She reassured him they would be fine. He argued that they didn't know what their captors were driving so anyone who drove by could be them. She laughed and said the ditches were steep enough they could dive into them and survive and that the tree line was close enough she was sure they'd make it before the bad guys could stop and get out of their cars. He narrowed his eyes at her which just made her laugh again. They'd been walking for roughly forty-five minutes when an old pick-up truck came rumbling by.
He watched as Kalila stuck her thumb out trying to flag the vehicle down. To his surprise, the truck stopped about twenty feet away from them. She turned and smiled at Jax and nodded towards the truck. They briskly walked to the awaiting vehicle. The passenger's side window was down and she cautiously leaned on the truck.
"Evening, sir." She sweetly stated
Jax looked over her shoulder and saw an old man, probably in his seventies, sitting behind the wheel in a plain white t-shirt and dark blue denim over-alls.
"Good evening there Miss. Car troubles?" The old man asked
"Sort of. We've been walking for miles but haven't even come across a gas station! How far is it to the next town?" She asked with a small smile
"Oh, La Grande is about seven miles up the road. I can give you two a lift if you like. Just hop in the back, back there." The old man replied, matching her grin
"Oh, Sir! Thank you so much! We don't have any money to give you for your troubles!" Kalila exclaimed
"Nonsense, little lady. Around these parts, we help one another. I'll take you to the café so you can get something to eat. Hop in and we'll go." The old man replied
"We'll never be able to thank you enough!" She said before backing away and heading to bed of the truck
Jax set the tailgate down so they could sit down. Once they were settled, the old man pulled back onto the road and headed for La Grande.
"Where is La Grande?" Kalila asked
"Not sure. Is he really going to buy us something to eat?" Jax asked
"Most likely. Just relax and let me handle things, OK? Be polite and show gratitude and things will be fine." Kalila stated with a smile
He just couldn't relax knowing their captors could find them at any point, especially going into town. As promised, the older man stopped at a small café and led them inside. He told the waitress that whatever the pair wanted was on him. Kalila hugged him tightly and thanked him again for all his kindness. He smiled at her and wished the pair good luck in their travels. The waitress was leading them to a table in the middle of the room when Jax asked for a table or booth as far from the front door as possible. She smiled and led them to said booth.
Since they didn't even know how long they'd been out when they woke up in that basement, they had no idea how long it had been since they'd eaten. He wasn't sure when they'd eat again but he did tell Kalila that he trusted her to get them home. She knew how to keep herself alive and had apparently been doing a good enough job so far. They each ordered the pot roast with carrots, potatoes, onions, celery and gravy. The meal included rolls. They remained quiet as they waited for their dinner. He looked around the café, a little paranoid, as he tried to make sure none of their captors were here.
"Relax, we're safe for now." Kalila stated
"How do you know?" Jax questioned, eyebrow cocked at her
"Everyone is busy eating. Or doing crossword puzzles. With the exception of when we first came in, no one has given us a second glance. The waitresses are by the drink machine gossiping. We're the least of their worries. Relax, ok?" She informed him
He hated being so far away from his club. He knew they would keep them safe! Here they were, out here so far from home with no ID's, no money, no way to contact anyone. All they had to rely on was one another. She didn't trust easily and she could have easily slipped away from him when they fell asleep in the cave. The fact that she didn't spoke volumes to him. Their dinner finally arrived and they didn't take long in digging in. How had he not realized just how hungry he really was?! He looked up and found her staring off in the distance.
"You ok?" He quietly questioned
"Yeah. Was just thinking about something." She haphazardly replied
"Care to share?" He asked
"The guy who called the other three back. I… I think I recognized him. Sort of." She stated, turning back to him
"What?! Why didn't you say anything then?" He exclaimed
"Because at the time we had a bigger issue to deal with!" She immediately retorted, "Besides, I don't know much about him. Nothing really other than the fact that I think he came by the studio once to talk to Don."
"Talk to Don about what?" Jax questioned
"I don't know. I went to ask Don a question once but didn't go into his office because the argument they were having seemed pretty heated." She replied with a shrug
"Hmm." Jax said, furrowing his brows
They ate the rest of their meal in silence. Once they were finished, the waitress came by to take their empty plates. She informed them that their meal had already been paid for by the gentleman who had brought them in. Kalila smiled sweetly at the young woman and thanked her for the amazing food and kindness. The pair walked out of the café and down the road a few blocks to a small mom-and-pop gas station. Jax was asking where the bathroom was while Kalila slipped a map into her top. Once he was done with his business, she took a turn. With their bellies full and bladders empty, they began walking down the road.
They found a park and she ushered them to a bench. It was dusk so most places were starting to close up. She slipped the stolen map out of her shirt causing Jax to look at her funny. They were both shocked to discover they were in Oregon. Over 700 miles from home! Jax began to worry about how exactly they were going to get home with no money. She was busy trying to figure out the best route to take. They needed to stay out of sight as much as possible. Their captors knew they had no money or means to call for help.
"Ok. Let's go." Kalila suddenly stated
"Where are we going?" Jax asked as he stood up and followed her
"To the nearest Wal-Mart." She retorted
They were heading to Wal-Mart? Why the hell would she want to go there? They had no money. It was a mile long walk but they eventually came upon their designated destination. She told him to stay where they were, at the edge of the property. He wanted to go with her but she was adamant that she needed to be alone to do what she was about to do. He promised he'd stay put even though he wanted to argue with her about it. Half an hour had gone by and he was debating with himself on going to find her. Another fifteen minutes went by and she slowly walked up.
"Ok, come one." She simply stated
"Come on where? Where are we going?" He questioned as they started walking towards the store
"We are going to go find some new clothes. Our captors know what we were wearing. They know we have no money so we wouldn't be able to get new clothes. I've… acquired… some cash. We can get some new clothes, hats, glasses, and some bus tickets." She replied
"Bus tickets? To Charming?" He asked
"No, we're not taking the bus that far. We'll take the bus for a while. We'll be able to get some sleep and we'll make distance. They won't suspect that." She replied
"Why don't we take the bus to Charming?" He whispered as the entered the large superstore
"It's harder to track us if we're not giving them a way to track us." She stated, grabbing a basket, "If that makes sense."
"I told you I trusted you to get us home. I trust your decisions." He replied with a warm smile
They headed to the men's section first. It didn't take him long to find some new jeans. He found new undies, picked up a single pair of socks, and a plain black t-shirt a few minutes later. While he was finding clothes, so was she. Plain jeans, plain black v-neck t-shirt, pair of socks, and a new black lace bra and panty set. He set his items in the basket like she had done before they made their way to the shoe section. They picked out reasonable shoes before heading to accessories. He found a hat while she found a scarf and sunglasses.
They quickly checked out and headed to the store bathrooms to change clothes. She told him to throw his dirty clothes in the bathroom trashcan and to wash up as best as he could. He did as she requested and met her at the front. She smiled at him as she approached. He returned her smile as she asked if he was ready to go. He nodded before following her out of the store. They made the four block walk to the local Greyhound station in silence. She purchased two tickets from La Grande to Corvallis.
The bus would be leaving in over an hour so they found seats where they could watch all the doors with ease. They remained quiet as they waited for their bus. The trip would take just a hair under eleven hours but she reassured her companion that they'd be able to sleep in peace on the bus. He wasn't convinced but he put his trust in her none the less. She bought a couple bottles of water for them as well as a map.
People came into the station and people left the station. Finally it was announced their bus would be departing in about fifteen minutes. They went to the bathroom shortly before the bus was to board. They didn't have any luggage so they didn't have to worry about that. They boarded the bus without a word. The bus wasn't very full so they were able to take the seats at the very back of the bus. After sitting down and getting comfortable, they both breathed a short sigh of relief. When the bus finally made it to the highway, Jax turned to his female companion.
"What's the plan once we get to Corvallis?" He whispered to her
"Well, I don't have much money left. We'll make our way from Corvallis to Eugene by other means then we'll hop a bus from Eugene to Medford. We'll find alternate transportation from Medford over the state line into Cali." She explained
"What 'alternate transportation'?" He asked
"We'll figure it out when we come to those bridges. Right now, just relax and try to get some sleep." She softly stated
It was hard to sleep on a moving bus. Of course sleeping in dank, gross log was probably worse. It took Jax a while. He scooted around until he was somewhat comfortable. She could only smile inwardly to herself. She, too, began scooting around to get comfortable. The pair wound up leaning on one another as they slept. When the bus came to their destination, one of the other passengers woke them up. He was a bit paranoid but calmed down when he realized this was their stop. She grabbed a hold of his arm and led him off the bus.
Looking at her map, she calculated that it was roughly forty-three miles from Corvallis to Eugene. They were looking at anywhere between twelve and sixteen hours to walk that far. Jax was a smoker, after all! She relayed the information to her companion. He frowned at her not really wanting to walk that far!
"We'll have to sleep in the woods. I can probably secure us some funds if you can nap a small knapsack of some sort." She quietly told him as they stood around the bus station and stretched
"You're going to steal someone's wallet, aren't you?" He asked, eyes full of humor and mischief
"I do what I have to in order to survive. Go outside and nab us a small knapsack. I'll meet you right outside the station grounds in about fifteen minutes." She quietly told him as she looked around the station
"See you in a few babe!" He stated as he walked away
She cocked her eyebrow at him but couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. She went to the bathroom "to use the restroom" and give herself time to find someone to steal from. There was a lady in the bathroom who had sat her purse on the counter by the sinks and headed into the next-to-last stall. Kalila couldn't believe her luck! She immediately began digging through the purse to find the wallet. It wasn't hard to find! She took out over two hundred dollars in small bills and then quickly put the wallet back. She then "accidentally" pushed it off the counter.
"Oh my goodness! I don't know who's purse this is but I somehow just knocked it to the floor! I'm so sorry!" Kalila exclaimed
"If it's gold it's mine! That's ok, just set it back on the counter for me!" The lady replied
Kalila smiled, apologized again as she set the bag on the counter, and then left. She walked around the bus station building picking wallets. She had enough to get their next set of bus ticket and a little food. As she promised the blond biker, she met him just outside the bus station property. He had a small black knapsack. She emptied it into a trashcan before slipping a strap over her shoulder. She slipped her arm around his as she led him to a small little store. It was kind of like a convenience store but it was more of a mom-and-pop kind of joint.
They grabbed some nutritional bars and bottles of water. The older woman behind the counter smiled warmly at them as they paid out. She told them what a cute couple they were making Kalila smile sheepishly at her. Jax slid his arm around her waist and ushered her out of the store. They put their provisions in the knapsack and began the long trek to Eugene. He wondered if they really would be able to walk forty-three miles. She smiled at him and reassured him they would indeed be able to.
They stopped whenever they got tired. Muscles were starting to ache! When nightfall fell, he asked where they could rest for the night. She really wanted to keep going, moving forward assured that they wouldn't be caught if they were indeed being chased, but her body was tired. They walked on a little further.
"I don't think we're going to find any sort of shelter." She sighed
"What are we going to do?" Jax asked
"We can either keep walking and try to find something or find a rock to lay next to." She sighed again
"Let's keep walking for a bit. Maybe we'll come across something suitable." He offered, resting his hand on her shoulder
She nodded before walking on. It was already dark and she knew they both needed to get some rest. They finally came upon a rock formation that they could sort of squeeze into. It would be a tight fit but they would both be able to get into it. He let her slide in first before crawling in himself. It took several minutes of them scooting around to find a comfortable position. Finally they found themselves laying on their sides sort of curled up next to one another. She drifted off to sleep not realizing the position they were in.