemed shaken from last night, and she seems to not be the type to handle stress very well. To give her some credit she was able to pull herself together pretty quickly. I still need to get her back to her family because my life is not exactly stress-free. Well think of the devil and she shall appear.
"Morning Raleigh," I said greeting my unexpected house guess.
"Morning…" she said very solemnly.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked concerned.
"I did… surprisingly," she said with a small smile across her face.
"That is good to hear. I am making breakfast," I said with a more upbeat tone.
"What are you making?"
"Pancakes. How many would you like?"
"Three… wait four. I am pretty hungry."
"Alright four of my specialty pancakes coming up," I said as I placed them on a plate for her. I walked over to her and placed the plate down in front of her. I walked back over to a cabinet to grab a glass for her. After I got the glass, I grabbed the milk I used for the pancakes and brought them over to her.
"Thank you, but I think you are forgetting something," said Raleigh with a shy tone.
"Oh right the butter and syrup," I said then realized she meant silverware… I paused for a moment, but I quickly gathered all the require elements for a wonderful breakfast.
"Okay dig in.," I said after I gathered everything. I had turned to make my pancakes, so I did not notice that she was not eating. When I finish my pancakes, I turned around and saw that Raleigh had not touched her pancakes.
"I thought you were hungry?" I asked a bit puzzled.
"I needed to wait for you join at the table… you are the host," she said plainly.
"Fair enough," I said as I gathered all that I needed to eat my pancakes. I made cinnamon vanilla pancakes which I hoped she liked.
"These are amazing…" she said. While we ate, we had a more serious conversation about her situation.
"So... I am going to need some information, if I am going to be able to get you back to Canada," I said.
"Okay… I understand," said Raleigh. I could tell she does not really like talking about herself.
"So do you have any family in the states?" I asked.
"I do. My dad he lives in California… Can I borrow a phone?" she suddenly asked.
"So you can call your dad? That is a good idea," I said as I handed her my phone. The look of confusion on her face sent up some alarms for me.
"This is your phone… how rich are you?" she asked.
"I am well off… what year do you think it is?" I asked just off a hunch.
"2008… why do you ask?" she said without skipping a beat.
"The year is 2018…" I said slowly, but I know she is not going to believe me.
"What!?..." she nearly yells in disbelief.
"Raleigh… um do you need…" I tried to say before she interrupted.
"I need to call my dad," She said as she handed the phone back to me. I figured that meant she wanted me to work the phone. I unlocked my phone and got to where I could type a number in. I handed the phone back to her.
"Use your finger on the screen to type in the number you want," I said. She took a minute to figure out the phone. She figured it out and waited for someone to answer.
…
Oh my god… I have been gone for ten years… Please dad be on the other end.
"Hello?" said my father's voice when he answered.
"Dad it is me, Raleigh," I said with a tinge of happiness.
"Raleigh… My baby girl… your alive," said my father as he held back tears.
"Yes dad I am alive…, and I am on my way home," I said trying to comfort him.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I am in the state of Georgia," I said as I looked at Dan. He kept silent as he motioned his hand in a thumbs up and thumbs down gesture. I responded with a thumbs up.
"How did you end up on the other side of the country?" asked my dad.
"I don't know… the last thing I remember was running from Stillman," I said.
"Wait… my good Stillman is innocent… oh no," my dad said with realization.
"What is wrong?" I asked.
"Stillman was convicted of murder… your murder, and he has been in jail," said my dad. My world has truly fallen apart… I have drowned at sea… everything I have done has fallen apart.
"Sweetie do you have a means of getting back?" asked my dad. I could not answer… I just wanted to quit. I dropped the phone on the table. I saw Dan pick up his phone, and he talked with my dad.
…
"Sorry Mr. Croswell, I am Dan Ross, and I found your daughter recently," I said looking at the now catatonic Raleigh.
"Young man, thank you for finding my daughter, but what is her condition?" asked her Dad.
"I am not going to lie. She just went catatonic…," I said very concerned.
"God... I don't even know how to help… She literally has been gone ten years… What does she look like?" asked her Dad.
"She looks like a young twenty something year old woman sir," I said complying to the request.
"She should be thirty years old… I need you to be honest with me. How did you find her?" he asked sternly. I breathed in.
"She literally fell from the sky onto my property. I know it sounds crazy, but that is what happened," I said fearing he will think I am crazy.
"Okay… can you send me a picture of her… I just need to see if it is her," said her father.
"Yes sir," I said as I opened the camera function on the phone. I took her picture and sent it through the text function.
"… You are right… My daughter is still in her twenties… What in the world is going on?" he asked not really expecting an answer.
"I don't know, but I think Raleigh needs to get back to California," I said trying not to go down a rabbit hole.
"You are right… can you keep her at your property while I make the preparations to come and get her?" he asked.
"I can," I said assuredly.
"Good, and thank you again young man…," said her dad as he hangs up the phone. I look over to Raleigh, and I just sit next to her.
"Hey your dad is going to come get you…," I said. I got no response.
"Raleigh?" I still got nothing. I breathed in a bit as I decided to give her space.
"What do you do when your whole world has fallen apart?" asked Raleigh. This startled me because I was not expecting her to speak.
"Your world has not completely fallen apart… You have your dad and potentially mom,"
"But my friends… I don't know if they even remember me…," she said sounding defeated.
"That will be something that we need to find out then," I said trying to be positive.
"What is the point?" she asked.
"The point is that you are alive, and you now have a chance to build your world back up. Yes, what you went through is weird and devastating, but it is time to act," I said trying to encourage her.
"…I have already made overcome my problems once, and that was when they were normal… now I am dealing with an event that has no fucking reason to it. I am just done with everything. I wish you had just let me drown," she said. I was utterly shocked by what she said.
"No… please don't do what I think you are going to do," I said knowing she might be pondering suicide.
"No, I am not going to kill myself… I just don't know what to do," she said as she started to cry. I sat next to her and said to her.
"We will figure it out. One step at a time," I said. I gave her some space for the rest of the morning as I checked my bank account. I wanted to confirm I could do something nice for her. I saw that I could do my plan so I rejoined her.
"So… I have been thinking, you only have one pair of clothes here, and you are wearing them," I said.
"What are you getting at…?" she asked.
"I am going to let you buy clothes for you to change into while you are staying with me. I will get you a toothbrush and toothpaste in the meantime," I said with a caring tone.
"Thank you… I would really appreciate that," she said.
"Okay so I am on Amazon and in the clothes department, so just look for what you like and account for your size," I said as I handed her my phone.
"Wait… the online book store?" asked Raleigh in confusion.
"Okay long story short, Amazon has become an online Wal-Mart, so I am going to go out and get you a toothbrush and toothpaste," I said as I got up to head out. I noticed that Raleigh just looked at the screen confused.
"Um… can you stick around for a while…?" asked Raleigh sheepishly.
"Yeah, I can," I said while I sat back down beside her. After half an hour of explaining how the site works and shopping. I paid for her clothes and put them on the two-day delivery. I left to go get the toothbrush and toothpaste. As I drove to the local Wal-Mart, I saw posters for a rock band around town. I think they are called Shatter Band?... Okay weird name. I pulled into the parking lot and saw a car with their front hood up. I pulled up next to them and rolled down my window.
"Hey you need help?" I asked. I saw an African-American family who were not happy campers.
"Yeah, we just need a quick charge. Do you have jumper cables?" asked the father of the family.
"I do. Hang on a sec," I said as I got out of my truck and got my jumper cables. I popped my front hood and attached my jumper cables to my battery. The dad attached the jumper cables to his battery. I got back in my truck and cranked it. After a few minutes the dad cranked his car which turned over. I turned off my truck and detached the jumper cables from the batteries. The dad came out and shut the hood, but he did not say thank you and just got back in the car. They drove off, but I was fine with it. I am just glad that I did a good deed. I closed my truck up and put away the cables. I made my way to the store, but right before I walk into the store an older gentleman walked up to me.
"I saw what you did there, and I feel your deed needs to be rewarded," said an older man dressed in older style clothes and with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Oh um thank you sir, but that is not necessary," I said trying to be polite.
"Oh come now, I insist," said the man as he handed me a plain business card with just a number on it.
"Just give me a call when you are interested in a job… someone of your particular skills will be quite useful," said the man. This would have sent chill off my spine, but this man had a strangely calming tone. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes I see that the man is gone. The card was real, so I just put it in my pocket. I walked into the Wal-Mart and got a tooth brush which had a stat on it. It was a +1 to confidence for eight hours. Strange I have never noticed these stats before… This is a very strange week. I decided to pick up a pack of protein bars while I was there and found that along with the normal nutrition info there were stats on my favorite brand, Choco Power. The stats where +5 to strength, +10 to quickness, -1 to intellect. Okay… never mind, so I put the bars back. I grabbed the tooth paste with a +1 to confidence like the tooth brush. I finally returned home to find Raleigh in a new outfit that fit her style.
"Wow… Amazon has never been this fast... Oh I got you a tooth brush," I said.
"Hey Dan… what is up with these stats on the food labels?" asked Raleigh.
"Okay… well this is entirely new to me too. I noticed these stats today right after I met the old man…," I said as I reached in my pocket to get the number he gave me.
"Raleigh, I need my phone back," I said. She nodded and handed it back to me, and I typed the number in. I got a connection, and it rang a few time before I got an answer.
"Congrats young buck, you are now a main character," said the familiar voice of the old man from Wal-Mart.
"What… who are you?" I asked with my broken brain.
"Let's just say I am a powerful friend," said the man.
"Okay… I don't fully trust you but for some reason I think you are not going to stab me in the back," I said.
"Glad to hear, but I do need to clarify. You and Ms. Croswell are now main characters," said the old man a bit too loudly, but I realized my phone was on speaker now and Raleigh heard him.
"What?" asked Raleigh.
"Okay… you are really pushing my trust here. How do you know about Raleigh?" I asked pretty angry.
"She and I met long ago, but she may not remember me. I am an old family friend, and I was very concerned about her disappearance," said the old man.
"Okay… I can believe that. What is your name?" I asked.
"Jessup," said the old man.
"Wait that name does sound very familiar…, but I can't quite put my finger on it," said Raleigh.
"Okay… so now that we have established that you are a friend… what does it mean to be a main character?" I asked.
"It is a very long explanation that would require a face to face discussion. I will be at the Shatter Band concert. Meet me there if you want to know more," said Jessup.
