Chapter 2
We drove in my jeep, wearing sunglasses to blend in. She directed me to where Jamie was, which was six miles out into the flats and near the bottoms of the mountains. The drive would be about an two hours long.
"So, Melanie, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to the rest of your family?" I ask glancing over at her, trying to make the situation as comfortable as possible. She looks out at the passing scenery.
"My mother...was the first to go. Her mother invited us to come, but only convinced my mother to go. I only assume she's...lost. When we figured out what was happening, my father, Jamie, and I, we took what we could, and got away. We hid for months. Then one day my father went out to get food. He didn't come back. Then, the alien that took him, it lead them to us. We barley escaped. It was horrible. We first thought it was just him, since it came at night, we couldn't see it's eyes very well. And now, we have been hiding for the rest of the time. I came here to get food, we were starving out there, and obviously I ran into you. That's my story." I stared at the road, thinking how horrible that would be, if my own father lead them to me. "What about you?" She asked, quietly. I was silent for a while. Then I spoke.
"My father, my brothers, and I hid. We would've survived if they... they hadn't decided to go out and fight. I stayed behind to watch our place and... and they never came back. Not as tragic a story as yours, but it's still a story." She was silent, thinking it over. Then I cleared my throat, and broke the silence, "I have a place. In the canyon, my father built this cabin, and no one knows about it. It's where I've been staying, it's a few hours away, and safe. I'm going to take you guys there." I said. I glanced quickly over at her. She was smiling.
"I'm so glad you found me, Jared. I didn't realize how much I-" She coughed. "How much we needed you." She said. I turned and smiled, wide.
"And I'm glad I found you." I reach down and take her hand, all the awkwardness out of it now.
We both got out, parked at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by trees. Before Melanie could call to her brother, he darted out, sprinting away from us.
"Jamie! Wait!" She yelled, and we ran after him.
"Stop it! Get out of my head! I don't want to see what you did to Mel!" He yells. He thinks we are some of them. Melanie sped up, grabbed his shirt, and yanked him back. I was right behind her, and watched as she shook him.
"Jamie, Jamie, it's me.I'm not one of them." He looked into her eyes, and felt the back of her neck.
"Oh, it is just you. But, who...who is he?" He nodded to me, and scooted away.
"He's human. His name is Jared. He and I had had a little run in. Lucky too. He's going to take us to a safer place. I promise. Trust him" Jamie began crying, falling into her arms.
"I thought- thought that they had taken you, and you lead them here. Just like with dad." he sobbed into her shoulder. She rubbed his back. After a while he stood back, wiping his face.
"Did you bring food?" He asked. She smiled, and nodded. I ran back to the car, grabbing a few bags of chips, some apples, and some granola bars. I walked back to Melanie and her brother, and handed them both some food. We walked back to the car. Melanie darted into the cave Jamie had run out of, and came back with a bag full of clothes and water. She threw it into the jeep, helping Jamie into the back, as I climbed into the drivers seat. She got in, and we drove away, heading to the canyon. Jamie made Melanie sit back with him, so I sat alone in the front, and thought.
When we arrived in the cabin, Jamie ran inside, and Melanie lingered back with me.
"Thank you. Thank you for taking us here." She said. I walked over to her, grabbing her hands.
"No problem. And thanks for kicking me, so I knew you were human." She laughed. I'd known her for less than a day, and I'd fallen in love with her.
I pumped the lever, and the water sputtered out. Melanie laughed, and I smiled.
"It beats pipes." I say, chuckling.
"I love it," She laughed. "It's like an old movie. It's perfect." I smiled more, staring into her eyes. Then I cleared my throat.
"They don't tell you the worst parts in the movies. C'mon, I'll show you where the latrine is." Jamie ran ahead of us, and me and Mel staying behind.
"Who built this place?" She asked.
"My father and older brothers. I helped, or rather hindered, a little. My dad loved to get away from everything. And he didn't care much about convention. He never bothered to find out who the land actually belonged to or file permits or any of that pesky stuff." I laugh at the memory, throwing my head back. "Officially, this place doesn't exist. Convenient, isn't it?" Without thinking, I grab her hand. She stares at our linked fingers. I am always doing this, brushing my fingers along her skin, just to reassure that she is here. That she is real. I haven't kissed her since that first night, since she screamed when she felt the scar on my neck. I long to though. I watch her, thinking hard. She looks around at the canyon, concentrating. I wonder if she is thinking about me.
"What are you thinking, Mel?" I ask. "You seem to be concentrating on something very important." I laugh as she shrugs.
"It's beautiful here." She says. It is. It is a beautiful place. I think to myself.
"Yes. But then, isn't home always beautiful?" I say.
"Home. Home." She repeats it.
"Your home, too, if you want it." I suggest, cringing in my mind at what she might say next.
"I want it." She says. I smile. I squeeze her hand, so she knows I'm here.
Jamie is asleep inside, on the bed he shares every night with Mel. She comes back from checking on him, and sits next to me on the couch. I wrap my arms around her.
"Thank you." She whispers. "I feel bad. This couch is much too short for you. Maybe you should take the bed with Jamie." I chuckle.
"Mel, you're only a few inches shorter than I am. Sleep comfortably, for once. Next time I'm out, I'll steal myself a cot or something."I say, smiling. She is frowning. I know she hates it when I leave, but it's necessary.
"Why the frown?" I ask.
"When will you… when will we have to leave again?" She asks tentatively. I shrug.
"We scavenged enough on our way up that we're set for a few months. I can do a few short raids if you want to stay in one place for a while. I'm sure you're tired of running." I say.
"Yes, I am." she says. She takes a deep breath. "But if you go, I go." She says. I hug her tighter, smiling.
"I'll admit, I prefer it that way. The thought of being separated from you…" I pause. "Does it sound crazy to say that I'd rather die? Too melodramatic?"
"No, I know what you mean." She says. She must feel the same. I think. I smile at that. "I don't think you need to find a cot, not yet." She says. My smile disappears. I stare at her.
"We'll stay here until the food is gone, don't worry. I've slept on worse things than this couch." I say matter-of-factly.
"That's not what I mean," She says looking down.
"You get the bed, Mel. I'm not budging on that." I say sternly.
"That's not what I mean, either." It's barely a whisper. But I still hear her. "I meant the couch is plenty big for Jamie. He won't outgrow it for a long time. I could share the bed with… you." She finishes the sentence, and I feel her cringe at my answer. I understand what she means. No, I think. I love her but... I can't do that. My fingers slowly tug her face towards mine, so we are looking at each other.
"Mel, I…" I can't finish the sentence. She tries to pull away, but I hold her tightly. You don't owe me that, Melanie. You don't owe me anything at all." I say.
"I'm not saying… I didn't mean that I felt obligated. And… you shouldn't, either. Forget I said anything." She says quickly. I scoff in my mind.
"Not likely, Mel." I say. I sigh. There is a long silence. I squint at the floor. "Mel, it doesn't have to be like that. Just because we're together, just because we're the last man and woman on Earth…" I struggle for words. "That doesn't mean you have to do anything you don't want to. I'm not the kind of man who would expect… You don't have to…" I feel upset. I just want this conversation to disappear. But it won't.
"That's not what I mean." she says, sounding offended. "'Have to' is not what I'm talking about, and I don't think you're 'that kind of man.' No. Of course not. It's just that –" Her voice drifts off.
"Just that… ?" She tries to shake her head, but I'm still holding her chin. "Mel?" She yanks free, scooting away from me. This stings. I lean closer to her, feeling conflicted. "Will you talk to me? Please?" My breath brushes her cheek.
"If I got to pick anyone, anyone at all, to be stranded on a deserted planet with, it would be you," She says, staring into my eyes. I feel the same way, but I can't speak. "I always want to be with you. And not just… not just to talk to. When you touch me…" Her fingers brush my arm. My arms tighten around her. "I don't want you to stop." She finishes. It sounds as though thats not all she wants to say, but she doesn't continue for a while. "If you don't feel the same way, I understand. Maybe it isn't the same for you. That's okay." I want to tell her that I do feel the same way, but I can't.
"Oh, Mel," I sigh in her ear. Then I pull her face around to meet mine, and I kiss her. She kisses me back like she never wants to stop, but I do. I pull away, and put my lips by her ear again. Then I know what to say.
"It was a miracle–more than a miracle–when I found you, Melanie. Right now, if I was given the choice between having the world back and having you, I wouldn't be able to give you up. Not to save five billion lives." I say.
"That's wrong." She answers. I almost smile.
"Very wrong but very true." I whisper.
"Jared," She breaths. She tries to kiss me, I pull away. I'm not finished.
"But..."
But?" She whispers, sounding scared.
"But you're seventeen, Melanie. And I'm twenty-six." I say. I truly don't care, but I can't let her do this.
"What's that got to do with anything?" She leans back, angry. "You've got to be kidding me." She says, glaring. "You're going to worry about conventions when we're past the end of the world?" I swallow.
"Most conventions exist for a reason, Mel. I would feel like a bad person, like I was taking advantage. You're very young." I say quietly.
"No one's young anymore. Anyone who's survived this long is ancient." I try to not smile. I love how she looks when she's angry.
"Maybe you're right. But this isn't something we need to rush." I look down.
"What is there to wait for?" She says, her voice rising. I stare at the ground, thinking.
"Well, for one thing, there are some… practical matters to consider." I glance at her. She raises an eyebrow. "See," I look down again, blushing. "When I was stocking this place, I wasn't much planning for… guests. What I mean is…" The rest comes out in a rush. "Birth control was pretty much the last thing on my mind." Her forehead creases.
"Oh," She whispers, very quiet. I'm not smiling anymore.
"This isn't the kind of world I'd want to bring a child into." I say. She cringes. Then I'm back to normal. "Besides, we've got plenty of time to… think about this." I realize, I'm stalling. "Do you realize how very, very little time we've been together so far? It's been just four weeks since we found each other." It feels like four years.
"That can't be." She says. I smile.
"Twenty-nine days. I'm counting." I say. More like twenty nine thousand days. "We've got time," I repeat.
"You don't know that." The despair that softened when I found her strikes her like the lash of a whip. "You can't know how much time we'll have. You don't know if we should be counting in months or days or hours." I think about that. It's true. We could get captured. But still. I laugh.
"Don't worry, Mel. Miracles don't work that way. I'll never lose you. I'll never let you get away from me." I kiss her between the eyebrows.